A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Go Farther In Lightness 2LP by Gang Of Youths. For the nearly half-century since the genre’s inception now, one of the few steadfast foundations upon which punk rock has stood has been nihilism. Consistently, the spirit of punk has been one of “Fuck it all – strip the music down to the barest essentials and get emotionally dark and bleak – at least that way we’ll all beat the world at...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Mid-Century Sounds – Deep Cuts From The Desert 2LP compilation. It might not be the first location which comes to mind when one thinks of “music hot spots” (and there is some irony in saying that – believe me), but those in the know are well aware of just how rich and the artistic soil is in the state of Arizona. Arizona was, of course, the birthplace of such grand musical...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the 2017 vinyl reissue of the Pack Up The Plantation: Live! 2LP set by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. It’s far a far less common occurrence now (when virtually every band in the universe releases a live album and, thanks to digital technology,is able to “fix” every flaw in the show in post-production) but, at one time, the release of a live album meant that the band in question was confident enough...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the 2LP Beggars Arkive Edition reissue of The Closer You Get by Six. By Seven. By the time the ‘century’ portion of the calandar rolled over seventeen years ago, rock was already beginning to mutate in some pretty interesting ways. By then, the “rap-rock” fan had already come and helped to administer a hefty injection of fresh, crotch-grabbing energy to the form, goth was bigger and more mainstream than it had ever...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the 2LP reissue of Surrender by The Chemical Brothers. Then as now, the conventional wisdom is that Dig Your Own Hole has the biggest of The Chemical Brothers’ entries into the mainstream but, for this critic’s money, the greatest creative triumph of the group’s storied career is their third full-length, Surrender. With Surrender, the group had the mainstream’s attention and knew it, but rather than shying away or being evasive of their...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the 20th Anniversary Vinyl Me Please deluxe edition 2LP + 7” of The Score by The Fugees. Looking back on it, it’s nothing short of astounding how volitile the hip hop scene of the Mid-Nineties was. Before Eminem made dick and fart jokes as well as unveiled homophobia de rigeur, different factions of the Gangsta Rap community were battling both with each other as well as internally for seats at the head...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into Gary Clark Jr.’s Live double album. Listening to Gary Clark Jr.’s Live album on vinyl, listeners will find themselves suddenly overcome by a wave of nostalgia. Images of Mick Jagger jumping next to a jackass (as he did on the cover of Get Yer Ya-Yas Out!) and Dylan at Royal Albert Hall, KISS shouting it out loud on Alive, At Budakan, Neil Young’s Rust Never Sleeps and The Who’s Live At Leeds...