Bloggerhythms

Once again, Mike Jacoby has written all of the songs on his California band's latest release, Welcome to the Family, and once again it's a good set of rocking tunes. On this, the trio's third release, guitarist, composer and lead singer Jacoby continues to work with his solid supporting cast, Don Read on bass and drummer Mike Levin. They're three middle-aged guys who can rock 'n roll, so I don't think they'll be telling their kids to "turn it down" anytime soon. Jacoby also writes intelligent - frequently edgy lyrics - and he's not afraid to get political. That's a brave act these days because too often artists take a huge chance of alienating a good chunk of any potential audience. On the hook-filled title track he sings, "There you are – a random face. You’ve come a long way from a distant place. Look over your shoulder – keep your eyes cast down. Never assume that there’s no one around....

Sugarloaf was a psychedelic, jam band from Colorado fronted by leader, singer, guitarist and composer Jerry Corbetta. Corbetta co-wrote five of the six tracks on the quartet's eponymous, debut, LP that featured a 9:00 medley combining an original organ piece he helped compose with an instrumental cover of The Band's "Chest Fever." A second cover tune was also an instrumental - The Yardbirds "Train Kept a Rollin'." The album's highlight is easily the opening track, "Green-Eyed Lady," a perfect example of the psychedelic influences that embellished the records of so many bands during the highly experimental late 60s and early 70s. The song was written about Corbetta's girlfriend who his bandmates referred to as their leader's "green eyed lady." The 3:33 single was a big hit. It reached #3 on the Hot 100 while the longer, more psychedelic album track ran to 6:49. Bob Raymond's bass work ...

The review of Ruby James' first single, "Bumble Bee,"  from her new album of raucous tunes,  Call It Rock & Roll,  appeared here a few months ago. It's a loud, seven-song assault of mostly hell-raising rockers that create a lot of damage - in a good way - in just a little over twenty-four minutes. James is a diverse musical sponge. She's heavily influenced by blues, R&B, and lots of pre-70s rock all fused together into her own unique style that sounds more modern than any of her rootsy, individual influences. Highlights abound. The very funky "Boogie Downtown" was born from the singer's love of Sly and the family Stone. The heavy riffage of "Voodoo Queen" could have come from the fingers of Keith Richards. Rock veteran and close friend Rosie Flores shows off her chops on the single and two additional stinging tracks. The record's power ballad also has a very sharp edge. "Punk Rock Love Song," i...

The D'Addario brothers - known to most of the world as The Lemon Twigs - have released six full-length albums, an EP and a live set. Their latest, Look For Your Mind! is getting a lot of buzz and deservedly so. Hailing from Hicksville, Long Island, NY brothers Michael and Brian - now 25 and 27 years old - began their careers ten years ago writing and singing their own songs, playing all of the instruments themselves and even producing their own records. They operated differently on this album. In addition to all of the guest musicians lending their assistance The Twigs brought their sturdy road warriors - bassist Danny Ayala and drummer Reza Martin - into the studio with them. Despite their ages the young duo's taste in rock music shows them to be heavily influenced by a long list of 1960's legends on this fourteen-song gem of a record.  Revolver era Beatles instantly comes to mind. The Twigs make full use of woodwinds, brass, strings, a synthesizer, and ...

Among the seemingly endless number of songs Gerry Goffin and Carole King wrote together is "I'm Into Something Good." As usual, during their songwriting partnership she wrote the music and he wrote the lyrics. "Something Good" was first released in 1964 by Earl-Jean McCrea who only used her hyphenated first name on the record. McCrea was also a member of The Cookies, a girl group who earlier had R&B and crossover successes with "Don't Say Nothin' Bad (About My Baby)" and "Chains." (The latter was later covered by The Beatles on their full-length, debut LP, Please Please Me. ) Both of these Cookies' hits were also written by Goffin and King. Earl-Jean's version was a pop-rhythm and blues single that only reached #38 on the Hot 100. The 45 rpm was arranged by King and produced by Goffin. ...

NOCONA's leader, Chris Isom, is from the Texas town of the same name. It's also the name of a company that makes fine Western boots, so to avoid any confusion with both of these entities the quartet decided to capitalize its name. There's also a second salient point that needs to be made to avoid confusion. Although NOCONA has the look of a country-rock outfit, records in Nashville and bill themselves as an "alt-country/cowpunk band,"'  to my ears - especially with guest star Rosie Flores onboard - they're a kick-ass, rock 'n roll band. In addition to composer, lead singer and guitarist Isom, the lineup includes his wife, Adrienne, on vocals and bass. Matt Brundrett is behind the drum kit and Elan Glasser plays harmonica. NOCONA have been a fixture on the Los Angeles bar scene for twelve years. They've recorded three albums, but "How Do You Feel?" is their first new music since ...

Way back in the early 80s - before they had a recording contract and were the toast of the Philadelphia club scene - The Hooters sometimes played entire shows accompanied by a horn section that supplemented their unique ska, reggae, and pop-rock musical stew. The band still tours, and they also released a new album in 2023 that gives fans an opportunity to remember why Philadelphia was so devoted to them all those years ago. Rocking & Swing is an excellent and fun set of tunes that proves the group haven't abandoned their pop sensibilities at all, but after several decades of forcing their Jamaican influences to operate almost totally from the sidelines it brings the Rob Hyman and Eric Bazilian led outfit back home to their roots. They even brought the horn section with them. Rocking & Swing  includes two original, ska-fueled instrumentals: "Guava Jive" and "Pete Rose" (I have no idea why the ballplayer's name is bei...

Merriam-Webster defines mojo as " a seemingly supernatural power, influence, or ability.   Mojo, the UK's excellent, popular music magazine may not have supernatural powers, but it possesses both influence and ability in abundance. The monthly publication easily keeps up with current artists and trends - this month Courtney Barnett, Mumford and Sons, and The Hold Steady are spotlighted - but the magazine has also targeted Baby Boomers ever since it hit the newsstands in 1993. That's why you see articles on The Beach Boys, Johnny Cash, The Kinks, David Bowie, NRBQ and a tribute to Bob Weir. April's cover story celebrates the 100th birthday of Miles Davis with a twelve-page spread. The entire issue is 122 pages in total, so you can see that Mojo offers their readers a lot of content. April's  Mojo Filter is "Y our guide to the month's best music."   It offers readers 147 reviews of new albums, reissues, music books ...

Maybe I'm naive, but I've always wondered why so many musicians take up the ill-conceived lifestyle of using dangerous, mind-altering drugs. To me, their poor choices were hypocritical and in direct conflict with the important social causes many of them campaigned for on a regular basis, especially in the 1960s and 1970s when the "sex, drugs & rock n' roll" lifestyle seemed to reach epic proportions. Bonnie Raitt was among the stars who would rail against the possibility of radiation from nuclear power plants poisoning people  while voluntarily doing the same to her own body by frequently using deadly, illicit substances.  I always said to myself - but never to anyone publicly before, "Why should we listen to these celebrities on any subject - peace, civil rights, clean energy - when they're not smart enough to prevent their own personal destruction."   To m...

Stevie Ray Vaughan - deservedly elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2015 along with his band Double Trouble - is sorely missed. Sadly, Vaughan left us more than a quarter of a century ago with a discography that's limited in size due to his early passing in a tragic helicopter crash. In Step was the fourth and last studio album Vaughan recorded with Double Trouble, and it was the last one to be released in his lifetime. It went to #33 on Billboard's top 200 album chart. SRV's actual final recording was Family Style , an album on which he shared equal billing with his brother, Jimmie, who is best known for his work with The Fabulous Thunderbirds. Another excellent set, The Sky Is Crying , was issued posthumously two years later, but it was assembled from unreleased tracks found in the vaults. In Step is a fine record, and it opens with a blast. "The House is Rockin'" is nothing fancy, just good old fas...

Even if it's a current release by a newer artist, the kind of rock music I gravitate to more and more these days are the sounds of its formative years - those heavily influenced by the genres that preceded it - and that's exactly what you'll hear if you listen to Ruby James. James is new to me, but the kind of rock 'n roll the veteran recording artist sings is not. She has made several albums with her feet firmly planted back in the days when rock was rebellious, controversial and cool. "Bumble Bee" is the singer's showstopping, fiery lead single from her upcoming album, Call It Rock & Roll , that I'm sure you'll be hearing more about here upon its release. The record was a minor hit in 1960 for R&B singer Laverne Baker (#46 on the Hot 100). James takes Baker's fine, soulful, performance and updates it by turning it into an even better rock song with help from the highly regarded but not widely known  Ro...

Today I'm rerunning a very interesting post that appeared here all the way back in April 2012. Later, it was discovered by Mom's Apple Pie's first manager, Larry Patterson, who published a brief comment about what I wrote. The ten piece horn-rock ensemble, Mom's Apple Pie, is remembered by record collectors more for the famously obscene cover from their eponymous, first LP (1972) than they are for their music. Let me be as delicate as possible. The artwork featuring the sexually explicit, steaming apple pie "Mom" is holding can be seen on the group's Wikipedia page and elsewhere on the Internet. I'm not posting it here because it may make some readers uncomfortable. Check it out on your own if you're interested. The cover of the Ohio band's second album (1973) - shown on the left - is far more mundane. Horn bands were still all the rage in '72 and Mom's Apple Pie tried very hard to cas...

Ringo Starr turns 86 this year, and yet he never stops working. He continues to record albums and EPs and goes out on the road annually with his all-star band. Not bad for someone who was so sickly as a kid that many people believed he wouldn't survive to adulthood. Starr continues to collaborate with some of the top musicians and producers in the business and he mostly lets them run his recording sessions. I don't know if he lacks the confidence or the skills needed to take more control of his own work or whether he just enjoys the camaraderie and teamwork. Last year, he and T-Bone Burnett worked together on Look Up , Starr's very good, heavily country influenced, full-length album. Previously, for his 2024 EP, Crooked Boy , he turned the sessions over to Linda Perry, who's best known for the #14 single, " What's Up ," by the alt-rock, one-hit wonders 4 Non Blondes back in 1993. Perry gave Starr a couple of songs for two of ...

Most people are only familiar with Jim Messina as one half of a very musical and eclectic middle of the road duo, Loggins and Messina, who were incredibly popular in the first half of the 1970s. Some readers may remember that before L&M rose to stardom Messina helped Richie Furay organize Poco after they both completed a stint with the marvelous Buffalo Springfield. Messina's recording career began at age sixteen while he was still in high school as lead guitarist for His Jesters, a totally instrumental, rock n' roll sextet. Other members were Ron House and Bill Beckman on rhythm guitars, Jim Sholstedt on bass, drummer Larry Cundieff and saxman Dave Archuleta. Despite their ages, the group secured a recording contract and released an LP, The Dragsters,  on Audio Fidelity Records in 1964. While the music they played is surf-rock, the album's theme centers around the related West Coast car culture. The record has two cars on the front cove...

Although he had a long recording career, gruff voiced Barry McGuire was technically a one-hit wonder. In 1965 he topped the charts with "Eve of Destruction," one of the most powerful pop protest songs of all time. The unlikely hit was written by highly regarded, 60s songwriter, P. F. Sloan who normally wrote lighter fare for artists like Herman's Hermits ("A Must to Avoid") and The Turtles ("You Baby"). He also composed "Secret Agent Man," a big hit for Johhny Rivers that was the theme song of a popular TV series at the time. 1965 was the year folk-rock began its reign as an influential sub-genre. It was the year The Byrds released "Mr. Tambourine Man" and Simon and Garfunkel debuted with "Sounds of Silence." If you were paying attention to the news during the mid-60s you'll understand the impact "Eve of Destruction" had in the music world. The record was far removed from the singles arti...

Lexxi Raine is a young, talented, pop-rock, singer-songwriter originally from Buffalo, NY who now resides in Manchester, England. Raine is currently engaged to a man who proposed to her even though he's aware the love of his life wrote an entire EP about the breakup of an earlier relationship that includes a song about murdering her ex-boyfriend. Despite that, she promised the entire staff here at Bloggerhythms (me) that the ex is perfectly fine and he doesn't have to worry about taking his last breath any time soon. Here's how Raine describes her recently released EP, The Grief Case , on her Bandcamp page :  " Grieving the end of a relationship is messy and never a straight line. Some days you’re angry, other days you’re numb, and sometimes you still convince yourself he’s coming back. My new EP, The Grief Case , lives inside that turbulence. Each song is its own chapter in the 6 stages of grief: Denial, Anger, Bargain...

The sad, recent passing of Raul Malo encouraged me to pull out all of my Mavericks CDs. I own several of them, but not their Christmas album. I didn't even know they recorded one until a few days ago. Shame on me for not knowing that. I just burned it to CD after downloading it from iTunes. Both the title of the album and it's front and back covers tell you everything you need to know about The Mavericks' foray into Christmas music. You didn't really believe this ten-song set was going to give listeners anything but a chance to party hardy during the holidays, did you?  Hey! Merry Christmas!  may not be   intellectually stimulating but it's not supposed to be. Play it to have some fun in memory of Malo. Hey! Merry Christmas! was recorded by The Mavericks' most recent lineup featuring Malo on vocals and guitar along with axman Eddie Perez who's been with the quartet since 2012. Jerry Dale McFadden also became their permanent keyboard pla...

"What's Up" is one of my all-time favorite one-hit wonders. In March 1993 it was pulled as a single in an abridged version for radio from 4 Non Blondes' only album, Bigger, Better, Faster, More  that was released the previous October. The single climbed to #14 on the Hot 100 and finished the year at #50 on Billboard's year-end chart. It was composed by the quartet's controversial lead singer, the full-throated Linda Perry, and completely overwhelmed every other track on the loud, eleven-song set. The album hit #13 on Billboard's top 200 album chart. Like most people, I thought the song was called "What's Going On?" because that line was sung repeatedly throughout the record. Its actual title is never mentioned. "What's Up?" has been called a "massive neo-hippie anthem" by AllMusic 's Tom Demalon. It appears to be about Perry's search for meaning in life as the opening lines...

Despite their obscurity Seth Swirsky and Mike Ruekberg have a good reputation within the music industry. Swirsky has written songs for Rufus Wainwright, Al Green, Tina Turner, and Taylor Dayne. Ruekberg composed the soundtrack for the independent film Dummy and in 2007, they released their first of three albums together as The Red Button. The Red Button blend all of the major components that the best power-pop has to offer: melody, harmony and hooks. It's the British Invasion sound for the new millennium. She's About To Cross My Mind is for music fans who cherish the sound of the early Beatles, The Hollies and The Searchers and a few more groups that flew to America from England during the swinging 60s. The album's first single and lead track, "Cruel Girl," is something the mean side of John Lennon could have written in 1963. "Floating By" is a dead ringer for a post-touring years Paul McCartney track. It's got a little "Penny Lane"...

The Best Of The Animals has been released in multiple configurations. The first album from 1966 contained eleven tracks. In 1987, it was re-released on compact disc with a couple of replacement songs, a new running order, and four additional tunes. Both formats included the longer, 4:29 rendition of "House of the Rising Sun" instead of the edited-for-radio 45 rpm. The cover photo is identical on both the LP and CD. On this updated collection of tunes, the American hit single of "We've Gotta Get Out of This Place" was replaced with the UK version that's considered inferior to the one appearing on the original vinyl. Apparently, ABKCO Records received enough negative feedback from fans that they brought the US version back when a third, very different compilation was issued in 2004 that used Direct Stream Technology (DSD) to make a superior sounding CD. The original Animals were a short-lived outfit. Many of the usual creative differ...