The title of the latest Lou Reed biography probably confirms how many see him. It is The King of New York (by Will Hermes) and immediately we picture Lou in leather on the dirty boulevard, being aggressive and cantankerous as he strides out sneering at lesser intellects, goes on about the poet Delmore Schwartz and somewhere in ... Source: Lou Reed: Hudson River Wind Meditations (vinyl release, CD ..read more

Reports from Bob Dylan's sold out North American tour are almost unanimous in their acclaim: at 82 Dylan is in good form, sometimes speaks to the audience (rare), mixes up older songs or deep cuts with his last studio album Rough and Rowdy Ways and in many places pays tribute to a local hero by singing one of their songs: Leonard Cohen's Dance Me to The End of Love in Montreal ... Source: Cat Power: Sings Dylan; The 1966 Royal Albert Hall Concert (digital outlets ..read more

There's plenty of evidence to support the view that when Bob Dylan considers “popular music” (as opposed to pop music) he thinks of the songs before Elvis. And his idea of rock music is formed by the notion ... Source: Bob Dylan: The Complete Budokan 1978 Live (digital outlets ..read more

When Elsewhere profiled singer-songwriter Chris Stapleton back in mid 2016 he was already an enormously successful artist and we noted he was in the lineage of crossover country artists like Source: Chris Stapleton: Higher ..read more

For those who haven't followed the extensive solo career of Ireland's Glen Hansard, he was the barely memorable guitarist in The Commitments but better known as the one of the two central characters in the 2007 film Once where he played the aspiring singer-songwriter/busker in a rather charming love story. However he was also in bands, the Frames and Swell Season but here again ... Source: Glen Hansard: All That Was East Is West Of Me Now ..read more

Now this is interesting: the solo, multi-tracked guitar, instrumental debut by Shane Warbrooke which is billed as “experimental”. But that's a word which will have some hiding under the bedsheets. So let's quickly sidestep that – and his “accumulated noise” ... Source: A Crude Mechanical: Discourse (Public Witness/digital outlets ..read more

Elsewhere was a bit underwhelmed by the 2017 debut album Process from Britain's rap-soul singer Sampha Sisay. But clearly we were out of step. It went on to win Britain's Mercury Prize. This follow-up which ... Source: ONE WE MISSED: Sampha: Lahai (Young/digital outlets ..read more

Elsewhere readers will be familiar with the name: Ebony Lamb was formerly of the long-running indie.folk/alt.country outfit Eb and Sparrow whose albums we have reviewed  (and sheSource: Ebony Lamb: Ebony Lamb (Slow Time/digital outlets ..read more

From time to time Elsewhere will single out a recent release we recommend on vinyl, like this double which comes in a gatefold sleeve and a classy cover. Check out Elsewhere's other Recommended Record ... Source: RECOMMENDED RECORD: Dimmer: Live at the Hollywood (digital outlets ..read more

We sometimes seem to have a curiously ambivalent relationship with some artists who leave the country and become successful overseas. Because they are not around – performing or to promote their work – their albums can go right past us. We could look to Margaret Urlich and Sharon O'Neill whose albums The Deepest Blue and Edge of Winter ... Source: Olivia Foa’i: Tūmau Pea (digital outlets ..read more