Sufjan Stevens fans tend to cut their hero a lot of slack. After all, his last full-length album of new material was Illinois—a towering blend of rock structures, classical composition techniques, and poetic lyrics. His ...

This richly rewarding four-CD, one- DVD set with 60-page booklet traces Hendrix’s rise from sideman with the Isley Brothers, Little Richard, and King Curtis, to rock-guitar god. The tracks, recorded between 1964 and 1970, are ...

Percy Sledge scored a major hit in 1966 with his heartfelt reading of the country- soul ballad “When A Man Loves A Woman,” which spent two months on the Top 10, becoming an iconic song ...

1. Robbie Robertson: How to Become Clairvoyant. (Issue 216) 2. Dion: Tank Full of Blues. (Issue 223) 3. Dr. John: Locked Down. (Issue 224) 4. Joe Walsh: Analog Man. (Issue 226) 5. Beach Boys: That’s ...

The quest for the best Beatles vinyl has pushed audiophiles into online bidding wars over Parlophone mono albums, original Capitol rainbow-label releases, 1982’s Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab half- speed masters box-set, and Japanese Obi LPs ...

During Steely Dan’s first go-round—the period from Can’t Buy a Thrill (1972) to Gaucho (1980)—I remained dubious about the increasingly popular and steadily shrinking band. To me their reluctance to tour symbolized a growing distance ...

When Bob Dylan retreated to Woodstock in 1967 and began writing and recording songs with The Band, those oft- bootlegged sessions soon became the stuff of legend. The new material had deep roots and was ...

At 66, Neil Young is pedal to the metal. This spring he reunited with Crazy Horse on Americana, sending Stephen Foster songs into the Top 10. This fall he published the autobiography Waging Heavy Peace ...

Nearly 35 years into a recording career that began with the self-titled Dire Straits album, singer-songwriter-guitarist-produ- cer Knopfler holds as steady on his course as such older baby-boom peers as Van Morrison, Eric Clapton, and ...

For their sixth album, The King Is Dead, the Decemberists set out to record an album that embraced the adage “less is more.” This evolution came as a direct result of the indie folk rockers’ ...

The truism that bands lose their creative spark after a few records doesn’t apply to Over the Rhine. In fact, twenty years into OTR’s recording career The Long Surrender actually ups the ante, with Grammy- ...

As reissues of obscure recordings continue to rain down upon us, one might wonder if there’s anything left worth rediscovering—but the fact that Michael Chapman’s Fully Qualified Survivor is only now being re-released in America ...

Slowly but inexorably, things are going Carrie Rodriguez’s way. The Mexican- American singer-songwriter keeps making fine records, keeps getting great press, and keeps proving herself a distinctive writer and instrumentalist both. With greater recognition looming, ...

The animating conceit of Donna Hughes’s unsettling new album is expressed early on, in the bustling, minor-key bluegrass epistle titled “Nothing Easy,” in which the artist, one of the most compelling songwriters in roots music, ...

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - Doug MacLeod is a unique, powerful guitarist with a rich and soulful voice, singing original songs based on his own life and experiences. This is ‘Genuine Original Acoustic Music’ at its ...