• The Deep Roots Yuletide Baedeker 2024
    David McGee, November 15, 2024
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Rev. Charles Brown Goes Home

Remembering REV. CHARLES BROWN, who sang with the VIOLINAIRES, and before that was promising soul singer CHARLIE 'COAL BLACK' BROWN.
by David McGee
 

 
 
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After the Roar, Top Expert Assesses ‘Tiger King’

Sensation though it was, Netflix's TIGER KING was far less than all that. DUNCAN STRAUSS checks in with a tiger expert to discover what's all wrong about JOE EXOTIC and his claim to fame.
by David McGee
 

 

 
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Bob Marovich’s Gospel Picks

Reviews of seven new noteworthy gospel releases featuring SHIRLEY CAESAR, VIKTORY, DANIEL MURPHY, CROWNS OF JOY, EAGLE ROCK GOSPEL SINGERS, ELOHO, and GRETCHEN KESKEYS
by David McGee
 

 
 
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And A Proud Mama She Would Be

AUTUMN IN AUGUSTA, the blues-jazz-folk combo led by the wondrous LUCY SMITH, has a winner in SONGS MY MAMA WOULD LIKE. It's Ms. Smith's tribute to the music her mother loved. Mama, Ms. Smith writes, 'had awesome taste.' We agree.
by David McGee
 

 

 
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‘It Seethes Rather Than Boils’

On his new album, OVER LIGHT EARTH, Icelandic composer DANIEL BJARNASON mirrors the current climate--it seethes rather than boils and speaks to the mood of its time
by David McGee
 

 
 
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The Mythic Weight Of Phil Spector’s Christmas Gift: A Semicentennial Reflection

November 22, 1963, was a horrible day for the nation, and for PHIL SPECTOR, a personal disaster as well, as his ambitious Christmas album arrived and was promptly forgotten. A semicentennial look back ensues.
by David McGee