By Ella Leya (iRoM’s European Correspondent) London, Engand. Both names illuminated Eventim Apollo, formerly the Hammersmith Apollo, one of the UK’s largest and best-preserved original Art Deco theaters – a venue that played host to many legendary acts of the past – The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Bob Marley. As well as to Steven Demetre… Read More Live Music: YUSUF or CAT STEVENS? at London’s Eventim Apollo
Not Fade Away The Music of Buddy Holly by Brian Arsenault That ass Gene Simmons saying the other day that rock was dead got me to thinking about living through its whole lifetime. Not that Simmons was right. Hell, he wouldn’t know, coming out of a band so devoid of musicality they had to dress… Read More Brian Arsenault Takes on Buddy Holly
By Mike Finkelstein Los Angeles, CA. Cool is one of those qualities that, although hard to precisely define, we sure do recognize when we see it. On Wednesday night at the Greek Theatre, Jeff Beck and Billy Gibbons, two of the coolest guitar personalities to ever spank the plank, shared a double bill, and also… Read More Live Music: ZZ Top and Jeff Beck at the Greek Theatre
By Devon “Doc” Wendell In my head I can hear Billie Holiday singing “There Is Music Everywhere.” She sang it with such glee as opposed to her better known and more tortured melancholy recordings. And she was right. It’s all around us at any time. Since I became a music journalist several years ago, I’ve… Read More A Twist Of Doc: The Dangers Of Writing About Jazz
The Wind Cries Jimi The Jimi Hendrix Experience (Purple Box Set) (Legacy Records) By Brian Arsenault The four disc Jimi Hendrix Experience “purple box set” is being released today for the first time in over a decade, with some previously unreleased tunes as well. If you’ve any room on your credit card or have some… Read More CD Review: “The Jimi Hendrix Experience” (Purple Box Set)
By Devon Wendell On Saturday, June 15, Gregory Porter will be headlining the 35th Annual Playboy Jazz Festival at The Hollywood Bowl. The trailblazing jazz vocalist and songwriter has become one of the most important male jazz singers to come along in decades since the release of his debut album Water (Motema) in 2010, which… Read More Q&A: Gregory Porter at the Playboy Jazz Festival
By Devon Wendell I was very saddened to learn that Richie Havens passed away on Monday, April 22, 2013, of a heart attack at 72 years young. I wasn’t born early enough to witness Havens during his heyday of the ‘60s, performing the small folk clubs in New York City in the early part of… Read More An Appreciation: Richie Havens (2)
Or The Decline of the West By Brian Arsenault This is my first “Takes On” column wherein I can go outside album and concert reviews to touch on things I like and things I don’t, often music related but sometimes not. If you enjoy it, great, but at least I hope you find it worth… Read More Brian Arsenault Takes On: Godzilla, Rick Springfield, Beats and Beatings
An Occasional Column by Brian Arsenault The Beatles Their Golden Age I thought only Queen Elizabeth I had a Golden Age. This curious little DVD by Les Krantz , known mostly for sports reporting, is primarily a bunch of old newsreels (an ancient form of media), movie previews (now called trailers, I believe) and photos… Read More Short Takes: Of Beatlemania, Christian Zealots, No Sex in the Sixties and Beauty’s Wounds
Jeff Beck Group Jeff Beck Group (Audio Fidelity in Vinyl) by Brian Arsenault Rod (“Where’s my next blond?”) Stewart was gone. Ronnie (“I’ll be a Face of the Stones someday”) Woods was gone. The bluesier Bob Tench was brought in to sing and the late Cozy Powell showed why he was maybe the best of… Read More Record Review: The Jeff Beck Group (Vinyl Reissue from 1972)
The International Review of Music 