ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, MARCH 23, 1995 By Steve Newton Recorded in February and December of 1973—half before and half after the release of Queen’s self-titled debut album—Queen at the BBC is an intriguing document of the Brit supergroup’s earliest material, which is certainly some of its best. (The band went downhill, … Continue reading Album review: Queen, Queen at the BBC (1995)
Album review: Jason & the Scorchers, A Blazing Grace (1995)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, MARCH 23, 1995 By Steve Newton If there’s one band I really miss these days, it’s the Georgia Satellites. The raging southern boogie blasted forth by that Dan Baird–fronted unit on three underrated ’80s albums never failed to lift my spirits. So it does this old heart good … Continue reading Album review: Jason & the Scorchers, A Blazing Grace (1995)
Album review: Jr. Gone Wild, Simple Little Wish (1995)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, MARCH 23, 1995 By Steve Newton Jr. Gone Wild lead vocalist and main songwriter Mike McDonald continues to prove himself an underrated genius of the simple lyric and the snappy melody on the Alberta band’s latest release. The disc’s 15 tracks run the gamut from traditional-sounding country and western … Continue reading Album review: Jr. Gone Wild, Simple Little Wish (1995)
Album review: Slash’s Snakepit, It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere (1995)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, FEB. 16, 1995 By Steve Newton Those Guns N’ Roses guys sure know how to have their cake and gobble it too. When nothing’s happening with big old moneymaker GN’R they just get a few rockin’ pals together, head into the studio with a few dozen crates of … Continue reading Album review: Slash’s Snakepit, It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere (1995)
Album review: Van Halen, Balance (1995)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, FEB. 2, 1995 By Steve Newton Eddie Van Halen is surely one of the best guitarists in rock, but I’m getting sick of only being able to hear him within the confining and predictable framework of his current band’s (mostly) run-of-the-mill tunes. The band’s last few albums have contained … Continue reading Album review: Van Halen, Balance (1995)
Album review: Mick Jagger, Wandering Spirit (1993)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, APRIL 8, 1993 By Steve Newton Not satisfied with being just “the world’s greatest rock ’n’ roll band”, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood, and Mick Jagger are now shooting for the title of “world’s greatest rock ’n’ roll solo artists”. And, for the most part, they hit the mark. … Continue reading Album review: Mick Jagger, Wandering Spirit (1993)
Fabulous Thunderbirds guitarist Jimmie Vaughan says his favourite thing about music, and life, is style
Like the title of their latest album, the Fabulous Thunderbirds of Austin, Texas, are a Hot Number these days.
Album review: Nathan Cavaleri Band, Nathan (1994)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, DEC. 22, 1994 By Steve Newton Rock-guitar wizards just keep getting younger and younger. Last year I thought I’d seen the littlest guitar wizard around when 13-year-old Steve Vai protégé Thomas McRocklin and his band, Bad4Good, opened for Joe Satriani at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre. Now 11-year-old Australian … Continue reading Album review: Nathan Cavaleri Band, Nathan (1994)
Album review: Buddy Guy, Slippin’ In (1994)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON DEC. 15, 1994 By Steve Newton I always felt that Buddy Guy’s two Grammy award–winning ’90s releases—Damn Right I’ve Got the Blues and Feels Like Rain—were fine examples of the legendary guitarist’s crossover blues, but when I wanted to hear him at his raw, sweaty, string-strangling best I found myself going … Continue reading Album review: Buddy Guy, Slippin’ In (1994)
Album review: Jimmy Page & Robert Plant, No Quarter (1994)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON DEC. 1, 1994 By Steve Newton It’s sort of surprising that Jimmy Page and Robert Plant would name their reunion album No Quarter, since the former Led Zeppelin member who cowrote that tune and played its haunting keyboard parts doesn’t even show up on the new disc. Perhaps, since John Paul … Continue reading Album review: Jimmy Page & Robert Plant, No Quarter (1994)
Album review: The Eagles, Hell Freezes Over (1994)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, NOV. 17, 1994 By Steve Newton If the Eagles charged for CDs the same way they do for concert tickets, this little single-disc item would go for $30 or so, which would be an amazing rip-off, considering it includes only four new tunes. The brunt of the album is … Continue reading Album review: The Eagles, Hell Freezes Over (1994)
Album review: The Black Crowes, Amorica (1994)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON NOV. 10, 1994 By Steve Newton You know there are too many crows in the backyard when premier music-trade mag Billboard, in its October 15 issue, runs a promo shot of the Black Crowes and mistakenly calls it a picture of Counting Crows. Although both bands are similar in that they rely … Continue reading Album review: The Black Crowes, Amorica (1994)
Album review: Lynyrd Skynyrd, Endangered Species (1994)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, OCT. 13, 1994 By Steve Newton It’ll be 17 years this month since Lynyrd Skynyrd’s chartered plane went down in the Mississippi woods, killing—among others—vocalist Ronnie Van Zant and guitarist Steve Gaines. Ten years after the crash, the group’s survivors decided to honour the music of the lost rockers … Continue reading Album review: Lynyrd Skynyrd, Endangered Species (1994)