Library Rock's Backpages

Dan Nooger

Dan Nooger

I wrote the Detroit and Philadelphia chapters of Blackwell's Guide To Soul Recordings and have written about music for many years; my Village Voice review of one of Bruce Springsteen's earliest New York shows at Max's Kansas City in 1973 was quoted in Will Hermes' book Love Goes to Buildings On Fire.

My name was also quoted as the "reviewer" of the Nasty Bits' show in the final episode of HBO's Vinyl.  I have also produced and/or annotated many blues, soul and jazz reissue projects going back to the 1970's, for such labels as Chess, Savoy Jazz, Ace and Night Train. I was a staff writer with Atlantic Records' publicity department from 1978 to 1980. In the early '80s I was a staff reporter for music trade publication Cashbox. I also used to do some film-extra work in the mid '90s and was directed for one day by Martin Scorsese in Bringing Out The Dead (twitching junkie on the couch in the "apartment" scene). 

During the punk rock days my band Razors Edge opened three nights for Blondie at CBGB (Valentines weekend February 1976) and we also opened shows for the Dictators, among others. In 2023 I published my book Belly Of The Beast: Chess Records – The All Platinum Years.

61 articles

List of articles in the library

By date | By artist | Most recently added

Mose Allison, John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters: Muddy Waters, Mose Allison, John Lee Hooker: Philharmonic Hall, New York NY

Live Review by Dan Nooger, The Village Voice, 11 January 1973

UNMASKED FLAVORS ...

Average White Band: Show Your Hand (MCA)

Review by Dan Nooger, Phonograph Record, November 1973

A LOT OF British heavies on the order of Led Zeppelin, Humble Pie, and even Elton John came out of the soul club tradition, learning ...

Average White Band: Academy of Music, New York NY

Live Review by Dan Nooger, The Village Voice, 13 December 1973

ONE OF the pleasantest surprises of the musical year awaited those B. B. King and ZZ Top fans who arrived at the Academy of Music ...

Average White Band: 'Cut The Cake' — AWB Slices Out Chocolate Sounds With White Frosting

Interview by Dan Nooger, Circus, August 1975

The Scots cook like Yosemite and lay down a groove like the Grand Canyon. ...

Back Door, Foghat, The Strawbs: Foghat, the Strawbs, Back Door: Academy of Music, New York NY

Live Review by Dan Nooger, The Village Voice, 18 October 1973

BACK DOOR is Ron Aspery on saxes, flute, and keyboard, Colin Hodgkinson on bass and mouth, and Tony Hicks on drums. All experienced London session ...

Beck, Bogert and Appice, Andy Bown, The Brats, Little Feat, Bonnie Raitt, Wet Willie: Beck, Bogert & Appice: Felt Forum; Bonnie Raitt, Little Feat: Max's Kansas City; Andy Bown: Max's Kansas City; the Brats: 54 Bleecker Street, NYC NY

Live Review by Dan Nooger, The Village Voice, 19 April 1973

SPARKLING PLENTY ...

Bedlam, Black Sabbath, Lynyrd Skynyrd: Black Sabbath, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Bedlam: Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale NY

Live Review by Dan Nooger, The Village Voice, 7 March 1974

FANNED FIRES ...

Maggie Bell, Foghat, Peter Frampton: Foghat, Peter Frampton, Maggie Bell: The Academy of Music, New York NY

Live Review by Dan Nooger, The Village Voice, 21 March 1974

NO ROCK, NO ROLL ...

Bert Berns, Lorraine Ellison, Garnet Mimms, Jerry Ragovoy, Howard Tate: Roll with the Punches: An Interview with Jerry Ragovoy

Interview by Dan Nooger, Record Collector, May 2017

The late Jerry Ragovoy wrote and arranged some of the greatest records of the last century. This unpublished interview by Dan Nooger found him recalling ...

Big Maybelle: Blues, Candy & Big Maybelle

Sleeve notes by Dan Nooger, Savoy Jazz, 1986

BIG MAYBELLE has been called a legend, one of black music's tragic figures and one of the greatest blues shouters of all time. And she ...

Bobby "Blue" Bland

Profile and Interview by Dan Nooger, Phonograph Record, 11 April 1974

BOBBY BLUE Bland is a big, genial man, born 1931 in Rosemark, Tenn., former vocalist of the legendary Memphis "Beale Street Blues Boys," (along with ...

Bobby "Blue" Bland: Talking Blues: Bobby Bland in 1973

Interview by Dan Nooger, Record Collector, December 2017

Bobby Bland was one of the most beloved blues (and soul) singers of the '60s and '70s, an influence on rock vocalists from Rod Stewart ...

Bobby "Blue" Bland, Mott The Hoople, Roomful of Blues: Mott the Hoople: Radio City Music Hall; Bobby Blue Bland, Roomful of Blues: Max's Kansas City, New York NY

Live Review by Dan Nooger, The Village Voice, 1 November 1973

I RAN INTO Eric Emerson (Formerly of the Magic Tramps and now playing guitar and singing with his new band Angel) on the way into ...

Blue Oyster Cult, Claudia Lennear & Bump City: Schaefer Music Festival, Wollman Rink, Central Park, New York NY

Live Review by Dan Nooger, The Village Voice, 26 July 1973

OYSTER CRACKING ...

David Bowie: Madison Square Garden, New York NY

Live Review by Dan Nooger, The Village Voice, 25 July 1974

Dancing at disaster's edge ...

David Bowie, Fumble: David Bowie & the Spiders from Mars: Radio City Music Hall, New York NY

Live Review by Dan Nooger, The Village Voice, 22 February 1973

THE BEST that New York had to offer came out in the rain to witness David Bowie's triumphant return last Wednesday. No less a personage ...

James Brown, Mandrill, George McCrae: Madison Square Garden, New York NY

Live Review by Dan Nooger, The Village Voice, 11 July 1974

GODFATHER'S GROOVE ...

Tim Buckley, Frank Zappa: Frank Zappa, Tim Buckley: Felt Forum, New York NY

Live Review by Dan Nooger, The Village Voice, 28 September 1972

JOY JUICED ...

Chick Corea, Return to Forever: Chick Corea — Better Than Wakeman, Emerson or Elton?

Interview by Dan Nooger, Circus, March 1975

"I want to use my technique to communicate with people, not just to dazzle them," says Chick Corea, a slim, soft-spoken young man who could ...

Chick Corea, Return to Forever: Chick Corea & Return to Forever: Carnegie Recital Hall, New York NY

Live Review by Dan Nooger, The Village Voice, 14 December 1972

AS THE FIRST in a four-concert series, the Rutgers Institute of Jazz Studies presented Chick Corea and Return to Forever last Friday at the Carnegie ...

Manu Dibango: Soul Makossa (Atlantic)

Review by Dan Nooger, Phonograph Record, September 1973

THIS IS the best soul dance record in years. It cuts directly against the grain of most black music today, which strives for that sophisticated, ...

The Dictators: Coventry Club, Queens NY

Live Review by Dan Nooger, The Village Voice, 2 May 1974

PUNKOID PLEASURE ...

Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show, Robey, Falk, & Bod: Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show: Bitter End, New York NY

Live Review by Dan Nooger, The Village Voice, 25 January 1973

DR. HOOK and the Medicine Show celebrated the release of their second album, Sloppy Seconds (Columbia), with a party in the Bitter End last Thursday, ...

Dr. John, Gary Farr: Bottom Line, New York NY

Live Review by Dan Nooger, The Village Voice, 21 February 1974

DR. JOHN AND his Revue and Gary Farr gave the Bottom Line, Allan Pepper and Stanley Sandowsky's new 450-seat cabaret-theatre, a rousing inaugural send-off last ...

Emerson Lake & Palmer: Emerson, Lake and Palmer's Grandest Design

Interview by Dan Nooger, Circus, 28 April 1977

Works, Vol.1 Is the First Instalment of a Spectacular Orchestrated Rock Showcase ...

The Faces, Jo Jo Gunne: The Faces: Jo Jo Gunne: Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale NY

Live Review by Dan Nooger, The Village Voice, 17 May 1973

SOME PIZZAZZ ...

Family, Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks, Elton John, Sailcat: Elton John, Family: Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale NY; Dan Hicks & his Hot Licks, Sailcat: Carnegie Hall, New York NY

Live Review by Dan Nooger, The Village Voice, 19 October 1972

ON THE CUTTING EDGE ...

Aretha Franklin: Apollo Theatre, New York, NY

Live Review by Dan Nooger, Phonograph Record, April 1974

MUSIC HAS taken its place with dope and women as a reason for coming to Harlem. Especially these bleak days, it's an emotionally regenerative experience ...

Golden Earring — George Kooymans: "I Don't Want To Be The World's Greatest Guitarist"

Interview by Dan Nooger, Circus, July 1975

"We've always wanted to do a tour this way, but we never could before." ...

Al Green, Laura Lee: Apollo Theatre, New York NY

Live Review by Dan Nooger, The Village Voice, 15 November 1973

I WONDER WHAT the regular Apollo Theatre audience thought when they saw a contingent of 20 or so white writers (limoed all the way from ...

The Guess Who Battle Obscurity With Flavours

Interview by Dan Nooger, Circus, March 1975

They're probably Canada's most influential group aside from The Band. Now, after nearly a decade of hit-making, the Guess Who are fighting to prove their ...

John Hammond, Hot Tuna, Peter Kaukonen, Johnny Winter: Hot Tuna, Black Kangeroo, John Hammond: Academy of Music, New York NY

Live Review by Dan Nooger, The Village Voice, 2 November 1972

SATURDAY WAS white blues night at the Academy of Music. But the evening really began with a semi-frenzied escape from Captain Beefheart's disappointingly dull and ...

Hawkwind: Academy of Music, New York NY

Live Review by Dan Nooger, The Village Voice, 29 November 1973

HAWKWIND BROUGHT their Space Ritual to the Academy of Music Sunday night. They should have left it upstairs with all the other garbage orbiting the ...

Jimi Hendrix, Arthur Lee, Love: On The Horizon: Love Springs Eternal For Arthur Lee

Profile and Interview by Dan Nooger, Circus, March 1975

ARTHUR LEE sits by the picture window of his mid-Manhattan hotel room, staring at the hotel across the bustling street below. "I just couldn't see," ...

The Incredible String Band: The Big Huge (Elektra 74037); Wee Tam (Elektra 74036)

Review by Dan Nooger, Rolling Stone, 3 May 1969

AFTER THE crystal excellence of The 5000 Spirits, the Incredible String Band lost direction on their next album, dabbling in diffuse, overlush ballads. Now, the ...

Jethro Tull, Mott The Hoople, New York Dolls, Livingston Taylor: Jethro Tull, Livingston Taylor: Madison Square Garden, New York NY

Live Review by Dan Nooger, The Village Voice, 6 September 1973

WHERE THERE'S SMOKE ...

John Paul Jones (not Led Zeppelin), NRBQ: NRBQ, John Paul Jones: Max's Kansas City, New York NY

Live Review by Dan Nooger, The Village Voice, 8 March 1973

ASSORTED GOODS ...

Louis Jordan, The Pointer Sisters: The Pointer Sisters, Louis Jordan & his Tympany Five: Roseland Ballroom, New York NY

Live Review by Dan Nooger, The Village Voice, 20 September 1973

THE FALL is upon us at last, and the theme for the season, the dreary, greasy '50s having run their course, is the revival of ...

King Crimson, Spooky Tooth, the Strawbs: Academy of Music, New York NY

Live Review by Dan Nooger, The Village Voice, 3 May 1973

BRITON REVISITED ...

The Kinks, Mom's Apple Pie: Felt Forum, New York NY

Live Review by Dan Nooger, The Village Voice, 23 November 1972

OVER THE past three years, Ray Davies and the Kinks have acquired a reputation for drunkenly inept live performances. But their appearance at the Felt ...

Kiss: "Big Bands Hate Us 'Cause We Steal Their Audiences"

Interview by Dan Nooger, Circus, March 1975

...

Kiss: "Rock And Roll O-O-O-Over"

Interview by Dan Nooger, Circus, 17 January 1977

Kiss Captures the Searing Sound, Live in the Studio ...

The Manhattans: A Long Struggle To The Top

Profile by Dan Nooger, Cash Box, 22 November 1980

1980 HAS been quite a year for The Manhattans. The Columbia recording group had its first major crossover hit earlier this year with 'Shining Star', ...

Charles Mingus: Charlie Mingus: Let My Children Hear Music (Columbia); The Candid Recordings (Barnaby/Candid)

Review by Dan Nooger, Rock, June 1972

One of the finest bassists and composers of the 20th century ...

Mott The Hoople, New York Dolls: Felt Forum, New York NY

Live Review by Dan Nooger, The Village Voice, 9 August 1973

MOTT THE Hoople is a British all-rock band, 'All the Young Dudes' of course. But they're about to break really big, with 'Honaloochie Boogie' already ...

Esther Phillips: Pee Wee Ellis' work with Esther Phillips: A tale of the tape

Memoir by Dan Nooger, Soul Source, 29 September 2021

PEE WEE ELLIS, best known for his groundbreaking work with James Brown, had worked as Esther Phillips' bandleader back in the 1970s. In an interview ...

Wilson Pickett: The 600 Dollar Man

Interview by Dan Nooger, Record Collector, April 2017

Wilson Pickett often cut a controversial figure; he was tough, brash and volatile. But he was also one of the great soul singers, and could ...

The Pink Fairies: Kings of Oblivion (Polydor)

Review by Dan Nooger, The Village Voice, 13 December 1973

JUST RELEASED: The Pink Fairies' third album (first in America) Kings of Oblivion (Polydor). The Pink Fairies are the successors to the Deviants, a politico-raunch ...

Pink Floyd: Obscured by Clouds (Harvest 11078)

Review by Dan Nooger, Fusion, October 1972

WITH THE arrival of Meddle last year, even Pink Floyd's most ardent followers must have found themselves wondering if the group hadn't outlived themselves. The ...

Pink Floyd: Radio City Music Hall, New York NY

Live Review by Dan Nooger, The Village Voice, 22 March 1973

A PINK FLOYD appearance here has always been worth coming out in the rain for and has often been a full-fledged event, like the American ...

Raspberries, Stories: The Raspberries, Stories: Carnegie Hall, New York NY

Live Review by Dan Nooger, The Village Voice, 4 October 1973

RIDING HIGH ...

Sylvia Robinson: Chess Records: The All Platinum Years

Book Excerpt by Dan Nooger, unpublished, October 2022

NOTE: This is part of a proposal for Dan's book about Chess Records ...

The Rolling Stones: Stones Launch Onslaught '75 With Made In The Shade

Report and Interview by Dan Nooger, Circus, August 1975

Roaring through the sun circuit, the Kings of Cool have set America buzzing with the might of a million locusts. ...

Biff Rose, Bruce Springsteen: Bruce Springsteen, Biff Rose: Max's Kansas City, New York NY

Live Review by Dan Nooger, The Village Voice, 8 February 1973

EVERYBODY GRUMBLES about Max's for some reason, but most of us keep climbing through the dark to the top of the stairs once or twice ...

Roxy Music, Sharks: Academy of Music, New York NY

Live Review by Dan Nooger, The Village Voice, 13 June 1974

Energy: Patchy and pure ...

Rush Goes Into Future Shock

Interview by Dan Nooger, Circus, 27 April 1976

"Music Will Not Exist In 2112" ...

Pharoah Sanders: Live At The East (Impulse AS 9227)

Review by Dan Nooger, Crawdaddy!, February 1973

PHAROAH SANDERS' Live At The East is a mellow contrast to the furious power of his previous album, Black Unity, which used a large horn ...

John Simon, Weather Report: John Simon: Max's Kansas City; Weather Report: Bitter End, New York NY

Live Review by Dan Nooger, The Village Voice, 28 December 1972

AIN'T BLUE NO MORE ...

Sweet But Not Saccharine

Profile and Interview by Dan Nooger, Circus, 23 March 1976

THE SWEET are a hit band in the U.S. today. They might have been in 1973. Their single, 'Little Willy', had been a smash and ...

The Marshall Tucker Band: Marshall Tucker Band escapes Allman Brothers' turf to get Where We All Belong

Interview by Dan Nooger, Circus Raves, January 1975

IT WAS six o'clock on a heat-dripping Monday morning and the hundreds of youthful boogieoids gathered in front of Spartanburg's largest record store were ready ...

Johnny Winter: Will The Real John Dawson Winter III Stand Up And Rock?

Report and Interview by Dan Nooger, Circus Raves, February 1975

THE RECORD Plant, one of New York's finest recording studios, occupies a floor of an otherwise unprepossessing office building in the heart of the Times ...

back to LIBRARY

COPYRIGHT NOTICE