Age Thomas Greenberg

Various Artists - The Scepter Records Story (1992) {3CD Set, Capricorn Records ‎9 42003-2 rec 1960-1972}
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© 1960-72, 1992 Scepter Records / Capricorn Records ‎| 9 42003-2
R'n'B / Rock / Early Pop / Frat Rock / Brill Building Pop / Rock & Roll

Big Apple-based Scepter Records was among the handful of independent labels to have survived the British Invasion of the 1960s. Their longevity was rooted in a solid roster with something for every taste, ranging from the intricate harmonies of R&B vocal girl groups to loose raucous frat rock with practically everything in between. Remarkably, Scepter was not helmed by a business-savvy entrepreneur or a veteran music industry renegade. In fact, a middle-aged suburban housewife and mother was actually behind the scenes calling the shots. At the insistence of her daughter Mary Jane, Florence Greenberg was introduced to four of Mary Jane's mates who had performed in their school's talent show.

The title Redemption carries a bit of weight, suggesting Joe Bonamassa is seeking salvation in something – either he's grappling with an inner torment or finding refuge in his music, but these two things aren't mutually exclusive…

The Road and the Radio arrives at the end of a busy 2005 for Kenny Chesney. As the year opened, he followed up his 2004 blockbuster When the Sun Goes Down with the mellow Be as You Are. A few months later, he married movie star Renee Zellweger, and four months after that, she filed for divorce. Two months after that, Chesney returned with The Road and the Radio, the big, splashy proper follow-up to When the Sun Goes Down. Given such a tight, hectic schedule, it shouldn't come as a great surprise that The Road and the Radio sounds rushed, as if Chesney didn't have the chance to properly decide the right course for this album.

Maybe it's just the times but Toby Keith has had drinking on his mind, calling his 2011 album Clancy's Tavern, which rode up the charts on the back of the boozy hit "Red Solo Cup" and now, for its sequel, Keith serves up Hope on the Rocks, an album where he finds his way to "Cold Beer Country" and complains that he hasn't had a drink all day. He also admits that "I Like Girls Who Drink Beer," the confession coming as no great surprise and, truth be told, there are no great surprises throughout Hope on the Rocks. Keith has whittled the album down to his basics, finding space for only three love songs – the heartbroken "Haven't Seen the Last of You," "Missed You Just Right," which has airs of an arena-country crossover, and the bittersweet "You Ain't Alone," all arriving in the back half of the album, helping to accentuate the album's party-ready atmosphere.

The title Redemption carries a bit of weight, suggesting Joe Bonamassa is seeking salvation in something – either he's grappling with an inner torment or finding refuge in his music, but these two things aren't mutually exclusive. Certainly, Redemption teems with images of loss and regret, with Bonamassa admitting he suffered "Self-Inflicted Wounds" that left him to "Pick Up the Pieces" before he finally realizes "I've Got Some Mind Over What Matters" and discovers he's "Stronger Now in Broken Places." All those songs arrive in that chronological order, suggesting Redemption is something of a song cycle, but Bonamassa's thematic control isn't what's impressive about the album.

Once again working with producer/songwriter Tom Hambridge – the bluesman's main collaborator since 2008's Skin Deep – Buddy Guy serves up a straight-ahead platter with Born to Play Guitar, his 28th studio album. Many of Guy's latter-day records loosely follow a theme, but Born to Play Guitar is pretty direct: just a collection of songs designed to showcase Buddy's oversized Stratocaster. Which isn't to say there's either a lack of variety or pro forma songwriting here. Hambridge cleverly colors Born to Play Guitar with a few bold, unexpected flourishes: the sweeps of sweet strings that accentuate "(Baby) You've Got What It Takes," a duet with Joss Stone that lightly recalls Etta James' Chess Records work; the big, blaring horns of "Thick Like Mississippi Mud" that moves that track out of the Delta and into an urban setting; the acoustic "Come Back Muddy" which performs that trick in reverse, pushing Chicago blues back down south.

The title Redemption carries a bit of weight, suggesting Joe Bonamassa is seeking salvation in something – either he's grappling with an inner torment or finding refuge in his music, but these two things aren't mutually exclusive. Certainly, Redemption teems with images of loss and regret, with Bonamassa admitting he suffered "Self-Inflicted Wounds" that left him to "Pick Up the Pieces" before he finally realizes "I've Got Some Mind Over What Matters" and discovers he's "Stronger Now in Broken Places." All those songs arrive in that chronological order, suggesting Redemption is something of a song cycle, but Bonamassa's thematic control isn't what's impressive about the album.

Twenty years into his career, the inevitable happened: Toby Keith started to slide down the charts. He'd had slow patches before – when he moved from A&M to Dreamworks at the end of the '90s, he had trouble getting into the Top 10 – but the success of 2011's Clancy's Tavern and its accompanying hits "Made in America," "Red Solo Cup," and "Beers Ago" wound up seeming like a fluke once 2012's Hope on the Rocks stalled on the charts. Confronted with a possible decline in his fortune, Keith takes action on Drinks After Work, his 17th album in 20 years.