Posted in Music Reviews, tagged Audio Adrenaline, Bonnie Raitt, Contemporary Christian Music, DC Talk, Jars of Clay, Natalie Merchant, the Motels on July 29, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Reviewed by Kit Burns
Barrie Hart/Whom Shall I Send?
Barrie Hart doesn’t play by the rules. If you listen to Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) radio today, you’ll find mostly a continuous number of tracks with an almost uniform sound. Not with Hart. Using roots rock and the blues as her musical foundation, Hart gives her spiritual lyrics [...]
Posted in Music Reviews, tagged Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, jazz, New Age, Spyo Gyra on July 28, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Reviewed by Kit Burns
Stephen Peppos/Vertigo
This CD of jazz and New Age instrumentals often gives off an ’80s vibe. No, not ’80s as in the Top-40 trends of that era or even anything from the college-radio underground. Rather, it’s the sophisticated, upwardly mobile set, artists such as Chick Corea, Spyo Gyra, and Herbie Hancock. The breezy [...]
Posted in Music Reviews, tagged '70s, AOR, Iraq, Jackson Browne, James Taylor on July 24, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Reviewed by Kit Burns
Don Arbor/Salam Pax (Peace)
It’s no surprise that the back cover of Don Arbor’s CD has him standing in front of an ocean, perhaps reflecting on his life. I can’t think of a better album to bring to the beach with me right now in the last days of summer. This is a [...]
Posted in Music Reviews, tagged Fred Hersch, jazz, Jimmy Mak's, Thelonious Monk, Tom Harrell on July 22, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Reviewed by Kit Burns
PDXV/Vol. 2
PDXV is a jazz quintet from Portland, Oregon that never dips into the canned blahs of what you normally hear on those inescapable “smooth” radio stations. Featuring Dick Titterington (trumpet, flugelhorn), Rob Davis (tenor, soprano sax), Greg Goebel (piano), Dave Captein (bass), and Randy Rollofson (drums), PDXV is the perfect marriage [...]
Posted in Music Reviews, tagged Marvin Gaye, Motown, Otis Redding, the Lighthouse Family on July 17, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Reviewed by Kit Burns
Movin’ Melvin Brown/Love on My Mind
There’s no doubt that Movin’ Melvin Brown has love on his mind. His songs either have love in the title (i.e., “My Love,” “She Knows Love,” etc) or are about love. Thankfully, he has a voice – rich with layers of emotional depth – that never lessens [...]
Posted in Music Reviews, tagged '70s, classic rock, John Lennon, Led Zeppelin, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, the Moody Blues on July 15, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Reviewed by Kit Burns
Geresti/Keys Into The 70’s
You have to applaud Bob Geresti for having the courage to deconstruct Led Zeppelin’s monolithic “Stairway to Heaven” into a reflective piano piece. You have to applaud him some more for still making it rock. “Rock” in the sense of the track remaining powerful, not becoming limp sans Jimmy [...]
Posted in Music Reviews, tagged Americana, grunge, Jason & the Scorchers, reggae, Reverend Horton Heat, roots rock, Soundgarden, The Jayhawks, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers on July 14, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Reviewed by Kit Burns
Cat House Dogs/That Was Now
The Cat House Dogs’ second album That Was Now opens with a thick layer of jangling guitars, raspy vocals, and the most guttural roots-rock since the heyday of Jason & the Scorchers. While many of today’s Americana acts play it twee and safe, the Cat House Dogs aren’t [...]
Posted in Music Reviews, tagged 3 Doors Down, acoustic, Emerald City, grunge, Nickelback, Pearl Jam, Seattle on July 9, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Reviewed by Kit Burns
Tj Sherrill/High Horse
Seattle singer/songwriter Tj Sherrill deserves the “post-grunge” tag much more than wanna-be’s (and never-will-be’s) such as Nickelback and 3 Doors Down. The difference isn’t just about geographical location. Just because Sherrill is based in Seattle doesn’t instantly earn him street cred; after all, Candlebox, the first of the grunge poseurs, [...]
Posted in Music Reviews, tagged alternative, Ben Folds, blues, Frank Zappa, funk, jazz, Joe Jackson, Randy Newman on July 3, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Reviewed by Kit Burns
LambBone/Wild Man
You can almost compare LambBone, otherwise known as John Lamb, to Ben Folds. The piano-based rock is a dead giveaway to one of Lamb’s major influences, not to mention some of the caustic lyrics, such as those found on “News.” But while Folds is often tightly knit with his alternative roots, [...]
