'The “Chirping” Crickets' isn’t just any album. It has influenced countless musicians over the decades, and its songs have been savored by millions of fans. If you’re one of them, you’re bound to love the way those tunes have been enhanced for this release.
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Music Reviews: Steve Forbert, plus Andy Hedges, Dwight + Nicole, a Rockabilly Anthology, and George Usher
Forbert was about 60 when he made this record, and he spends some of it looking back.
Read More »Music Reviews: The Beach Boys’ ‘We Gotta Groove,’ plus The Third Mind’s ‘Spellbinder!’
Brian Wilson himself called 'Love You' the Beach Boys’ best album, and though many other people would probably put 'Pet Sounds' at the top of the list, this record is pretty darn great.
Read More »Music Reviews: Talking Heads’ ‘Tentative Decisions,’ plus Mississippi Sheiks, Jesper Lindell, and James Houlahan
How on earth (or elsewhere!) did Talking Heads' sound originate, and how did it evolve? 'Tentative Decisions' doesn't quite answer the question, but it's fun to hear these early live tracks.
Read More »Music & Film Reviews: A Paisley Underground Anthology, plus ‘Elvis ’56,’ the Light Crust Doughboys, and Sam Lewis
The Dream Syndicate, Long Ryders, the Rain Parade, and, of course, the Bangles are here, along with groups you've probably never heard.
Read More »Music Reviews: Nektar’s ‘Down to Earth’ Box Set, plus Duke Robillard and Paul McCandless
This follow-up to the "Remember the Future" album reached No. 32 on U.S. charts and produced the group’s only U.S. chart single, “Astral Man.”
Read More »Theater Review (NYC): ‘Silver Manhattan’ – Jesse Malin Rocks in His Off-Broadway Debut
Rocker Jesse Malin's touching and joyful autobiographical musical brings to life the legendary NYC music scene of the '70s and '80s even as it revolves around the spinal stroke that rendered him paraplegic in 2023.
Read More »Music Reviews: Jimmie Rodgers’ ‘A Career Anthology,’ plus the Cucumbers
"He didn’t sugarcoat things. He put a lot of things out there that were the way they really were. And he knew a lot.”
Read More »Music Reviews: 99 Hits from 1956 and Two Blasts from the Blasters’ Past
Like its predecessors, this latest compendium inevitably sounds as if it were designed for someone with multiple personalities.
Read More »Music Reviews: Early Rock Ballads, plus NRBQ, the New York Second, and Eric Brace & Thomm Jutz
If you’re not familiar with the music of the late 1950s and early 1960s, you’ll probably have a hard time guessing which of these tunes rocketed up the charts and which never dented the Hot 100.
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