Category Essays
RETURN OF THE REAL KIDS PART I: Solid Gold (Thru and Thru)
“Well, I was driving ’round Boston / Looking for a place just to shake my ass/ Don’t wanna hear no disco / Gotta hear something outta my past” — The Real Kids, “Do The Boob” One way or another, Boston singer-songwriter John Felice has been cranking out gritty, from the guts, heart-on-sleeve rock & roll longer than some […]
SEND IN THE CLOWNS: Remembering Robin Williams (1951-2014)
For decades, Robin Williams made me laugh. Monday night, he made me cry. Like many, I found myself suddenly paralyzed and weeping at the terrible news that Williams had passed by his own hand at the age of 63. And not just because he was a famous and familiar person (actually, in spite of those trappings […]
WHEN RECORDS ARE PEOPLE: Markers Of A Life Amid A Museum of Wax
Chances are, the illness I describe below only afflicts those such as myself, for whom prolonged, protracted exposure to dusty bins, racks, or rows of vinyl can cause a psychologically discombobulating, mildly hallucinatory condition — a disorder where occasional bouts of grandiose euphoria are mistaken for finely honed revelations of clarity. This is known as […]
WE’RE (SORT OF) AN AMERICAN BAND: A Swan Song From Levon, Robbie and the Boys In The Spirit Of ’76
The Band – Asbury Park 1976 Live at Casino Arena, Asbury Park, New Jersey, USA, July 20th 1976 DVD (Approx. 80 Min.): Introduction, Don’t Do It, The Shape I’m In, It Makes No Difference, The Weight, King Harvest (Has Surely Come), Twilight, Ophelia, Tears Of Rage, Forbidden Fruit, This Wheel’s On Fire, The Night They […]
NEIL YOUNG AND OLD: Grunge Godfather Goes Acoustic To Benefit The Bridge
Happy Friday “RPM” subscribers, regulars at the bar, curious visitors, and new friends dropping by for the first time. For fans of Neil Young and Old, here’s my new review of a new unofficial Young DVD capturing his performance at his and his wife Pegi’s annual “Bridge School” benefit in 1994, with a guest appearance […]
SEASONS IN THE (SORT OF) SUN: The Clientele Return To Rainy Days & Suburban Light
Some records stay with you. Aside from the memorable music that usually accompanies, well, a memorable album, chances are that you were probably either doing or feeling something special the first time you heard those sounds — falling in love, finishing your finals, strolling down the memory lane of your old childhood haunts, or road-tripping with your […]
AMERICAN EXILES ON TOUR ’72: The Stones Roll On That Dusty Road In Wax Boots (And Digital Ones Too!)
LADIES & GENTLEMEN, A PREFACE TO THE INTRODUCTION: Call it kismet or the hand of fate or the rock gods grinning with glee at the chemical convergence of impulse, intent, and circumstance. But I just noticed that this review essay, which I intended to serve as a kind of Part II piggybacking follow-up to […]
THIN WILD MERCURY MUSIC: Down Under with Dylan in Sydney ’66
“Bob Dylan has long been a prime, occasionally infuriating example of a creator not necessarily equipped (or willing) to critique the scope or substance of his art. Although far more cagey, contrarian, and intentionally opaque, Dylan has proven similarly flip when talking about his music (or not talking about it, as the case may be) over the years.” — From “Thin Wild Mercury Music”
TAILGATE BIRTHDAY SONGS: Wheat’s Raised Ranch Revolution Returns
“And suddenly after all this time, of waiting and wondering when and if they would return with their soft sparkle and gentle glamour intact, Wheat are back among us.” It is with much fuzzy-hearted happiness, optimism and okay, maybe even a dash of nostalgia, that I can report the following about one of my all-time favorite […]
REMEMBERING RONNIE LANE: A Small Face’s Large Legacy
Thinking of the late, great Ronnie Lane today on what would have been his 68th birthday. Lane, of course, was a singer-songwriter-bassist for both the Small Faces and later, when pint-sized frontman Steve Marriott left to start Humble Pie with Peter Frampton, the Faces. (When singer Rod Stewart and guitarist Ron Wood joined, the “small” designation in […]
RPM: Jonathan Perry's Life in Analog 