Bloggerhythms

James Taylor has often been credited with kick-starting the whole singer-songwriter movement so it's ironic that many of his biggest hit singles have been cover versions of other people's songs. Notable among them are "You've Got A Friend," "Handy Man," "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)," and "Up On The Roof." Taylor has written some wonderful songs so my statement isn't meant to demean his accomplishments. To the contrary, he is talented and versatile enough to fold other artist's songs into his laid back musical frame of reference and truly make them his own. Considering both Taylor's good taste and commercial success recording other artists' work we shouldn't be surprised that he finally issued a whole CD of classics originally associated with other stars. On his latest release, Covers , a lot of famous 60s and 70s pop and rock standards receive the usual laid back Taylor treatment. "Not Fade Away,...

Tom Moon once played saxophone in Maynard Ferguson's big band. More famously, he is a music critic who worked for the Philadelphia Inquirer , Rolling Stone Magazine , and National Public Radio . His top flight music credentials helped him complete his first book, 1,000 Recordings To Hear Before You Die . The theme of this massive tome is easy to understand. It isn't intended to be a list of Moon's favorite works. Instead, he choose 1,000 recordings, most of them full length albums or CDs, (a few singles like The Beach Boys "Good Vibrations" or The Temptations "Ain't To Proud To Beg" are included) that he believes everyone must hear to be fully musically educated. Moon's opinions are written in a very non-effete style because he just explains what he loves about each recording and what he believes readers will gain by listening to it. The book has everything imaginable. Recent bands such as Radiohead and The Arcade Fire a...

Despite the title of this article, You're not about to read a review of the old Jethro Tull album bearing the same name. I'm stealing Ian Anderson's album title because it's appropriate for the discussion we're about to have. I've written before that I've never been stuck in the musical generation of my youth because I've never stopped listening to new stuff. I still listen to a lot of music and purchase many jazz, blues, and country CDs. I also listen to a lot of singer-songwriters. However, recently I find myself far less receptive to the latest offerings from the world of rock 'n roll. Even though I've used this web space to praise some fine new and popular rock bands such as Los Lonely Boys, The Cat Empire, Sea Wolf, and Grace Potter and The Nocturnals I find most current rock music to be too loud and totally devoid of melody, musicianship, and originality. (Shudder! I now sound like my parents). Current favs Kings Of Leon, The Arcade Fir...

Semi-famous actress, Zooey Deschanel, has found a second career as a pop-rocking singer-songwriter with a fixation for the 60s. We're not talking about Woodstock, tie-dyed t-shirts, wah-wah pedals, fuzz boxes, or the seventeen minute electric guitar jams that dominated the latter half of the decade. We're talking about music you may hear on an episode of Mad Men : Motown, early Beatles, Phil Spector style girl groups, and Brill Building pop with a little bit of country music thrown into the mix. Deschanel has teamed with folk-rocker M. Ward and together they made one of the best albums of last year. The two met on the movie set of 2007's The Go-Getter , sang a Richard and Linda Thompson duet for the film, became friends, and discovered they had a lot in common musically. Their one time recording session soon turned into a more lasting partnership and they convened at Ward's studio to record this disc. While this album may appear to be Deschanel's CD, with just a...