the one after the big one

Just look at the photo of 23-year-old James Taylor on the cover of his third album, MUD SLIDE SLIM AND THE BLUE HORIZON – long-haired, mustachioed, denim-shirted troubadour, tugging at his moon-and-cat-bedecked suspenders – and recognize you are looking at...

Tracy Chapman’s debut record in 1988 was remarkable, not only for its quality, but also for the way in which it was embraced by the masses. The record’s earnest acoustic songs dealt with topics of social justice, economic inequality, and...

Prince didn’t make music to address commercial concerns (though his music was quite popular), make money (though he made a lot of it in his lifetime), or earn any kind of prestige (though he was and is considered among the...

Some records get a raw deal, for strange reasons. It was 1996 and Metallica were about to release – finally! – the follow-up to their massive Black Album. With the exception of a box set of live recordings, there had...

“I Love L.A.” was typical Randy Newman – a song so expertly played it became an earworm (if you heard it, it stayed with you the rest of the day), with lyrics so expertly written, one wasn’t sure if Newman...

“You’re So Vain,” Carly Simon’s Number One hit from 1972 (featuring Mick Jagger on harmony vocal) sent her third album, NO SECRETS, to Number One, as well, and cemented her status as a top-tier performer and songwriter (and also, ironically...

Led Zeppelin’s second record confirmed the band to be not only a top concert draw and the thunder-bringing gods of a new hard rock sound (new for 1969, at least), but also a burgeoning commercial concern, as well. The strong...

But for her Top Ten cover of Neil Young’s “Lotta Love” in 1978, Nicolette Larson would’ve been an appropriate addition (at least an honorable mention) to the film 20 FEET FROM STARDOM, as one of the many fine background singers...

Iris DeMent’s debut album, 1992’s INFAMOUS ANGEL, heralded a strong, authentic voice in country and folk music, a voice that was only amplified when her follow-up record, MY LIFE (1994) became a minor hit, landing in the Top 20 of...