Robert Baird

3 days ago | stereophile.com | Robert Baird |Phil Brett |Ray Chelstowski

Peter Perrett: The CleansingDomino Records WIGLP543 (LP). 2024. Jamie Perrett, prod.; Barry Grint, eng. Performance ****½Sonics ****The Only Ones formed in 1976, at the dawn of the punk era. The South London quartet never quite fit in, being more Dylan and Velvet Underground than Damned or Pistols. After three good albums and a masterpiece of a single ("Another Girl, Another Planet"), the group split in 1982.

2 weeks ago | stereophile.com | Robert Baird

Staying up on what's new in music ain't easy these days, in a world short on new record stores and long on websites, social media blather, and celebrity. Asked what he listens to when he's not writing music, fast-talking septuagenarian Ray Mason exudes a teenager's eager urgency. "I keep my ears open. I've been listening to new stuff by people I have been following for years like Nick Lowe and The Straitjackets, Rodney Crowell, Kathleen Edwards, and Lucinda Williams. And then Craig Finn.

4 weeks ago | stereophile.com | Robert Baird

Joe Henderson: MultipleMilestone/Craft CR 00845 (LP). 1973/2025. Orrin Keepnews, prod.; Elvin Campbell, Al Vanderbilt, engs. Performance ****½Sonics ****½The essence of jazz is supposed to be the free-flowing exploration of ideas and expressions. Yet hardcore fans of the music have the unnerving habit of supporting and denigrating the work of the same player from record to record. Artistic growth is often seen as a negative.

4 weeks ago | stereophile.com | Robert Baird

Kathryn Dawn Lang was country ... until she wasn't. A native of the Canadian province of Alberta, lang (who prefers her name lowercase) grew obsessed with Patsy Cline and country music in general before she was out of college. She joined the Patsy-focused country act The Reclines in 1983 in Edmonton. They released their first album, A Truly Western Experience, in 1984.

1 month ago | stereophile.com | Robert Baird

Discovering music as it is being recorded—singer Holly Cole seeks that kind of spontaneity on her recordings including her latest, Dark Moon on Rumpus Room/UMG Records. As she put it, she wanted this record with her longtime quartet to capture "the moment when the light turns on for us.""On Dark Moon, you hear the essence of when we discover a song," she said during a recent interview. "We had very brief rehearsals, and then went in and recorded.