I always hated Christmas. I shouldn’t say I “always” hated Christmas. My parents and my grandparents were exceptional custodians of that particular holiday. Maybe that’s the problem. The Christmases of my childhood were so amazing that as an adult there was nothing that could match that. It got so bad in my early 30’s that…
“Is this the Western dream, defend our liberty…” For me, one of the most anticipated albums of early 2016 is “Hidden City” from the Cult, due in February. I’ve already reviewed the first single of the album, “Dark Energy” in a separate post on BourbonAndVinyl. I have to admit that even though that song has…
Like a lot of people I was devastated by the attacks in Paris on November 13th. Many bands, including U2, cancelled concerts and tours in the wake of the senseless violence. U2 was scheduled to do a live concert broadcast on HBO the same weekend that the terrorist attacks occurred. They ended up heading home,…
When I was coming up, Neil Young was quite a divisive figure in my rock and roll world. There were those of us who liked Neil and those who were as equally repelled by him. Generally the supporters of Neil Young were known as “males” while the haters on Neil were known as “females.” I…
Thanksgiving is only 2 days away and it has me here at BourbonAndVinyl thinking about all the things to be thankful for this year. Well, that and the wife is busily prepping the house for the impending Christmas holiday. Ergo, I have barricaded myself in my office with a tumbler of bourbon and a stack…
I’ve been a Rod Stewart fan for a long time. Jeff Beck wasn’t exaggerating when, on their second and last album together “Beck-ola” he described Rod’s position in the band as “vocals extordinaire”. Like everybody, I became a fan during his early years when he was on the Mercury label. His albums, beginning with “The…
I met Rachel (*name changed to protect the innocent) during a long, hot summer. She was beautiful, that much was true, but it took some time for me to discover the person behind the beautiful face. Rachel was a mystery to me. I was in my thirties and single, coasting through life from party to…
In this edition of Stray Cats (aka Random Music/Classic Rock News) I have three quick updates. I just found out, mere weeks after I’d posted my Dylan Bootleg Series User’s Guide, that another edition is set for release. Volume 12, entitled “The Cutting Edge 65 -66” it is a 6 CD treasure trove of outtakes…
My obsession with bootleg recordings is well documented on BourbonAndVinyl. I can still remember going back up to college my junior year. When I arrived, my friend and one of my future roommates, Drew arrived triumphantly holding a shoe box full of newly minted cassette tapes (yes cassettes, it was a long time ago,…
I think it’s pretty obvious if you’ve read any of BourbonAndVinyl, I’m obsessed with Rod Stewart and Ronnie Wood’s former band, The Faces. How great was it to see this picture on Rod Stewart’s Twitter account of Rod, Ronnie and drummer Kenny Jones taken after their reunion show for the charity, Prostate.UK. If you look…