For some reason, I think of Simon & Garfunkel during the holidays. It’s not a Christmas things, just a memory of listening to their music on cold winter nights, trading guitar chords with a friend and trying to be a songwriting duo. First, 12 of my favorite Simon & Garfunkel songs. Picking 12 is tough because there are lot more than a dozen favorites. These are not ranked. Here goes: Simon & Garfunkel “April Comes She Will” – From Sounds of Silence, a quietly beautiful, lilting ballad, sung by Garfunkel. A mature and poignant song of the cycle of love. “The Boxer” – A thunderous so ..read more

I wasn’t sure that I’d indulge in buying either of these two greatest hits collections. How many copies of these songs does a boy need? To be fair, the only copy of the “blue album” I own is a vinyl copy from the early 1970s. I do not own a CD version of the blue album, until now. The various remastering and remixes of Beatles recordings in recent years means that I own, most if not all, of the song versions on this set on other CDs. I think, I’m not a 100 percent. I do not own any versions of the new “Now and Then.” First released back in 1973, these two, two-LP vinyl sets divided the single ..read more

Do the Rolling Stones feel the end of the road is nearing? The band had been recording new music for several years, when Jagger/Richards felt an urgency to finish enough for an album. They chose a couple of tracks with the late Charlie Watts back in 2019, and with newer material, Hackney Diamonds emerged. Classic rock bands find it difficult to sell new music, so they spend their effort touring, which the Stones have focused. “I’d rather be dead than sing ‘Satisfaction’ when I’m 45,” Mickey Jagger told People magazine back in 1975. We all say things that we regret saying later. Now at 80, the ..read more

Think you know everything about James Bond and The Beatles? I thought I did, until I read this book. Love and Let Die (2023, Pegasus Books) by John Higgs fills in a few gaps in my knowledge of both subjects. I hadn’t really thought of 007 and The Beatles of having so much in common, and so ingrained in the British resolve. The Beatles and James Bond each arrived on the same day in 1962. “Love Me Do” and Dr. No. If you are thinking The Beatles broke up in 1970, you’d be correct, but each continued as a solo artist. And, if you haven’t heard, The Beatles will be releasing a new, and final song ..read more

Rolling Stone magazine has updated and expanded their Greatest Guitarists of All-Time List. Let the arguments begin. I do not put much faith in lists, they are just opinions, designed to bring attention and drive discussion. I quickly went through their list, not pausing to register surprise at any ranking, frankly just to see who they missed. I do not really care that Eric Clapton is ranked only 37 on the list. It’s been awhile since “Clapton is God” graffiti was lining subway stations. On a list of 250 names, how could any worthy players have failed to be represented? It did happen. My exper ..read more

I pride myself in knowing a lot about rock history and the 1960s L.A. music scene, but Tom Kemper’s The Monkees: Made in Hollywood (2023, Reaktion Books) taught me a thing or two. Or three. The Monkees: Made in Hollywood, is about the made for television Monkees, a pre-fab four group of wisecracking, affable, young musicians – and how the music, publishing, promotion, touring and television arms of the entertainment industrial complex, formed a partnership to create a wild, interconnected form of entertainment. The Monkees, the TV show, lasted just two television seasons, four albums, one fil ..read more

All the Leaves Are Brown: How The Mamas & The Papas Came Together and Broke Apart, by Scott G. Shea (2023, Backbeat Books), is my kind of music history. Easy to read, in-depth research, and plenty of things even a musicologist like me, did not know. The deep-dive into John Phillip’s early life and family history is fascinating, if not very sad. While he could be charming and impressive with his talent, Phillips had an addictive, destructive personality. Shea writes, “By 1964, John Phillips was a full pledged drug addict.” Amphetamines and marijuana were his drugs of choice. He was on his ..read more

Bernie Taupin, songwriter partner of Elton John on most of his songs, has written his memoirs. Scattershot: Life, Music, Elton & Me (2023, Hachette Books), takes you inside the juicy and often excessive world of rock ‘n’ roll. But this really isn’t a sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll book, even though it has a steady helping of each. Let’s begin at the beginning. Elton John composed the music to Bernie Taupin’s lyrics. The two have been collaborators and friends for more than 50 years. “I’m a storyteller…A lyricist? I don’t know what that means.” That’s what Taupin said to television interviewe ..read more

The story of the Allman Brothers Band has been told in a variety of books, including a different book by Alan Paul, but this one, The Allman Brothers, and the Inside Story of the Album That Defined the ‘70s (2023, St. Martin’s Press) focuses on the years 1971-1976, the most successful period of the ABB. Paul is arguably the biographer of The Allman Brothers Band, conducting years of interviews with ABB members and others in their inner circle, listening to hundreds of hours of taped interviews with the band, record company reps, family and tour crew, and doing just good research. Paul’s book ..read more

Keyboardist Richard Wright of Pink Floyd released several solo albums in his career. His first, Wet Dream, has just been released as a remix by the extraordinary mix-master Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree. Other remixes done by Wilson include classic albums by Yes, Jethro Tull, Black Sabbath, Van Morrison, XTC, The Who, Tears For Fears, Chic, Guns ‘N’Roses, Roxy Music, Gentle Giant, King Crimson and many more. The original 1978 release. “But here we have an album from the 1970s that has a lot of that DNA… there’s a lot of what you associate with classic Pink Floyd, especially Wish You Were Her ..read more