Album Reviews

This hard /progrock trio never got the media hype and they are rarely mentioned outside their own musical world, but Muse has made it big. How? The old fashioned way: hard work in the studio and constant touring. They have an intensely loyal fan base. Their worldwide touring grosses are impressive and they chart  well around the world

Recorded in glorious mono in 1956 and issued first in 1957, this set of small combo standards with Cole both singing and playing the piano remains as fresh and vital as it did when originally released. 

Trumpeter Kenny Dorham brought Joe Henderson to Blue Note and on the late tenor saxophonist's second lead album gives him strong support as the two chase each other through some zig-zag bop thickets. "Teeter Totter," the fast-paced Henderson-penned opener alone is worth the price of admission but the other tracks simmer with equal intensity.

What possessed Amanda Palmer to cover Radiohead playing her "magic ukelele"? Who knows? Did this inspire Eddie Vedder to issue a ukelele-based record? What would Arthur Godfrey think of all of this (look him up if you're too young to know who he is)?

 Jenny Lewis and Johnathan Rice were a couple when they made this REM indebted pop/rock album a few years ago. For all I know they are still a couple. I sure hope so because they make exquisite folk/rock music together, with both sharing guitar and bass playing.

How fast was Miles Davis moving in 1970? Listen to the title track on the double LP recorded late summer 1969 and released the next April and then play the version on the bonus live at Tanglewood CD recorded August 1970. 

Chris Darrow may not be a name familiar to you, nor might Kaleidoscope, the ‘60s psych/folk band on Epic of which he was part. That band passed me by back then. Maybe I didn’t like the cover art, or thought Epic wasn’t in the same solid A&R league as was Elektra for instance, so I didn’t want to chance it. I never heard them on the radio and Epic probably did a crappy job promoting them.