Cal Everett The Weight Of Early Promise 2026

This record apparently took ten years to record, and forty years to write. Boy, it better be good. And if you like a well-crafted piano-centric pop record, it's a darn fine one.

Older Now kicks things off in style, a piano-led pop rocker in the Billy Joel vein that builds into an expansive instrumental with a chorus of voices. Gimme Some Time features another chorus of layered vocals on top of a McCartney-esque melody. The rocking Teenager's Belief brings some nice hooks and another chorus of well-arranged vocals. The baroque-like Lover's Hollow Promise features piano and string quartet and has shades of the Left Banke. The Sloan-like Communication is the first guitar rocker and that's good, but it could use a hot lead break that's missing. Wake Up To The Nightmare rocks and features two different voices playing off each other to good effect.

The smart lyrical twists of Old Enough would be plenty, but they are laid on top of a melody that sounds like Paul McCartney and Brendon Benson woven together. Compromises is another solid pop tune with a fine lyric. The big production of I'll Never Go To Africa and brilliant vocal arrangement of Never Change My Mind show off Everett's skills in musical design and flourish. We finally get a guitar break on Help Is On The Way, a solid mid-tempo rocker. Then Epilogue ends the record with a big love song, a 30 second silent break, and then a bigger love song/come-together call for humanity. It's Big.

There's four I left off, and they are all good, just not as good as the rest. Summer Girls In Their Cars isn't the catchiest melody, and More To Love is saved by an interesting baroque string quartet. A couple near the end, Won't It, Wendy and Emily are just a bit too saccharine for my taste, like when Paul McCartney gets all twee. Along the way, there are six little less-than-one-minute interludes.

The artist suggests listening to the record as a whole, and I did that the first couple of times, and that works. But that takes an hour. Without the little interludes and maybe four of the songs, it would be a perfect 45 minute record, and that's a big deal. Perfect is a high bar. 

I hear echos of Billy Joel, Paul McCartney, Brendon Benson, ELO, Left Banke, Beach Boys and Sloan. Everett is a skilled songwriter, a talented multi-instrumentalist, and a fine singer. But his greatest skill seems to be in the arrangements. The instrumental flourishes and the multi-part vocals really stand out. It's worth going out of your way to hear it. 

Lemon Twigs Look For Your Mind 2026

The Lemon Twigs have been at this gig for ten years, and it seems they just get better. Their last record, A Dream Is All We Know, was outstanding and made my best of 2024 list. This one might even be better. They get labeled power pop, glam rock (they're not really that very often), jangle pop, and several other labels. They define their influences as Beatles and Beach Boys, and bands that were influenced by Beatles and Beach Boys. That sounds about right, and if I needed an easy label, it would still be power pop.

How do you make a Lemon Twigs record? Take portions of several of these bands: Beatles, Beach Boys, Searchers, Byrds, Raspberries, Left Banke, Todd Rundgren, Badfinger, Big Star, Matthew Sweet, Greg Kihn, Rubinoos, Sloan, and Hollies. Mix well, add new lyrics. Next, pick a different three from the list and do it again. Rinse and repeat.

That sounds easy enough, but it's much harder than it sounds. There are plenty of bands that have done this before, but not many have done it as consistently well as the Lemon Twigs. It's actually shocking how well they pull it off. Can you listen carefully and find chord progressions and bits of melody and identify the source? Absolutely. If you want to play that game, you'll have fun. But it won't work all the time. Sometimes you'll just hear those influences blended into something new that can't be referenced, and it's still great. And that's the difference between these guys and Records, Shoes, Spongtones, et.al. They are just plain better at it than the bands that have done this before. Plus, they've got that sibling vocal harmony thing that is clearly genetic and inimitable. Oh, and they have a killer drummer.

I'd do a track-by-track review, but all I really want to do is get you to listen to it. Go listen to it. If you like half the bands in the list above, I'd be stunned to find out you don't like Lemon Twigs. It's just like listening to those bands, but newer.

Taj Mahal Time 2026

Taj Mahal and the Phantom Blues Band recorded this record in 2010. How a record this good sat unreleased for sixteen years is a mystery. Since this recording, Mahal has released several live and studio projects that were recorded many years ago, two recent live records, a Christmas record with The Blind Boys of Alabama, a record of great American songbook covers, a tribute to Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee with Ry Cooder, and two records of contemporary blues with Keb' Mo', and it's still surprising this one sat around without release. 

I haven't followed Taj Mahal's career as he collected five Grammys and several other awards. I have loved the one Taj Mahal record in my collection, 1977's Music Keeps Me Together since it was released. His mix of traditional roots blues, Brazilian, African and Caribbean influences, and his skill on vocals, guitar and harmonica plus an all-star cast of supporting musicians make it just a great record. I'm embarrassed that I didn't pursue more of his music after loving that one so much.

Of his more recent ones that I have heard, Get On Board with Ry Cooder was a just a bit too acoustic traditional blues for me (it's very good), and TajMo with Keb' Mo' was too MOR blues-pop for my taste, as is much of Keb' Mo's more recent work.

But this record is pretty great. Life of Love kicks it off with an upbeat blues celebration. Wild About My Lovin' is a good time with an island rhythm. Crazy About A Jukebox is New Orleans swing featuring Jon Cleary's piano and wonderful horn charts. The title track is a lost Bill Withers song that is nice R&B. You Put The Whammy On Me is just OK but a hot Johnny Lee Schell guitar break saves it. Ziggy Marley guests on his father's Talkin' Blues, and Taj does reggae proud every time, so it's solid. The Chicago blues of Sweet Lorene is good R&B. 

Taj's take on Ask Me 'Bout Nothing (But The Blues) is a highlight, and Taj gives it the best vocal performance on the record. It's a great song, and Taj nails it. The fast blues of It's Your Voodoo Working rocks. The funky down home blues of Rowdy Blues is killer, and Cleary again stars on piano. The record could have featured a few more in this vein.

There's a few weak lyrics on a couple songs, but that's nitpicking. The Phantom Blues Band is more than capable, and with Cleary on piano and Mick Weaver on organ the instrumentation is excellent. 

Recommended. Now I have to go spend some time with fifty years of Taj Mahal's back catalog to hear what I've been missing.

Donovan

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Donovan Leitch is little more than a footnote today, but in the mid-sixties the names Donovan and Dylan often showed up in print together when the nascent folk music scene was emerging. The Scottish Donovan initially leaned heavily on traditional Scottish folk music while incorporating pop, psychedelia, jazz, Eastern music, and music for children. His work became synonymous with the flower power movement of the sixties.

His first two records, Catch The Wind 1965, and Fairytale 1965 were heavy on the folk and contained his early hits Catch the Wind, Colours, and Buffy Sainte-Marie's Universal Soldier. Sunshine Superman 1966 gave birth to psychedelia with the title track, and also included the oft-covered Season Of The Witch, and strong songs Ferris Wheel and The Trip. 1967's Mellow Yellow featured the title track, further pushing the psychedelia and flower power themes. The stand alone single Epistle To Dippy was released one month prior to Mellow Yellow.

A Gift from a Flower to a Garden 1967, (a double album also released separately as Wear Your Love Like Heaven and For Little Ones) contained the title hit, and was well received in the press. The Wear Your Love Like Heaven record verges on twee, but Donovan's heartfelt delivery and a plethora of fine melodies saves it. The second record of children's songs is a lovely collection of lullabies heavy on fables  and fairy tales, but plays well enough to enjoy as an adult of the flower power persuasion. The Hurdy Gurdy Man 1968 continued the hits with the title track and the lilting Jennifer Juniper. 

Donovan's Greatest Hits 1969 is the record most likely to be found in any record collection with a focus on the sixties. It collects his hit singles, including three singles that had not ever been issued on LP, Epistle to Dippy, There Is a Mountain (the melody was used by Allman Brothers for their Mountain Jam), and the lovely Laléna. It's a classic of the era, and a stellar collection. If you want to know how a talented artist and a golden touch producer can turn disparate influences into radio gold, Donovan and producer Mickie Most give a class A example right here. Later CD reissues included Riki Tiki Tavi from Open Road 1970 and three fine singles from Barabajagal 1969; the title track, To Susan On The West Coast Waiting (an unusually sweet anti-war song), and Atlantis. The addition of those four singles makes this the essential Donovan, as no singles released after Barabajagal ever charted.

Not that Barabajagal is any slouch. A mix of his fey innocence, some classic singles, two songs with the Jeff Beck Group (Barabajagal and Trudi) and heartfelt love songs, it is one of his most successful single albums for a reason. Open Road followed and sold well on the heels of Barabajagal, but didn't deliver the chart singles so important to his work. It is telling that it is the first Donovan record without Mickie Most since the first two records.

That's the end of the story for most listeners. Cosmic Wheels 1973 attempted unsuccessfully to align Donovan with glam rock, and several other attempts at commercialization in the seventies just didn't get it done. Times and tastes change, and Donovan's association with the naivety of the flower power sixties didn't translate to the times. He continued to release music (sometimes without US release), and his last record, Gaelia (The Sulan Sessions), Celtic folk music, was issued in 2023. Several of the "invisible" releases over the years are available for streaming, and some are worth a listen. Try Sutras 1991, a spare production by Rick Rubin, or Beat Cafe from 2004. 

Anouar Brahem The Astounding Eyes Of Rita 2009

There's almost no world music mentioned here. There are occasional jazz reviews, most of them quite mainstream popular. No free jazz or fusion. Nothing terribly challenging. This record by Anouar Brahem, a Tunisian oud (think eleven-string lute) player is a breathtakingly lovely blend of jazz with Arabic classical and folk music that is quietly intimate and deeply satisfying. It is a true amalgam of styles, creating something unique.

Brahem is accompanied here by German Klaus Gesing on bass clarinet, Swedish bassist Björn Meyer, and Lebanese percussionist Khaled Yassine. The music is quiet, etherial, and beautiful. This is not the music you hear at the masseuse, although that would be nice. It is very much more than that. The interplay of Brahem and Meyer is particularly special. They have that "two minds thinking together" thing that marks many of the best musical collaborations, whatever the style. Gesing mostly provides atmosphere, and Yassine's percussion is perfect for the setting. 

Describing the music is difficult. It is the opposite of frenetic. But it is not in any way boring, or "background music". It is serene, but there is a lot going on. Brahem's compositions unfold slowly, revealing themselves as they go. The musicians are working to complement and expand these works, always listening to each other as much as playing. 

If any of that sounds interesting, I highly recommend giving it a listen.

I listened to several other of Brahem's records, often with ensembles that include saxophone, piano, and/or accordion, and those instruments seem to overwhelm Brahem's oud more than the combination here. Maybe you'll like them as much as this one, but check this out first. It really is special.

Joan Jett and the Blackhearts Live At The Ritz NYC 1981 2026, Profesor Longhair Mardi Gras In Baton Rouge 2026

Record Store Day always comes with some mixed feelings. What once was great has been diminished somewhat by greed. The first store I went to opened fifteen minutes earlier and had a line of about eighty people waiting to get in. No way. Second store was small, two minute line, and pretty good supply of RSD product. Third store was new, small, no line, and had a very good supply of RSD releases, more than I'd seen in one place in several years (I'm never the first one through the door). That's where I picked up these two very different records.

The Joan Jett is big fun. Kinda like the Ramones, everything is fast, loud and buzzsaw simple. Recorded New Year's Eve 1981, it's a fine show. This single disc LP is almost an hour long, although there is a digital version on Spotify that is about twice as long with many more songs. This one has the highlights, and it's good. I'm not sure that the sonic quality of vinyl is needed for this music, but who cares? Ricky Byrd rocks on lead guitar.

Professor Longhair's Mardi Gras In Baton Rouge was released on CD in 1991. It was recorded in 1971 and 1972 in Baton Rouge and Memphis, and is from the same sessions as House Party New Orleans Style: The Lost Sessions, 1971–1972 from 1987. That CD highlighted less familiar Professor Longhair songs, while this one has a bunch that show up on several other releases. It's a good recording, there's a horn section on some of the songs, and while the piano and Fess's voice are the stars, the bands on these recordings are stellar. Snooks Eaglin's guitar is crazy good, and half the record also features the great Zigaboo Modiste (from the Meters) on drums. While I am not all that familiar with Professor Longhair's records in general, this is a good recording and sounds great. Longhair's 2 CD Anthology on Rhino seems like everyone's go-to Fess record, but this is no slouch. The Professor is the man most responsible for the piano stylings we have come to associate with New Orleans as he influenced Alan Toussaint, Dr. John, Harry Connick, Jr., Jon Cleary and every other recent NOLA piano star.

Joe Jackson Hope And Fury 2026

Jackson is often called a stylistic chameleon, and indeed he has dabbled in jazz, jazz-pop, classical, jump blues, English music hall, and movie soundtracks. But the vast majority of his work has been his bread and butter, pop-rock. He rode in on the new wave with his 1979 debut Look Sharp!, and he has produced some 28 studio and live albums in the last four and a half decades. His Steely Dan-esque jazz-pop Night And Day from 1982 was his biggest hit. He has toured regularly behind almost every release, always puts on a good live show, and is generally well-received in the press. Why he hasn't sold more records is beyond me, but every one of his stylistic diversions most likely turned off a portion of his audience.

This one is not a diversion, it is straight up pop-rock with smart lyrics, solid tunes, a crack ace band, and Jackson's solid vocals. I'm Not Sorry, Made God Laugh, Fabulous People, After All This Time and End Of The Pier are all highlights, but the whole record is a good listen straight through. It compares well to Big World, Blaze Of Glory, Laughter And Lust, and Volume 4. 

If you haven't heard those, where have you been? Maybe you gave up after his late-nineties non-pop outings. Check this new one out, and when you realize you gave up on Jackson too soon, go back to his catalog. There's plenty of smart song craft available there.