ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, NOV. 14, 2002 By Steve Newton In the liner notes to Jerusalem, Steve Earle refers to the likes of activists Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, and Abbie Hoffman as Americans who insisted on asking “the hardest questions in our darkest hours”. With the terrifying possibility of another Gulf … Continue reading Album review: Steve Earle, Jerusalem (2002)
Album review: Santana, Shaman (2002)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, NOV. 7, 2002 By Steve Newton Two songs into the new Carlos Santana CD, Shaman, I couldn’t decide whether I loved the album or despised it. Things start off just fine with the old-school, tribal-Latin workout, “Adouma”, cowritten by Angelique Kidjo, which is lit white-hot by the guitar god’s … Continue reading Album review: Santana, Shaman (2002)
Album review: Peter Wolf, Sleepless (2002)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, NOV. 21, 2002 By Steve Newton I used to think Peter Wolf was supercool back in the ’70s, when he was fronting Boston-based party rockers the J. Geils band and delivering killer albums like Bloodshot and Live: Full House. I lost interest in the guy when the J. … Continue reading Album review: Peter Wolf, Sleepless (2002)
Album review: Steve Earle, Sidetracks (2002)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, JULY 18, 2002 By Steve Newton It’s a testament to the unremitting quality of Steve Earle’s music that this collection of—not outtakes, but, as he calls them, previously unreleased “stray tracks” is just as worthy as any of his previous CDs. Sidetracks also demonstrates the impressive range of … Continue reading Album review: Steve Earle, Sidetracks (2002)
Album review: Various Artists, Big Bad Love Soundtrack (2002)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, JULY 25, 2002 By Steve Newton This is my favourite soundtrack album of the year, so far; I must have played it 20 times already. It’s essentially a showcase for the rough-hewn backwoods boogie of North Mississippi hill-country blues artists Robert Belfour, T-Model Ford, Junior Kimbrough, and R. … Continue reading Album review: Various Artists, Big Bad Love Soundtrack (2002)
Album review: Black Sabbath, Past Lives (2002)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, OCT. 10, 2002 By Steve Newton I like collecting guitar picks. Whenever I’m near the stage and some six-string legend tosses out one of those wee plastic nubs, I’ll do what it takes to nab it. My most highly prized catch is a plain orange Ronnie Montrose pick … Continue reading Album review: Black Sabbath, Past Lives (2002)
Yes guitarist Steve Howe says that the respect he has for classical musicians is above all others
By Steve Newton Interviewing amazing guitar players is one of my favourite things to do, and Yes guitarist Steve Howe has always been one of the best in my books. I've chatted with him three times, in 1998, 2001, and then 2017, before the latest version of Yes played Vancouver's Queen Elizabeth Theatre. Steve's always … Continue reading Yes guitarist Steve Howe says that the respect he has for classical musicians is above all others
Steve Earle takes Exit O back to Vancouver and delivers another hell-raisin’ good time
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON NOV. 27, 1987 By Steve Newton Whenever Steve Earle hits town, you're pretty well guaranteed a hellraisin' good time. It happened at his Vancouver debut last May at the 86 Street Music Hall, and then again last Thursday (November 19) when he and his rip-snortin' band the Dukes returned to the Expo … Continue reading Steve Earle takes Exit O back to Vancouver and delivers another hell-raisin’ good time
Malcolm Young: the five best quotes I ever got from AC/DC’s rhythm master
By Steve Newton The hard-rock world lost one of its most beloved artists on November 18, 2017, when AC/DC rhythm-guitarist Malcolm Young passed away at the age of 64. Ill health had forced him to leave the band in 2014, and to be confined to a nursing home, where he suffered from dementia. I only met … Continue reading Malcolm Young: the five best quotes I ever got from AC/DC’s rhythm master
Album review: Bernard Allison, Storms of Life (2002)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, OCT. 17, 2002 By Steve Newton So I was upstairs at A&B Sound on Seymour recently, searching for the new DVD release of that fab vampire flick Near Dark—which is so new they didn’t have it yet—when a rowdy slide-guitar tune caught my attention. One of the store’s … Continue reading Album review: Bernard Allison, Storms of Life (2002)
Album review: Echobrain, Echobrain (2002)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, MAY 9, 2002 By Steve Newton You’ve gotta wonder why long-time Metallica bassist Jason Newsted threw in the towel with that enormously popular metal act last year. Perhaps it had something to do with his ex-bandmates’ intolerance of his side project with guitarist-vocalist Dylan Donkin and drummer Brian … Continue reading Album review: Echobrain, Echobrain (2002)
Album review: Mick Jagger, Goddess in the Doorway (2001)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, DEC. 13, 2001 By Steve Newton Mick Jagger must be chuckling all the way to the bank. With the help of producer-arranger-cowriter-guitarist Lenny Kravitz, he came up with one really rockin’ tune, made it the first single off his heavily promoted new solo disc, and then sat back … Continue reading Album review: Mick Jagger, Goddess in the Doorway (2001)
Kiss’s first-ever box set is a Kiss completist’s wet dream
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, DEC. 2001 By Steve Newton Musicwise, I’ve always thought that Kiss went downhill after the release of its third album, Dressed to Kill. Of course, as rock history has proven, the band actually started to get hugely popular just after that, with the release of its 1975 double live … Continue reading Kiss’s first-ever box set is a Kiss completist’s wet dream