Bloggerhythms

In 1986 The Beach Boys recorded a great cover version of The Mamas and The Papas' "California Dreamin" twenty years after their outstanding original became a huge hit. The Beach Boys' single rocks more than the Mamas and The Papas' first chartbuster and features Roger McGuinn on 12-string guitar, the instrument the former Byrd made famous with his own band. The Boys' single never became the classic the 1966 hit was but it's almost as good, proving a great song will succeed under any circumstances. Carl Wilson and Alan Jardine starred on lead vocals and the rest of the group added their always superlative harmonies. "California Dreamin'" peaked at # 8 on the Adult Contemporary chart but only reached #57 on Billboard's Hot 100 even though it was a thousand times better than the #1, Grammy nominated, "Kokomo," the hall-of-famers' last hit two years later. The track was produced by Terry Melcher. There are a couple of t...

Russian immigrant Svetlana is in love with both American cinema and music and she proves it with her second full length album, the recently released Night At The Movies . All fourteen songs are Oscar winners and all are performed in the style of classic, vocal jazz. According to her website Svetlana is "Russian-by-birth American-by-Music" and it was the latter that sent her to New York City to start a new life and career about twenty years ago. Just like another non-American, Michael Bublé, Svetlana has fully embraced the Great American Songbook and added the right amount of a modern sensibilities. However, she is more thoroughly schooled in jazz than the Canadian Superstar. The new album features a tight band but it is not The Delancey Five, the quintet Svetlana is credited with on her debut set, Night At The Speakeasy (2016). However, the group she assembled for Movies can number up to thirteen depending on the track and they are not merely accompanists. The singer...

I've always had respect for country music but Ken Burns' sixteen hour documentary provided me with a much greater appreciation of the genre even though I'm not yet fully indoctrinated. While country's roots grew from the rural South the music appeals to a far more cosmopolitan audience today and its influence has become universal. Respected rock, folk, and R&B musicians often profess their love. Country's first major star, Jimmie Rodgers, from Meridian, Mississippi, was featured heavily in the early episodes of Burns' epic documentary, and while his influence on the music is incalculable his name and work are virtually unknown today except to musicians and historians. One of these is the veteran rocker and singer-songwriter, Steve Forbert, who covered twelve of Rodger's songs in 2002. Not coincidentally, Forbert is also from Meridian and, while you can't otherwise compare the two, both are respected songwriters. Forbert's voice is gravelly ...