Fred Thomas

Simply put, James Brown is rightfully the definition of soul. He's been adorned with many a lofty title or nickname over the decades-"The Godfather Of Soul", "Soul Brother Number One", the Hardest Working Man in Show Business", Mr. Dynamite", all may seem extreme, but when it comes to JB they are well deserved. Few, if any, African-American musicians have been so influential in popular music. It has been said that no performer puts on a more exciting, athletic stage show than James, with Brown a whirling dervish, sweat soaked and executing incredible dance moves.

If Lana Del Rey's 2021 album Chemtrails Over the Country Club felt like the atmospheric post-script to her 2019 master statement Norman Fucking Rockwell!, Blue Banisters comes off like the addendum to the post-script. Released just seventh months after its predecessor, Blue Banisters isn't too far removed from the midtempo, woozy tones that defined that album. The 15 tracks here span about an hour running time, and generally stick to the familiar framework of sad-hearted torch songs for a burning world that Lana has built her entire discography on. Closely inspecting the songwriting, production, performance, and sequencing choice on Blue Banisters, however, reveals some moments of quiet evolution.

Limited 30th Anniversary release by the British shoegaze band. This collection contains the first four EPs by the band: Ride, Play, Fall, and Today Forever. The first three EPs were released in 1990 before the group issued their debut album and Today Forever was released in 1991.

In 1970, Creedence Clearwater Revival were one of the most popular bands in the world. Since releasing their debut album just two years prior, the group had been on a nonstop tear of writing hits and prolifically releasing new material, consistently landing in the upper reaches of the charts as the Woodstock generation came into being. By the time CCR embarked on their first European tour in April 1970, their last two albums had cracked the Top Ten in the U.S., they had multiple singles getting constant radio airplay, and the Beatles had just announced their breakup, making room for this hardworking group from El Cerrito to take their place as the biggest band in all of rock.