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About Bob Dylan, AllMusic wrote, "As a vocalist, he broke down the notion that a singer must have a conventionally good voice in order to perform, thereby redefining the vocalist's role in popular music." John Prine never possessed a great voice either but it doesn't matter. Based on the above statement the vocals on his outstanding, eponymous debut are just what you would expect them to be and it is how they should be for the kind of music he makes. While Dylan rightfully gets all the credit in the world for making artists like Prine possible it's easy to say the latter's debut LP eclipsed Dylan's because it's songs were all originals while the Minnesotan's first record mostly consisted of covers. It's also easy to say that Prine is among the very best composers of the second half of the Twentieth Century and early on he made an album that would go down in history as one of the top ten singer-songwriter albums ever recorded. Prine sh...

Before The Hooters signed with a major label in the mid-80s, before they opened the Philadelphia portion of Live Aid, and eventually became bigger stars in Europe than here at home, they were undoubtedly the most popular and best unsigned band performing in and around The City of Brotherly Love. Having seen the quintet several times before they ever released an album I can assure you that they were definitely at their peak as a live act during those early years. They embraced their love of ska and reggae and mixed them with a heavy dose of power pop. The second time I saw The Hooters they employed a horn section for their show at a now defunct Philadelphia venue, The Ripley Music Hall, in November 1982. The brass added a dimension to their sound that I never heard from them again. It was a long time ago but I remember it as a really great evening of music. During these pre-stardom years The Hooters issued two independent 45 RPM singles. The first one was "Fightin' On T...

The children of music's biggest legends who pursue their own careers often experience mixed blessings. On the positive side it is a lot easier for them to get their music heard and recorded due to their connections while other artists who are just as talented often struggle to earn even a small amount of attention. On the down side they're almost always compared negatively to their far more famous and accomplished parents instead of only on their own worthiness. Jakob Dylan is one of those offspring. It's not right, but The Curse Of The Famous Parent is going to hang over him forever. So, because The Wallflowers' leader deserves the attention he has earned on his own without being burdened by unobtainable expectations other people have assigned to him this review of Seeing Things (2008) will not be compared to Bob Dylan's work in any way. It will be discussed only on its own merits. Dylan has recorded two solo albums apart from his band. Seeing Things is...