Todd Rundgren – The Very Best Of Todd Rundgren (Rhino) It’s a little easy to forget now that he is calling himself TR-i (Todd Rundgren Interactive) and putting the technology cart before the musical horse, that once upon a time, Upper Darby, Pa.’s favorite son was just a damned good singer and songwriter. The Very Best … Continue reading
Styx – Return To Paradise (CMC International) It’s been at least a decade since I’ve spent a thought on Styx, THE arena rock group of my high school years. Music has moved on and so have I, and now the band is made up of a bunch of guys in their forties, so I didn’t have … Continue reading
U2– Pop (Island) Now three albums into their flirtation with techno, U2 have finally figured out how to make a consistently listenable album out of it. As signified by the album title, the band wants to wallow in the kitsch of modern life. Pop gets offto a bit of a rocky start with the clanky swirling Zooropian single … Continue reading
Van Halen – The Best Of Van Halen Part I (Warner Brothers) Fact: Van Halen were the best hard rock band of the late seventies and early eighties. Fact: Van Halen has sucked since 1985. It’s not a coincidence, 1985 was the year that leader David Lee Roth, metal’s sleaziest (in a good way) and … Continue reading
Sheryl Crow – Sheryl Crow (A&M) Crow’s self-titled second album seems to be a statement of purpose. Crow doesn’t like the folk-rock cover girl tag that was stuck on her with her popular debut, so she wants to rough it up a little. She has taken over the reins on this album and wants to prove … Continue reading
Bryan Adams – 18 ‘Til I Die (A&M) Okay, it was kind of funny a few months ago when Metallica tried to trick us into thinking they were grunge. But I have to draw the line if Bryan Adams thinks that he can pull it off. Being grunge is more than losing twenty pounds and not … Continue reading
Passengers – Original Soundtracks 1 (Island) Remember when U2 actually recorded songs? I do, but it’s becoming hazy. Calling themselves Passengers and giving producer Brian Eno full band member status, this album eases further down the bumpy musical road that led to Zooropa. Soundtracks is a group of techno songs that were supposedly used as background music in … Continue reading
Melissa Etheridge by Jay S. Jacobs POP ENTERTAINMENT.COM ARCHIVES – June 1994 – This interview took place soon after Melissa Etheridge released what was soon to be her biggest album ever, Yes I Am. The idea of the guitar God is one that has always seemed fall on the right side of the Y chromosome. Men … Continue reading
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