Author: Erik Flannigan
Record Review from web archive December 12, 2008
Tift Merritt
Another Country is an album of introspection and inspiration that came about, as Tift Merritt tells it from the stage, from a need for a change of scenery and a Google search of “Paris,” “piano,” “rental” and “flat” that led her to the City of Lights. Her extended sojourn brought with it cultural immersion, the [...]
Waxed - Record Review from Issue #75 May-June 2008
R.E.M. – Accelerate
The challenge, it seems, in reviewing Accelerate is to focus on the music, not merely the context surrounding the album — whether that context is its meekly received predecessor, the ennui of the band’s post-Bill Berry era, or the disc’s slight run time of 34 minutes. Without a doubt, Accelerate is a response to the [...]
The Long Way Around - Feature from Issue #74 March-April 2008
Gary Louris – Alone together again
Is there, perhaps, a distinction between stopping and ending? Maybe stopping is the absence — intentional or otherwise — of future plans to continue with what had been an ongoing concern. Ending feels more like a deliberate act calculated to ensure something ever happens again. Of course, a stop can turn out to be an [...]
Waxed - Record Review from Issue #66 Nov-Dec 2006
Be Good Tanyas – Hello Love
It feels like three very long years since the release of the Be Good Tanyas’ last album, the brilliant Chinatown. Upon reconvening after a hiatus, the trio of Frazey Ford, Trish Klein and Samanth Parton reputedly recorded many songs over the course of a year before settling on the thirteen that comprise Hello Love. That [...]
Not Fade Away - Reissue Review from Issue #64 July-Aug 2006
Gram Parsons – The Complete Reprise Sessions
Gram Parsons belongs to a few exclusive clubs in the pantheon of popular music. One, sadly, is Those Who Died Young, the rolls of which are dotted notably with names like Cobain, Hendrix, Joplin, Holly and Redding. Another, with a much shorter list of members, might best be called the Inverse Proportionists. An oft-told anecdote [...]
Waxed - Record Review from Issue #63 May-June 2006
Bruce Springsteen – We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions
Springsteen does Seeger? Pete Seeger? It’s not only plausible, but a look back at the past 25 years of Bruce’s career suggests perhaps it was inevitable. Grammy nominations aside, categorizing Bruce Springsteen as a folk musician is somewhat dubious, but he has made three albums that merit consideration as folk music. Most notable is 1982′s [...]
Not Fade Away - Reissue Review from Issue #62 Mar-Apr 2006
Richard Thompson – RT: The Life and Music of Richard Thompson (5-disc set)
Card-carrying members only, please — that’s the sticker missing from this audacious and daunting box set comprised entirely of unreleased recordings. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but RT: The Life And Music Of Richard Thompson is not for the faint of heart, even if you are or were a deep Thompson fan, or [...]
The Long Way Around - Feature from Issue #51 May-June 2004
Sam Phillips – Blazing away
“Being a singer-songwriter,” says Sam Phillips, “is something I’ve never wanted to be.” At the risk of putting words in her mouth, there’s a parenthetical Phillips might well add to the end of that sentence: “Now more than ever.” The troubling contradiction of the singer-songwriter that’s salient to Phillips is what she dubs the narcissistic [...]
Not Fade Away - Reissue Review from Issue #46 July-Aug 2003
Jayhawks – Blue Earth
While technically not the Jayhawks’ debut (that would be the eponymous collection of songs from 1986 usually referred to as the Bunkhouse album), Blue Earth, released in 1989, was the record that first garnered national attention for the Minneapolis band and specifically the partnership of Mark Olson and Gary Louris. Their kinship was established right [...]
The Long Way Around - Feature from Issue #45 May-June 2003
Maria McKee – I Like To Use Traditional Elements And Mix Them Up In A Modern Way
There are eclectic artists and then there is Maria McKee. She first emerged as the teenage dynamo fronting mid-’80s roots-rock hope Lone Justice with that voice and them moves and those looks. Few bands showed so much promise and remain so beloved despite major-label machinations that are harrowing even by today’s standards. Veteran industry types [...]
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