Gordon Sharpe

Pilgrim “No Offense, Nevermind, Sorry”

June 28, 2021 Gordon Sharpe 0

A well-played and sung set that could be brought to another level with some lyrical and subject fine-tuning. ‘No Offense, Nevermind, Sorry’, is the latest release from Tulsa-based band Pilgrim, led by front-man and guitarist, Beau Roberson; a competitive […]

Paperback Riders: Studs Terkel “American Dreams: Lost and Found”

June 22, 2021 Gordon Sharpe 0

America’s premier oral historian investigates its abiding myth. On the website of the publisher, New Press, in an uncredited paragraph, ‘American Dreams: Lost and Found’, and its author, Studs Terkel, is described as follows: “Terkel persuades […]

Various Artists -“The Electric Muse Revisited – The Story of Folk into Rock and Beyond”

June 3, 2021 Gordon Sharpe 0

One man’s continuing journey through folk, folk-rock and beyond. This is a 4-CD 61-track collection, based on the original book and album from 1975 and now brought up to date by one of the original authors, Robin […]

Book Review – David Boucher and Lucy Boucher “Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen: Deaths and Entrances”

June 3, 2021 Gordon Sharpe 9

Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan, their influences, longevity and their ‘Duende’. Having reviewed several books recently; collectively they have made me realise that a past inclination to only stick with musical biographies and autobiographies was a […]

Paperback Riders: John Howard Griffin “Black Like Me”

May 11, 2021 Gordon Sharpe 0

Blackface or bravery – you decide. ‘Rest at pale evening / A tall slim tree / Night coming tenderly / Black like me’ – from, ‘Dream Variations‘ by Langston Hughes John Howard Griffin disguised himself as […]

Stamping on the passion: Why AI written PR is a bad thing for music

September 21, 2026 2

If a music writer opens ten press releases this month, they’ll spot something odd. They all sound like the same person wrote them. Not because the artists share a publicist, or because there’s a house style […]

Carla Gover and Friends “Williams Branch is Hard to Find”

September 21, 2026 0

A cycle of Appalachian folk songs from writer and activist Si Kahn, subtitled Songs for Strong Kentucky Women The subtitle for this album is “Si Kahn’s Songs for Strong Kentucky Women”. Si Kahn is one of […]

Ad for American Beauty album 5th December 1970

For the Sake of the Song: Grateful Dead “High Time”