Stevie Wonder’s Songs in the Key of Life In spite of his considerable talents, a vast body of commercially successful recordings spanning the decades and enduring recognition from the time he first appeared on Motown’s Tamla roster as “Little Stevie Wonder” at the age of 11,  I still think Stevie Wonder is vastly underrated as a composer and performer. His maturation as a gifted writer and musician not only helped redefine the sound of “soul” and popular music in the ’60s, but led to a period of deeper, more introspective music in the ’70s... Read More

    Record Reviews and Capsules: I’m long overdue to write some short pieces on individual albums. I like to write longer essays and articles, but those take time: to research, obtain interviews and edit. As a result, my coverage of individual records has suffered recently. No more! I haven’t given up the long-form piece – several are in the works, along with a few practical articles on ultrasonic cleaning and record flattening. In the meantime, many record reviews (or capsules—really just a “quickie” review to bring the album to your attention) are now coming your... Read More

  Road Trip: Brooklyn Record Shopping With the dog days of summer now behind us in New York, it was time for another road trip. This time, we decided to trek to Brooklyn to visit a few record shops (and enjoy some good food along the way). We lived in Brooklyn back when it wasn’t “hip.” In those days, Brooklyn was known for more expansive old apartments at cheaper rents than Manhattan and good local restaurants, particularly ethnic restaurants. It was not, however, a destination (except perhaps for the Botanical Garden, the Brooklyn Museum and a few other spots of interest,... Read More

The following interview with Glenn Berger ties into the release of his new book about working at the legendary A&R Studios in New York City during the golden age of the studio. Readers are encouraged to first read the accompanying review of Berger’s book, “Never Say No To a Rock Star In the Studio with Dylan, Sinatra, Jagger and More.     Glenn Berger, after he had moved on from A & R Studios   You got the job at A&R Studios when you were 17 years old. Did you have any sense of the caliber of artists and production work going on there when you started? GB: Oh,... Read More

        I am delighted to include a piece by Ken Golden, entitled “Prog Rock Obscurities” on some of the more obscure, but still accessible, masterpieces of “prog” rock. Ken has not only become my “go to” guy on matters “prog” but has an interesting history: After years of crate digging and buying some of the most obscure (and ultimately valuable) period “progressive rock” records (when they were still obscure, but far cheaper), Ken launched a company, The Laser’s Edge, in 1987 to distribute digital copies of rare progressive rock... Read More

  The early recorded performances of Ian Anderson and Jethro Tull have not just weathered the passage of time; the songs and the band’s performances are as fresh and captivating today as they were at the time of their release in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. As regular readers know, I’m enthralled by that period in the late ‘60s when popular music was transformed from radio-friendly pop tunes to more challenging compositions that defied conventions and redefined genres. Much of this transformation seemed to occur in England, and led to a number of profound changes in popular... Read More