Album Reviews

In 1975, with complete artistic control written into his new Columbia Records contract, Willie Nelson entered Autumn Sound, a small Garland, Texas studio, to record a sparely arranged concept album based upon the semi-obscure song "The Red Haired Stranger," written by Carl Stutz, a Richmond, Virginia based radio announcer  and Edith Lindeman Calisch, the amusement critic for the Richmond Times-Dispatch newspaper. The pair was best known for writing "Little Things Mean A Lot," which was a hit single for the pop star Kitty Kallen back in 1954 and featured on the wildly popular TV show "Your Hit Parade." Stutz went on to become a high-school math teacher.  

The British progressive rock group Gentle Giant never achieved exalted status among the genre's aficionados, though they were well respected and their following was loyal and vociferous. When I was on "free form" FM radio in the mid 1970s I'd get calls from fans requesting Gentle Giant, but when I played through the albums, I heard nothing that I thought would grab listeners.  Listening today to this and to Free Hand (ALLUGV03)—the two albums falling midway in their recording career— makes clear why that was so,  and why they are deserving of a second listen almost forty years later. 

When this record was issued in 1976, 47 year old Betty Carter (born Lillie Mae Jones) had already sang with Dizzy, Miles, Lionel Hampton, Sonny Rollins and many others.

Trio ’65 showcases pianist Bill Evans as a career artist in a growth phase. This Acoustic Sounds Series, QRP-Pressed 180g LP reissue of a consummate Verve Records/Rudy Van Gelder classic handily answers the following question very much in the affirmative: Do I really need this version in my collection?

Natalie Merchant’s first solo outing after leaving 10,000 Maniacs, issued in 1995, was among her finest records. For those who may have found her earlier work overblown and precious, the understated, acoustic setting, provided by a trio of then relative unknowns, proved ideal for a set of introspective set pieces dealing with issues of loss, jealousy, escape, sacrifice, loneliness, stardom and martyrdom delivered with cozy intimacy. No wonder it became a big seller.

“The greatest LP ever recorded in England” gushed The Lama Review (http://www.lysergia.com/LamaReviews/lamaMain.htm) a website dedicated to psychedelic music. “…the best middle Eastern acid folk album ever recorded,” sayeth MOJO. “An oblique masterpiece…” according to Record Collector.

Originally recorded for a King Biscuit Flower Hour radio show and taken from a decent stereo board mix, this set chronicles The Ramones at their peak before an adoring home audience. The group had just returned from a triumphant European tour during which It's Alive had been recorded at the Rainbow Theatre on New Year's Eve just a week before.