Blogcritics Author: Donald Gibson

Concert Review: Ray Davies with Locksley, 11/28/08 at Tampa Theatre, Tampa, FL

Donald Gibson — Mon, 1 Dec 2008 01:39:46 EST

Davies may very well be the Kinks� biggest fan. And who could blame him?
Ray Davies may very well be the Kinks’ biggest fan. Who could blame him, really, considering the catalog he gets to choose from in concert. That its songs derive from his pen doesn’t seem to humble the man in the slightest; to the contrary, such only adds to his pride in playing them. The audience inside the Tampa Theatre on Friday...

Music Review: Sheryl Crow - Home For Christmas

Donald Gibson — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 00:54:37 EST

Crow offers a worthy addition to any holiday music collection.
In past years, Sheryl Crow has contributed select performances to various holiday music compilations, most notably to the Special Olympics benefit series, A Very Special Christmas. This year, she has released her first full-length holiday album, Home For Christmas, which is available exclusively from Hallmark. Covering nine yuletide standards as...

Music Review: Beyonce - I Am... Sasha Fierce [Deluxe Edition]

Donald Gibson — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 05:06:44 EST

Beyonce is at her most creatively daring to date.
For all of the images introduced in various aliases or alter egos in the rock ‘n’ roll era — from David Bowie as Ziggy Stardust to Chan Marshall as Cat Power — what has ultimately mattered most is not so much a name as the quality of the music such personas represent.As for Beyonce, who on her latest album assumes the...

Music Review: Lucinda Williams - Little Honey

Donald Gibson — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 17:00:14 EDT

Williams renders a poignant, unvarnished portrait of someone just trying to emotionally survive in this world.
Even when she writes a happy song, Lucinda Williams can’t help but sing it as if she’s lived too long in the throes of sadness. It’s a signet of her sound, intuitively ingrained and imparted in her voice’s weathered drawl.So when she declares, “I’ve found the love I’ve been looking for/ It’s a real...

Music Review: Todd Rundgren - Arena

Donald Gibson — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 13:33:02 EDT

Rundgren rocks out with focus, consistency, and no shortage of testosterone.
Todd Rundgren is kind of like a Mensa member who gets inadvertently enrolled in remedial math. His expertise in the studio is so copious and his musical styles so varied that creating a pop or rock record has sometimes made him sound artistically stifled, sporadic, or flat-out bored. While he’s demonstrated time and again that he can dabble...

Music Review: Otis Redding - Live in London and Paris

Donald Gibson — Tue, 7 Oct 2008 12:35:27 EDT

With the Big O, you simply can�t have too much of a good thing.
Less than three months before his exultant appearance at the Monterey Pop Festival – and just nine months prior to his tragic death – Otis Redding toured Europe in the spring of 1967 as part of the Stax/Volt Revue, treating rapt audiences to his firebrand expressions of soul.Headlining a roster that included Sam & Dave, Carla...

Music Review: U2 - Under A Blood Red Sky (Remastered)

Donald Gibson — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 05:03:22 EDT

If the reissue is nothing but a duplicate of the original version, then what�s the point?
In reissuing a classic album – especially one still in print – the intent is to present the work in a fresh perspective. Usually that entails including previously unreleased material, like demos or outtakes or live cuts, which puts the album proper into sharper context. If the reissue is nothing but a duplicate of the original version,...

An Interview With Sonya Kitchell

Donald Gibson — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 20:06:51 EDT

"It�s very important for me that songs make people feel."
Only when the topic turns to guys and their heartbreaking ways does Sonya Kitchell sound like any other nineteen-year-old girl. In all other respects, the Massachusetts-native singer/songwriter conveys a sense of purpose and self-awareness that belies her youth.She evoked aspects of that sophistication on her eloquent 2006 debut, Words Came Back To...

Music DVD Review: Leonard Cohen Under Review 1978 - 2006

Donald Gibson — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 23:26:42 EDT

This documentary examines how and why Cohen's latter day music rivals among the finest in his entire canon.
Between 1978 and 2006, Leonard Cohen produced a body of music that rivals among the finest in his entire canon. Also in this era, he saw his popularity grow exponentially as his albums resonated with critics and audiences on a major scale. No longer a fringe artist with a cult following, Cohen evolved into a full-fledged (if not most-unlikely) pop...

An Interview With Rachael Yamagata

Donald Gibson — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 00:33:51 EDT

"What are we going to take from these relationships when they crush us?"
On October 7, Rachael Yamagata will release her sophomore effort, Elephants…Teeth Sinking Into Heart, a song cycle that explores emotions and instincts contemplated amid and following a personal relationship. As musically progressive and mature as its contextual premise, this double album finds the singer/songwriter expanding upon themes she...