Tom Waits- Blue Valentine 40th Anniversary

In 1978 my pick for album of the year was Bruce Springsteen's Darkness on the Edge of Town,which no doubt topped many such lists that year.Second by a gnat's eyelash on my list,however,was Blue Valentine by Tom Waits,an album which I can cherish easily for another thirty years...(more)

Lynyrd Skynyrd- Woman of Mine- Memphis 10-30-73

"Woman of Mine" by Lynyrd Skynyrd is one of only two Leon Wilkeson collaborations with lyricist/ singer Ronnie Van Zant, but had it not been performed live in Ardent Studio in Memphis on October 30, 1973 during a promotional broadcast on Memphis radio station WMC-FM, there is a real high probability that we would never have known of its existence...

Who- Love Reign O’er Me- Toronto 12-82

The Who had announced that their 1982 tour would be their final one, and at least one member of the band, Pete Townshend, really believed it to be true at the time, making this final stop of that tour in Toronto December 17, 1982  and this…

U2- Love Rescue Me- 1987

Maybe one of the reasons why U2's Rattle and Hum  film and soundtrack album did not receive quite the same critical worship that their preceding album The Joshua Tree  had is because all five U2 studio efforts to date had been conceived with…

Heart- Dog and Butterfly- Nancy and Ann Wilson

Without sacrificing any of the hard rock cred for which they had so tenaciously fought, Seattle sisters Ann Wilson and kickin' guitarist Nancy Wilson of Heart showed considerable growth and songwriting confidence in 1978 on "Dog and Butterfly"...

Sting- The Last Ship- pt 2

"It was never my intention to write a rock musical," Sting stated emphatically here In the Studio in part two of our conversation about his "The Last Ship", "Theater is too small to really create the visceral energy of a rock'n'roll show, which is noisy and powerful. Theater is a smaller kind of music. And that's what I wanted to make - a kind of old-fashioned musical, in a way, which harkens back to a different era." Part 2.

Sting- The Last Ship- pt 1

Sting hosting a very personal discussion of his family as well as their cultural history, centered in the shipyard of the Northern England seaport city of Walls End/Newcastle, where "your casket is sealed with a riveter's gun..." and retold as fable as the bold multi-dimensional album and 2014 Broadway musical "The Last Ship". Listen here to Sting in part one of two of "The Last Ship".

Crowded House- I Got You- America 2010

This song "I Got You" was done in 1980 by New Zealand band Split Enz, who started their career by dressing in such bizarre  garish make-up that would make KISS look like Lady Gaga. Split Enz was led by Tim Finn and younger brother Neil, who…

Joe Satriani- Crystal Planet 20th Anniversary

Ten years after redefining what the guitar composer/ performer could be with 1987's Surfing with the Alien,  Joe Satriani had come to a crossroads in his career and knew that he needed a second act. He delivered in a big way in 1998 with Crystal…

Lynyrd Skynyrd feat. Ed King- Sweet Home Alabama- Dallas 1993

L-R Ed King, Gary Rossington, Johnny Van Zant of Lynyrd Skynyrd performing "Sweet Home Alabama" acoustically in front of a small invited audience- Q102 Dallas , Spring 1993 -Redbeard