Is She Really Going Out With Him? is the breakthrough hit from Look Sharp! that introduced the world to Joe Jackson, and while I quickly became a fan of that song it wasn’t enough to make me buy the album. As a new, previously unheard of artist he could have been just another 1 hit wonder for all I knew – there seemed to be so many of them on the radio around that time. I … [Read more...]
Cleopatra – The Lumineers
I like these guys. I really do. There’s a simplicity in their music that is somewhat deceptive, because while they write these contagiously likeable melodies there is much greater depth in the honesty of their lyrics. For that reason the Lumineers owe more to folk as a genre than rock n roll. The back story on this band began with two guys – Wesley Schultz and Jeremiah … [Read more...]
Ray Charles – Modern Sounds In Country And Western Music
Ray Charles doing country and western? Surely this was the most improbable of album titles or subject matter for a man who was referred to as the ‘High Priest of Soul’. Yes, Ray Charles was doing both kinds of music, but not as we’d ever heard it before. This was an album of country and western standards backed by a full orchestra, choir and brass infused with rhythm and blues. … [Read more...]
O Death – Karl S. Williams
There’s no doubt that Karl S. Williams marches to the beat of his own drum. In an age where popular music is made to order for instant consumption, here is a man whose music comes from another time and place, a craftsman with the ability to tap into a wellspring deep within his soul to create some of the most beautiful music I’ve ever heard. His voice can move from angelic … [Read more...]
Cosmo’s Factory – Creedence Clearwater Revival
Let me preface this new series on Sound Distractions with a little background. A week after my recent turntable purchase my brother Greg donated his vinyl collection to me after it had sat in a box without being played for many years. There was 1 album in particular in that box that held a significant place for me in my musical education – it was a no brainer as the most … [Read more...]