Aretha Franklin – I Dreamed A Dream
The studio in the early nineties must have felt different for Aretha Franklin. By 1991, the towering architect of classic…
Sarah Vaughan – Misty
The memory of late-night radio is a sense-memory for a critic of a certain age—the low-light hum of the dial,…
Merle Haggard – Medley
The first time I heard a Merle Haggard “Medley,” it wasn’t on a pristine vinyl re-issue or a modern high-fidelity…
Loretta Lynn – You Ain’t Woman Enough (To Take My Man)
The year is 1966. The world is a whirlwind of psychedelia and pop polish, but deep in Nashville, Tennessee, the…
Rolf Harris – Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport
The air is thick with dust and the silence of a wide-open continent. We are standing on the edge of…
The Shangri-las – Out In the Streets
The needle drops. A cavernous echo opens up the soundstage, swallowing the frantic strumming of an acoustic guitar that sounds…
Billy Fury – I’m Lost Without You
The year is 1965. The British Invasion has become a tidal wave, sweeping away the vestiges of the pre-Beatles era.…
Ricky Nelson – Have I Told You Lately That I Love You
The year is 1957. The sound barrier of American culture has been shattered by the roar of rock and roll.…
Dave Clark Five – “I like It Like That”
The scent of dust motes dancing in a sunlit parlor, the faint, ozone tang of an old tube radio warming…
The Tremeloes – Here Comes My Baby (1967)
It’s late. The city outside my window is hushed, illuminated by the cold, neon glow of a bar sign across…