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
Dave Clark Five “Glad All Over” (1963)
Can you guess how many band members were in The Dave Clark Five?... Read More
Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds “Don’t Pull Your Love” (1971)
‘Don’t Pull Your Love’ was the first (and second-biggest) hit by this cheesy, early ‘70’s Los Angeles soft rock quartet. Wait, they weren’t actually a quartet? For years my friends Zing, Messiah and I have debated how many members this ... Read More
Buckwheat Zydeco “Zydeco Boogaloo” (1984)
This site is called So Much Great Music because that’s really how I feel; there’s just too much great stuff out there, both past and present, to be pigeon-holed into only one or two music genres, or to just a few artists within a given genre. Now, I’m not saying I like everything: regular readers...... Read More
Link Wray “Rumble” (1958) [performed 1974]
Lots of great guitarists have lots of different influences, but they all love Link Wray. I can’t prove it as a scientific fact, but just believe me on this. I first heard Wray’s trailblazing sound tearing up the two albums on which he partnered with Rockabilly legend Robert Gordon for his first two releases, Robert...... Read More
Ten Years After “I’m Going Home” (1969)
Years ago I was sitting around having drinks with a bunch of friends when someone introduced this very interesting question: If you could place yourself at any moment in history, what would it be? Most people had some very profound answers. I believe I remember three of them: One was to be present for the...... Read More
Southern Culture On The Skids “Liquored Up And Lacquered Down” (2000)
Why do I love Southern Culture On The Skids? Well, first the name. Pretty descriptive. It jumped out at me in some music magazine I was reading many years ago, and I thought, yeah, that’s a band I’ve got to check out. That led me to the music, which was way better than I could...... Read More
Tundrastomper “Myth Of Slop” (2017); “For Flies Only” (2018)
Time for the nepotistic entry - as Jack Black said in "School Of Rock", "A little nep-o-tis." Time for my son Max’s band. Time for Tundrastomper! They’ve been playing as a 4-man unit for roughly 10 years, starting back early in high school, continuing through their college years – though they attended four different schools... Read More
The Who “The Real Me” (1973)
John Entwistle always said he did not play the bass. He insisted he played the bass guitar. The difference was not merely semantic. The man nicknamed “The Ox” established a treble-rich sound unlike most anyone in his era or since (per Entwistle’s own description: “Full treble, full volume”). And I would suggest, nowhere is it...... Read More
The Gourds “Gin And Juice” (2001)
I’m not into much Hip Hop. But I can appreciate a good song when it’s done right. The Gourds, a handsome alt-country / progressive bluegrass band out of Austin, take care of that for us here. And if you watch the second short clip, you’ll see the song’s originator can dig it this way too....... Read More