Doug Collette

New Riders of the Purple Sage: Where I Come From

Fronted by David Nelson on guitar and vocals with Buddy Cage on pedal steel, the chemistry of the current NRPS goes further than just the band personnel. Robert Hunter collaborates with Nelson on a half dozen cuts and the long-time Grateful Dead lyricist demonstrates an elegant command of language on the title song, while the band's playing on a close to eight minute track is articulate in its own way

Read More

Son Volt: American Central Dust

On Son Volt's new album, American Central Dust, Jay Farrar only plays an acoustic guitar, not its electric counterpart. The bandleader's choice of instruments is as much a direct reflection of the overall approach he applies to the album as the choice of label for which Son Volt debuts.  Rounder Records has become one of America's primary independent music distributors, largely by focusing on the folk, blues and country music that form the foundation of Farrar’s new songs.

Read More

Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood: Live From Madison Square Garden

Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood clearly elevate each other's performances throughout Live From Madison Square Garden. This live recording, a set list heavy on blues and vintage Traffic tunes intermixes crowd-pleasers like the too-obvious encore "Cocaine” as well as "After Midnight." Yet the headlining pair and their savvy accompanists refuse to indulge in mere nostalgia.

Read More

Levon Helm: Electric Dirt

Though perhaps not so startling a work as its predecessor, the Grammy-winning Dirt Farmer, Levon Helm’s new album nevertheless extends its authentically rootsy earthy themes.

Read More

The Replacements – Tim, Pleased To Meet Me, Don’t Tell A Soul, All Shook Down,

The second batch of expanded remastered cd’s of The Replacements is as much of a labor of love as the first four. The exhaustive liner notes and the meticulous detail former manager Peter Jesperson attributes to the bonus tracks (which sometimes double the number of cuts on a given cd) depict a dramatic backdrop to music that is wholly gripping on its own terms. Truth be told, the casual music lover who discovers The ‘Mats via these releases, not knowing their history, might very well come away convinced this Minnesota quartet is one of the finest rock and roll bands America’s produced in the last twenty years…or perhaps longer!

Read More

The Church: Untitled #23

Any musician with a well-defined style must also be the consummate recording artist to prevent with each successive recording from sounding like mere repetition of it predecessor. The Church are artists of just that caliber and their latest album, untitled #23, bears evidence to those high standards.

Read More

Hill Country Revue: Make a Move

When The North Mississippi Allstars' Luther Dickinson began working with The Black Crowes, his partners, brother Cody and bassist Chris Chew, formed Hill Country Revue, whose music is a composite of the raw early sound of The Allstars and the riff-heavy style of Lynyrd Skynyrd,

Read More

View posts by year