The pace at which the music scene was changing in 1968 was, even when viewed from the luxurious hindsight of 40 years, a breath-taking explosion of creative intent that was as unpredictable as it was exciting. As the Summer of Love’s psychedelic foppery gave way to something altogether harder and darker in both style and content, out of the ashes of the John Evan band, Jethro Tull emerged with their dead men’s coats to heavy-up their act with a bite of blues rock and a precocious twist of jazz.In this …

Whenever I get a new CD to listen to, the first thing I do is open up the liner notes and take a look at the list of musicians that people the songs I’m about to put to my ear. Imagine how impressed I was to see names like Sam Bush, Kenny Vaughn, and Will Kimbrough, as well as many other members of Nashville royalty. I had known Jeff, a Kansas City native, from running into him at various open mics and local performances from years past and …

With the alt country rockabilly movement making a comeback, much attention has been focused on Dave Alvin. Alvin has been associated with several great bands like The Blasters, X, The Knitters, and The Guilty Men. A couple of things we must not overlook for praise are Alvin’s songwriting and solo song performances. Alvin won a Grammy in 2000 for his traditional album Public Domain. Even this does not sum up Alvin’s depth.”Black Jack David” is a traditional blues song whose storyline can be traced back before …

There was a time, a long, long time ago, when rock musicians were allowed to be more than just rock musicians. Many forget in fact that the first generation of such artists sprang from backgrounds that took in blues, jazz, classical and even the avant garde. London’s early ’60s venues rattled to the sounds of trad jazz and chicago blues as well as folk, rock ‘n’ roll and skiffle. Jack Bruce was most definitely a product of this era. it was only by the end of the decade that he …

Johnny Cash and prison. It’s a bit like a sailor and an ocean. Although he never actually served time beyond a string of individual nights here and there, his outlaw stance combined with his high profile gigs at Folsom Prison and San Quentin have inextricably linked him with the penitentiary. He was also a fervent campaigner for prison reform and offender rehabilitation. På Österåker is a lovely curio; a reissue of his October 1972 concert from the Swedish jail, the first such show he’d played outside the US. Originally released …

Welcome to REM’s ‘new direction’, folks. It’s the old one, thank goodness! Eleven years after Bill Berry’s departure from the drum stool it’s finally ok for the band to admit that things haven’t been too rosy on the communications front. The decision to soldier on was, they say, brave but maybe misguided, especially when it led to the stylistic dilettantism of albums like Up or the frankly moribund Around The Sun. But those who thought that the hiring of Jacknife Lee as producer (Bloc Party, Editors) might lead to another …

The Man returns. And after over 40 years of telling us that it ain’t why, it just is, who are we to argue as to whether it’s good or bad? But the really good news is that after his somewhat dodgy foray into country with Pay The Devil, he’s really back on top. What’s more he even sounds…cheerful. Which is strange, because Keep It Simple is a mainly bluesy affair. He’s returned to the usual mixture of autobiographical fare (School Of Hard Knocks) and the kind of folky r ‘n’ …