Album Reviews
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One of the more interesting trends of the 1970s was the development of the “farewell residency,” when bands would end their run with a series of shows, which would result in the the release of a final concert album. Thus was the case for Welsh-based Man, a band that had specialized in an enjoyable blend… Read more
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In 1977, producer Art Brambila embarked on a project that would serve as a thank-you to labor leader Cesar Chavez, who had helped him get sponsorship for his television show, The Mean Salsa Machine. He then compiled and composed ten songs inspired by his speeches, or songs sung at rallies, and set about recording… Read more
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Upon its release in 1987, Heaven on Earth, Belinda Carlisle‘s second solo album, was a grand slam hit. The Go-Go’s lead singer had parlayed the success of her previous band with 1986’s Belinda, which spawned one excellent single, “Mad About You,” but was overall a weak effort from an artist trying to create her own identity… Read more
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Superchunk‘s sixth album, Indoor Living, found the Chapel Hill band at a crossroads. The band’s previous albums, 1994’s Foolish, and 1995’s Here’s Where The Strings Come In, were critically well-received and, in terms of independent record sales in the mid-1990s, both were commercially successful. As often happens in the case of bands with a… Read more
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Jim Capaldi was the drummer and founder of progressive/psychedelic band Traffic. When the band split in the early 1970s, he launched his solo career. In 1977, he released his fourth album, The Contender, and his first for Polydor. It’s a quite varied listen, and it’s rather obvious attempt at a contemporary commercial record, though his guitarist Pete… Read more
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We here at The Recoup will always make time for anything that says “Burt Bacharach & Hal David” on it–even crappy remixes. Bacharach is that special, and considering his vast catalog of hit songs, even his lesser material–and lesser interpretations–will always retain a certain sense of quality. The Sound of Bacharach & David is a… Read more
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The college-rock explosion of the mid-to-late 1980s was a fertile, creative time, even though the genre gets written out of the rock history books, thanks to the burgeoning “alternative rock” scene and subsequent “grunge explosion.” College-rock bands were melodic, a little rock, and not particularly ashamed of showing some ambition–after all, R.E.M. and 10,000 Maniacs obtained success while still… Read more
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A decade ago, a new breed of psychedelic musicians rediscovered Michael Yonkers, a 1970s-era Midwestern lo-fi psych-rocker who had self-released a handful of obscure but highly sought-after albums of grizzly, lo-fi, rough music that defies easy description. The good people at Drag City, in a continued effort to document the lost works of artists you didn’t know you… Read more
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Though they came from a humble, hardscrabble scene, Belleville, Illinois-based Uncle Tupelo would posthumously be recognized as and promoted to the role of being founding fathers of the “alt.country” (whatever that is) movement. After four albums and a rather bitter split, fans have accepted that no reunion will ever take place, but because of the quality… Read more
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