Bloggerhythms

It's unusual for a band to put out a seventy-five minute plus live album as a followup to a major label debut yet that is exactly what Los Lonely Boys did with the release of Live At The Fillmore . Their self-titled debut was so successful that their record company was clamoring for more and since it appears that the brothers had no new material ready for a sophomore release, this CD was the result. The good news is that while Live At The Fillmore is obviously an attempt to strike again while the iron is hot it is also a very fine performance from a highly pleasurable, rocking, mainstream jam band. The concert was recorded October 23, 2004. The trio offered up alternate versions of some of their early songs so purchasing Live At The Fillmore will neither be a boring nor a repetitive experience if you already own their eponymous debut. Unlike the studio album "More Than Love" is given an acapella treatment. "Dime Mi Amor" adds a long guitar solo to the...

Below are some interesting music related odds and ends from around the web for you to enjoy while Bloggerhythms is on hiatus for a couple of weeks. See you in early October. Let's start with an article by JC Mosquito (yes, that's his online moniker), a writer for Something Else Reviews . It's about "Taxi," a minor, 1972 hit from singer-songwriter Harry Chapin that seems to be forgotten today. Here's a long but very good interview with Billy Joel from The New York Times Magazine . Murray Gershenz, owner of almost a half million records, has passed away. Read all about him and watch the video about his huge and remarkable collection. At first it appeared that the ipod classic was going to become a thing of the past but after the recently concluded Apple event the old friend is still around. Read about it here . Please take a look at Mike's Basement , an interesting music blog I recently discovered, published by Mike Marrone, the program director of ...

I just listened to tracks from the highly anticipated Elvis Costello and The Roots album, Wise Up Ghost and Other Songs , and they are about what I expected: totally tuneless dirges with vocals that try one's patience. If Costello writes insightful lyrics they've yet to penetrate my soul because the sounds the veteran rocker produces never allow me to get that far. There are bad singers, like Bob Dylan, who I have no problem listening to because they write melodies with interesting arrangements. Others, such as Bruce Springsteen and Larry Kirwan of Black 47, can't sing either but their respective bands are so musical I actually care what their songs have to say. Unfortunately, not even Questlove's highly versatile outfit can save this new release. I'll admit to a few exceptions. Costello's cover of Nick Lowe's "What's So Funny about Peace, Love, and Understanding" is a fine, rocking track that manages to hide his vocal liabilities. ...

Every once in awhile it becomes necessary to do a tribute for someone who is still alive. Such was the case with the accolades the entertainment press heaped upon Glen Campbell when news of his Alzheimer's disease went public and, unfortunately, the time has come to do the same for Linda Ronstadt. The former rock star recently announced that she has Parkinson's and can no longer sing. It's quite sad because her rare and instinctive talent allowed her to become one of the very few truly outstanding vocalists of the rock era, male or female. I first heard of Ronstadt way back in 1967. As lead singer of The Stone Poneys she earned her first hit single when "Different Drum" (written by Michael Nesmith before he joined The Monkees) went to #13 on the Billboard Hot 100. Then, she disappeared from view but finally became a huge star as a solo act in 1974 when her LP, Heart Like a Wheel , sold something like a trillion copies. After that, she was on the charts consiste...