Too Grown-Up to Stay Buried: David Cassidy’s “Half Past Your Bedtime” from Home Is Where the Heart Is, Co-Written with Gerry Beckley
On “Half Past Your Bedtime,” David Cassidy sounds less like a teen-idol memory and more...
A Standard Turns Personal in Linda Ronstadt’s “I’ll Be Seeing You” from 2004’s Hummin’ to Myself
On Hummin’ to Myself, Linda Ronstadt returns to the great American songbook with a quietness...
Randy Travis Wrote the Wound Himself: How “I Told You So” Became His 1988 No. 1 Heartbreak Signature
With “I Told You So”, Randy Travis turned pride, regret, and country restraint into one...
Before Creedence Had a Name, The Golliwogs’ You Better Get It Before It Gets You Snapped on a 1966 45
In October 1966, The Golliwogs sounded like a band still outside the spotlight, but already...
The Groove Neil Diamond Tucked Into Serenade: Reggae Strut and His 1974 Left Turn
Inside Reggae Strut, Neil Diamond lets the grandeur of Serenade loosen its shoulders and move...
Neil Diamond Sounds Newly Exposed on Create Me, the Rick Rubin-Produced Plea Inside 2005’s 12 Songs
On Create Me, Neil Diamond turns a late-career album track into a quiet request to...
Before Disco Took Over, Bee Gees’ Dogs on Mr. Natural Gave Arif Mardin Room to Toughen the Groove
On Dogs, the Bee Gees sound caught between eras, letting Arif Mardin pull weight and...
When Bee Gees Turned Inward: Don’t Wanna Live Inside Myself and Barry Gibb’s 1971 Unease
Before the Bee Gees became a symbol of escape, this 1971 single let Barry Gibb...
A Family Harmony Softens Josh Turner’s “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” on King Size Manger
On King Size Manger, Josh Turner turns a familiar Christmas standard into something closer to...
A River Became an Ache in Emmylou Harris’s “Miss the Mississippi and You” on Roses in the Snow
On Roses in the Snow, Emmylou Harris carried “Miss the Mississippi and You” out of...
The Quiet Border Ache in Emmylou Harris’ Spanish Is a Loving Tongue from 1981’s Cimarron
On 1981’s Cimarron, Emmylou Harris gave an old border ballad a new kind of stillness,...
Heartbreak Hill Moves Too Fast to Mourn: Emmylou Harris’s Overlooked Spark on 1989’s Bluebird
On Heartbreak Hill, Emmylou Harris turns a place of sorrow into forward motion, letting bright...
Before the Trio Album Arrived, Emmylou Harris’s ‘Mister Sandman’ Escaped on Evangeline
Long before the finished Trio album arrived, Emmylou Harris’s bright little ‘Mister Sandman’ carried the...
Alone With a Soul Hit: John Fogerty’s 1975 Lonely Teardrops Cover and the One-Man Fire Behind It
On his 1975 solo album, John Fogerty turned Lonely Teardrops into something both familiar and...
The Hammond B-3 Changes the Weather in John Fogerty’s Natural Thing with Benmont Tench
On Natural Thing, John Fogerty sounds less like he is chasing the past than testing...
Before the Teen-Idol Label, The Partridge Family’s “Umbrella Man” on Up To Date Revealed Cassidy’s Range
In The Partridge Family’s “Umbrella Man”, David Cassidy sounded less like a television heartthrob than...
When David Cassidy Stopped Chasing Yesterday: Livin’ Without You and the 1990 Enigma Reset
On his 1990 Enigma album, David Cassidy used Livin’ Without You to step away from...
A Jolt Behind the Smile: Linda Ronstadt Brings New-Wave Bite to Mark Goldenberg’s Justine on Mad Love
On Justine, Linda Ronstadt did not borrow new wave for decoration; she used its hard...
Linda Ronstadt Let the Hurt Freeze Slowly on John Hiatt’s Icy Blue Heart from We Ran
On Icy Blue Heart, Linda Ronstadt turns a hard-edged John Hiatt song into a study...
L.A. Sounds Less Golden Here: Neil Diamond’s Sweet L.A. Days, the 1991 Lovescape Co-Write with Doug Rhone
On Sweet L.A. Days, Neil Diamond turns Los Angeles into more than scenery; he makes...
Brotherhood in Full Voice: Bee Gees’ 1991 “The Only Love” from High Civilization
With “The Only Love,” the Bee Gees turned a 1991 ballad into a reminder that...
A Baritone Carries the Everglades: Josh Turner’s 2020 Keepin’ It Country “Seminole Wind” Tribute to John Anderson
In Josh Turner’s 2020 acoustic reading of Seminole Wind, a John Anderson anthem becomes less...
A Modern Road Song Met the Old Ryman When Emmylou Harris and The Nash Ramblers Opened 1992’s At the Ryman with Guitar Town
Before the Ryman fully returned to the center of Nashville’s story, Emmylou Harris and The...
Two Voices Enter the Trenches: Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt’s 1917 on Western Wall
On 1917, Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt turn a distant wartime tale into a shared...
Before Creedence Had Its Name: The Golliwogs’ 1966 B-Side You Better Get It Before It Gets You
Before Creedence Clearwater Revival became a name with weight and weather in it, this 1966...
The Quiet Flip Side: The Partridge Family’s “If You Ever Go” from Shopping Bag and the 1972 “Am I Losing You” Single
A small B-side from The Partridge Family reveals how much feeling could live beneath the...
The Hurt Linda Ronstadt Wouldn’t Polish: “Down So Low” on Hasten Down the Wind
On “Down So Low”, Linda Ronstadt turned vocal power into patience, letting a Tracy Nelson...
Beneath the Big Singles, Neil Diamond’s “Songs of Life” Gave The Jazz Singer Its 1980 Pulse
Beneath the hits of The Jazz Singer, Songs of Life carries the quiet idea that...
The Softer Hit in the Shadow: Neil Diamond’s Say Maybe Became a 1979 AC Top 5 from You Don’t Bring Me Flowers
In the afterglow of a blockbuster album, Neil Diamond found a quieter kind of drama...
When Bee Gees’ “Songbird” Softened Main Course, Their Old Country-Pop Heart Met a New R&B Pulse
On Main Course, Bee Gees used “Songbird” as a quiet bridge between the tender country-pop...