Interview: Peter Holsapple of the dB's (1984)

Masters of a unique American pop/rock sound that garnered tem a great deal of critical acclaim for their two import albums, the dB’s are virtual unknowns outside of a few college radio markets across the country. “We received a lot of college radio airplay with those two albums,” says Peter Holsapple, the band’s songwriter and vocalist. “Songs like ‘Black and White’ and ‘Happen’stance’ were staples. When you have an import LP, though, and you’re taking it around to people, you don’t have the promotional ability that an American label, even a small independent, does.” This identity crisis should end, though, with the release of the band’s first American album, Like This.

Like This is a collection of various musical influences, produced by former Waitresses member Chris Butler. Listing influences as wonderfully diverse as REM, Jason and the Scorchers, Marshall Crenshaw, and the Gun Club, Holsapple says of the album “it’s an optimistic record for optimistic times.” With all eleven of the album’s songs penned by Holsapple, Like This represents a departure from the old dB’s style. Former member Chris Stamey, who left the band to pursue a solo career, wrote half of the band’s past material. Says Holsapple, “our focus has changed somewhat. We’ve tried to make it a diverse and yet as interesting as possible.” With six years of both on-the-road and in-the-studio experience already under their belts, of Like This Holsapple says “we got our sophomore jinx out of the way years ago, so this is our first third LP and our second first LP!”

The band acquired their recording contract after a two-year hiatus. “We had to take a break and look at where we were going, what we were achieving,” says Holsapple. During this break, Holsapple toured as an opening act for R.E.M., performing an amazing acoustic set. Because of these performances’s optimistic and upbeat nature, Holsapple dubbed this his ‘No Nebraska’ tour, an obvious reference to Bruce Springsteen’s somber recording of that name.

The dB’s will tour all summer and into the fall, not only to build a base for their audience (“I want people to say ‘Yeah, I want that album when it comes out!’” says Holsapple), but also to reacquaint themselves with the rigors of life on the road after such a long lay-off. “The power that this band puts out on stage is incredible,” says Holsapple, “it’s the hottest, cookingest little outfit I’ve heard in a long time.”

Interview originally published by Nashville Intelligence Report #24, October 1984

Also on That Devil Music: The dB’s Like This CD review 

The Reverend's Guide to Record Store Day 2026

For those of you who celebrate the holiday, Record Store Day is rapidly approaching, and if you haven’t scanned the list of available hot wax at least a dozen times by now, what sort of record collector are you? It’s shaping up to be one of the best RSD events in recent memory – sure, there are a bunch of major label retreads, reissues of albums you didn’t want to buy when they were new, and gimmicky picture discs and 3” records (really…this is something we needed?) – but this spring’s sale also includes a bunch of previously-unreleased studio and live gems worth your time and money.

What follows below is the Reverend’s carefully-curated list of Record Store Releases that I’ll be spending my hard-earned coin on buying. There are other titles of merit on this year’s list – your tastes may vary – as well as more than a few albums that I already own on vinyl and/or CD and see no reason to part with a dollar to get the newest and hottest version of such. The below-listed flapjacks are those that I think will provide the most bang for your buck, and to buy every LP here will run you a cool $300+ so if you haven’t been saving your pennies (do they still exist?), well, shame on you… 

Marshall Crenshaw - The Bootleg Sounds of Marshall Crenshaw: 1984-87 (Yep Roc Records)
    Crenshaw is a helluva songwriter and performer, so The Bootleg Sounds of Marshall Crenshaw: 1984-87 promises to be a real banger. Marshall personally dug through his archives to assemble this special vinyl release, which includes unreleased recordings, demo tapes, and live takes recorded during the noted time period that resulted in acclaimed LPs like Downtown, Mary Jane & 9 Others, and Good Evening. The 14-track album includes a bunch of original tunes as well as covers of Gene Pitney’s “Town Without Pity” and Buddy Holly’s “That’ll Be the Day,” recorded with Garry Tallent and Max Weinberg of the E Street Band. Fun fact: Crenshaw portrayed Holly in the 1987 Ritchie Valens biopic La Bamba, performing Holly’s “Crying, Waiting, Hoping” in the movie and on the soundtrack album. 

The dB’s - Cycles Per Second: US Tour 2024 (Propeller Sound Recordings) 
    Peter Holsapple and the dB’s have enjoyed a modicum of “rediscovery” these past few years, and justifiably so…the band’s power-pop flecked, old school indie rock sound is unique to the dB’s, one of the finest bands from the 1980s ‘college rock’ era. Propeller Sound Recordings reissued the band’s first two albums – 1981’s Stands for deciBels and 1982’s Repercussion – a couple years back, which resulted in a 2024 reunion tour featuring all four original band members (yes, even Chris Stamey!). Cycles Per Second is a document of that tour, a baker’s dozen of classic dB’s tunes including fan faves like “Black and White,” “Love Is For Lovers,” “Lonely Is,” and the scorching “Amplifier.” The album has been pressed on ‘firework splatter’ vinyl for RSD and includes a full-color inset of tour photos.

The Dream Syndicate - Sketches For Medicine Show (Fire Records)
    The Dream Syndicate released a wonderful, deluxe four-CD box set of the band’s 1984 sophomore album Medicine Show late last year, and fans thought that was about all that the archives held for that period of the band’s history. Come Record Store Day 2026, however, a new chapter will be written with Sketches For Medicine Show, a collection of rare recordings circa 1983-84 that includes a handful of rehearsal recordings and live tracks including the band’s unique version of Bob Dylan’s “Knocking On Heaven’s Door” and Bonnie Dobson’s anti-war folk classic “Morning Dew.” Syndicate frontman Steve Wynn has assured fans via social media that none of the seven tracks on Sketches were included on the deluxe box set, so this LP offers all new munchies for your ears. This may also be the rarest of this year’s RSD releases, with only 600 copies distributed regionally.

Freddie King - Feeling Alright: The Complete 1975 Nancy Jazz Pulsation Concerts (Elemental Music)
    There aren’t that many blues releases on this spring’s RSD slate, but this triple-disc Freddie King live set should make up for the lack of quantity with a collection of unparalleled quality. Capturing the legendary blues guitarist performing before 50,000 fans at France’s Nancy Jazz Pulsations Festival in October 1975, the album is previously unreleased. Produced by award-winning reissue wizard Zev Feldman, and sourced from original ORTF (Office de radiodiffusion-télévision française) recordings, the discs are pressed on 180-gram vinyl and the title is authorized by King’s estate. The release includes appreciations of the artists from his daughter Wanda King and ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons as well as extensive liner notes from music journalist and historian (and a friend of mine) Cary Baker. If a three-LP set is a bit too rich for your bank account, budget-friendly CD and digital versions will be released on April 24th. 

Ngozi Family - Gate Crash ’78 (Now-Again Records)
    This Zamrock stuff scratches a 1970s-era rock ‘n’ roll itch you didn’t know you had, and everything I’ve heard from the Ngozi Family, Paul Ngozi, Chrissy Zebby Tembo, Witch, and other bands from Zambia’s ‘70s rock scene is of uniformly high quality and high energy. Gate Crash ’78 is a long-lost Ngozi Family/Chrissy Zebby Tembo album that was test-pressed but never released back in the day. This is number one on my RSD hit parade, and once you’ve heard guitarist Paul Ngozi, it’ll be high on your list too. Now-Again Records has done an admirable job in documenting this obscure corner of rock ‘n’ roll history, and Gate Crash ’78 carries on the tradition with an eight-page booklet featuring rare photos and details on the Ngozi Family’s amazing history.

The Ramones - Live In San Francisco (Rhino Records)
    Another year and another live Ramones disc hits the shelves – and we have Rhino Records to thank! The tracklists on all these authorized live hubcaps, as well as most of the recent glut of bootleg vinyl, don’t vary by that many songs and, well, they’re the Ramones, so they mostly all deliver the same electrifying tightrope walk of sound. But we fanatics buy ‘em up anyway, like good little lemmings collecting baseball cards, and since this is a long overdue authorized release of the band’s 1979 City Hall Plaza show in San Francisco for the End of the Century tour, we’ll probably buy this one as well. Often bootlegged (notably as City Hall by Bad Joker Records and Live 1977 & 1979 by Live Wire Productions), the legit release offers up 27 songs on two LPs pressed on 140-gram ‘neon pink’ vinyl. 

Runt w/Todd Rundgren - The Necessary Cosmic Frenzy (Rhino Records)
    This is another title high on my “buy” list, the first ever solo performance by rock legend and innovator, Todd Rundgren. Runt was Rundgren’s first band after the Nazz – it was really a solo joint to begin with – and he’d be billed under his own name soon after the release of the lone, self-titled and excellent Runt album in 1970. This live performance from Philadelphia’s Sigma Sound Studios took place on June 30th, 1971 and was broadcast by WMMR-FM radio. Rundgren was backed for the occasion by his future Utopia bandmember “Moogy” Klingman, bassist Stu Wood, guitarist Tom Cosgrove, and drummer Norman “N.D.” Smart. Rundgren would leave Runt in the rearview mirror with the release of the expansive Something/Anything? two-album set in 1972 and the rest, as they say, is history.

Thin Lizzy - Live In Cleveland 1976 (UMR/Vertigo Records)
    After several years spent treading the boards, British hard rock band Thin Lizzy, fronted by an Irish singer, songwriter, and bassist – the musical genius that was Phil Lynott – broke through to stateside audiences in 1976 with a pair of acclaimed albums, Jailbreak and Johnny the Fox. This FM radio broadcast was originally included as part of 2024’s six-disc 1976 box set, broken out here as a stand-alone 2-LP set pressed on transparent vinyl. The May 1976 concert, broadcast on Cleveland’s WMMS-FM, includes most of the songs from Jailbreak as well as a handful of earlier tunes. I have personal knowledge of the depth of WMMS’s tape archives, and if they’re starting to produce these live shows for vinyl reissue, we collectors are in for a treat!      

Honorable Mention (i.e. other groovy RSD releases to consider): Dr. Feelgood’s Oil City Confidential, the soundtrack to director Julien Temple’s 2009 film about the influential 1970s British R&B band; The Gits’ Etcetera, an odds ‘n’ sods collection of rarities and live tracks from the ill-fated but influential punk rock band; The Mooney Suzuki’s People Get Ready, a 25th anniversary reissue of the Detroit sound-adjacent rockers’ classic album with a bonus 1999 concert disc; John Prine’s BBC Sessions, a nine-song collection of material from the acclaimed singer/songwriter’s first two albums, performed live on BBC radio; Terry Callier’s At The Earl of Old Town, a cool live show from the 1970s-era folk/jazz/blues guitarist (who found a modicum of fame in the 1990s in the U.K.); and SRC’s Milestones, the Detroit rocker’s acclaimed sophomore album, a masterful mix of hard rock, prog, and British Invasion influences. 

The Reverend's Favorite New Albums of 2025

Much like the swallows return to Capistrano, each year I check out the various "best of" album lists in different publications. As I've stated before, I'm old as dirt, and a lot of today's pop music isn't being made for me. I'm OK with this...my tastes are pretty eclectic, anyway. 

Much of today's disposable pop music does little but enrich the bank accounts of record label execs, and few of those featured on today's lists will forge long-term careers. I see few legit new "rock" LPs on young writers' lists, and absolutely no blues grooves. So I thought I'd put together my own danged list. 

Yeah, because I'm a rockin' geezer, my list tends to skew towards classic rock and blues musicians. These aren't necessarily the 25 "best" albums of the year to anybody but me, and the list largely reflects the new music I bought or acquired in 2025...

The Black Keys - No Rain, No Flowers
Steve Boyd - King of the Losers
Tommy Castro - Closer To the Bone
Bootsy Collins - Album of the Year #1 Funkateer
Alice Cooper - The Revenge of Alice Cooper
Marshall Crenshaw - From the Hellhole
Guided By Voices - Thick Rich and Delicious
Buddy Guy - Ain't Done With the Blues
Luke Haines & Peter Buck - Going Down To the River To Blow My Mind
Curtis Harding - Departures & Arrivals
Peter Holsapple - The Face of 68
Cristone "Kingfish" Ingram - Hard Road
Jason Isbell - Foxes In the Snow
Jethro Tull - Curious Ruminant
Willie Nile - The Great Yellow Light
Old Town Crier - Peterson Motel
Richie Owens - Redemption
Rich Pagano & the Sugarcane Cups - Hold Still Light Escapes
Piper & the Hard Times - Good Company
Robert Plant - Saving Grace
Mitch Ryder - With Love
Todd Snider - High, Lonesome & Then Some
Dave Specter - Live At SPACE
St Paul & the Broken Bones - St Paul & the Broken Bones
Superchunk - Songs In the Key of Yikes
Tedeschi Trucks Band - Mad Dogs & Englishmen Revisited
Walter Trout - Sign of the Times 
William Tyler - Time Indefinite
Webb Wilder - Hillbilly Speedball
Tommy Womack - Live A Little

Links are to That Devil Music album reviews...

 

The Rev's Favorite Rock 'n' Roll Albums of 2018

Rock ‘n’ roll ain’t dead, people, it’s just thriving on the fringes of pop culture while a mess of young and old artists alike are banging the gong and getting it on. The following ten albums listed below aren’t necessarily the “best” of 2018 but rather those that were my favorite releases for the year and spent the most time on my stereo. I’ve also listed another ten albums that almost, but not quite made the cut but, truth is, any of these albums would make a great addition to your music library. Check out the Rev’s lists of favorite archive/reissue and blues music albums from 2018 while you’re here!

Joe Grushecky & the Houserockers – More Yesterdays Than Tomorrows (Schoolkids Records)
Joe Grushecky’s More Yesterdays Than Tomorrows is an entertaining, exciting work that takes full advantage of the Houserockers’ immense musical chemistry – forged by decades of hard knocks and a shared faith in the religion of rock ‘n’ roll – to create a wonderful collection of songs that rock recklessly but pump the brakes when needed. Reunited with his longtime band after a handful of solo albums, Grushecky displays a renewed fervor and commitment to rock music as both soapbox and as a catalyst for social change. With More Yesterdays Than Tomorrows, Grushecky delivers a career milestone, outdoing himself once again.   BUY!

Tom Guerra – American Garden (Casa del Soul Records)
Singer, songwriter, and guitarist Tom Guerra is a veteran musician that’s been toiling in the shadows far too long while lesser talents grab the spotlight. American Garden features a high-octane blend of guitar-driven classic rock and blues music with Guerra’s smart (and often timely) lyrics paired with a clamorous soundtrack that reminds of similar rockers like Bruce Springsteen and Joe Grushecky. Tom Guerra’s American Garden is a solid collection of muscular, no-frills, old-school rock ‘n’ roll.   BUY!

Handsome Jack – Everything’s Gonna Be Alright (Alive Natural Sound Records)
Buffalo NY area “boogie soul” power trio Handsome Jack have one foot in the blustery hard rock sound of the ‘70s and the other in the guitar-driven British blues explosion of the ‘60s; the band’s raw, immediate garage-rock worldview builds on the past while looking defiantly towards the future. Everything’s Gonna Be Alright is the band’s sophomore effort and it’s a real fine barn-burner, Handsome Jack the real thing, a switchblade-toting gang of ‘Rust Belt’ blues-rock thugs demanding your time, money, and attention.   BUY!

Peter Holsapple – Game Day (Omnivore Recordings)
The voice of the revered power-pop outfit the dB’s, Peter Holsapple hasn’t released a solo album in 21 years (since 1997’s Out of My Way), but he climbs back in the saddle effortlessly with the gorgeous, shimmering Game Day. Holsapple’s deft songwriting chops and emotive vocals have always fueled his band’s best material, and with his second solo effort, he dials up the intensity to eleven. Holsapple plays nearly every note on the excellent Game Day, making it a true “solo album.”   BUY!

Howlin Rain – The Alligator Bride (Silver Current Records)
A damn fine rock band, Howlin Rain nevertheless brings a soupçon of its previous Americana-styled twang to the songs on The Alligator Bride, their fifth album. Infusing deceptively complex tunes with elements of the Grateful Dead, Neil Young, and even Joe Walsh, The Alligator Bride provides a shining display of frontman Ethan Miller’s songwriting chops and the band’s immense instrumental skills. There are a lot of echoes of the past in these grooves and the album’s wonderfully-balanced musical dynamics make it sound like it’s 1975 all over again.   BUY!

Willie Nile – Children of Paradise (River House Records)
Longtime Willie Nile fans won’t be disappointed by the more topical material on Children of Paradise, most of which is delivered with a rock ‘n’ roll spirit. In spite of the album’s frequent lyrical vision of a world in flames, Nile closes out the song cycle with the hopeful, pastoral “All God’s Children.” The song offers salvation through faith in our fellow humans and (unspoken) the power of rock ‘n’ roll to transcend life’s indignities. Nile’s simple plea of “sing for the angels, sing for the sinners, all of the losers one day will be winners…” provides a ray of light piercing the darkness that has enveloped our society. You can ask of nothing more from the true artist.   BUY!

David Olney – This Side or the Other (Black Hen Music)
Singer/songwriter David Olney has been making music in Nashville for over 40 years, and the humble, talented scribe has been exploring the depths of folk, rock, and country music just as long, breaking through genre barriers years before anybody coined the “Americana” term. This Side or the Other, Olney’s debut for Steve Dawson’s Black Hen label, proves to be a snug artistic fit, the like-minded Dawson producing and adding his considerable six-string skills to the songs. Olney’s poetic wordplay, intriguing story-songs, and world-weary vocals put him in a class by himself, the man’s talents transcending mediocrity to deliver the truly magnificent with This Side or the Other.   BUY!

Shuggie Otis – Inter-Fusion (Cleopatra Records)
When everybody else in popular music is running, lemming-like, in a single direction, Shuggie Otis is veering off towards left field. For his first studio album in better than forty years, the songwriter responsible for soulful gems like “Strawberry Letter 23” and “Inspiration Information” delivers a mostly-instrumental set guaranteed to blow your  mind. A buffet of rock, soul, funk, and jazz, Inter-Fusion is a breathtaking collection of virtuosity, proof that Otis has lost none of the chops, imagination, or innovation that made him a legend in the first place.   BUY!

Sour Ops – Family Circuit (Feralette Records)
Contrary to conventional industry wisdom, rock ‘n’ roll ain’t dead – and Sour Ops proves my point with the delightfully raucous Family Circuit. Price Harrison and his musical gang take their obvious cues from the legends of classic ‘70s and ‘80s rock but manage to provide this original material with a contemporary spin via their imaginative songwriting and skilled instrumentation. In addition to Family Circuit, Sour Ops also released a fab 12” single this year comprised of “Photograph” and “Mind Like Glue,” two of the album’s best tunes and a safe bet for vinyl collectors looking for cheap thrills.   BUY!

The Textones – Old Stone Gang (Blue Elan Records)
The Textones’ Carla Olson put the original band back together for another shot at the brass ring, and their first new album in 30+ years sounds like they never really left the game. The band’s pioneering hybrid of rock, country, and a touch of soul (i.e. ‘Americana’) is much in evidence here and the Textones’ Old Stone Gang offers a lot of twang and bang for your buck. If you didn’t know them back in the ‘80s, you owe it to yourself to discover the band today.   BUY!

Honorable Mention: Arthur Buck’s Arthur Buck; Crack the Sky’s Living In Reverse; The Damned’s Evil Spirits, Alejandro Escovedo’s The Crossing; Graveyard’s Peace; Wilko Johnson’s Blow Your Mind; King Crimson’s Live In Vienna; King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard’s Gumboot Soup; Uriah Heep’s Living the Dream; Barrence Whitfield’s Soul Flowers of Titan.

Short Rounds: Joe Bonamassa, Peter Holsapple & Alex Chilton, Winston Jarrett, The Posies & Rolling River Royalty (2018)

New album releases in 150 words or less…

Joe Bonamassa – Redemption (J&R Adventures)
The second album this year from the blues-rock guitarist (the first being the live British Blues Explosion), Redemption is also Joe Bonamassa’s first studio work since 2016’s Blues of Desperation. Working again with producer Kevin Shirley and writing with some of Nashville’s finest wordsmiths, Bonamassa leans heavily towards his rock ‘n’ roll side, delivering an explosive set of songs that push against the boundaries of the blues with a scorching blend of classic rock and soul. “King Bee Shakedown” offers rollicking roadhouse boogie, “Deep In the Blues Again” is a blustery Celtic-tinged blues tune, “Pick Up the Pieces” is a sleazy Tom Waits slice-of-life, and the tortured title track welds haunting Delta blues to Rory Gallagher’s shivering ghost. None of the material strays far from Bonamassa’s tried-and-true blues template, but he could use an update and new musical challenges. Still, Redemption is an exciting collection that will thrill the Bona-fan. Grade: B   BUY!

Peter Holsapple & Alex Chilton – The Death of Rock (Omnivore Recordings)
Months before hooking up with the dB’s, Peter Holsapple sojourned down to Memphis to record some demos at Sam Phillips’ studio, hoping to capture a spark of the ol’ Big Star magic. That band’s Alex Chilton was working on his Like Flies On Sherbert album and the two ended up playing together. The Death of Rock is drawn from those long-lost 1978 recordings, featuring Holsapple and Chilton collaborating on songs like the latter’s poppy “Tennis Bum” and the former’s “Take Me Back.” The recordings have a raw, immediate feel with some of Holsapple’s tunes like “Bad Reputation” and “We Were Happy There” later recorded by the dB’s. Chilton’s “Martial Law” is provided a chaotic, delightfully-messy performance while a ramshackle cover of “Train Kept A Rollin’” recklessly runs off the rails. More than a mere historical curiosity, The Death of Rock showcases two legendary artists trying to find musical common ground. Grade: B   BUY!

Winston Jarrett & the Righteous Flames – Jonestown (Nighthawk Records/Omnivore Recordings)
Winston Jarrett was a veteran of 1960s-era ska legends Alton & the Flames; when frontman Alton Ellis went solo, Jarrett formed the Righteous Flames from the ashes. Recording a number of albums during the 1970s with producers like Joe Gibb, Sir Coxsone, and Lee “Scratch” Perry, Jarrett landed on Nighthawk Records for this 1983 release. Recorded with a new version of the Righteous Flames, including talented guitarist Chinna Smith, Jonestown – named for the Kingston neighborhood where he was raised – showcases Jarrett’s silky vocals and the Flames’ gorgeous harmonies. Jarrett provides socially-conscious lyrics on the dub-tinged “Knotty Got To Find A Way” and “Jonestown” with a fierce voice while “Spanish Town Road” is more akin to Bob Marley. The rhythms of “Run To the Rock” are a throwback to the early ska sound while “Lover’s Making Love” is a pure-hearted R&B jam, Jonestown an album worth discovering for the reggae fanatic. Grade: A   BUY!     

Permanent Green Light – Hallucinations (Omnivore Recordings)
At the end of his legendary “Paisley Underground” band the Three O’Clock in 1989, Michael Quercio went looking for new rock ‘n’ roll cheap thrills. He formed obscure psych-rockers Permanent Green Light, which released a handful of singles and a full-length album, building a loyal West Coast following before breaking up. Hallucinations compiles 16 of the band’s best performances, including three previously-unreleased demos and, to be honest, as much as I liked the Three O’Clock, this stuff rocks with an urgency, creativity, and honesty directly in opposition to most ‘90s bands. While the deliciously psych-pop “We Could Just Die” or the jangly “Street Love” display Quercio’s 1960s-era musical influences, tunes like “The Truth This Time” (with its funky groove) and the somber “Portmanteau” (with its exotic intro) showcase a welcome willingness to experiment musically. Hallucinations is an exceptional collection of guitar-rock from one of the best bands you never heard. Grade: A+   BUY!

The Posies – Frosting On the Beater (Omnivore Recordings)
The second of Omnivore’s restoration of power-pop pioneers the Posies’ major label catalog, Frosting On the Beater picks up where the band’s debut Dear 23 ended. Expanding the Posies’ sound to offer a harder-edge with more prominent guitars and dense instrumentation, the album’s brilliant original tracks offer more joyous noise in the grooves. Red-hot numbers like the psych-flavored “Dream All Day” or the smoldering “Burn & Shine” sound like R.E.M. on steroids. The band didn’t catapult its power-pop roots, though, as the lovely “Flavor of the Month” will attest, and the first disc of the two here offers nine bonus tracks in the form of demos and outtakes. The second disc will delight the faithful, featuring a whopping 21 unreleased songs, my faves being the charming, melodic “21” and the mesmerizing yet raucous “Magnifying Mirror.” Unfairly neglected in their day, the Posies were true heir-apparent to the Big Star legacy. Grade: A   BUY!  

Rolling River Royalty – Rolling River Royalty (Kingfish Records/New Bohemian Records)
Nashvillian Robert Jetton has been making great music since he landed in Tennessee from Texas 40 years ago. He partners with multi-instrumentalist Wendell Tilley as Rolling River Royalty, the two raising a helluva ruckus and having a grand ol’ time rocking a mix of original and traditional songs with a couple of Merle Haggard covers ‘cause why not? The duo’s self-titled debut is a sprightly collection of country, folk, blues, and bluegrass music delivered with no little authenticity. The laid-back “What A Country” is a twangy tale of love on the 4th of July and their “Man of Constant Sorrow” skews closer to the Stanley Brothers than contemporary versions. Jetton’s “Something’s Gonna Break” matches clever lyrics with “Black Betty” foot-stompin’ rhythms while Haggard’s “Mama Tried” displays a hauntingly beautiful performance. With plenty of high-lonesome vocals, spry guitar pickin’, and wailing harmonicas to entertain any listener, Rolling River Royalty defines Americana. Grade: A   BUY!

Previously on That Devil Music.com:
Short Rounds, October 2018: Mike Felten, Eric Lindell, John McLaughlin, Daniel Seymour & Mark Robinson, Bob Seger & Ska Authentic
Short Rounds, September 2018: Junior Byles, Guadalcanal Diary, Peter Holsapple, the Textones & Bill Kopp’s Reinventing Pink Floyd book
Short Rounds, August 2018: Gene Clark, Kinky Friedman, David Olney, The Posies, Boz Scaggs, & Southside Johnny

New Music Monthly: October 2018 Releases

We're nearing the finish line for 2018, kiddies, and October promises another slobber-knocker slate of new releases that promise to tax your bankroll and please your soul. You got your new music from folks like Will Hoge, Graham Parker, Doyle Bramhall II, High On Fire, Elvis Costello, John Hiatt, Tom Morello, Ace Frehley, and many others as well as archive releases from Lindsey Buckingham, Permanent Green Light, Mott the Hoople, and R.E.M. among others. So, like I said, lots of tunes to spend your hard-earned coin on.

If we wrote about it here on the site, there will be a link to it in the album title; if you want an album, hit the 'Buy!' link to get it from Amazon.com...it's just that damn easy! Your purchase puts money in the Reverend's pocket that he'll use to buy more music to write about in a never-ending loop of rock 'n' roll ecstasy!   

OCTOBER 5
Anthrax - State of Euphoria [deluxe 30th anniversary reissue]   BUY!
David Bowie - Live In New York 1987   BUY!
Doyle Bramhall II - Shades   BUY!
Lindsey Buckingham - Solo Anthology: The Best of Lindsey Buckingham   BUY!
Coheed & Cambria - The Unheavenly Creatures   BUY!
Hugh Cornwell - Monster   BUY!
Echo & the Bunnymen - The Stars, The Oceans & The Moon   BUY!
Electric Six - Bride of the Dead   BUY!
Kristin Hersh - Possible Dust Clouds   BUY!
High On Fire - Electric Messiah   BUY!
Will Hoge - My American Dream   BUY!
John Lennon - Imagine [deluxe box set]   BUY!
Cat Power - Wanderer   BUY!
Sari Schorr - Never Say Never   BUY!
Unicorn -  Laughing Up Your Sleeve   BUY!

OCTOBER 12
Martin Barre - Roads Less Traveled   BUY!
Lindsay Beaver - Tough As Love   BUY!
The Bottle Rockets - Bit Logic   BUY!
Elvis Costello  & the Imposters - Look Now   BUY!
John Hiatt - The Eclipse Sessions   BUY!
Peter Holsapple & Alex Chilton - The Death of Rock...   BUY!
Calvin Johnson - A Wonderful Beast   BUY!
Dave Keller - Every Soul's A Star   BUY!
Paul Kelly - Nature   BUY!
Tom Morello - The Atlas Underground   BUY!
Nazareth - Tattooed On My Brain   BUY!
Graham Parker - Cloud Symbols   BUY!
Permanent Green Light (Michael Querico) - Hallucinations   BUY!
Primal Scream - Give Out But Don't Give Up: The Original Memphis Sessions   BUY!

OCTOBER 19
Terry Callier - The New Folk Sound of Terry Callier [vinyl reissue]   BUY!
Sandy Carroll - Blues & Angels   BUY!
Neneh Cherry - Broken Politics   BUY!
Disturbed - Evolution   BUY!
Ace Frehley - Spaceman   BUY!
Marty Friedman - One Bad M.F. Live!!   BUY!
Handsome Jack - Everything's Gonna Be Alright   BUY!
Los Straitjackers - Complete Christmas Songbook   BUY!
Will Oldham - Songs of Love and Horror   BUY!
Yoko Ono - Warzone   BUY!
R.E.M. - R.E.M. At the BBC [box set]   BUY!
Soulfly - Ritual   BUY!
Various Artists - Stax '68: A Memphis Story   BUY!

OCTOBER 26
The Action - The New Action! [vinyl]   BUY!
Eric Bibb - Global Griot
Fifth Angel - The Third Secret   BUY!
Mott the Hoople - Mental Train: The Island Years 1969-1971 [box set]   BUY!
NRBQ - All Hopped Up   BUY!
Ty Segall - Fudge Sandwich   BUY!
Joe Louis Walker, Bruce Katz & Giles Robson - Journeys to the Heart of the Blues   BUY!

Album of the Month: Mott the Hoople's Mental Train is a six-disc box set that collects includes remastered and expanded versions of all four of the band's original Island Records label releases; an entire disc of unheard and unreleased material; and a full disc of live and BBC performances. Each of the original albums - Mott the Hoople, Mad Shadows, Wildlife, and Brain Capers - has been expanded by 8 or 9 tracks, adding single versions, demos, alternate takes, and much more. A fifth CD, The Ballads of Mott the Hoople, is subtitled "Unheard and Unreleased Music from the Island Archive." That's a lot of great music for the Hoople fan!

Short Rounds: Junior Byles, Guadalcanal Diary, Peter Holsapple & the Textones (2018)

New album releases in 150 words or less…

Junior Byles – Rasta No Pickpocket (Nighthawk/ Omnivore Recordings)
Deservedly a big star in Jamaica, reggae artist Junior Byles is tragically unknown here in the states. Working with producers like Lee “Scratch” Perry, Rupert Reid, and Lloyd Campbell, Byles enjoyed a string of hit singles in his homeland during the early ‘70s. Mental health issues and an attempted suicide sidelined the singer for over a decade, until the recording sessions that resulted in Rasta No Pickpocket. Originally released by Nighthawk Records in 1986 and reissued by Omnivore as part of their Nighthawk label restoration, the album is a reminder of just how good a vocalist Byles was…songs like the gently skanking, socially-conscious “I Don’t Know,” the rhythmic, sing-song “I No Got It,” the Rasta fantasy “Cally Weed,” and the mesmerizing title track showcase the singer’s mellow tones and insightful lyrical skills. Several previously-unreleased tracks sweeten the pot and further display Byles’ soulful vocals. RIYL Bob Marley or Gregory Isaacs. Grade: A   BUY IT!

Guadalcanal Diary – At Your Birthday Party (Omnivore Recordings)
Guadalcanal Diary was often overshadowed by upstarts like Pylon or R.E.M. but, truth is, they were a damn fine studio outfit and even better live rock band. Taken from a pair of January 1998 reunion shows in Atlanta, At Your Birthday Party was originally released independently by the band. Omnivore’s reissue puts the album back in print after almost 20 years, providing wider distribution for this entertaining disc. A band screaming for “rediscovery,” Guadalcanal Diary was firing on all cylinders these nights. From the haunting “Trail of Tears” and the poppy “Pretty Is As Pretty Does” to the raging rocker “Whiskey Talk” and the rowdy, cowpunkish “Watusi Rodeo,” band frontman Murray Attaway and crew crank out 16 wired performances of songs from all four of the band’s LPs circa 1984-1989. Like the college rock radio playlist of your misspent youth, At Your Birthday Party is a very fine present, indeed. Grade: A  BUY IT!

Peter Holsapple – Game Day (Omnivore Recordings)
The voice of the revered power-pop outfit the dB’s, Peter Holsapple hasn’t released a solo album in 21 years (since 1997’s Out of My Way), but he climbs back in the saddle effortlessly with the gorgeous, shimmering Game Day. Holsapple’s deft songwriting chops and emotive vocals have always fueled his band’s best material, and with his second solo effort, he dials up the intensity to eleven. Game Day’s thoughtful, melodic songs run the gamut from the electrifying “In Too Deep” and the rocking “Tuff Day” to the delightfully-morose “Don’t Ever Leave” or the devastating ballad “Don’t Mention The War,” where Peter channels his inner Neil Young. An explosive cover of Buddy Miles’ “Them Changes,” mixed with the New York Rock & Roll Ensemble obscurity “Sing Lady Sing,” provides a new dimension to both songs. Holsapple plays nearly every note on the excellent Game Day, making it a true “solo album.” Grade: A   BUY IT!

The Textones – Old Stone Gang (Blue Elan Records)
The Textones’ Carla Olson put the original band back together (sans Phil Seymour, R.I.P.) for another shot at the brass ring, and their first new album in 30+ years sounds like they never really left the game. The band’s pioneering hybrid of rock, country, and a touch of soul (i.e. ‘Americana’) is much in evidence on songs like the jaunty title track, the thoughtful rocker “All That Wasted Time,” the country-toned “Ride On,” the engaging story-song “Carly Jo,” or the bluesy “Midnight Roundabout.” Guitarist George Callins and Olson make a helluva songwriting team, penning four of the album’s best tunes, but other band members also deliver solid material, creating a cohesive and entertaining overall effort. The Textones’ Old Stone Gang offers a lot of twang and bang for your buck, and if you didn’t know them back in the ‘80s, you owe it to yourself to discover the band today. Grade: A   BUY IT!

Bonus Track:

Bill Kopp – Reinventing Pink Floyd (Rowman & Littlefield)
Music Journalist Bill Kopp is a colleague, writing for publications like Blurt and Goldmine (among others). With Reinventing Pink Floyd, his first book, Bill focuses his insight on the legendary British rock band, exploring Floyd’s early years “from Syd Barrett to the Dark Side of the Moon.” His efforts pay off, as Reinventing Pink Floyd provides a deep dive into the band’s years in the wilderness, as they forged a significant career in the wake of founder and guiding light Barrett’s departure. There’s plenty of musical experimentation to be found on ‘70s-era albums like Atom Heart Mother and Meddle before Floyd crafted its signature sound and found superstardom, and Kopp walks the reader through the chaos and creation of a legend. Bill delivers all the minutiae and anecdotes that a Floyd fan demands, weaving a fascinating story of one of the most influential, pioneering bands in rock ‘n’ roll history. Grade: A   BUY IT!

Check out Bill’s own music zine, Musoscribe


Previously on That Devil Music.com:
Short Rounds, August 2018: Gene Clark, Kinky Friedman, David Olney, The Posies, Boz Scaggs, & Southside Johnny
Short Rounds, July 2018: The Damnation of Adam Blessing, Elvin Bishop’s Big Fun Trio, Howlin’ Rain & the Rockers OST
Short Rounds, May 2018: Brinsley Schwarz, Eric Corne, Roger McGuinn & Shuggie Otis 

Peter Holsapple & Alex Chilton and the “Death of Rock”

They’re two of the most iconic rockers in the power-firmament – the late Alex Chilton, who blazed the trail via his pioneering work with the Box Tops and cult rockers Big Star, and Peter Holsapple, who picked up the torch dropped by Big Star and ran with it over the course of a half-dozen albums by his revered band the dB’s.

For one shining moment in 1978, however, the two rock ‘n’ roll stars collided and worked together at the legendary Sam Phillips Recording Service in Memphis, Tennessee. The resulting recordings were thought forever lost to the ages until their recent rediscovery; on October 12th, 2018 Omnivore Recordings will release The Death of Rock: Peter Holsapple vs. Alex Chilton on CD, some 40 years after the duo’s original sessions.

The story, as it turns out, happened thusly – three years before hooking up with the dB’s, Holsapple ventured from his North Carolina home in 1978 to the Bluff City, hoping to record with Big Star’s Chris Bell as his producer. After Bell rebuffed the singer/songwriter Holsapple hooked up with Big Star family member Richard Rosebrough, a musician and studio engineer, and the two began recording tracks during the studio’s off hours.

Meanwhile, Chilton was busy working on what would become his Like Flies On Sherbert album at the studio and hearing what Holsapple was working on said to Peter “I heard some of that stuff you’re working on with Richard...and it really sucks,” promising to drop by the studio and show the neophyte power-popper “how it’s done.” As Holsapple recalls, “I caught Alex exiting a world of sweet pop that I was only just trying to enter, and the door hit me on the way in, I guess.”

The results of the two men’s collaboration have been lost until now, and Omnivore’s first-time release of these sessions features extensive liner notes from Memphis author, filmmaker, and music historian Robert Gordon (no relation). The Death of Rock also includes previously-unseen photos from the personal collection of Holsapple and Memphis music documentarian Pat Rainer. The new album was produced by Omnivore’s award-winning Cheryl Pawelski and mastered by Mike Graves at Osiris Studio and Jeff Powell at Take Out Vinyl/Sam Phillips Recording Service, which appropriately brings the project full-circle.

In his liner notes for The Death of Rock, Gordon sums the recordings up thusly: “Holsapple and Chilton have a bang-up meet up. It works out OK for both artists, the collaboration taking each somewhere they’d likely not have gone by themselves. In some collisions, the results are Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. In others, the ambulance has to haul people to the hospital. Here, no blood was spilled, but each artist finds himself in a place pretty much unlike any other visited on his own.” You can check out the full track listing for The Death of Rock below.

The Death of Rock tracklist:

Peter Holsapple
1. Bad Reputation
2. House Is Not A Home
3. We Were Happy There
4. The Death of Rock
5. Take Me Back
6. Mind Your Manners (backing track)

Alex Chilton
7. Tennis Bum
8. Marshall Law
9. Heart and Soul
10. Train Kept A Rollin’
11. Hey Mona

Bonus Abuse: Peter Holsapple (except *Alex Chilton)
12. Bad Reputation (long version)
13. Tennis Bum (rehearsal)*
14. O My Soul (instrumental/rehearsal)
15. In the Street (instrumental/ rehearsal)
16. Baby I Love You (rehearsal)
17. The Death of Rock (rehearsal)
18. Someone’s Gotta Shine Your Shoes (rehearsal)
19. Mind Your Manners (4-Track version with vocals)

Buy the CD from Amazon.com: The Death of Rock: Peter Holsapple vs. Alex Chilton

New Music Monthly: July 2018 Releases

The industry typically slows down during the dog days of summer, but July this year has a bounty of great music by some solid rock, blues, and Americana artists. For you blooze fans, check out new tunes by Rory Block, Boz Scaggs, and the Apocalypse Blues Revue. For the rockers among you, there are reissues of classic LPs by folks like Guadalcanal Diary, Soul Asylum, and the almighty Lords of the New Church as well as new jams from folks like Ty Segall, Willie Nile, and Peter Holsapple.

I didn't forget my Americana friends, either, the genre represented this month by the legendary Kinky Friedman's first album of new music in 40 years as well as platters by the Jayhawks and Elvin Bishop (which, to be fair, treads the fine line between Americana and blues). And for those folks that prefer their music on vinyl, how about reissues of albums by Rolling Stone bassist Bill Wyman, Americana star Jason Isbell, British space music pioneers Hawkwind, Swans, and U2?! No matter your taste in music, there's something this month for everybody!

If we wrote about it here on the site, there will be a link to it in the album title; if you want an album, hit the 'Buy!' link to get it from Amazon.com...it's just that damn easy! Your purchase puts money in the Reverend's pocket that he'll use to buy more music to write about in a never-ending loop of rock 'n' roll ecstasy!

JULY 6
The Animals - Animalisms   BUY!
Rory Block - A Woman's Soul   BUY!
Fate's Warning - Live Over Europe   BUY!
Kinky Friedman - Circus of Life [first new album in 40 years]   BUY!
Hawkwind - Live Hits [vinyl]   BUY!
The Nude Party - The Nude Party   BUY!
Wishbone Ash - Here to Hear (import)   BUY!

JULY 13
Cowboy Junkies - All That Reckoning   BUY!
Elvin Bishop's Big Fun Trio - Something Smells Funky 'Round Here   BUY!
Guadalcanal Diary - At Your Birthday Party   BUY!
Jason Isbell - Sirens of the Ditch [vinyl reissue]   BUY!
The Jayhawks - Back Roads and Abandoned Motels   BUY!
Bill Wyman - Monkey Grip [vinyl reissue]   BUY!
Bill Wyman - Stone Alone [vinyl reissue]   BUY! 

JULY 20
Apocalypse Blues Revue - The Shape of Blues To Come   BUY!
Lords of the New Church - Lords of the New Church: Special Edition   BUY!
Ty Segall & White Fence - Joy   BUY!
Soul Asylum - Made To Be Broken   BUY!
Soul Asylum - Say What You Will...Everything Can Happen   BUY!
Swans - Soundtracks For the Blind [vinyl reissue]   BUY!

JULY 27
Galen Ayers - Monument [daughter of Kevin Ayers]  BUY!
Drivin N Cryin' - Too Late To Turn Back Now [reissue]   BUY!
Peter Holsapple - Game Day   BUY!
Willie Nile - Children of Paradise   BUY!
Michael Romeo - War of the Worlds, Pt. 1   BUY!
Boz Scaggs - Out of the Blues   BUY!
Dee Snider - For the Love of Metal   BUY!
U2 - Achtung Baby [vinyl reissue]   BUY!
U2 - The Best of 1980-1990 [vinyl reissue]   BUY!
U2 - Zooropa [vinyl reissue]   BUY!

Album of the Month: In a month with promising new albums from both Peter Holsapple of the dB's and Willie Nile, I'm going to have to go with Nile's Children of Paradise. Although Holsapple is an extremely talented songwriter and musician, he hasn't released a solo album in 21 years, and his last recording altogether was six years ago, with the wonderful dB's 2012 reunion album Falling Off the Sky. We're not sure what we're going to get, we just figure that it's going to be good. With Nile, though, who has been cranking out new music every couple of years, the singer/songwriter may be at the top of his game; his songwriting pen is sharp and his lyrics insightful and concise, the music rockin' like nobody's business. If you could only afford one album this month, I'd go with the Willie Nile. But if you can squeeze two CD purchases into July, grab the Peter Holsapple disc, too...you'll be glad that you did!