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Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings | I Learned The Hard Way

Just to prove how serious they are about their commitment to retro soul, Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings recorded I Learned the Hard Way using an eight-track Ampex tape machine, the kind their heroes and heroines in Memphis and Muscle Shoals might have
Daptone (2010)
By JEFF TAMARKIN | April 02, 2010

Joan Armatrading | This Charming Life

Joan Armatrading’s previous album just didn’t feel right. This Charming Life is more like it.
429 (2010)
By JEFF TAMARKIN | March 26, 2010

Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars | Rise & Shine

Although their music stands on its own, the backstory can't help but give it a deeper perspective.
Cumbancha (2010)
By JEFF TAMARKIN | March 19, 2010

Miles Davis | The Complete Columbia Album Collection

Given the consensus that the CD era is drawing to a close, labels have begun to look increasingly toward the well-heeled — those who not only still buy their music on something they can hold but aren't averse to buying it in supersized, extravagant con
Columbia/Legacy (2009)
By JEFF TAMARKIN | December 11, 2009

Tom Waits | Glitter and Doom Live

Arriving five years after his last release of new material, and two after the three-disc Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards box of outtakes and oddities, this live set culled from assorted 2008 gigs could be seen as a time marker.
Anti- (2009)
By JEFF TAMARKIN | November 20, 2009

Elvis Costello | Secret, Profane and Sugarcane

There are few genres into which Elvis Costello hasn't delved over the years, but he's always seemed particularly comfortable within the traditional back-porch country that occupies this latest session.
Hear Music (2009)
By JEFF TAMARKIN | June 12, 2009

Review: Let Freedom Sing! Music of the Civil Rights Movement

In any given Black History Month, the three-disc Let Freedom Sing: The Music of the Civil Rights Movement would be a powerful anthology.
Time/Life (2009)
By JEFF TAMARKIN | January 06, 2009

2008 Listravaganza!

We are not at all sick of bands with animal names yet and seem to have a soft spot for Erykah Badu that we kept very hush about all year.
An absolute glut of cruelly reductive Top 10 lists from our dedicated staff of tirelessly enthusiastic writers
By BOSTON PHOENIX MUSIC STAFF | December 24, 2008

Silver Jew | Drag City DVD

Michael Tully’s 52-minute home movie/documentary follows the band as they schlep around Israel touring, shopping, and playing a handful of gigs.
Drag City (2008)
By JEFF TAMARKIN | October 08, 2008

I Got the Feelin': James Brown in the '60s

By 1968, James Brown wasn’t merely “Soul Brother No. 1”; he was an African-American icon with the power to stop riots.
Shout! Factory
By JEFF TAMARKIN | August 04, 2008

Love Story

Love were one of rock’s first interracial bands, and Lee’s genius as their chief songwriter, musician, and bandleader is reinforced here by former band members, label associates, and others.
Love Story | Start
By JEFF TAMARKIN | July 22, 2008

All You Need is Love

Never less than fascinating and informative, although the narration tends toward the droll (it’s British, remember).
Voiceprint
By JEFF TAMARKIN | July 01, 2008

Ry Cooder

Ry Cooder once again navigates a Southern California of strange realities and real strangers.
I, Flathead | Nonesuch/Perro Verde
By JEFF TAMARKIN | June 24, 2008

Rachid Taha

On this first career-spanning collection, which skitters around chronologically, the consistency of Rachid Taha's work is more evident than ever before.
Rock El Casbah: The Best Of . . . | Wrasse
By JEFF TAMARKIN | June 17, 2008

Robyn Hitchcock

Robyn Hitchcock, in one of many illuminating moments of reflection during this 53-minute documentary, posits that his songs “don’t appeal to meatheads.”
Sex, Food, Death . . . and Insects | A+E
By JEFF TAMARKIN | May 20, 2008

Billy Bragg

There is no irony in the title of Billy Bragg’s first album in six years.
Mr. Love and Justice | Anti-
By JEFF TAMARKIN | May 06, 2008

Lifer

As soon as you think you’ve got Catherine Russell figured out, she lobs another detail your way that throws the whole thing off.
Catherine Russell’s rich musical path
By JEFF TAMARKIN | February 26, 2008

Scene and heard

Entertainment companies are pumping out music DVD titles by the hundreds, and 2008 will see a deluge of releases across all genres.
The year ahead in DVDs
By JEFF TAMARKIN | December 31, 2007

In action

In the era of YouTube, we’re apt to forget that not every note of music ever played has been captured on film or video.
The ‘Jazz Icons’ DVDs
By JEFF TAMARKIN | November 26, 2007

Beyond bhangra

Shankar, who’s now 26, has been paying dues as a sitarist since she was eight.
Anoushka Shankar joins forces with Karsh Kale
By JEFF TAMARKIN | October 30, 2007

Do you believe in Magic?

On Magic (Columbia), Bruce Springsteen’s first album with the E Street Band in five years, not everything is what it seems.
Bruce Springsteen returns to the E Street Band
By JEFF TAMARKIN | October 01, 2007

Lesser doesn’t mean loser

I have to complain that by literally writing off candidates such as Dennis Kucinich — candidates who actually stand for something besides a vague sound bite.
Letters to the Boston editor: August 31, 2007
By BOSTON PHOENIX LETTERS | August 29, 2007

Merle Haggard

Merle Haggard has always been a keen observer of American thought and spirit.
The Bluegrass Sessions | McCoury Music | Working Man’s Journey | Cracker Barrel
By JEFF TAMARKIN | August 28, 2007

Yin Yang

They wanted to see his cock. But as shit-faced drunk as he was, Jim Morrison had learned his lesson.
Rhino resurrects the Doors’ Live in Boston 1970
By JEFF TAMARKIN | August 14, 2007

Belinda Carlisle

Belinda Carlisle is about as French as a bag of “freedom fries.”
Voilà | Rykodisc
By JEFF TAMARKIN | May 01, 2007

Revolution rock

It’s an incongruous sight at first: Tom Morello strumming an acoustic guitar emblazoned with the words “Whatever It Takes.”
Tom Morello rages quietly against the machine
By JEFF TAMARKIN | April 17, 2007

Heart of the matter

Even among the oddballs of the music business, Doc Pomus was unusual.
Doc Pomus’s blues
By JEFF TAMARKIN | April 03, 2007

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