Bloggerhythms

CD cover painting by Robert Lamm I'm always reluctant to rank live albums near the top when compiling "best of" lists because most of them are merely rehashing old material but in 2005 an exception was made for the outstanding live CD from the eternally underrated keyboard player, Robert Lamm, of Chicago. His Leap Of Faith - Live In New Zealand surpassed many studio releases to earn a spot on Bloggerhythms' end-of-year top five . Among the thirteen tracks are superb versions of four of Lamm's very best Chicago classics: "Beginnings," "Saturday In The Park," "25 or 6 to 4," and "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?" In addition, there are seven songs from his best studio CD, Subtlety and Passion , (S&P) plus two big surprises. The first one is "Watching The Time Go By," released twice previously on Like A Brother , the album he recorded with Carl Wilson and Gerry Beckley, and on his third solo CD, In...

Every year, non-commercial, WXPN, 88.5 FM in Philadelphia, hosts an annual, three day, outdoor music festival. For those unfamiliar with the station it's owned and operated by The University of Pennsylvania but it receives no funding from the historic Ivy League institution.  The influential station survives solely on their very aggressive fund raising efforts. One of its money makers is the annual Xponential Music Festival which for the sixth consecutive year has been held in Wiggins Park, on the banks of the Delaware River in Camden, NJ, directly across from the attractive Philadelphia skyline. While out of town readers may believe there is nothing of interest for them in this post they will quickly find out that they're wrong because WXPN and its festival can be enjoyed from anywhere. The entire event is always broadcast live on the radio and it's streamed all over the world on WXPN's website . Today, even though the very well-attended affair is over, you can...

Occasionally it is interesting to hop a ride on the Wayback Machine to take a new look at popular music releases of the past to see if they have held up over time. Rides Again , the second album by James Gang remains a very important record for one big reason: it's the album that made Joe Walsh a star. On this LP Walsh played with an eclecticism that many of his more esteemed contemporaries had yet to display. He was more accessible than many of the guitar gods of his day because he could rock with wild abandon and also play with tasteful restraint and melody. Listeners who may have thought Jimi Hendrix and Cream were over the top enjoyed this disc. I remember a college friend who had no affection for hard rock at all yet she loved this album. The trio, and especially Walsh, really let it rip on side one. It opens with the classic rock staple, "Funk 49." The rest of the side features the boogie-style rock n’ roll that Walsh, bassist Dale Peters, and drummer Jim Fox ...

It's often hard to write about artists that I know nothing about because most of the time I'm not armed with enough knowledge to effectively discuss their work. Regardless, in the end all that's important is whether the music is good or not and that decision, of course, takes no effort whatsoever. Such is the case with the latest artist to show up in my inbox, keyboard player David Davenport . He's an intelligent rocker originally hailing from Michigan who is now living in Illinois. Davenport's career is as diverse as the fifty states. He is a classically trained musician who won a scholarship in voice and theater. He played in punk bands in San Diego while opening for the late Johnny Thunders. Back home in the Midwest he formed a delta swing band and opened for Jonny Lang. He has played almost every genre of music over a career that has spanned almost two decades. Over time Davenport has released two solo CDs, The Big Machine (2003) and One Brother (200...

There is an old hit record from 1965 by an overly cute British Invasion band named Herman's Hermits called "I'm Henry the VII, I Am" in which lead vocalist Peter Noone sings, "Second verse, same as the first." It's a line that perfectly describes She & Him's sophomore release for two reasons. First, to girls, Noone's image was almost too cuddly and innocent for his own good in a similar way that She & Him's lead singer, Zooey Deschanel, is to guys. The second reason is because the film star and her partner, pop-rocker M. Ward, have issued, Volume Two , an album that is essentially a reworking of their 2008 debut. As on Volume One Deschanel and Ward offer us another full disc of Phil Spectorized songs very reminiscent of 1960's girl groups such as The Dixie Cups and The Shangri-Las. While there is nothing new or musically adventurous about any of this music it's all quite fun to listen to. Deschanel wrote eleven of the ...

Shelby Lynne , the marvelous country singer-songwriter, continues to produce masterworks such as her most recent release Tears, Lies, and Alibis . Yes, Lynne is a country artist and unfortunately that means many people who don't like the genre will immediately write her off as pure hokum without ever giving her music a listen. If you are one of them, shame on you. The country veteran has always transcended the genre with intelligent songwriting, moody and melodic vocals, and feistiness that is tempered with true emotions. The combination is what has always made her so endearing. This is Lynne's very first self-produced and self-released album, a surprise when you consider how demanding she can be during recording sessions. Because the singer-songwriter can tell the difference between self-indulgence and what works in the studio she turned in a classy disc that ranks among her best releases. The arrangements are perfectly sparse yet she still manages to use a full palette ...