Live 8 (Capitol Records-2005) The television coverage for the massive Live 8 concerts on MTV and VH1 was awful. It was all about the personalities, not the music. This was supposed to the most important concert experience of the decade, and yet very little of the performance footage actually ended up on screen. The viewer … Continue reading
Kenny Loggins and Jim Messina Checkin’ In by Jay S. Jacobs The band came to be in the early 70s and was made up of two distinctly talented parts. Jim Messina was a respected producer and former member of the acclaimed groups Poco and the Buffalo Springfield. Kenny Loggins was a new kid on the … Continue reading
Tristan Prettyman – Twentythree (Virgin) Who knew? It turns out that there is a burgeoning folk and rock subgenre coming out of the Southern California surf scene. First there was Jewel (who, granted, was a transplant), then Switchfoot, a group that values hanging ten as much as Christian Rock. Then came the surprise success of pro … Continue reading
Carole King – The Living Room Tour (Sanctuary) Living room shows are a phenomenon in the folk-music world where groups of fans put together money to hire folk singers to do personal concerts for small audiences in people’s homes. It’s a charming, old-fashioned idea and a fantastic way to get to see an artist in a … Continue reading
EAGLES – FAREWELL I TOUR: LIVE IN MELBOURNE (2005) Starring Don Henley, Glenn Frey, Joe Walsh, Timothy B. Schmit, Steuart Smith, Will Hollis, Greg Smith, Billy Armstrong, Chris Mosert, Al Garth, Scott Crago, Michael Thompson and David Wild. Directed by Carol Dodd. Distributed by Warner Strategic Marketing. minutes. Not Rated. It seems like the Eagles … Continue reading
Live Aid (Warner Strategic Marketing-2004) It’s been said that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. There is no better example of this than the agonizingly sixteen-hour-long Live Aid broadcast on July 13, 1985 (now available on DVD). The official excuse for the concert was to raise money to feed the starving people … Continue reading
Three Dog Night In Black and White by Ronald Sklar The feat would be impossible to achieve in today’s market-fragmented world, but back in ’71, the bell-bottomed-and-walrus-mustachioed anthem “Joy To The World,” by Three Dog Night, shone through the polluted air and permeated the culture. In a world already torn every which way but loose, Jeremiah … Continue reading
Cowboy Junkies-One Soul Now (Zoë/Latent) It’s hard to believe that it has been sixteen years since Cowboy Junkies’ second album, the sparse and lovely The Trinity Sessions, became a surprise success and helped to pave the road for alt-country and triple-A radio. That album was recorded live in one night at an abandoned church and mixed blues, … Continue reading
Jonatha Brooke – Back in the Circus (Bad Dog/Verve) Jonatha Brooke has been out in the folk-pop trenches for almost twenty years, working up a great reputation in music circles, first as half of the acoustic duo The Story and then as a solo artist. Her music has mostly been released independently; only two Story albums and one solo were … Continue reading
Toby Lightman Devils and an Angel by Jay S. Jacobs The music biz is always hungrily searching for the next big thing. They’re trying to find an artist that has the talent and the vibe and the chops to make a huge splash in the choppy waters of popular culture. It should be someone who has … Continue reading
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