steel guitarist Ben Keith, and Rick Rosas on bass, CD2 manages to sound both home-grown and experimental. It's the work of an artist still not afraid to take chances, who also knows what his strengths are and doesn't stray too far from them. Trainspotters will note that three of the ten songs were written but never released before, while we all might puzzle over the title. Chrome Dreams is the name of an unreleased album from 1977. So, why is this Chrome Dreams II ? Is it a similar case to 1992's Harvest Moon , when Young went back to the virtual land of his 1972 hit Harvest to write more material in that vein? As the original was reportedly lost in a fire, we may never know. Chrome Dreams II offers up gorgeous, plaintive laments and country-tinged num...  (less)

Door," "He Stopped Loving Her Today," to name just three--elevated Jones from great country singer to living legend. This 16-track set skips far too many Jones-Sherrill highlights (and it oddly includes "Radio Lover," one "biggest hit" that was never a hit at all), but it's the only one-disc set to provide an overview of the team's entire 17-year partnership. From 1972's poignantly countrypolitan "A Picture of Me" to the grim humor of 1989's "The King Is Gone," no country music is as painfully beautiful as this. --David Cantwell  (less)

career, which makes Old Ways something of a anomaly. Released in 1985 as the mid-title in a misbegotten five-LP stint with Geffen, it failed to exhibit the kind of roughhewn muscle of its more robust country cousins. With Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson making vocal contributions and a mix of longtime Young sidemen and Nashville cats laying down a bed of fiddles, steel guitar, and banjo, it would seem to be cruising right up Music City's main drag of the mid-'80s. But Young being Young, he goes around the bend with "Misfits," which summons an indelible image of space-station astronauts watching reruns of Muhammad Ali fights. It happens to be the most memorable number on Old Ways , which perhaps explains why those new fans never showed up and...  (less)

a staple of Oldies radio. After more hits, Johnny went solo in 1962 with moderate success, until the late '60s, when he formed a large vocal touring group. When an associate commented, "It's gonna be easier to sell the Brooklyn Bridge than sell a group of this size," Johnny's new outfit had a name. In 1968, their version of Jimmy Webb's "The Worst That Could Happen" went to #3 on the charts and led to countless concert and television appearances. By 1972 the Brooklyn Bridge had sold over ten million records and they have soldiered on ever since, mainly as a highly successful live attraction that sells out such venues as Madison Square Garden, Radio City Music Hall, and Carnegie Hall, not to mention countless casinos across the country even today. Cove...  (less)

steel guitarist Ben Keith, and Rick Rosas on bass, CD2 manages to sound both home-grown and experimental. It's the work of an artist still not afraid to take chances, who also knows what his strengths are and doesn't stray too far from them. Trainspotters will note that three of the ten songs were written but never released before, while we all might puzzle over the title. Chrome Dreams is the name of an unreleased album from 1977. So, why is this Chrome Dreams II ? Is it a similar case to 1992's Harvest Moon , when Young went back to the virtual land of his 1972 hit Harvest to write more material in that vein? As the original was reportedly lost in a fire, we may never know. Chrome Dreams II offers up gorgeous, plaintive laments and country-tinged num...  (less)

of the moment. Hasn't happened. Subtítulo , so named because the artist has curled himself up in the culture of his adopted country, Spain, is as stuck in the '70s as anything he's produced, only this time he's sprinkled on Basque-country flavoring. "Quiet Town" paints so pretty a picture of sleepy romantic Euro villa life that it comes across as a kick in the shin to daydreaming suburbanites; "Summertime" effectively recreates long days by Grandma's kidney-shaped pool; "It Looks Like Love" cops a Seals & Crofts soft-rock creaminess that goes down so easy it really has no business presenting itself in this decade; and "Jersey Clowns" clambers along thoughtfully, sweeping unsuspecting listeners up in a low-decibel tale of love gone wrong. Two ...  (less)

Ain't Been Able" from Hank Williams Jr's groundbreaking "Family Tradition" album and a stone ground Country version of George Jones's 1972 classic "A Day In The Life Of A Fool". The balance of repertoire includes three songs from 2004's "Saving The Hondy Tonk", including a new acoustic version of the haunting "A Hard Secret To Keep". "Heard It In A Love Song" offers something for everybody--a solid body of great songs from a most-bankable voice. Produced by Jimmy Ritchie and Mark Chesnutt.  (less)

these mostly instrumental affairs is on his powers as a composer and an instrumentalist. Billed as a Zappa solo album, 1969's Hot Rats , the most accessible of the three, supports Zappa's guitar work with soaring electric violins (often by Jean Luc Ponty), some blistering sax work, and a variety of keyboard textures (the latter two elements courtesy of Ian Underwood), not to mention Captain Beefheart's vocal cameo on the gritty "Willie the Pimp." Waka/Jawaka , also a "solo" effort from 1972, added country and blues shadings to the diverse musical mix. The Grand Wazoo , a grand pseudo-concept album released later in 1972, was credited to Frank Zappa and the Mothers and featured the work of nearly two dozen musicians...  (less)

Green, Pete Drake (steel guitar); Kenny Lovelace, George Binkley (fiddle); David Darling, Albert Coleman, Stephen Clapp, William Fitzpatrick, Buddy Spicher (strings); Charlie McCoy (harmonica, vibraphone); Hargus ""Pig"" Robbins (piano); Billy Storm (organ); Bob Moore (bass guitar); Buddy Harman (drums); Joseph T. Babcock, Mildred Kirkham, Ray Walker, The Jordanaires, Neal Matthews, Gordon Stoker, Hoyt Hawkins, Trish Williams, Dolores Dinning Edgin, Ricky Page, Hurshel Wiginton (background vocals). Recording information: 1972 - 1975.Uncut (p.172) - 3 stars out of 5 - ""[He's] still in fine voice."""  (less)

Kelly (accordion); Deborah Green Andersen (piano, background vocals); Glenn Spreen (organ, harpsichord); David Briggs (organ, celeste); Ferrell Morris (vibraphone); Mark Spoor, Norbert Putnam (bass); Kenneth Buttrey (drums, tambourine, percussion); Jim McKevitt, Richard Schlosser (drums); Gerry Carrigan (percussion); Joni Mitchell, The Holidays, Temple Riser, The Jordanaires, Millie Kirkham, La Verna Moore, Sonja Motgomery, Florence Warner (background vocals). Producers: Norbert Putnam, The Andersen Project. Reissue producer: Bruce Dickinson. Engineers: Glen Kolotkin, Stan Tonkel, Stan Hutto. Recorded at Quadrafonic Studios, Nashville, Tennesee in 1972. Includes liner notes by Anthony DeCurtis. Digitally remastered by Chris Athens (Sony Music Studios, New York, New York). Eric Andersen was a spawn of the same '60s folk scene as Joni Mitchell and Leonard Cohen, and like them, his music has gone through many changes and resists easy categorization. BLUE RIVER, recorded in Nashville and originally released in 1972, is regarded by fans and critics as his masterpiece. Andersen's songs are reflective and literate, with poetic ruminations on love, uncertainty, and desire that are neither obscure nor whiny. He sings in a nasal, slightly fragile voice similar to James Taylor or Donovan, and his music is an unassuming combination of folk, pop, rock, and country, with thoughtful melodies that don't ""hook"" on first listen, but rather make a deep impression on repeated listenings. There are two songs new to this edition, including a great, snappy version of Hank Williams' honky-tonk classic ""Why Don't You Love Me (Like You Used To Do).""Dirty Linen (6-7/00, p.56) - ""...A benchmark album in folk music....Blessed with a warm tenor voice and frail delivery, [he] amalgamated pop, country, and folk on BLUE RIVER in what became one of the decade's [the 70s] seminal folk albums..."""  (less)

Young has come up with a gem--not all flash and bling-bling, but as understated as a single pearl, musically restrained yet emotionally open. Of course, neither Demme (an Oscar winner for The Silence of the Lambs ; he also helmed Talking Heads' Stop Making Sense ) nor Young would call it "a concert film"; the director describes it as "a dream concert, something that's literally being dreamt by Neil," while the singer-songwriter himself calls it "a multi-level story." Whatever, the project came together in 2005, as Young was finishing his Prairie Wind album (the latest in a string of lovely, country-flavored acoustic recordings dating back to 1972's Harvest ) and preparing to debut the music at Nashville's fabled Ryman Auditorium, home of the Grand Ole Opry. The fact tha...  (less)