Michael Fremer

The Irish folk/pop singer Mary Black, a genuine superstar at home, has built a worldwide following on the strength of her mesmerizing, crystal clear voice and an uncanny ability to wring every drop of meaning from the lyrics she interprets.

Note: the impeccably packaged double 180g vinyl set just out (late November, '06), while still lacking top end shimmer and air, exudes an overall clarity, transparency and three dimensionality that leaves the CD far behind. And the bottom end rocks. The vinyl gets an "8" for sound


Though it commences with “Saving Grace,” a John Lee Hooker crawlin’ king snake-riffed rocker, there’s less confrontation and more contemplation on Tom Petty’s tune-soaked new solo album. The “I Won’t Back Down” Petty of Full Moon Fever is gone, replaced by a more accepting, older observer of time and terrain passing.

Issued in 1982 as the couple were going through a painful divorce, Richard and Linda Thompson’s Shoot Out The Lights became an immediate critic’s “must have” album. Despite the wildly enthusiastic world-wide press and the couple’s brave decision to tour in support of the album despite their personal acrimony, it was never a big seller.

Former Kinks frontman Ray Davies’ fans are among the most fan-atic in rock. I found out the hard way when I dared to post a less than fawning review of an Irving Plaza show I attended last spring on a Kinks fan newsgroup that I joined.