Grateful Dead, Anthem of the Sun, 1968 on Warner Bros / Seven Arts

Second LP from the Dead, assembled together by Garcia and Lesh out of a mixture of live and studio recordings to make a new hybrid. Very much a…

Thelonious Monk, The Unique Thelonious Monk, 1956 on Riverside

Monk recorded by Rudy Van Gelder, with Oscar Pettiford on bass and Art Blakey on drums, produced by Orrin Keepnews and Bill Grauer – originally Riverside RLP 12-209…

Sturgill Simpson, Cuttin’ Grass Vol. 2: The Cowboy Arms Sessions, 2020 on High Top Mountain

Follow up to Cuttin’ Grass Vol. 1, released a couple of months later. More bluegrass renditions of Simpson’s catalog. The band again includes many well known bluegrass musicians:…

Erykah Badu, Worldwide Underground, 2003 on Motown

This was Badu’s third album, following Baduizm (1997) and Mama’s Gun (2000). It was produced by Freakquency (Badu along with Rashad Smith, James Poyser, and RC Williams) and…

Townes Van Zandt, At My Window, 1987 on Sugar Hill

Van Zandt’s eighth studio album and only one recorded in the 1980s, originally released on the bluegrass label Sugar Hill. I never miss a chance to pick up…

Tom Waits, Closing Time, 1973 on Asylum

Tom Waits’ debut album, after David Geffen met him performing at the Troubadour in West Hollywood. Amazing how fully-formed Waits is here, kicking off his debut album with…

Junior Wells, It’s My Life, Baby, 1966 on Vanguard

Junior Wells’ sophomore album, released on Vanguard in 1966 after Hoodoo Man Blues came out on Delmark. From the liner notes: Some of this album, Junior Wells’ first…

Sturgill Simpson, Cuttin’ Grass Vol. 1 (The Butcher Shoppe Sessions), 2020 on High Top Mountain Records

Sturgill Simpson is one of my favorite contemporary artists, who generally gets classified as a Country artist but here breaks out into bluegrass. The Butcher Shoppe is actually…

Camouflage, Voices & Images, 1988 on Atlantic

Camouflage were a synth-pop trio from Bietigheim-Bissingen in West Germany (near Stuttgart). Voices & Images was their debut album and included “The Great Commandment” which was a hit…

Nick Lowe, Pure Pop for Now People, 1978 on Columbia

Issued as Jesus of Cool in the UK and elsewhere, but as Pure Pop for Now People in the US and Canada. this was NIck Lowe’s solo debut….

Oscar Peterson Trio, 1961 Cologne Gürzenich Concert Hall, 2011 on Jazzline

Part of a series of Jazzline releases called WDR The Cologne Broadcasts, which collects concerts recorded by Westdeutscher Rundfunk (German public radio), including this 1961 appearance of the…

Michael Shannon, Jason Narducy and Friends play R.E.M.’s Fables of the Reconstruction at the Royale Boston, March 7th, 2025

I missed the last Shannon-Narducy recreate R.E.M. tour, when they came through doing Murmur at the Sinclair. This time I was not going to miss out. The band…

Billie Holiday, Songs for Distingué Lovers, 1958 on Verve

Great set of recordings, with liner notes by Norman Granz. No real detail on the sessions on the record itself, but apparently recorded during sessions in January 1957…

Elvis Costello & Steve Nieve, March 1st 2025 at the Cabot

Last time Elvis Costello came through Beverly and did a show at the Cabot I didn’t manage to get tickets. This time, as a member, I was able…

Guadalcanal Diary, Flip Flop, 1989 on Elektra

The fourth and final (original) full length from Marietta Georgia’s Guadalcanal Diary. Guadalcanal Diary is kind of the most underappreciated indie 80s band from Georgia – they weren’t…

Specials, Specials, 1979 on Two-Tone

Ska greats The Specials (later renamed The Special AKA) in their debut full length on Coventry label Two-Tone, started by Jerry Dammers (of the Specials). The Specials included…

Dave Brubeck Quartet, 1960 Essen Grugahalle, 2010 on Jazzline

Brubeck with Paul Desmond, Gene Wright, and Joe Morello, recorded live in Essen Germany (at the Grugahalle) in 1960. Jazzline is a German label, and has a series…

Various Artists, Rip It Up: The Best of Specialty Records, 2021 on Craft

Craft Recordings release from 2021 – but all the original recordings are from the 1950s (and a few from the 40s). Wonderful collection – the Little Richard tracks…

Nat King Cole, From The Very Beginning, 1973 on MCA

Although this was released in 1973, the recordings collected were originally recorded between 1936 and 1941 and had been released earlier by Decca, credited to King Cole Trio…

Silk Sonic, An Evening with Silk Sonic, 2021 on Aftermath / Atlantic

Super duo with Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak, with special guest “host” Bootsy Collins. So far this is their only full length LP, but “Leave the Door Open”…