THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME (REISSUES AND ANTHOLOGIES) By Michael McDowell

 CD AND LP REISSUES / ANTHOLOGIES (PLUS BOOKS)

(REVIEWS ARE POSTED IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER BY ARTIST)

IBREATHE: The band's legions of devotees have reason to rejoice with the legitimate release of the extracurricular Dogs And Sheeps album by PINK FLOYD as Live From The Los Angeles Sports Arena, in tandem with the Record Store Day 2026 celebration. Editor/Publisher Michael McDowell follows the crew of the space shuttle on their recent journey to The Dark Side Of The Moon below (Click on above imaege to enlarge). 

BILL EVANS IN NORWAY:

THE KONGSBERG CONCERT -

Bill Evans (Elemental Music)

Few personified the notion of suffering for one's art as poignantly as did Bill Evans.

To wit, despite a somewhat dramatic affiliation with trumpeter Miles Davis' band in 1958 - 1959, keyboard virtuoso, visionary and Plainfield, New Jersey native Evans managed to rise to the occasion and soar on the group's landmark Kind Of Blue album for Columbia. 

Evans left Davis' group in late 1959 and formed a groundbreaking trio with bassist Scott LaFaro (whose most impressive resume included collaborations with Chet Baker, Ornette Coleman, Buddy DeFranco, Stan Getz and Cal Tjader) and drummer Paul Motian. The group flourished well into 1961, when LaFaro's sudden passing in an auto accident in July of that year sent Evans into a protracted tailspin.

Nonetheless, Evans' work on stage and in the studio continued to soar. In 1966, he joined forces with bassist Eddie Gomez, with whom he collaborated on this magnificent thirteen-track live set. 

Recorded at the Kongsberg Jazz Festival on 26 June 1970, Bill Evans In Norway finds Evans, Gomez and drummer Marty Morell in perfect sync with one another, as they glide through an impeccable cross section of richly diverse material, including the adventurous 34 Skidoo, Quiet Now, Gloria's Step, Nardis and an ambitious take on Roger Williams' Autumn Leaves. Throughout the proceedings, Gomez instinctively asserts and downplays his role as needed, with Morell serving as a driving force of sorts between Evans' moments of solo flight.

Evans doggedly persevered throughout the 1970s, recording two acclaimed collaborations with Tony Bennett in mid-decade. Sadly, he succumbed to lingering health concerns in September 1980 at age 51.

The latest in a long series of Evans projects by veteran archivist and historial Zev Feldman, Bill Evans In Norway also includes a rare interview with Evans, plus recent exchanges with Gomez and Morell, as well as commentary by other musicians who were present at the event. True to form, it is a superb depiction of a Time Remembered most favorably.

BOLD AS LOVE -

The Jimi Hendrix Experience 

(Experience Hendrix / Legacy)

When the recording industry began phasing out the large scale production of monaural LPs in 1968, albums such as this one were arguably at minimum a contributing factor towards that decision.

Upon their introduction in 1957, stereo albums were hailed as a more realistic listening experience. The intent was to give the audience a more accurate representation of a live perormance, something that that by definition the one dimensional monaural alternative could not offer. 

However, it took the better part of the next decade for the format to find its footing.

To that effect, there were some who presumed that the stereo process achieved its  goal in production with a mix that (for example) assigned the isolated vocal tracks to one channel, and the accompanying instrumentation to the other channel.

But by 1967, a number of artists had assimilated the basics of the process and were taking the concept even further. At year's end, the Florida-based Royal Guardsmen released their acclaimed third album for the Laurie label. Therein, the band utilized such perks of the trade as crosstalk and phasing to simulate a World War I battle scene inbetween related numbers. Suffice to say that by definition, the monaural version of that album lost something in the translation.

For the Jimi Hendrix Experience, much of 1966 and 1967 was a grad school level learning process in that respect. To be certain, the stage was already set from within. An avid record collector, drummer Mitch Mitchell also brought to the band a wealth of first generation garage rock experience from his time with the Riot Squad. In turn, guitarist and front man Hendrix had done numerous sessions with Joey Dee, Wilson Pickett, Curtis Knight and others.

Even more so, the Jimi Hendrix Experience's 1967 tour with the Monkees was a most fortuitous pairing. Both bands were determined to take their art to the next level within their respective mission statements. From Hendrix's perspective, the Monkees encouraged and heightened his awareness of the importance of creative autonomy, as well as the critical nature of the fundamentals of composition. Live appearances later that year with fellow Monterey Pop Festival alumni the Mamas And Papas (whose resident creative visionary, John Phillips was an avid student of the work of such greats as the Gershwins, Leiber and Stoller, etc.) did much to further the rich musical diversity in the Experience's own mission statement. 

In that respect, the band's Reprise debut, Are You Experienced was both a learning curve born of defensiveness, as well as an assertion of that newfound acumen. To be certain, they learned their lessons well. By the time their second Reprise album, Axis: Bold As Love saw release at the end of 1967, the band was firing on all cylinders. 

Among other things, Axis: Bold As Love saw the band taking full advantage of the possibilities of the stereo format. To that effect, the tongue in cheek, spoken word opening track, Exp finds voices split between left and right channels, with accompanying guitar-based sound effects swirling back and forth in a manner not unlike a race car circling a racetrack. In turn, the album's sublime debut single, Up From The Skies finds Hendrix utilizing his considerable guitar acumen to (in part) replicate minor vocal harmonies, giving the piece an otherworldly atmosphere that owes as much to the potential of technical savvy (for which credit must also go to board master Eddie Kramer) as well as the classic vocal groups of the immediate post-Barbershop era, such as the Revelers. 

Axis: Bold As Love also reflects a quantum leap in songwriting, from the everyman foibles of Wait Until Tomorrow to the foundational rock and roll inspiration of Little Miss Lover. The album also incorporates the benefits of stereo to maximum advantage, as showcased impeccably in One Rainy Wish and Bold As Love.

Released at the end of 2025, this latest in a long series of Experience Hendrix / Legacy collaborations most assuredly does both band and the original album justice. In keeping with a long standing demand amongst certain factions of the record collector contingent (albeit seemingly in contrast to the industry's aforementioned procedural developments in 1968), this lavish four CD plus bluray box set includes the original 1967 release in its monaural mix, as well as the stereo version.

But where Bold As Love really shines is in its wealth of bonus material. In this case, two CDs worth, including such game changing fare as The Stars That Play With Laughing Sam's Dice, live renditions of the earlier singles Purple Haze and Foxey Lady, and early takes of Burning Of The Midnight Lamp, which ultimately saw release on the double album, Electric Ladyland in the Autumn of 1968. 

With this release, the Jimi Hendrix Experience remains part of a rare trio of musical visionaries (alongside John Coltrane and Jim Reeves) who have been gone for more than a half century, yet whose archives continue to yield heretofore unavailable material well into the twenty-first century. To paraphrase a landmark cut from their Are You Experienced album, their Fire continues to stand. We remain immeasurably blessed as a result.

LIVE FROM THE

LOS ANGELES SPORTS ARENA -

Pink Floyd (Columbia)

"The memories of a man in his old age are the deeds of the man in his prime".

So noted Pink Floyd in Free Four, a most encouraging return to form cut from their 1972 Obscured By Clouds album for the Harvest label. A return to form in that the album followed several relatively challenging years in terms of songwriting in the wake of the departure of guitarist and primary composer Syd Barrett from their ranks. That move towards reinvigoration ultimately served them well, as Pink Floyd soon found themselves in the upper echelons of mainstream acclaim, where they remained for the next several decades. 

As of this writing, four of the band's six members remain active in various  capacities. Original guitarist Rado "Bob" Klose has long enjoyed a successful career in photography. Primary lead guitarist Dave Gilmour (who succeeded Barrett in that capacity in 1968) and bassist Roger Waters have both flourished as solo artists, while drummer Nick Mason has toured in recent years with the like minded A Saucerful Of Secrets (sadly, Barrett and keyboard man Ric Wright are both deceased). Nonetheless, there has been no new Pink Floyd studio project since The Endless River for Columbia Records in 2014.

Hence the memories of the deeds of the men in their prime. To that effect, a pair of  archival live albums have surfaced in recent years: 2021's Live In Venice and 2023's The Dark Side Of The Moon Live At Wembley.

Live From The Los Angeles Sports Arena is the latest in that series. Released on both vinyl and CD in tandem with the Record Store Day 2026 celebration, the album was recorded on the 26th of April 1975. The material therein had previously been issued in 1993 as an extracurricular release of sorts under the title Dogs And Sheeps.

To be certain, the venue itself was the ideal setting for the so-called arena rock that the band epitomized in 1975. To that effect, their 1973 The Dark Side Of The Moon album was in the second year of its extraordinary nineteen year consecutive run on the so-called national charts. Faithfully executed material from that album comprises the second half of this live set. 

For openers, the band took a relatively upbeat approach that in part served to acknowledge Barrett's contributions in light of his well publicized health concerns. The opening numbers Raving And Drooling and You've Got To Be Crazy did so with remarkable candor, as did the well-received Have A Cigar and Shine On You Crazy Diamond from their forthcoming Wish You Were Here album (released in September of that year).

Although the band's hardcore faithful numbers are still legion, there are no plans for another Pink Floyd studio collaboration. But given the resolve with which Gilmour, Waters and Mason have pursued their individual interests, in the words of some of the band's post-Barrett transitional releases, it would perhaps be in the best interests of the rank and file to not Meddle in such matters, instead giving them the option to sidestep The Narrow Way and open the door to the possibility of a new Dramatic Theme.

HE TOOK US BY STORM -

Various Artists

(Bear Family)

And a quiet storm it was not.

Given the wealth of covers afforded Bob Dylan material during rock and roll's peak creative period (from the Turtles' It Ain't Me Babe and the Vacels' Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window to Rick Nelson's She Belongs To Me and Peter Antell's The Times They Are A Changin'), it would have been a fairly straightforward process to issue a CD comprised of the best such endeavors.

But in keeping with Dylan's consistent endeavors to confound expectations, Bear Family herein instead has gathered twenty-five tracks that drew their inspiration from his work. The rich diversity of artists represented in He Took Us By Storm speaks volumes, from Dion DiMucci (Two Ton Feather), Billy Joe Royal (covering Joe South's These Are Not My People) and Donovan Leitch (his Hickory-era Universal Soldier single) to Bob Seger And The Last Heard (their landmark January 1967 Persecution Smith single for Hideout), Barry McGuire (his much loved Dunhill-era Don't You Wonder Where It's At) and Leon Russell (Everybody's Talking About The Young). First rate gems by Eric Andersen, P.F. Sloan, David Crosby, Tom Rush, Johnny Winter, Bobby Darin, Boz Scaggs, Ferre Grignard and Dino Valenti round out the remainder of the set.

Featuring an insightful commentary by the late John Sinclair (a one time member of Blitz Magazine - The Rock And Roll Magazine For Thinking People's production team) and extensive sleeve notes by Philippe LeBras and others, He Took Us By Storm is most assuredly a decisive step towards taking the far reaching impact of one of the twentieth century's premier wordsmiths and Bringing It All Back Home.

KINGS, QUEENS AND JOKERS  -

Victoria (Gear Fab)

Remarkable is the reissue project that enjoys deluxe treatment in its third incarnation.

Such is the case with the 1971 debut album by the New Jersey band, Victoria. Recorded between 1969 and 1971, the original album featured eight original compositions by band co-founder Greg Ruban.

In reality, the album was a joint venture between Victoria (Ruban, along with Sharon Barton, Maureen Deidelbaum and Cheryl Simpson), in tandem with the Dirty Martha Band. Logistics prevented the band from performing live, but they did manage to capture this lone extraordinary effort in the studio. 

As a composer, Ruban (who also served as producer for this project) demonstrated remarkable vision and depth during that deceptively fallow creative period. To wit, the original album featured ambitious psychedelic workouts such as Village Of Etaf, which would have been right at home within the fertile boom period that produced the likes of Tintern Abbey, Grapefruit and the Soft Machine a scant few years earlier. 

In turn, the curious Cumberland takes its cue in parts from the Velvet Underground's Sunday Morning, while Gevaro avails itself as a latter day reimagination of Frankie Laine's Jezebel. Moreover, Ride A Rainbow serves as an extension and/or answer of sorts to the Jimi Hendrix Experience's Purple Haze, while the opener, Peace sports some refreshing acoustic guitar in its intro that falls in solidarity with the like minded overtures found in Lighthouse's One Fine Morning. The rare profession of candor that is the aptly named Never Knew Blues brings it all full circle; paradoxically drawing as it does from the tension that graced the template of Billy Roberts' often covered 1962 standard, Hey Joe.

Curiously, Kings, Queens And Jokers did not make it past the demo stage at the time of its recording. Nonetheless, it did finally see a limited release of two hundred copies in the early years of the twenty-first century. Out of print since 2005, it now enjoys a deluxe CD reissue on the Gear Fab label. For this deluxe third appearance, label president Roger Maglio has included seven heretofore unreleased Ruban compositions that were drawn from master tape and acetate sources, highlighted by the Gospel-tinged Mister Let Me Go, Child Of A Princess and an alternate take of Cumberland.

Sadly, Greg Ruban passed away in 2008. Nonetheless, his unique vision brings a most welcome addition to Gear Fab's extensive catalog of reissues of the rarest independent releases. Incentive to Ride A Rainbow indeed.

THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME (NEW RELEASES) By Michael McDowell

STEP INSIDE LOVE:  Vocalist JEANNE GARI draws from classic material by the Revelers, Cilla Black, Petula Clark and Robin Ward, along with new material by her husband Brian in her all new Secret Admirer album; her second for the Original Cast label. Editor / Publisher Michael McDowell explores in depth below. (Click on above image to enlarge).

CDs AND VINYL - NEW RELEASES

(REVIEWS ARE POSTED IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER BY ARTIST)

MAN'S BEST FRIEND - 

Sabrina Carpenter (Island)

Humor is in the eye of the beholder.

Witness Manchild, the recent instant classic single by composer, vocalist and Quakertown, Pennsylvania native Sabrina Annlynn Carpenter. Therein, Carpenter laments her circumstances with a curious mixture of disconcertment and subtle resignation borne of a cavalier reaction with regards to the failure of others to live up to expectations. 

Carpenter dismisses such concerns out of hand at first with several pejoratives  (stupid, slow, useless) before taking a slightly more charitable high road with the less abrasive Manchild before reasserting her upper hand with, "Why you always come running to me?"

The reaction to Manchild among the rank and file to date has been anything but united. Many have dismissed it out of hand, only to be admonished by some to engage in a bit of introspection before passing judgement.

Conversely, Manchild has received glowing accolades from others. It has proven to be one of the most successful singles of the year to date.

For those who perhaps do not have such a vested interest in the subject matter and who maintain an art for art's sake perspective, Manchild stands out as a sterling example of the return to form that has blessed the overall musical landscape throughout the past year. Its strong verse, chorus and bridge template and inventive turn of phrase is in keeping with that which has long graced the best of the most impacting musical movements. 

Indeed, Carpenter shines in that respect throughout the remainder of Man's Best Friend, which was recorded at Electric Lady Studio (once the venue of choice of Jimi Hendrix). While her stark lyricism remains the predominant theme, the musical settings therein (aided and abetted by John Ryan and Jack Antonoff, who served as co-producers with Carpenter) most encouragingly suggest anything but genre myopia. 

To wit, the album's second single, Tears treads the fine line between Patrice Rushen's Forget Me Not and Debbie Gibson's Shake Your Love. My Man On Willpower stays the course in that respect, with a relatively more lavish arrangement worthy of Donna Summer's Love's Unkind. We Almost Broke Up Again Last Night brings it full circle, with a brief aside to the victim as anti-hero perpsective championed in recent years by Taylor Swift.

Conversely, Nobody's Son offers a pleasant turning of the corner with its mid-tempo arrangement in the spirit of Led Zeppelin's D'yer Maker. In turn, When Did You Get Hot? (a variation of sorts on Carpenter's 2024 Bed Chem single) provides an amusing adjunct to the 1978 monster classic Luv' hit, U.O. Me. Carpenter brings the musical diversity full circle with a good natured, tongue in cheek sing along in Go Go Juice (a term that became a permanent part of the landscape via its use by the great Jerry Reed's charismatic Cledus Snow character in the 1977 motion picture, Smokey And The Bandit before wrapping it up with the matter of fact opulence of House Tour and the operatic in a Bohemian Rhapsody way of the album's closer, Goodbye.

However, there persists an ongoing concern within some circles with regards to what is perceived as an impasse in terms of the methodology of the lyrical approach. The reasoning stems in part from a particular interpretation of Ephesians 4:29 about the uplifting nature of words.

That perspective is largely championed by a well intentioned contingent that (for example) most likely has first person experience of the mixed reactions to the lyrical approach of such singles as the Kingsmen's Louie, Louie and the MC5's Kick Out The Jams.

But what is often overlooked in such sectors is that there is an entire demographic (of which Carpenter is a part) that has no such cultural baggage in that respect, and which simply does not view such matters from that perspective. From their point of view, such verbiage no longer produces such an impact and is generally accepted within the the scope of everyday vocabulary. 

Nonetheless, for both camps, Man's Best Friend is a win-win solution. On one hand, that perspective has enabled Carpenter to soar as an inventive lyricist. Meanwhile, those who continue to remain true to certain linguistic guidelines can at least do so with an element of optimism for the future of the art, especially in light of the return to form that has blessed music overall in recent months. In the words of one of Carpenter's earlier triumphs, Man's Best Friend allows for all concerned to persevere with their Eyes Wide Open.

SECRET ADMIRER -

Jeanne Gari (Original Cast)

Some artists celebrate, while others contemplate.

On one particular weekend around the turn of the century, the city of Reno, Nevada hosted one of its frequent large scale celebrations. Visitors to the city were greeted by (among other things) loudspeakers along its main thoroughfare, which were broadcasting at high volume on repeat play the monster classic 1966 Warner Brothers single, Who Am I by Petula Clark.

The choice of material could not have been more ideal for the occasion. During her highly productive run at Warner Brothers, Clark released a most impressive string of singles and albums that highlighted relentless optimism from a cerebral perspective. There was cause for celebration in Reno, and Clark's single fit the bill perfectly. 

Conversely, under the stewardship of Jeanne Gari, Who Am I assumes a contemplative atmosphere, losing nothing in the translation. While Clark proclaimed the answer with her trademark self assurance, Gari herein poses the question not from the standpoint of diffidence, rather (in part) out of intellectual curiosity.

That relative propensity for quaintness provides a recurring theme of sorts throughout the fifteen tracks on Secret Admirer, Gari's second offering for the Original Cast label. To wit, the references in Peter Allen's Pretty Pretty reflect a wide eyed optimism with regards to weekend clubbing and Mick Jagger posters, despite Allen's portrayal of the subject matter in the past tense. Likewise, Robin Ward's 1963 Dot label signature single, Wonderful Summer makes a transition from reflectiveness to the best is yet to come in Gari's eyes. Her profession of solidarity with Cilla Black in the latter's Step Inside Love brings that perspective full circle, as does her magnificent reading of the beloved and legendary Revelers' January 1930 sublime Victor label 78, A Cottage For Sale.

Perhaps the lone deviation from this perspective comes from Gari's interpretation of the late Meri Wilson's 1977 GRT label signature single, Telephone Man. At the time of its release, Wilson's somewhat coy delivery was sufficient to generate an atmosphere of caution in some mainstream media circles. But with the benefit of nearly a half century of hindsight, Gari sustains Wilson's momentum more in a manner befitting the plot line of many a daytime network television drama. 

As was the case with Jeanne (her 2022 debut album), this second offering includes a generous helping of original material that was composed by her husband, Brian Gari. Widely renowned for both his own solo releases (many of which have been celebrated at length in Blitz Magazine - The Rock And Roll Magazine For Thinking People) and his extensive work as a musicologist and journalist, Brian Gari reasserts herein the seemingly paradoxical aspects of their collective mission statement via such sympathetic offerings as Easier To Love, Not In Touch, When You Comin' Back Red Ryder? and the title track. 

"Paradoxical" in that the Garis have managed to sustain that endearing attribute of quaintness in their respective projects, in spite of maintaing a home base in the not exactly low key atmosphere of New York City. As Secret Admirer impeccably underscores, if Petula Clark answered her own question decisively in Who Am I, then in the words of a standout track from Jeanne Gari's 2022 debut, Secret Admirer follows suit in a manner that reaffirms We're On The Same Page.

GREETINGS FROM YOUR HOMETOWN -

The Jonas Brothers (Republic)

It was time to break camp.

When the Wycliff, New Jersey sibling trio Kevin, Nick and Joe Jonas released their debut album, It's About Time in 2006, they were undergoing an inevitable season of growing pains. Therein, cuts such as 6 Minutes and Year 3000 reflected hardcore aspirations that were tempered by a sense of bravado that was still a work in progress.

But when the group signed with Hollywood Records and released their breakout album, Jonas Brothers the following year, the benefits of the team approach began to avail themselves. Their behind the scenes team provided the right balance of support and direction to enable them to better find their footing. The group soared over the next several years as a result.

However, one of the byproducts of working within the system in that capacity is that those providing the support will seek a return for their efforts via maximum exposure in a variety of settings. In the Jonas Brothers' case, that exposure culminated with their appearance in the 2008 motion picture, Camp Rock alongside Demi Lovato. 

With few exceptions, steps such as those usually signal that the mutual admitation society between artist, support system and the faithful has run its course. To their considerable credit, the Jonas Brothers took note and ultimately opted to embark upon a six year sabbatical in 2013 to pursue individual interests and reassess their priorities for the long haul.

Greetings From Your Hometown proves that their self-imposed hiatus was not an exercise in futility. While remaining faithful to the basic precepts implemented during their tenure with Hollywood Records, the Jonas Brothers herein reflect a subtle yet impacting maturation in mission statement that is not so much the byproduct of chronology as it is a reflection of lessons well learned.

While all encompassing in its outreach, Greetings From Your Hometown nonetheless reflects in spots the need to meet certain factions of the faithful on their own terms. To that effect, Heat Of The Moment and Star both downplay the prerequisite strong verse, chorus and bridge template to serve as a potential adjunct for an alternate media source; a variation of sorts on the late Michael Nesmith's "book with a soundtrack" concept. Moreover, Slow Motion (with Marshmello) placates the faithful who relate on an individual basis, underscoring the attribute of intimacy that has been germaine to their mission statement from the onset. 

Conversely, the single No Time To Talk reflects the inspiration of the Bee Gees' Stayin' Alive to the degree that Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb are credited as co-composers. Ultimately, those strong vocal harmonies and the impeccably structured verse, chorus and bridge template of Love Me To Heaven provide the trio with arguably their finest moment to date.

In the process, the Jonas Brothers have brought it full circle; reuniting with Lovato as co-producers for the third installment of the Camp Rock series. Likewise, Greetings From Your Hometown sustains that momentum by staying the course while ultimately taking it to the next level. To paraphrase a key track from their It's About Time album, it is still time for them to fly.

A MATTER OF TIME -

Laufey (Awal / Vingolf Recordings)

Bill Parsons once sang of Educated Rock And Roll. But in recent years, Laufey has taken Parsons' concept to the next level by applying it to a variety of genres.

Since making her recording debut in 2020 with her Street By Street single, the composer, vocalist and Reykjavik, Iceland native born Laufey Lin Bing Jonsdottir has made her mark by championing a cerebral approach to composition and delivery that draws from such noble inspirations as Billie Holiday, June Christy, Chet Baker, Astrud Gilberto, Doris Day,  Mel Torme and Eydie Gorme. A graduate of Boston's Berklee College Of Music, Laufrey also worked for a season as a solo cellist with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra.

Following her ambitious, lavishly scored and orchestrated A Night At The Symphony: Hollywood Bowl album with the Los Angeles Philharmonic earlier this year, Laufey has returned to the basics (at least in terms of arrangements) with A Matter Of Time. Herein, she draws from the fundamentals of the mission statements of those aforementioned inspirations and graces them with her gift for a unique turn of phrase. In the process, she both professes solidarity with the remarkable renaissance of songwriting in which the current crop of up and coming artists finds itself, while reminding all concerned how raising the bar in that respect is at once both fundamental and inspirational.

A Matter Of Time soars accordingly with eighteen offerings that will resonate with both the seasoned musicologist and the casual observer who may not yet be familiar with the rich body of work from which she takes her cue. She at once professes solidarity with the former group, while providing inspiration for the latter. This methodology works particularly well with the likes of Silver Lining (in which she resigns herself to a variety of worst case scenarios while in pursuit of a loftier goal) and the album's opener, Clockwork ("Nothing brings me fear like meeting with my destiny"). 

Conversely, Laufey hints at vulnerability in Sabotage (in which she intones, "I'm my worst enemy" in a Mozart-inspired setting) and A Cautionary Tale (a slightly out of character percussive piece, in which she presents the hindsight of, "The truths you will uncover will knock you on your knees" heavenward in prayer). That she does so without compromise to her vison is a fitting testimony to her resolve.

Curiously, Laufey's uncompromising vision has to date kept her somewhat in the background from the perspective of the demographic that stands in solidarity with those artists who apply similar academic methodology to their own work with a slightly more rock and roll-oriented focus. Curious in that the demographic in question by definition has relatively little familiarity with either the aesthetic or cultural attributes of her inspirations, and which was introduced to it without any peripheral baggage. 

Nonetheless, hers is to date a body of work that is guaranteed long term impact by virtue of its adherence to the high standards championed by those visionaries. It is that determination that keeps Laufey riding high on the Carousel which she sings of  herein most convincingly.

ONE HOUR MAMA:

THE BLUES OF VICTORIA SPIVEY -

Maria Muldaur (Nola Blue)

The work of true visionaries tends to pay itself forward.

To that effect, in the late 1960s, one time Imperial Records executive and cutout king, Ken Revercomb (whose clientele included the vaunted Arlans Department Store chain, which boasted a world class record department that was second to none) featured prominently in its delete bins the December 1963 Elektra label debut album by the ambitious Even Dozen Jug Band. Although the album had gone out of print by that time, it nonetheless earned a whole new audience by virtue of the subsequent successes of some of its storied alumni. Among them were the Blues Project's Steve Katz, prolific solo artist Stefan Grossman and Lovin' Spoonful cofounder and mastermind, John Sebastian.

Also among the Even Dozen Jug Band's ranks was the ambitious vocalist and multi-instrumentalist, Maria D'Amato. An avid student of the works of the early blues pioneers, D'Amato went on to an enormously successful solo career as Maria Muldaur.

To her considerable advantage, Muldaur at that time counted among her inspirations and mentors the vaunted composer, vocalist and Houston, Texas native, Victoria Regina Spivey. An instant success upon signing with the OKeh label in 1926, Spivey had also made her mark in film, as an entertainment industry journalist and as a church choir director. Spivey saw tremendous potential in Muldaur, and mentored her in a multi-faceted capacity.

Nearly a half century after Spivey's 1976 passing at age 69, Muldaur has returned the favor with this sublime twelve-track salute to her mentor's legacy. Joining forces with such like minded colleagues as Elvin Bishop (for What Makes You Act Like That?)  and Taj Mahal (on Gotta Have What It Takes), Muldaur herein soars with an all too rare combination of the seemingly incongruous attributes of whimsy and mastery.

Spivey's command of the verse, chorus and bridge template is celebrated impeccably by Muldaur's takes on No, Papa, No!, T-B Blues and Don't Love No Married Man. But by far the most magnificent moment comes from Muldaur's Spivey-inspired Any-Kind-A-Man. The latter track was composed in 1929 by Spivey's much loved colleague, fellow visionary and OKeh labelmate, the great Hattie McDaniel

. McDaniel, who would of course go on to tremendous acclaim as an Oscar-winning film superstar (including landmark roles in Gone With The Wind and Thank Your Lucky Stars) and television pioneer, provided Spivey with one of her finest moments in the studio, enabling Muldaur to bring the process full circle nearly a century later.

One Hour Mama: The Blues Of Victoria Spivey is not the first project to champion the work of the early blues masters in recent months. In 2024, virtuoso guitarist Sue Foley paid tribute to a number of Spivey's like minded colleagues in her One Guitar Woman album for Stony Plain. And with this latest project, Muldaur not only pays her mentor's legacy forward, but (like Foley), brings it full circle. To invoke one of the many Spivey triumphs feted here, it is a Down Hill Pull that nonetheless finds one and all on a decidedly upward trajectory.

THE BIG STIR RECORDS

HIT MACHINE -

Various Artists (Big Stir)

Being involved in the recording industry in the later years of the twentieth century had its advantages for the record collector.

One such perk was the practice by a number of labels to service media outlets with promotional Various Artists 45 EPs, cassettes, LPs and CDs. Those samplers highlighted representative tracks from the latest releases by the label's key artists in the hopes of inspiring the recipients to investigate the work of those artists in greater detail.

True to form, the Big Stir label followed suit at the end of 2025 with the release of the twenty-five track CD collection, The Big Stir Records Hit Machine. The Burbank-based label, which has earned high praise in recent years for giving a home to such highly respected veteran artists as the Cyrkle, the Strawberry Alarm Clock and Graham Parker has in turn done much to bring such proven methodolgies into the modern day setting.

Indeed, The Big Stir Records Hit Machine features much that will inspire. The latest offerings from the aforementioned Strawberry Alarm Clock and Graham Parker (with Mike Gent) are included, along with new material from such like minded artists as 20/20, Nelson Bragg, the Spongetones, the Jack Rubies, Sparkle * Jets U.K., the Gold Needles and Librarians With Hickeys. Pleasant surprises also abound, best evidenced by Michael Simmons' magnificent interpretation of the Beach Boys' Sail On, Sailor.

With the twenty-first century entering its second quarter in 2026, Big Stir has done much to sustain the momentum of proven artists and methodologies; setting the stage for the ongoing betterment of the art to the satisfaction of all factions. In the words of the Bablers' contribution to this collection, it's One Of Those Dreams that requires ongoing oversight. But it is nonetheless worth the effort.

I'M THE PROBLEM  - 

Morgan Wallen

(Big Loud)

"Keep it Barbershop".

That simple admonition became an ad hoc mission statement for the late, great Richard W. "Dick" Briel. A tireless champion of the vocal harmony genre known as Barbershop, Briel was a lead vocalist with the San Gabriel Valley Harmony Statesmen during much of the second half of the twentieth centuy. Adamant in his resolve to keep the group's repertoire within that framework, Briel underscored his point by delivering unwaveringly as the consummate showman; augmented by his genial persona and impeccable sense of comedic timing.

Ironically, during its prolific run as the focal point of music's last collective gasp of consequence (the so called New Traditionalist movement of the late 1980s and early 1990s), country music found itself facing a similar dichotomy in some circles. While by definition the New Traditionalist contingent championed a return to form that in part saw some of the genre's most beloved pioneers (including George Jones, Johnny Cash, Buck Owens and Waylon Jennings) enjoy a late career renaissance, it also brought with it a faction that sought to take the genre to the next level via the incorporation of classic rock into the mix. Reactions among the hardcore faithful were mixed, to put it mildly. 

In a sense, composer, vocalist and Sneedville, Tennessee native Morgan Cole Wallen herein finds himself at a crossroads of sorts between those two perspectives. The beneficiary of extensive media exposure at the onset of his career in the mid-2010s, Wallen was rewarded at the onset with substantial mainstream acclaim.

But with I'm The Problem (a somewhat tongue in cheek profession of self-depreciation that was inspired in part via its use in Taylor Swift's October 2022 Anti-Hero single), Wallen finds himself at his own impasse of sorts between the multi-genre red carpet afforded him via his substantial media platform versus his innate leanings towards the purist perspective. 

To his considerable credit, Wallen herein draws from the best of both worlds and emerges triumphant. To wit, the thirty-seven originals in this collection (recorded over a two year period) find Wallen steadfastly walking in solidarity with the basic precepts of the country music experience and its prerequisite periphery. Wallen's resolve is perhaps best showcased in Revelation, in which he professes the need for salvation in the wake of listening to Billy Graham sermons after a disillusioning encounter with Jim Beam.

Conversely, Wallen's consistent mainstream exposure has afforded him the opportunity to join forces with artists whose own musical visions espouse a multi-genre perspective. His recent projects with Tate McRae (What I Want) and one-time Taylor Swift collaborator Post Malone (I Ain't Comin' Back) were both successful singles and are included here. Each provided a catalyst of sorts for Wallen's propensity towards a broader mission statement. That attribute is showcased quite well herein by his solo single, Love Somebody, as well as such standout tracks as Working Man's Song, Where'd That Girl Go and Leavin's The Least I Could Do.

Interestingly enough, Wallen brings the first half of I'm The Problem together as a thematic medley of sorts, in a manner similar to that executed in 1968 by the Amboy Dukes on the second side of their Journey To The Center Of The Mind album for Bob Shad's Mainstream label. Wallen further drives the point home by augmenting partially developed concepts with dreamscape interludes, as did the Rationals on their debut album for the Crewe label. 

All told, I'm The Problem is a best of both worlds endeavor that ultimately allows for the growth and expansion that has been indigenous to the genre all along. As Wallen himself somewhat prophetically observed in 2023, it is a methodology that is best realized One Thing At A Time.