How do you follow up “Rocky Mountain Way”? You don’t. Going solo after success in the James Gang, Joe Walsh believed the world was his oyster, he’d have instant success now that he could play by his own rules, but this was not to be, his solo debut, “Barnstorm,” was a stiff. Oh, it contained […]

By time word got to America, there were already two Graham Parker albums. The debut, “Howlin’ Wind” and the follow-up, “Heat Treatment.” The cognoscenti will say “Howlin’ Wind” was the best. That it had the best songs. “White Honey,” “Nothin’s Gonna Pull Us Apart,” “Soul Shoes,” “Lady Doctor” and “Don’t Ask Me Questions.” And I […]

Could single-handedly kill hip-hop. You know, the calcified art form that’s all imitation and no innovation. The very first thing that crosses your mind as you listen to Avicii’s “True” is…how did he come up with this stuff? We live in a world where white kids in Canada employ gang signs. Everybody’s a follower and […]

It cemented Randy Rhoads’s reputation and made me like Ozzy Osbourne all at the same time. Yes, I’m one of those naysayers who doesn’t really care that much for the Prince of Darkness in his original band Black Sabbath, I prefer the solo act. But just like that band in its present incarnation is sans […]