Spider November 2020

Out with the old, in with the new: gone was John L. Watson, standing, or rather sitting at the keyboards. In his stead came Dave Lawson, and in celebration of his ensnarement by the band, gone too was the "The" in Web. The new-look Web released the group's third and final album, I Spider, in 1970. It was also their best, bringing to fruition the group's sound and leaving behind the rather stumbling genre experimentations of yesteryear. Moving strongly into progressive rock, the band strode far afield from the psychedelic meanderings they'd undertaken on their last set, Theraphosa Blondi.

In the golden age of the British R&B revival, few groups created as much excitement and controversy as the Pretty Things. They came up alongside the Rolling Stones in the early 1960s, but were deemed by critics and fans as wilder and bluesier than even Mick Jagger & co. When long-haired Phil May sang and shook his maracas with manic intensity, audiences and record buyers knew they were in for a wild ride.

In 1975, vocalist Ken Shields, keyboard player Daryl Gutheil and bassist Kim Sinnaeve formed the band Wascana. After being renamed Witness, the group became Streetheart when guitarist Paul Dean and drummer Matt Frenette joined in 1977…

This Digitally Remastered Best reissue from Japan of the Best of A&M Years features all of the wispy French lounge pop singer's best cuts, including "Hello, Hello," "I Think it's Going to Rain Today," "A Man and a Woman (Un Homme et Une Femme)" and the Beatles' covers "Here, There and Everywhere" and "Good Day Sunshine".

The Gaslight Anthem's 2023 LP History Books serves as their first since 2014, and the band brings such ferocity to their return, it sounds as if they're trying to wipe away a near-decade's worth of cobwebs in a single riff, cymbal crash, and lyric. Somber but not sad, History Books recalls the urgency and triumph of the band's sophomore effort and breakthrough, 2008's The '59 Sound. Singer Brian Fallon sounds reinvigorated and as tenacious as ever, yet also a bit wiser since the last time he and his band checked in. Opener "Spider Bites" shines with soaring guitar solos and a galloping drum groove. Fallon's voice is awash in distortion, less desperate but no less passionate than he sounded as a young man 15 years prior to History Books.