AltWeeklies Wire
They Might Be Giants of Kids' Musicnew
Cleverly designed to teach kids to recognize numbers and how to count, TMBG deploys its usual earnest wackiness with a variety of musical influences, from twisted American folk to '60s rock riffs and '70s soul, as the duo works its way up from zero to infinity.
Shepherd Express |
David Luhrssen |
02-15-2008 |
Reviews
Jon Mueller Decontructs Metalnew
The title of his latest solo album, Metals, refers to his love for the style of music, and one hears the influence of some of metal's greats throughout the record’s three cuts.
Shepherd Express |
Michael Carriere |
02-15-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: Jon Mueller, Metals
Donna Jean Picks Up where the Dead Left Offnew
Donna Jean and the Tricksters shows what the seminal California jam band might have sounded like had they been more interested in their female singer.
Shepherd Express |
Michael Muckian |
01-18-2008 |
Reviews
The Tough and Tender of Frankie Vallinew
The early '60s weren't as bereft of rock 'n' roll as critics often say.
Shepherd Express |
Jamie Lee Rake |
01-18-2008 |
Reviews
Dictator-rattling Musicnew
Bachata was the guitar-powered music of the Dominican underclass, akin to blues and tango, but with a gorgeously melodic sound tempered by the simplicity of the performances and straightforward, expressive vocals.
Shepherd Express |
David Luhrssen |
01-11-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: Various Artists, Bachata Roja
The Early Bob Marleynew
Another Dance reveals Marley's roots not only in the rock-steady Jamaican rhythms that preceded reggae, but also in American R&B.
Shepherd Express |
David Luhrssen |
01-04-2008 |
Reviews
Miles Davis as a Band Membernew
Collected in an elaborate six-disc set with extensive jacket notes, The Complete On the Corner Sessions brings together everything from that era, released and previously unissued.
Shepherd Express |
David Luhrssen |
12-14-2007 |
Reviews
Sister Hazel Tries to Get on the Nice Listnew
Recorded while touring in support of 2006's Absolutely, Santa's Playlist finds the jangle-rockers taking plenty of liberties with traditional classics.
Shepherd Express |
Michael Popke |
12-07-2007 |
Reviews
Tags: Santa's Playlist, Sister Hazel
Reliving the Newport Folk Festivalnew
The folk-blues revival was a lively movement of rediscovery. It ran circa the early-1960s through Bob Dylan's death-knell summer of '65 performance captured on this DVD.
Shepherd Express |
Martin Jack Rosenblum |
12-07-2007 |
Reviews
Young Franknew
A Voice in Time's material shows the surprising, youthful vulnerability and naïve romanticism of early Sinatra — a far cry from the cocky swagger of his Vegas years.
Shepherd Express |
David Luhrssen |
11-30-2007 |
Reviews
Coheed and Cambria: Dedicated to Conceptsnew
The full album title is Good Apollo I'm Burning Star IV, Vol. 2: No World For Tomorrow, and it's the second part of the two-part conclusion of a five-part science-fiction rock opera about two characters named Coheed and Cambria, which is of course also the name of the band.
Shepherd Express |
Jon Gilbertson |
11-19-2007 |
Reviews
Robert Plant and Alison Krauss Team Upnew
If Robert Plant and singer-fiddler Alison Krauss seem an unlikely duo, remember: The roots of Led Zeppelin and bluegrass grow from the ancient drone of Anglo-Celtic folk music.
Shepherd Express |
David Luhrssen |
11-12-2007 |
Reviews
Guitarist Bryan Lee Remembers Hurricane Katrinanew
The title track, also written by Lee, stands out, as the slow, sad and meditative number describes people's suffering during and after the hurricane.
Shepherd Express |
Sonia Katchadourian |
11-12-2007 |
Reviews
Tags: Bryan Lee, Katrina was Her Name
Beirut Stays Low Keynew
As his needs and imagination dictate, Beirut can expand into a live orchestra or contract into a small combo.
Shepherd Express |
David Luhrssen |
11-05-2007 |
Reviews
Tags: Beirut, The Flying Club Cup
Recycle, Repackage, Repurchasenew
Few figures from the punk era have benefited from the push to recycle as much as the prolific Elvis Costello, whose albums have been issued and reissued again on CD, always with more bonus tracks.
Shepherd Express |
David Luhrssen |
11-05-2007 |
Reviews
