Greta Van Fleet “When The Curtain Falls” (2018)
If you even remotely keep tabs on what’s doing in the current music scene, by now you’ve probably heard of the band Greta Van Fleet, who are either the saviors of rock and roll or its sure sign of ruination. Little in the middle seems possible. With the release of their first full-length album this...... Read More
Elliott Smith “Miss Misery” (1997)
Matt Damon and Ben Affleck brought Elliott Smith to much of the world, but my son Max brought him to me. And I feel extremely fortunate that he did; Smith’s songs regularly reached a level of poignancy I think few artists achieve, or probably even seek. His sweet, breathy vocals, painfully personal lyrics, and stripped-down,...... Read More
King Missile “Detachable Penis” (1992)
Is this song quirky? Is it just plain weird? I’m not really sure exactly what to make of it, I just remember being amused by it when it came out in the early ‘90’s and I caught it on some late-night MTV show (back when MTV actually played music, of course), and after I listened...... Read More
Blackfoot “Highway Song” (1979)
Obviously, there was ‘Freebird’ and there was ‘Green Grass and High Tides’. That pair seems undeniable and indisputable as numbers 1 & 2. But beyond those two epic southern rock guitar marathons by Lynyrd Skynyrd and The Outlaws respectively, what would come next? I'd allow either of ‘Whipping Post’ or... Read More
JP Harris “JP’s Florida Blues #1” (2018)
He may not look like it, but JP Harris is an absolute traditionalist. When he took the stage at a packed hole-in-the-wall in Brooklyn called Skinny Dennis this past Saturday night, he began by issuing the crowd a tongue-in-cheek warning: “I don’t know if any of ya’ll know who I am, so I hope you’re...... Read More
Parker Millsap “Fine Line” (2018)
This is a hit song, right? A big time, wide scale hit. Listen to it, it’s got to be (but, of course, it won’t be). There was a time when songs like this were played on mainstream rock stations, however that time was long ago. Can you imagine if groups like Marshall Tucker and the...... Read More
Stevie Ray Vaughan “Testify” (1983)
Not long ago I was engaged in an important discussion at a Mets game with some old friends Ike, Petey and Sean about what our “walk up” music would be if we were major league ballplayers. I didn’t hesitate in naming ‘Testify’, this absolutely incendiary Stevie Ray Vaughan instrumental from his... Read More
Beatles “Run For Your Life” (1965)
For all the cheeriness of ‘I Want To Hold Your Hand’, ‘All You Need Is Love’, ‘Good Day Sunshine’, ‘Here Comes The Sun’ and ‘With A Little Help From My Friends’, the Beatles also wrote some goddamn dark songs. And I’m not even talking about... Read More
Dave Clark Five “Glad All Over” (1963)
Can you guess how many band members were in The Dave Clark Five?... Read More
Dawes “A Little Bit Of Everything” (2011)
There are a lot of ways to discover a song and a band. This one came via a restaurant in Nashville called Etch. I was there last year with my wife and our friends Paul and Maryellen, and on our first night in town, with so much local flavor we were anxious to try, the...... Read More