Posts by Doug Collette

Even without the benefit of hindsight, It’s not hard to understand how the debut of Dire Straits hit such a responsive chord with music lovers around the world forty-five years ago. The absolutely infectious nature of the “Sultans of Swing” aside–it became a hit single in America and the band’s native England some months after […]

It didn’t take four and a half decades to certify Some Girls (released 6/9/78) as one of the high points of The Rolling Stones’ discography. At the time of its release in 1978, it was accorded acclaim on multiple fronts. Hailed as a return to form with a vengeance for a band that had, in the years […]

A somewhat eccentric exercise in nostalgia,  Bob Dylan’s Shadow Kingdom is certainly unique as an entry in the Nobel Laureate’s discography. But it is deceptively memorable for the very same reasons its appeal may be limited and, as such, it should eventually become the object of rabid devotion, much like 1976’s live record Hard Rain. The title originally […]

Dave’s Picks Volume 45 is that rarity among the entries in this ongoing Grateful Dead archive series, one in which the quality of the performance is (ultimately) superior to that of the recording. Of secondary but nonetheless crucial note, however, is the fact Paramount Theatre, Portland, Or – 10/1/77 & 10/2/77 reaffirms acclamation for the iconic band’s concerts […]

In keeping with his mastery of that rare instrument that is the slide trumpet, Steven Bernstein has nurtured an unconventional but nonetheless impressive reputation for himself over the years. Collaborations include his membership in Levon Helm’s Midnight Ramble band as well as studio and stage appearances on Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey’s Race Riot Suite.  Coexisting with […]

If ever there was a map drawn of jazz music, guitarist/composer John Scofield would be all over it. In just recent years, he’s released a tribute to Ray Charles (That’s What I Say), an experiment with horns (This Meets That), and a re-entry into more traditional jazz (Works For Me), all this after the Seventies […]

The producer/artist collaboration between Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy and Rodney Crowell on The Chicago Sessions isn’t exactly a marriage made in heaven, but it is a logical meeting of the minds. As a member of Uncle Tupelo, the former helped configure what came to be known as alt-country in the late Eighties into the Nineties, while the latter, in a […]

If there’s one aging but vital rock and roll songwriter/musician who doesn’t need a list of famous names to sell an album, it’s Ian Hunter.

Seen and heard strictly through the hindsight of a half-century, Eagles’ sophomore album Desperado qualifies as the iconic band’s great ‘lost’ album, despite the fact it is their most finely-wrought effort this side of the iconic Hotel California.  After the smash hit that was the Eagles’ eponymous debut, this second LP was a commercial disappointment, despite (or perhaps […]

From the vantage point of fifty years, it seems altogether quaint to be reminded that Island Records’ Chris Blackwell judiciously edited the Wailers’ fifth album Catch A Fire. In his role as co-producer (with the titular leader and chief songwriter of the band Bob Marley), the co-founder of the label hired Muscle Shoals guitarist Wayne Perkins […]