Fans can get a pretty good idea of who John Lennon was — and what contradictions he lived — from his full body of solo music.
Drive By Truckers: On the Road
Jump on the tour bus! It’s early December 2010 and the Drive By Truckers are pulling out for a quick trip down to Charleston, South Carolina.
Cindy Lee Berryhill: Beat Poet
Since folk music seems to sound better coming from New York than it does from California, Cindy Lee Berryhill sounds better today than she did last year
Esperanza Spalding: The Hectic Eclectic
“The creative process,” says jazz bassist Esperanza Spalding, “is all about trying to make these big, imaginary ideas feasible.”
Linda Thompson: Fashionably Late
The legendary British folksinger’s comeback after 17 years away from the spotlight is a long-overdue gem from one of rock & roll’s finest voices.
The Happy Hollow String Band: Bluegrass and ’70s Feminism
An all-girl, all-teen string band in rural North Carolina was making a powerful feminist statement when they formed amid the male-dominated bluegrass scene of the early 1970s. Contemporary outfits like Della Mae can thank them for paving the way.
Jimmy Buffett: Sail on, Sailor
When I was music editor at Rolling Stone in the ’90s, I was asked — well, told — to do a Q&A with Jimmy Buffett. Not being a fan of his music, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed talking to him. Buffett died today at 76.
Introducing … Cyanca
The choice was between music and track. Fortunately for all of us, this Charlotte-based hip-hop R&B singer chose music.
The Beatles, Reconsidered
In 2009, EMI issued remastered versions of The Beatles’ entire back catalog. Instead of sending advance copies, though, the company asked writers to come to New York City and listen to the recordings at Electric Lady Studios. Off I went, having been given the extraordinary task of reviewing music that had been reviewed a million times since the band’s heyday.
Frampton Comes Unplugged
From today’s vantage point, it’s difficult to get across just how ubiquitous Frampton Comes Alive! was in 1976. Forty years later, Peter Frampton recorded acoustic versions of some of the hits from that album. I wanted to talk to this man whose music had played such an integral part of my high school years.