Author: Daniel Durchholz
Record Review from web archive January 16, 2009
Mad Buffalo
In the world of Mad Buffalo’s Randy Riviere, people come and go, but it’s the land that endures. That shouldn’t be a surprise to those who know the singer-songwriter’s backstory, which involves work as an environmentalist and conservationist with a master’s degree in wildlife biology. On Wilderness, Riviere’s third effort under the Mad Buffalo rubric, [...]
Live Reviews from web archive November 24, 2008
Punch Brothers
When Chris Thile said goodbye to Nickel Creek last year, it was hard to know exactly what the mandolin virtuoso had in mind for his next move. But it was fair to expect that it would be something ambitious. Thile, after all, has been defying convention since he was a pre-teen mandolin champion, later leading [...]
Record Review from web archive November 20, 2008
Joey + Rory
Despite the illusion that all TV talent shows pluck contestants off the couch and thrust them into the spotlight, Joey Martin Feek and Rory Lee Feek were kicking around Nashville for more than a decade before being “discovered” by CMT’s Can You Duet. Though the married couple didn’t win and they actually hadn’t previously performed [...]
Record Review from web archive November 14, 2008
Brad Paisley
Brad Paisley has collected his share of CMA and ACM male vocalist awards, including one just this week. But he’s also a fine guitar player, having scored a Best Country Instrumental Grammy for “Throttleneck” from his 2007 album 5th Gear. Paisley is among a select few mainstream country artists (Vince Gill, Keith Urban) who are [...]
Miked - Live Reviews from Issue #73 Jan-Feb 2008
Neil Young / Pegi Young – Fox Theater (St. Louis, MO)
“When you’ve sung a song so many times, you have to take care of it,” Neil Young explained to the capacity crowd. A fan had just wrecked Young’s concentration during “After The Gold Rush”, yelling “Neil for president!” and causing him to stop and then struggle through the rest of the song. “If you sing [...]
Waxed - Record Review from Issue #72 Nov-Dec 2007
Mark Knopfler – Kill to Get Crimson
Because he writes mostly character-driven songs, it’s difficult to know just how much Mark Knopfler imbues a painter who lusts after more vivid colors in “Let It All Go” with his own attitudes and attributes. Yet it’s easy to read into the song’s bitter lyrics a distaste for his own profession, or rather what it [...]
Waxed - Record Review from Issue #71 Sep-Oct 2007
Ann Wilson – Hope & Glory
Despite having numerous gold and platinum albums to her name, is it possible Ann Wilson is an underrated singer? It would seem so. As the powerhouse vocalist of Heart, Wilson, along with her sister Nancy, helped clear the path for a generation of female rockers to come. But by the time the Lilith Fair was [...]
Waxed - Record Review from Issue #70 July-August 2007
Amy Allison – Everything And Nothing Too
Had Amy Allison been born a few decades earlier, she’d have been a perfect frontperson for a girl group. Her nasal croon — an acquired taste, to be sure — longs to be swathed in Wall-of-Sound-style arrangements as her lyrics catalogue every romantic slight and count every tear that falls. The production isn’t quite that [...]
Waxed - Record Review from Issue #68 Mar-Apr 2007
Martin Sexton – Seeds
Given that it’s been more than six years since the release of the last Martin Sexton album (save for a 2005 Christmas collection), Seeds feels at first a little slight, filled with songs about contentment, kicking back, and the ability to fail upward. Lucky for Sexton, though, that even trifles such as “Happy”, “Goin’ To [...]
Waxed - Record Review from Issue #67 Jan-Feb 2007
John Gorka – Writing In The Margins
“Sing like there’s no tomorrow,” John Gorka implores/instructs on “Broken Place”. He’d do well to heed his own advice. His fine baritone vocals have won him many fans, and his subtle observations of life’s small moments have led artists such as Mary Chapin Carpenter, Nanci Griffith and Maura O’Connell to cover his songs. But over [...]
