The Storm Inside Neil Diamond’s Heartlight: How Hurricane Cuts Through His 1982 Pop Glow
On Hurricane, Neil Diamond lets the polished surface of Heartlight carry rougher weather: desire, tension,...
Maurice Gibb Breaks Through as Bee Gees’ House of Shame Drives the 1989 One Comeback
Inside House of Shame, the polished comeback surface of Bee Gees meets a sharper dance-floor...
Old-School Longing Sneaks Back In on Josh Turner’s Pretty Please from This Country Music Thing
On Pretty Please, Josh Turner treats old-school country not as a museum piece, but as...
Before the Spotlight Fully Found Her, Linda Ronstadt’s Are My Thoughts With You Revealed the Heart of Silk Purse
On Silk Purse, Linda Ronstadt treated Mickey Newbury’s Are My Thoughts With You not as...
Bluebird’s Quiet Ache: Emmylou Harris Makes I Still Miss Someone Feel Newly Alone on 1989’s Bluebird
On Bluebird, Emmylou Harris turns I Still Miss Someone into a hushed conversation with the...
Emmylou Harris Let Obsession Speak Softly on I Don’t Wanna Talk About It Now from Red Dirt Girl
On I Don’t Wanna Talk About It Now, Emmylou Harris turned late-career freedom into something...
The River Softened the Fighter: John Fogerty’s River Is Waiting on Revival
On Revival, John Fogerty’s River Is Waiting turns the familiar pull of water into a...
A Teen Idol’s Shadow Fell Away: David Cassidy’s Remember Me and the Adult Voice of Romance
At the end of Romance, David Cassidy let the bright machinery of comeback pop fall...
Before the Big Choruses: Neil Diamond’s The Long Way Home Reveals His Restless 1967 Just for You Era
Before Neil Diamond became a voice built for arenas, The Long Way Home caught him...
Bee Gees Let Vaudeville Sneak Into All This Making Love on 1975’s Main Course
On Main Course, Bee Gees were stepping toward a new American groove, but All This...
A Country Christmas Opens Toward Hawaii in Josh Turner’s “Mele Kalikimaka My ’Ohana” with Jake Shimabukuro and Ho’okena
On “Mele Kalikimaka My ’Ohana,” Josh Turner lets Christmas travel farther than snow and steeples,...
The Quiet Last Word: Linda Ronstadt’s “Old Paint” Closed Simple Dreams Far from the Hit Parade
On Simple Dreams, Linda Ronstadt saved her softest farewell for last: an old cowboy ballad...
A Rockabilly Ghost Went Country When Emmylou Harris Opened 1986’s Thirteen With Mystery Train
On Mystery Train, Emmylou Harris did not simply cover a rockabilly landmark; she slowed the...
When Emmylou Harris Held Back: Half as Much Live at the Ryman Cut Deeper
At the Ryman, Emmylou Harris turned Half as Much into a lesson in restraint, letting...
Creedence Clearwater Revival Turned Bo Diddley’s Before You Accuse Me Into a Cosmo’s Factory Confession
On Cosmo’s Factory, Creedence Clearwater Revival treated a Bo Diddley blues as more than a...
David Cassidy’s Quiet Plea Made The Partridge Family’s Girl, You Make My Day a Shopping Bag Standout
Inside The Partridge Family’s 1972 Shopping Bag, Girl, You Make My Day gave David Cassidy...
Country Radio Heard Her Again: Linda Ronstadt’s “Walk On” from 1995’s Feels Like Home
In “Walk On,” Linda Ronstadt did not return to country as a stranger; she sounded...
Linda Ronstadt’s Am I Blue Found Its ache in Nelson Riddle’s 1986 Farewell Glow
On Am I Blue, Linda Ronstadt did not simply visit the old songbook; she let...
Nashville Changed the Weather: Neil Diamond’s Gold Don’t Rust on 1996’s Tennessee Moon
In Gold Don’t Rust, Neil Diamond used the Nashville frame of Tennessee Moon to ask...
Barry Gibb’s Little 1930s Movie Glows Inside Bee Gees’ ‘Technicolor Dreams’ from This Is Where I Came In
On the Bee Gees’ last studio album, Barry Gibb turned a quiet acoustic song into...
The Rain Sounded Inherited: Josh Turner’s 2020 Country State of Mind Cover of Keith Whitley’s I’m No Stranger to the Rain
In Josh Turner’s 2020 studio cover, Keith Whitley’s rain-soaked survivor’s song becomes an act of...
Before the Breakthrough, Linda Ronstadt Let J.D. Souther’s I Can Almost See It Open Don’t Cry Now
Before her Asylum years became a turning point, Linda Ronstadt opened Don’t Cry Now with...
A Quiet Lead Became Trio’s Heart: Emmylou Harris on Jean Ritchie’s My Dear Companion
On the 1987 Trio album, Emmylou Harris turned Jean Ritchie’s My Dear Companion into something...
The Softest Call Cuts Deepest: Emmylou Harris’s I Hear a Call on 1993’s Cowgirl’s Prayer
On Cowgirl’s Prayer, Emmylou Harris turns I Hear a Call into a hushed act of...
Synths First, No Voice: John Fogerty’s ‘Goin’ Back Home’ Opens 1986’s Eye of the Zombie
Before John Fogerty sings a word on Eye of the Zombie, Goin’ Back Home lets...
A Comeback With a Bruise: David Cassidy’s “For All the Lonely” on His 1992 Scotti Brothers Return
On David Cassidy’s 1992 comeback trail, “For All the Lonely” sounded less like a return...
A Quiet Song Caught Fire: Linda Ronstadt Recast Eric Kaz’s Blowing Away on Living in the USA
On a bright 1978 album built for motion, Linda Ronstadt turned Eric Kaz’s Blowing Away...
A City Song Caught Fire: Neil Diamond’s Street Life on 1977’s Love at the Greek
On Love at the Greek, Neil Diamond turned Street Life from an album cut into...
Before the Big Singalongs, Neil Diamond’s Dig In Fired Up 1969’s Brother Love’s Travelling Salvation Show
In Dig In, Neil Diamond sounds like an artist still close enough to the street...
Before Disco, Bee Gees’ “Edison” Made Odessa’s Baroque Pop Feel Like Biography in Motion
On Odessa, the Bee Gees turned biography into chamber pop, and “Edison” shows how far...