GRAND FUNK LOST IMMORTALS: Did this ’70s rock group disappear in the realm of mediocrity?

Bob Smith writes … The band began as a trio back in 1969 and took their name from a railroad company that had a line running through their home town of Flint, Michigan. The band saw tremendous popularity in the early 1970’s quickly becoming a well recognized band. By 1971 the band was selling out […]

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JUSTIN FAULKNER: Serving the Music

Paul Naser writes: The rare balance of passionate ambition and mature dedication that are the hallmark of young professionals puts them in a category all their own. More often than not they began honing their skills at an early age and it seems as if life conspired to help them succeed. Justin Faulkner, the young […]

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BOB DYLAN: His 20 greatest albums … the long read

THE INDEPENDENT It’s a tantalising thought that even at 80, Dylan may still have great work left in him, writes Graeme Ross Bob Dylan, the rock era’s greatest and most influential poet, celebrates his 80th birthday on 24 May. It is also 60 years since Dylan recorded his debut album and began a career that […]

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FRAN: News

TIMOTHY MONGER / allmusic.com On their second outing as Fran, Chicago-based singer/songwriter Maria Jacobson and her small cadre of collaborators create intimate indie pop that is smart, poignant, and deeply reflective. Much has changed in the three years since their debut, 2019’s A Private Picture. That album introduced Jacobson’s literate, confessional style, which, when sung […]

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TOM VERLAINE: Sad news

JANE CLINTON / THE GUARDIAN Tom Verlaine, the frontman, songwriter and legendary guitar player of the New York City band Television, has died aged 73. His death was announced by Jesse Paris Smith, the daughter of Patti Smith, who said that he died “after a brief illness”. Verlaine, who was born Thomas Miller in Denville, […]

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AMY WINEHOUSE: News – the long read

Roisin O’Connor / THE INDEPENDENT The new Amy Winehouse biopic will focus on her “extraordinary genius, creativity and honesty that infused everything she did”. Or so we were told. But then we saw the pictures. Marisa Abela was pictured outside London jazz bar Ronnie Scott’s, with the singer’s signature beehive in disarray; black eyeliner smeared […]

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MARY CHAPIN CARPENTER: News

  Mary Chapin Carpenter’s album The Things We Are Made Of comprises eleven songs that communicate with the plain-spokeness of handwritten, heartfelt letters from a confiding friend; this is art without the artifice. The result is music that is likely to be as powerfully moving as any you have ever heard. The album is suffused […]

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MILES DAVIS: Tutu (Deluxe Edition) (180g Vinyl 2LP)

  In May and June 1985, Miles Davis signed recording and publishing contracts with Warner Bros Records and Warner Chappell, shocking the music world by leaving Columbia.  He immediately started working on an album called Perfect Way after a tune by Scritti Politti, later renamed Tutu by producer Tommy LiPuma.  When Tutu (a tribute to […]

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ALBERT LEE: Highway Man (CD)

We are told ….. Legendary guitarist Albert Lee’s solo album Highwayman is an intimate and heart-wrenching collection of classic acoustic covers. Most know him as the “ultimate virtuoso” (in Eric Clapton’s own words) on an electric guitar…but for Albert Lee’s latest offering, this world-renowned and much-loved country legend swaps his signature Ernie Ball Music Man […]

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TASTE: The Irish rock/blues band formed in the mid sixties that featured Rory Gallagher on guitar and vocals:I’ll Remember (4CD Box Set)

  We are told: I’ll Remember, an archival box set featuring the music of Taste, the Irish rock/blues band formed in the mid sixties that featured Rory Gallagher on guitar and vocals. The four disc set will feature both studio albums (1969′s Taste and the 1970 follow-up On The Boards) expanded with many alternate versions of album tracks. The third CD is full of live audio from 1970 […]

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MUSIC: The 12-note wonder

PS AUDIO / Paul McGowan I have always found it intriguing that the 12 musical notes in Western music, also known as the chromatic scale, can be combined and arranged in various ways to create infinite melodies and chord progressions. The notes can be played at different pitches, rhythms, and durations and can be used […]

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SPOTIFY: How does it calculate loudness?

” We currently use ReplayGain, which was the most recognized standard for calculating loudness when Spotify first started. In the future, we plan to use a new standard for calculating loudness, called ITU 1770 (from the International Telecommunication Union). This defines the integrated LUFS (Loudness Units Full Scale) measure, and it’s what we recommend you […]

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GRAMOPHONE: The best new classical albums this week (January 20, 2023)

GRAMOPHONE: New recordings of Bruckner’s Symphony No 7, Mozart’s Violin Concertos Nos 3-5 and more Paavo Järvi has already recorded Bruckner’s Symphony No 7 with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra for Sony/RCA, an album reviewed by Rob Cowan in September 2009, who wrote: ‘Järvi offers an extremely beautiful performance, responsively played and, most crucially, sensitive […]

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LENNON / “Yesterday”

Q What was John Lennon’s role in “Yesterday”?: A reader writes: John said nothing – it was entirely Paul’s work; it made him cringe when a pianist would strike up Yesterday when he walked into a restaurant. There is a tiny story though; Paul recalled that he dreamt the tune and when he woke up, […]

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BRAHMS: The Symphonies (3 cd)

  We are told: The Boston Symphony Orchestra and Andris Nelsons are pleased to release their latest recordings on BSO Classics–a three-disc set of the four Brahms symphonies, recorded live during concert performances at Symphony Hall in November 2016, engineered by the same in-house team that produced the BSO’s Grammy-winning Shostakovich recordings under Maestro Nelsons […]

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PHILIP GLASS: Symphony No. 4 “Heroes” – an owner, Patrick Latimer offers his opinions

Philip Glass’s Symphony No. 4 “Heroes” Performed by Dennis Russell Davies and Sinfonieorchester Basel On Orange Mountain Music Angst and orchestration in a divided Berlin Trepidation ensues I saw this compact disc listed amongst recent releases and I must confess that although I know of Philip Glass and in my youth I was a great […]

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