-
Bio
At his best Chuck Berry was a hip short-story teller, with insightful, affecting and entertaining pictures to show, set to a strong jumping boogie beat. But he never had much of a way with albums, and the problem with being chief chronicler and day-to-day historian of the ways of an era is that it fades […]
- Album Reviews
- By
-
Win, Lose Or Draw
This is the Allman Brothers' sixth album, one many people never expected to see. Their last release, Brothers and Sisters, came out two years ago, and since then band members have seemed to be spinning off in separate orbits. When work on this album began in the spring, fans sighed in relief. Win, Lose or […]
- Album Reviews
- By
-
Takin' My Time
Early on in her career, Bonnie Raitt decided that live shows were more important to her than records. She wanted to get out and reach people directly, without having to rely on hype, promotion and hustle. In the time since, she's done a lot of traveling, but though she still says she'd never want a […]
- Album Reviews
- By
-
New York Dolls
The album cover hits with a stark black and white photo, title scrawled in lipstick red aross the top. The boys appear on a white satin couch with a strange combination of high pop-star drag and ruthless street arrogance. There’s lipstick, eyeshadow and platform boots, but there’s also some sinister slipstream flowing here. Remember the […]
- Album Reviews
- By
-
War Heroes
Days after Hendrix's death, Eddie Kramer, head engineer at Electric Ladyland Studios, was quoted as saying that there were two albums worth of studio cuts and a live Albert Hall gig that would be released soon. However, "associates" were quoted as saying that there were lots more Hendrix tapes that nobody would hear – "It […]
- Album Reviews
- By
-
Guess Who
B.B. King is a deservedly well-respected man. Anybody playing blues (or rock) guitar who doesn't name him as an influence is either dumb or a liar. He's been a tireless performer, spending god-knows-how-many years doing one night stands and crusading for wider acceptance of the music he loves. Besides being a widely copied instrumentalist, his […]
- Album Reviews
- By
-
Live At Max's Kansas City
Though New York City eventually serves as a showcase for every big-time rock group, it spawns very few — and the Velvet Underground was about the only group that denizens of the ultimate terminal city could call their own. Andy Warhol found them and put them on tour as part of a show called The […]
- Album Reviews
- By
-
Live (At Mr. Kelly's)
Good news — the old Muddy Waters sound is back! Muddy was one of the founders of the Chicago Blues sound, and his original line-up of guitars, piano, bass and drums is present on this album in full force. It was cut in Chicago last year using Muddy's working band, and though the genius of […]
- Album Reviews
- By
-
'Eat a Peach': Allman Brothers Band Album Review
Sometimes it all seems to come down to the question of survival — and learning to live with loss. Rock and blues have lost a lot of people in the past five years, but the death of an artist always diminishes the music more than the death of a “star” — and Duane Allman was […]
- Album Reviews
- By
-
Rainbow Bridge
Ahh, a surprise – more Hendrix in the studio. Of late a lot of in-concert Hendrix has surfaced; the full-side each on the Woodstock sets, the Isle of Wight performance on Columbia's Rock Festivals set, the in-concert movie of Hendrix at Berkeley, as well as an English in-concert film with an accompanying soundtrack LP. But […]
- Album Reviews
- By