Doug Taylor

Bluegrass interpretations of the Moody Blues? Pickers tackling the pretentious Brit cloud-gazers is conceivable, it just wasn’t begging to be done. Mandolin player/producer David Harvey persuaded an impressive number of colleagues to touch their inner hippies. “Your Wildest Dreams,” as sung by Harley Allen and Jan Harvey, is the one song brilliantly reborn. On the […]

Terence Trent D’ArbyWild Card (Sananda/Universal)The man who would have been the grittier Prince or the nastier Lenny Kravitz re-emerges after a move to Italy. There’s less sneer and more bliss in the voice, but this is not as disastrous for his music as one might think. He can still shift from growl to falsetto with […]

The RakesCapture/Release(V2)Those who know that a rake can be defined as a dissolute person as well as a garden tool are more likely to have the right idea about the Rakes. This rock defies you not to dance. “We are all love machines carrying various genes” from “We are All Animals” is a sample of […]

i see rowboatsHide & Seek Behind the ThroneIndependentWhile songs and conventional rhythms have their place for Halifax’s i see rowboats, it is spirited instrumental interplay that enlivens the listening. Luke Fisher’s violin gets into a scrap with drums and group vocals on “Mine and Strike,” giving as good as it gets. On “Ci Ci,” guitar, […]

VariousSearching for the Wrong-Eyed Jesus OST (V2)Herein lies the ambience for the film where the Southern states get a freak show treatment, not entirely undeserved. Florida singer Jim White, central in the film, is on three tracks, with the remainder stoking the exotic angle. Johnny Dowd will make you think kindly on gun control with […]

BlancheIf We Can’t Trust the Doctors… (V2)When Blanche’s Dan John Miller and Tracee Lee Miller trade lines, it’s a revival of a great old country music device, although when Tracee Lee coos “and I will fuck you until you die” on “Jack on Fire,” intriguing new territory beckons. This Detroit twang emits a gothic aroma, […]

Kelly Joe PhelpsTunesmith Retrofit(Rounder)Soft-spoken, light-fingered Phelps leaves an intricately bare-bones imprint on Tunesmith Retrofit. It may take multiple listens to get past the craft to the emotions. Three Canadians—Chris Gestrin, Jesse Zubot and Steve Dawson—help flesh out the Oregonian’s subtle backing. “The sensible word that hovers and shakes like a hummingbird,” from “Tight to the […]

Amy WinehouseBack to Black(Island)Talk about fast introductions! The first line, first breath is “They tried to make me go to rehab, I said no no no.” Ten seconds in, you know more about this tattooed Brit siren than most of your acquaintances. Further in, on “Me & Mr. Jones,” she demands “What kind of fuckery […]

Blink-182Greatest Hits (Geffen)On this collection, you can trace the San Diego trio’s snotty, relatively thin sound of “Carousel” (1995) grow into the undeniable “What’s My Age Again?” (1999), then become almost too sophisticated to be called punk. A progression out of adolescent selfishness through remorse to sharp insight into the lives of others accompanies the […]

Carolyn Dawn JohnsonDress Rehearsal (Arista)A few years after one of the brightest debuts in memory, Johnson slips a bit further into mainstream country. This might be good for her status in Nashville, but a disappointment for those who found glints of greatness in Room With a View. Still, the Albertan comes up with a few […]