2007 Top Ten Dis-Go-Round

Let’s be as honest as churchmice here, shall we? Taking the entirety of everything into account, from Britney’s public meltdown and the mainstream embrace of dubious “indie rock” bands to the dwindling fortunes of hip-hop and the reduction of guitar-rock to the likes of Nickelback, 2007 was really a terrible year for rock music. The Reverend has been covering this beat for three-anna-half-decades now and lemme tell ya, I don’t remember a year when the percentage of shit-to-shinola has been tilted so far out of our favor….

As the major labels (and many so-called indie imprints) kept circling the drain like a turd that just refuses to go down the pipes, the industry hedged its bets by playing as safe as possible with its money, releasing only the most whitebread, guaranteed-not-to-offend music possible in order to try and salvage a few CD sales from the subwits that still venture into the dwindling number of music retailers with cash in hand rather than cruising the *rar blogs and Torrent sites online for their tunes. So while the mind-numb masses sucked up horrible pap like Amy Winehouse, Kanye West and 50 Cent’s latest snoozefests, uber-hip young tastemakers declared equally-morose baboon-scat like Spoon, the National and Modest Mouse to be the monkey’s nuts.

Now, I don’t know about my fellow cretins and seat-sniffers, but back in the Reverend’s day, we would have shown this kind of musical somnambulism the door and told ‘em not to let the knob hit their ass on the way out! Is this what we’ve become people, where Amy “I’m an O.D. away from immortality” Winehouse is the standard by which we judge music, where Kanye-vs-50 Cent is actually considered relevant, and where you can’t turn on the radio without suppressing your gag reflex?! While Doug Morris was trying to figure out how to get Congress to levy a tax on iPod pirates so that he can continue to flaunt his extravagant lifestyle, the label’s legal pitbulls rammed full-speed ahead, suing the bejeezus out of ordinary music lovers who have been forced to spend their lunch money on legal fees, hocking Granny’s chromed-and-diamond-encrusted nose-hair trimmers to pay off the extortionists at the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

Nevertheless, a few good-to-great albums managed to struggle their way out of the cesspool of mass-media oblivion and onto the Reverend’s stereo through the year. Although I can’t remember another year where the pickings were as slim as they proved to be in 2007, I’d be glad to run any of these 10 discs up against any year on record when it comes to power, sound and sheer balls. After all, it’s mighty hard to make music this good when so few are listening (and even fewer care)….

10. Blue Cheer – What Doesn’t Kill You (Rainman Records)
The monsters of the big riff returned with an album that sounds like just about everything that Blue Cheer released during the ‘60s, only louder, meaner and more anarchic…after all, after 40 years in this game, what do Dickie Peterson, ‘Duck’ MacDonald and Paul Whaley have to fear from the biz other than fear itself? [Harp Magazine review]

09. Mors Principium Est – Liberation = Termination (Listenable Records)
Heavy metal typically comes in one of two flavors – either dumber than a bag o’ doorknobs, or bloated with self-importance. There are exceptions to every rule, as my Gaffer used to say, and Finnish death metal rumble Mors Principium Est make music that sounds as stoopidly muscle-bound as the dimmest bulbs in the genre, but somehow manages to up the I.Q. factor to an intelligence level unexpected (and unheard of) from any other bunch of clodbusters from the frozen hinterlands. Liberation = Termination sound like glass shards and twisted-metal wreckage, which is a good thing….

08. Alan Morse – Four O’ Clock And Hysteria (Inside Out Music)
Six-string mangler for modern prog-rock giants Spock’s Beard, Morse delivered his first solo disc this year, unleashing his inner improviser and exploring the depths of his considerable talents. Morse merges disparate styles and instrumental genres into one giant mofo six-string workout. With brother Neal at the boards to capture every passing nuance, Morse tosses bits-n-pieces of rock, prog, jazz and blues into the blender, turns the button over to “shred” and hits that sucker with a mallet. [CD review]

07. Porcupine Tree – Fear Of A Blank Planet (Atlantic Records)
One of the most exciting bands exploring the barriers of rock music these days, mad alchemist Steven Wilson and Porcupine Tree moved away from the accessibility and, well, mainstream vibe of their previous two albums and towards a brave new world of musical possibilities. If Porcupine Tree represents the new face of progressive rock, then matching Beatlesque melodies and hypnotic soundscapes with manic distorted guitars, madcap keyboard runs, ‘plosive rhythms and blazing, buzzing synths is the sound of that new generation. Hopefully, somewhere, the Mars Volta is sitting up and taking notice….

06. Monster Magnet – 4-Way Diablo (SPV Records USA)
This slab o’ molten riffs and trippy rhythms is the culmination of almost two decades of concrete-weary roadwork, blown amps and chemical excess. Monster Magnet’s inspired mix of garage, hard rock, psychedelia and mindwarp metal reaches a fever-pitch with 4-Way Diablo, the best work of MM frontman Dave Wyndorf’s lengthy career and a musical accomplishment that will blister the plaster right off yer slimy, pin-up encrusted dorm walls.

05. Clutch – From Beale Street To Oblivion (DRT Records)
Clutch’s 10th studio album, From Beale Street To Oblivion, has more in common with ‘60s-vintage, psychedelic-fueled, blooze-obsessed knuckle-busters like Sir Lord Baltimore, Leafhound, May Blitz…even Black Sabbath…than it does with a bunch a New-Wave-O-British-Wankery washouts or nu-metal pretenders. Sounding nothing so much as something lurking in a dark alley off of Beale Street long after the daytime touristas have fled for safer environs in Tunica, these songs leap out of the shadows to strangle your ears with an assault of guttural vocals, larger-than-life riff-mongering and rhythms so loudly funky that they’ll have yer eardrums crying “uncle” in no time. [CD review]

04. Pete Berwick – Ain’t No Train Outta Nashville (Shotgun Records)
My old pal Pete released his long-shelved Ain’t No Train Outta Nashville during 2007, the album’s basic tracks recorded 15 years ago in some Music City closet with one of the most righteous rock rhythm sections that Nashville has ever ignored. A brilliant and staggering collection of hard-knock tales about lovable losers and hopeless dreamers, Ain’t No Train Outta Nashville offers the kind of country-rock cheap thrills that provide the listener a swift kick in the ass, and intelligent lyrics that would appeal to more people than the feeble-minded compost cranked out by Music Row scribes if only somebody had the balls and brains to play this stuff (Clear Channel, I’m talking ‘bout you!). [CD review]

03. Dave Cousins – The Boy In The Sailor Suit (Witchwood Records)
It’s been 35 years since Dave Cousins, singer and primary songwriter for British folk-rock legends the Strawbs, recorded a solo album. It’s not that he lacked anything to say – his band has released a dozen albums during that time. No, The Boy In The Sailor Suit is the father Cousins never knew, smiling down at him from a photograph, the album itself a reflection on the past and the fleeting nature of relationships. Cousins’ intricate wordplay is on display throughout, the album offering a balance of acoustic folk and electric rock, an appropriate soundtrack for this lyrical celebration of life and love. [Harp Magazine review]

02. Ian Hunter – Shrunken Heads (Yep Roc Records)
Former Mott the Hoople frontman Ian Hunter has scored a few touchdowns during his forty-years-plus in rock & roll, but he’s also fumbled the ball more than once. This disc, though, is the rock music equivalent of a Devin Hester punt return, Hunter and crew hitting their stride early, going the distance and hitting the end zone with energy to spare. A superb collection that features Hunter’s typical fusion of witty, whip-smart lyrics and guitar-driven hard rock, Shrunken Heads is the sporadic scribe’s best solo work, like, ever, proof that rock & roll knows no age limits. [CD review]

01. Bruce Springsteen – Magic (Columbia Records)
‘Tis a damn shame that the Boss released his finest collection of barn burners in close to two decades this past year, and corporate radio exiled blistering E Street stomp-n-smash rave-ups like “Radio Nowhere” from timid playlists. In spite of, or maybe because of modern rock radio’s ignorance in shutting out the old folks from the airwaves, Springsteen and his band of merry E Street thugs have been selling-out venues across the globe.

Ten More Worth Hearing (including reissues):

11. Tommy Womack – There, I Said It
(Cedar Creek Music) [CD review]

12. The Floating Men – Pleasurado! (Shade Music)

13. Nils Lofgren – Wonderland
(American Beat Records) [CD review]

14. Electric Wizard – Witchcult Today
(Candlelight Records) [CD review]

15. Mountain – Masters of War
(Big Rack Records) [CD review]

16. The Smithereens – Green Thoughts
(American Beat Records) [CD review]

17. The White Stripes – Icky Thump (Warner Bros)

18. Graham Parker – Don’t Tell Columbus (Bloodshot Records) [CD review]

19. Ted Leo & the Pharmacists – Living With The Living (Touch & Go)

20. Traveling Wilburys – Traveling Wilburys Collection (Warner Bros) [CD review]

OK, since a bunch of you requested it, and since Chuck Eddy decided to choose 150 albums for his "best of 2007" list, here are ten more faves from the Reverend:

21. Will Kimbrough - Will Kimbrough [EP]

22. Stace England & the Salt Kings - Salt Sex Slaves

23. Pat Bacon's Rebellion - Let's Live Forever [CD review]

24. Deadstring Brothers - Silver Mountain [CD review]

25. Kings Of Leon - Because Of The Times

26. Gary U.S. Bonds - Dedication & On The Line [CD review]

27. Band Of Horses - Cease To Begin [CD review]

28. Various Artists - Goodbye Nashville Hello Camden Town [CD review]

29. Black Angel - O' California

30. Black Angel - O' Santa Barbara

The Amazing Nils Lofgren Bootleg Show!

One of the most highly-coveted “Holy Grails” of record collecting has always been Nils Lofgren’s Back It Up!! A 1975 promotional release by Lofgren’s label, A&M Records, the faux bootleg was actually cut live in the studio by Nils and band for a radio broadcast on San Francisco’s KSAN-FM. The folks at the label liked the performance so much that they decided that it was just the thing to light a fire under complacent FM radio programmers and support Lofgren’s critically-acclaimed self-titled debut album.

With much less corporate bureaucracy to struggle with back in those days, the idea of an authorized “bootleg” album shuffled around the offices and quickly became a reality, the label pressing up 1,000 copies of Back It Up!! on vinyl with a plain white cardboard sleeve and crude photocopied insert, as was the style of bootleggers at the time. The label mailed ‘em out to radio stations and the press and although it netted Lofgren a fair amount of airplay and hype, history has proven that it did little to boost his record sales above those of any mid-card punter.

As laid out by Bud Scoppa’s informative liner notes for Back It Up!! Live…An Authorized Bootleg, the label was hot to send the promo album out as a regular release, an idea nixed by the man Nils himself. Fearing that the live disc would interfere with sales of his second album, Cry Tough, the promo-only album was put back into the label’s vaults. Meanwhile, as Lofgren’s career continued on pace, with the talented guitarist eventually setting aside his solo work in favor of a gig with Springsteen’s E Street Band, the status of Back It Up!! continued to grow, a primo copy of the original PVC fetching low-to-mid three-figure prices in collector’s circles.

Now I had seen several bootleg copies of Back It Up!! circulating around the various record conventions that I worked during the late-70s/early-80s, especially in Detroit and Chicago, but the Reverend actually picked up his favored copy of the vinyl from a former label executive’s gotta-move-now-cause-I’m-outta-cash yard sale in Nashville for a mere $2.00. My copy looks like the real thing, but what the hell do I know? It could be a boot; if it is, it’s a good one: the vinyl sounds great and looks authentically grungy. Maybe I should do some DNA testing, though, ‘cause according to Scoppa, his roommate – noted rock critic R. Meltzer – was hired by the label to fix the inserts to the sleeve, his sweat inevitably mixing with the sticky glue.

The main reason why Back It Up!! remains a valued collectible after all these years isn’t solely because of its scarcity, or lack thereof (I’ve probably seen over 1,000 copies myself at shows through the years, if you catch my meaning). No, the album is valued above other label promo items ‘cause it rocks like a leopard on a treadmill, whatever that means. It’s a great selection of songs…a couple from Nils Lofgren, the debut album; a couple of vintage Grin cuts (including the beautiful Like Rain); and a soulful turn on the Goffin-King chestnut Goin’ Back.

The performances captured by the album are simply electrifying, among the best you’ll hear from Nils, and these ears have heard a lot. Lofgren’s Keith Richards tribute, Keith Don’t Go (Ode To The Glimmer Twin) starts out with a tense, trippy guitar line straight from the Who playbook before breaking into Nils’ impassioned lyrical plea. The fretwork is stellar, Nils tearing off a number of superbly crushing solos built atop the brickyard rhythms provided by his brother, guitarist Tommy Lofgren.

I Don’t Want To Know, also from the solo debut, should have been a huge radio hit; a melodic rock number with fine vocal gymnastics and a BIG catchy hook guaranteed to grab you by the ears, it’s a classic tale of love and betrayal. This live version benefits from the addition of Al Kooper’s piano, the rock legend working on producing Lofgren’s sophomore effort at the time. The aforementioned cover of Goin’ Back offers Kooper’s light-hearted keyboard riffing and a breathless, smooth-as-silk vocal performance by Nils. Beggar’s Day jumps back into a rock groove after several pop-inflected cuts, the obscure Grin band cut showcasing some of Lofgren’s tuffest vox and even tougher fretwork, his slice-and-dice solos filleting the slightly funky rhythms of bassist Scott Ball and drummer Mike Zack.

Rock & roll, much like life, is full of “what if” moments. What if you had married the geek that later started that billion-dollar software business rather than the high school quarterback? What if you’d bought that Google stock at $12 per share like your father-in-law suggested? What if Mr. Miyagi had refused to teach that punk kid any of his slick moves? What would have happened to Lofgren’s career if an excellent live set like Back It Up!! had been released to compliment both his debut album and Cry Tough? Would it have been enough to put Nils in the national spotlight, where his native talent and dynamic onstage presence might have brought him the stardom he deserves?

As good as this set is, maybe Back It Up!! could have been better. Clocking in at slightly less than 45 minutes, the album feels incomplete by a song or two. Maybe Nils and his talented band only put these seven songs to tape, I don’t know. But if Hip-O Select had more of this stuff in the vault, they should have released an expanded version of Back It Up!! since it’s clearly the long-faithful fans that would be the most interested in this limited edition CD reissue.

Be that as it may, if you’re interested in this great disc, I’d recommend that rather than spend your coin on this A&M/Hip-O Select release, you surf over to the man’s web site (www.nilslofgren.com) and buy his virtually identical version of the album instead (titled Bootleg), which, contrary to the major label’s advertising campaign, beat their version to CD by almost six years. You can’t go wrong either way, ‘cause this is a classic disc deserving of a place on your shelf. (A&M Records/Hip-O Select)

(Click on the CD cover to buy Back It Up!! from Amazon.com, though in this instance we'd really rather that you bought it from Nils instead. Please. Go ahead, we'll wait. There's a link above.)

Nils Lofgren's Amazing "Wonderland"

There will be absolutely no argument about this, people – Nils Lofgren’s Across The Tracks should have been a mondo-huge radio hit. Period. I’ll hear no debate, no dispute, no qualifying…MONDO-HUGE radio hit! I’ve got the charts and pie graphs and seismograph readings to prove my point…and if that doesn’t convince you (wink, wink), I also have a ten-pound sledge and an itchy trigger-finger. Yeah, I thought so…

By the time of the 1983 release of Wonderland, Nils Lofgren had enjoyed status as a rock-n-roll wunderkind for over a decade, beginning with his brief tenure as part of Crazy Horse backing Neil Young, and continuing through his work with cult favorites Grin. Nils had half-a-dozen major label solo recordings under his belt by this time, but he was also on his second record label in only eight years, and had been unable to break free of the increasingly crowded rock guitarist pack. Lofgren seemed doomed to “also-ran” status for the remainder of his career, forever fated to being a critic’s darling. Critical acclaim doesn’t put beans on the table, however; you have to sell some records at some point in time.

Ultimately, when standing at the crossroads, he chose to put his career on the back-burner and take up Bruce Springsteen’s offer to join the E Street Band after the departure of popular guitarist Steve Van Zandt. The decision to take a walk down E Street made Lofgren a wealthy man, but one has to wonder if he has ever thought about what might have happened had he chosen to continue pursuing the brass ring on his own. Through the years, critics have pointed their collective fingers at various reasons for Lofgren’s failure to break through, from lack of label support and the unflinching ignorance of radio to the typically shallow production of the artist’s albums and even to Lofgren’s own lack of personality.

Wonderland was the last album that Lofgren recorded before jumping on the whirlwind Born In The U.S.A. tour with his New Jersey pal Bruce, and it stands tall among his best work. Contrary to what many pundits assert, Wonderland proves to this critic that Lofgren has no shortage of personality. A varied and heartfelt collection of material that was well-rehearsed and basically captured live in the studio, the album provides Lofgren with the guitar showcase that he had always deserved.

The aforementioned Across The Tracks is an energetic tale of star-crossed lovers, Lofgren’s spirited vocals complimented by a heavy drumbeat, an undeniably catchy melodic hook, great Romeo & Juliet lyrics and some damn fine guitar work. Edgar Winter throws in barely-audible backing vocals. Unlike some of the other songs on Wonderland, Across The Tracks doesn’t suffer from period production – this is a timeless rocker that plays across the decades. Kudos to Andy Newmark for his killer stompin’ on the drum kit…

Ole Nils switches gears with Into The Night, a moody, atmospheric semi-ballad that displays Lofgren’s abilities as a crooner, his passionate lyrics matched with a lush arrangement and subtle six-string flourishes. I Wait For You is a larger-than-life Springsteenesque mid-tempo rocker with stellar fretwork, notes flying everywhere as the drums ring clear like a jackhammer, Kevin McCormick’s throbbing bass tossing the boys a lifeline to pull them out of this emotional quicksand. The title cut is a syncopated, slightly Latin-flavored tune that reminds me of NYC; with backing vocals by the underrated, can’t-outstay-her-welcome-in-my-house Louise Goffin, the song is an enchanting romp through, well, Wonderland.

Wonderland was produced by Lofgren with his long-time bandmates McCormick and Newmark, and the work they did was ‘magnifico,’ accentuating their instrumental strengths and Nils’ solid songwriting chops while pushing Lofgren’s sometimes too-slight vocals to new heights. Confident Girl is a great example of the chemistry between the three, Lofgren’s guitar blazing with laser-like intensity while his vocals speak of a confidence that was sometimes lacking from his earlier work. Throw in some nice three-part harmonies and a one-two rhythmic knockout punch and Confident Girl could have easily been the second hit single from the album. Goffin also chimes in on the reggae-splashed Everybody Wants, Lofgren channeling his inner-Garland (i.e. Jeffreys) on this warm, infectious tune.

That’s not to say that there’s not a little chaff among Wonderland’s many pearls. Deadline might be a great song live, but as captured in the studio, it just stinks up the joint. The guys fell prey to the “sound de jour” and mucked up a song with an otherwise scorching guitar solo with new wavy synth punctuation that sounds hopelessly out-of-date a quarter-century later. Plus, Newmark’s delicious bass-heavy drumming is tossed aside in favor of a tinnier, repetitive, ‘radio-friendly’ snare drum beat that would induce a migraine in even the heartiest of listeners. The entire song sounds not dissimilar to the dreck produced by a lot of major label bands at the time, all trying to get their stuff on MTV. Ditto for Lonesome Ranger, a meager ballad that wastes Carly Simon’s perfectly good backing vocals in the creation of a funky, plasticized grab for airplay; there’s nothing here to differentiate it from a dozen other, slicker period bands that don’t have a tenth of this trio’s talent.

Overall, Wonderland signals the beginning of an evolution in Nils Lofgren’s creative direction. He would make one more very good (and similar) solo album in 1985’s Flip before taking the next six years away from recording. When Nils came back to the studio, he had matured as both an artist and a guitarist. He had toured the world as part of the biggest, baddest instrumental ensemble that has ever graced a stage in the E Street Band, taking part in marathon live shows that would test the talents of any musician. By the time of 1991’s Silver Lining, Lofgren had better than two decades under his belt and his vision was clear, his influences fully absorbed.

Although Lofgren’s creative output has been infrequent in the 24 years since Wonderland, resigned mostly to live albums and performances, there is no doubt that this album stands as a high water mark for the guitarist’s astounding career, an often overlooked album (released by American Beat for the first time in the U.S. on CD) well deserving of another listen. (American Beat Records)

(Click on the CD cover to buy Wonderland from Amazon.com)

Da Capo Best Music Writing 2006

Daphne Carr & Mary Gaitskill, editors
DA CAPO BEST MUSIC WRITING 2006
(Da Capo Press)

Okay, here’s how it works. Every twelve months, give or take, some poor schlub of an editor has to sift through hundreds of articles, essays, interviews and reviews to come up with a few dozen nominees as the “best music writing” of the year. Then said editor – this year it’s music journalist Daphne Carr shouldering this thankless task – hands off the stack of material to a guest editor; it’s novelist Mary Gaitskill this time around, but in the past this post has been manned by folks like the Grateful Dead’s Mickey Hart, cartoonist Matt Groening and enigmatic author J.T. Leroy.

Finally, the guest editor chooses two-to-three-dozen of the best pieces as being “better than the rest,” the winners are shipped off to the typesetter and hocus pocus, Da Capo Best Music Writing 2006 has been created! This year’s edition, the seventh in the series, is larger than 2005’s slim volume, but the quality has not suffered from the inflated page count, and there are some real gems among the book’s nearly-three-dozen pieces. It seems that the more literary-minded the guest editor – as opposed to musicians or pop culture icons – the more they tend to go with the high-falutin’ articles, and Gaitskill’s high-brow editorial choices for this year’s book provide no argument against this theory.

In Gaitskill’s defense, some of the loftiest material chosen for Da Capo Best Music Writing 2006 is also some of the best. Alex Ross’ excellent “Doctor Atomic Countdown,” from The New Yorker, is an entertaining glimpse behind the scenes of the creation of an opera. John Jeremiah Sullivan’s “Upon This Rock,” taken from GQ Magazine, is an insightful and introspective piece on Christian music and the Creation Festival, a subject that ordinarily would hold no interest for this reader. “Stories Of A Bad Song,” by rock criticism’s tenured “professor,” Greil Marcus, traces the history of Dylan’s classic “Masters Of War,” dissecting the song’s power and putting it in context with today’s youth and the War In Iraq.

Much of the rest of Da Capo Best Music Writing 2006 is equally engaging. Bill Friskics-Warren’s wonderful piece on Bettye LaVette illustrates the singer’s tireless spirit; Robert Wheaton’s fascinating look at the short, tumultuous life of British singer M.I.A. provides a contextual frame for the artist’s work; and Nick Weidenfeld’s “Dying In The Al Gore Suite,” about Silver Jews founder David Berman’s attempted suicide, is a sometimes-horrifying look into the psyche of a brilliant musician. Robert Christgau, always eminently readable and always a safe choice for any sort of compilation, discusses the magic of Billie Holiday’s voice, while Wayne Marshall’s look at reggaeton is a fine introduction to a genre of music little-known in the U.S. even while sweeping the rest of the world.

There are a handful of music-related, non-critical pieces in this year’s volume that should also grab your attention. Elizabeth Mendez Berry’s chilling expose of misogyny and domestic abuse in the hip-hop world shreds the veneer of machismo that fuels rap music while Katy St. Clair’s lighthearted piece on the special relationship between Huey Lewis and a coterie of mentally retarded fans sheds a sympathetic light on one of the brighter stars of the long-lost ‘80s. Ann Powers points out the double-standard of judging mentally unstable male artists like Daniel Johnston or Syd Barrett as misunderstood “geniuses” while female artists with mental problems are typically dismissed and marginalized.

You’ll find some hip-hop in this year’s book (Peter Relic’s “The Return,” an interview with the notorious Bushwick Bill, is a scream), some heavy metal (Monica Kendrick’s “Bang The Head Slowly,” on the band Earth) and some indie rock (J. Edward Keyes’ entertaining piece on the band Bloc Party). Mike McGuirk’s one-paragraph record reviews, nearly a dozen sprinkled throughout the book, are witty, concise and usually right on target. In this volume, like those in the past, there are some articles that should never have been chosen – the piece on metal band High On Fire (I won’t embarrass the writer by naming them) wouldn’t pass muster in a high school newspaper while the piece on avant-garde noisemaker Merzbow leaves one scratching their head at its inclusion; obscurity for obscurity’s sake, perhaps?

Overall, Da Capo Best Music Writing 2006 lives up to other entries in the series and provides hours of intelligent reading for the curious music lover. There is no other series that has run as long, or has even remotely archived the wealth and breadth of music writing that Da Capo’s annual volume does. There is always something between the covers to entertain the reader and, best of all, each book opens the door to a world of music that even the best-informed of us is unfamiliar with. For these reasons alone, Da Capo Best Music Writing 2006 deserves a place on your bookshelf.

(Click on the book cover to buy Da Capo Best Music Writing 2006 at Amazon.com)