Unforgettable Melodies
self-released
They call him Mr. Smooth for good reason: His stylings are like silk. What’s more, his tone can’t be topped and he likes to mix things up with unexpected staccato bursts.
Tag: country
Reviews
The Nighthawks
American Landscape
Powerhouse
A white-boy-blues album as delicately balanced as “American Landscape” would be hard to find. Ten well-chosen covers and two originals, running the gamut from R&B to rock to jazz to soul to country, are tied together so neatly that one wishes it were Friday night at the local no-cover-charge watering hole in perpetuity.
Reviews
Ry Cooder
The UFO Has Landed
Rhino
One of these days, someone’s gonna do the 4-CD box set Cooder deserves — with early Rising Sons and Captain Beefheart material, session work, solo stuff, soundtracks, world music collaborations … But until then, this double CD culled from studio albums and soundtracks will have to do.
Reviews
Roy Orbison
The Soul of Rock and Roll
Monument/Orbison/Legacy
Among previous box sets honoring The Big O, three are significant: a 4-CD anthology (Columbia, 1988); a 4-CD official bootleg set (Orbison, 1999); and a 7-CD retrospective of his golden years (Bear Family, 2001).
Reviews
Mike Headrick
Heart of the Night
Country Discovery
One of the things that made late ’60s/early ’70s country rock so great was pedal steel guitar. There was something pleasantly anachronistic about hearing that old-fashioned sound amid electric guitars and hard-chargin’ rhythm sections.
