Author Archives: Sam Richards
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Q&A: Gary Louris of the Jayhawks on the ‘purity of creating,’ writing as architecture
Gary Louris (The Jayhawks) courtesy Tim Geaney. Gary Louris has, off and on since the late 1980s, been one of the mainstays of The Jayhawks, a band that earned its initial fame as an Americana outfit but that, especially since the departure of cofounder Mark Olson, has increasingly gone…
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ALBUM REVIEW: k.d. lang revisits with remixes on ‘makeover’
The mezzo-soprano voice of k.d. lang is a subtle, cloying force of nature. Given even decent material to work with, that voice can carry a song and make it more than it is, with minimal assistance needed from the arrangement. Makeover, lang’s new release of old material in celebration…
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Van Morrison full of piss and vinegar on ‘Latest Record Project Volume 1’
Van Morrison, “Latest Record Project Volume 1.” Van Morrison is back, for a 42nd go-around, and the downtime brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic apparently gave him plenty of time to gripe about things through song. Latest Record Project Volume 1 Van Morrison Exile/BMG, May 7 7/10 But that…
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REVIEW: Jayhawks’ faithful ‘Sound of Lies’ livestream rings true
The Jayhawks perform in Minnesota during their livestream on Nov. 29, 2020. Courtesy: Mandolin. Sound of Lies was the perfect album for the Jayhawks to showcase their talents on a livestream broadcast. The performance of that 1997 album on the Mandolin streaming platform Sunday night came from a band…
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REVIEW: ‘Wildflowers & All The Rest’ improves a Tom Petty classic
Tom Petty, “Wildflowers & All The Rest.” Wildflowers, the Tom Petty album from 1994, was—not surprisingly—his most personal work to that point, and as it turned out, of his career. Born of the emotional turmoil of a collapsing marriage, it truly was a “solo” album, as judged by the songwriting alone,…
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REVIEW: Lemon Twigs present sometimes glorious, often twisted distillation of ’70s style
The Lemon Twigs, “Songs for the General Public.” New York City brothers Brian and Michael D’Addario, doing business as The Lemon Twigs, write good, sometimes great songs whose charms sometimes get buried in their own everything-but-the-kitchen-sink approach to arranging. Songs for the General Public The Lemon Twigs 4AD, Aug.…
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With nods to the new, the familiar, Steve Howe tells us what ‘Love Is’
Steve Howe, “Love Is.” Steve Howe has recorded 21 solo albums over a 45-year period—and, incidentally, has been a major instrumental voice in Yes, perhaps the pre-eminent progressive rock group over the past half-century. If you count his work with Yes and with the more pop-oriented Asia, along with…
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ALBUM REVIEW: On ‘The Absence of Presence,’ Kansas mixes the old and the new
Kansas, “The Absence of Presence.” Progressive rock typically revels in complexity, aspirations to higher things both musically and thematically, and expert musicianship. Arguably the most durable and influential American prog-rock group, Kansas, checks off all those boxes on its new album, The Absence of Presence, the venerable band’s 16th…
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ALBUM REVIEW: The Jayhawks let themselves be guided by other voices on ‘XOXO’
Longtime Jayhawks leader Gary Louris has been saying he wanted to get his bandmates more involved in songwriting and singing lead than they have been on the band’s last several releases. XOXO The Jayhawks SHAM/Thirty Tigers, July 10 8/10 That has now happened, to highly satisfying effect, on XOXO,…