1971, Part One – Love It To Death

The late, lamented Janis Joplin’s final album, Pearl, was released posthumously in January. Under the guidance of Doors producer Paul Rothchild and supported by her new Full Tilt Boogie band, the album was tighter and more polished than Joplin’s previous work. It was also noticeably funkier right out of the gate on “Move Over”, owing […]

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Kurt Cobain, 25 Years On

A shotgun blast ended his life at the age of 27 a quarter century ago today. Few people in our world of billions manage to etch themselves into history; far fewer still can be considered a generation’s voice. Kurt Donald Cobain managed to achieve both, in less than three years after bursting into the popular […]

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Kiss: End of the Road (Again)

A few decades from now, nobody is going to speak of Kiss in reverential tones as a band of great musicians whose songs spoke to the anxieties, fears and dreams of a generation. The Beatles, they ain’t. Their oeuvre has always been simple rock songs about girls and sex and loving it loud and shouting […]

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