Jon Young
Jon Young has been a regular contributor to such publications as Trouser Press, Crawdaddy, Music and Sound Output, Request, Launch, SonicNet, Creem, Harp, Musician, Blender, Spin, Paste and Mother Jones. His preferred listening includes the Byrds, Billy Fury, Wynonie Harris, Billie Holiday, Howlin’ Wolf, the Kinks, Barbara Lynn, Thelonious Monk, Norma Jean, Charlie Parker, Doug Sahm, Raymond Scott, Del Shannon, Connie Smith, Speedy Ortiz, Dusty Springfield, Toots and the Maytals, Caetano Veloso, and Hank Williams, among others.
136 articles
List of articles in the library
Link Wray, Robert Gordon: Robert Gordon and Link Wray: Robert Gordon with Link Wray
Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, October 1977
ROBERT GORDON with Link Wray recaptures the one elusive quality so often missing from music of the '70s: feeling. This is trickier than it seems ...
Steve Hillage: Motivation Radio
Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, January 1978
EARTH CALLING Steve Hillage! Earth calling Steve Hillage! Gee, it's too late. Steve is lost in space. ...
Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, June 1978
I DISCOVERED A GREAT pastime the other day that you've gotta hear about. It's called headbanging. Not exactly what Suzy does in that cute li'l ...
Rainbow: Long Live Rock'n'Roll
Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, June 1978
MENTION GUITARIST Ritchie Blackmore around so-called "intelligent" rockers and you'll just get a bunch of barf noises in response. ...
Carly Simon: Boys In The Trees (Elektra)
Review by Jon Young, Crawdaddy!, July 1978
CARLY SIMON used to be dangerous. Remember? She had to her credit a lethal attack on marriage ('That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should ...
Profile and Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, July 1978
ALL OF A sudden Kate Bush was at the very top of the UK singles charts. 'Wuthering Heights', her first 45, was number one and ...
Deep Purple, Ritchie Blackmore: Ritchie Blackmore: I Want To Tell You What I've Been Doing
Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, July 1978
AS DAVE SCHULPS and I rolled along in the darkness to our impending interview, we were filled with apprehension. After all, Ritchie Blackmore has never ...
Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, December 1978
NEVER SAY DIE! Black Sabbath didn't never say it, and that's why the heaviest damn band ever is back. Forget all those other bands, because ...
Graham Parker WANTS YOU…To Get Stuck!
Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, December 1978
GRAHAM PARKER had reason to be happy. And he was. ...
10cc: Bloody Tourists (Polydor)
Review by Jon Young, Feature, January 1979
WHEN LOL Creme and Kevin Godley took their gizmo and went off to make Consequences, the remainder of 10cc (5cc?) seemed to be reeling from ...
Lou Reed: Live – Take No Prisoners
Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, January 1979
"I DO LOU REED better than anybody else, so I thought I'd get in on it." ...
King Crimson, UK: UK: John Wetton
Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, January 1979
"IT'S NOT insecurity, but I always like to I work with other people in groups. I think that's the strongest thing. When you take a ...
Godley & Creme: Godley and Crème: L
Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, February 1979
GIVE BOTH SIDES in the 10cc split a few LPs to get their feet back on the ground. It took Eric Stewart and Graham Gouldman ...
Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, February 1979
K-SCOPE FINDS a retiring Phil Manzanera sitting uneasily in the driver's seat, unwilling to take a dominant role but not really collaborating either. ...
Todd Rundgren: Back to the Bars
Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, February 1979
PROOF OF THE evils of peer-group pressure is found in the phenomenon of the double live album. A more useless trend would be hard to ...
Peter Hammill: The Two Sides of Peter Hammill
Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, April 1979
FOR OVER 10 years Peter Hammill has been the object of a particularly intense cult following. As the leader of Van der Graaf Generator and ...
999: Feelin' Alright With the Crew
Profile and Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, June 1979
ANYONE WHO SEES more than one rock show a year knows that a lot of the glitter wears off after the first few times. Which ...
Ian Hunter's Love-Hate Relationship With Rock'n'roll
Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, June 1979
IAN HUNTER'S been staying at his Manhattan hotel so long (two months) that the staff treat him like a member of the family. Between desperate ...
The Fall: Live at the Witch Trials (Step-Forward SFLP 1)
Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, July 1979
"I STILL believe in the r'n'r dream/R'n'r as primal scream." ...
The Knack: ...But The Little Girls Understand (Capitol SOO-12045)
Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, May 1980
"THE SONGS are an assortment of feelings and emotions expressed redundantly as only the Knack can...This record is very dear to me and my bank ...
Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, June 1980
REMEMBER HOW your parents used to attack rock 'n' roll by pointing out how disreputable most bands looked? It sure didn't help when they seized ...
Profile and Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, July 1980
ROBERT SMITH of the Cure is not your ordinary front man. ...
Willie Nile: The Reluctant Stardom of Willie Nile
Profile and Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, July 1980
YOU PROBABLY remember the New Dylan syndrome. It doesn't turn up much anymore, but once upon a time it seemed like every American male songwriter ...
Ian Hunter, Mott The Hoople: Ian Hunter Remembers
Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, August 1980
As told to Jon Young ...
Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, October 1980
A day in the life of Jerry Casale and Mark Mothersbaugh ...
Carlene Carter, Nick Lowe: Carlene Carter
Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, January 1981
SONNY AND CHER. Ike and Tina. Steve and Eydie. The roll call of illustrious show business couples could go on and on. Now you can ...
John Lennon, Yoko Ono: John Lennon & Yoko Ono: Double Fantasy (Geffen GHS2001)
Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, February 1981
John and Yoko: A Fond Farewell ...
Neil Young: Hawks & Doves (Reprise HS2297)
Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, February 1981
NEIL YOUNG stands alone in his ability to startle an audience with the most familiar techniques. As a master of everything from quiet folk to ...
Gang of Four: Outside the Bands Don't Toe the Line: Gang of Four Makes Music Their Way
Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, February 1981
WOULD YOU like your rock with politics or without? Today pop music offers a wide variety of choices: from the violent invective of stereotypic punk ...
Roy Orbison, The Romeos: Town Hall, New York
Live Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, February 1981
MANHATTAN'S Town Hall recently showcased two generations of Southern rockers and provided a lesson on the importance of image. ...
Report and Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, February 1981
SOONER OR later, every British band of any significance has to decide what to do about America. ...
Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, February 1981
"THERE WAS one review that said we sounded like Jose Feliciano, the Beatles, Foreigner and Queen," notes the Monochrome Set's Lester Square (real name, Tom ...
Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, April 1981
SPOT THE one that doesn't belong: (a) rock 'n' roll, (b) aggression, (c) rationality, (d) energy. Normally, of course, you'd say that being rational has ...
Jerry Lee Lewis: Ritz, New York NY
Live Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, May 1981
WHILE EACH new generation of upstarts spout the notion that rock is just for kids, it's easy to find aging veterans who hang in there ...
Dead Kennedys: Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables (IRS SP70014)
Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, June 1981
CHANCES ARE you have an opinion about the Dead Kennedys even if you've never heard their music. Provocation is the name of the game; a ...
Adam & The Ants: Palladium Theater, New York NY
Live Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, August 1981
LISTEN, SNOBS: Adam and the Ants headlined New York's Palladium Theater (3300 seats) for a legitimate reason, not just that tired old scapegoat hype. ...
Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, August 1981
THE ROCKABILLY revival currently sweeping England ought to be a bonanza for rock 'n' roll fans, but mostly it's been a dud. While the original ...
Joe Ely: You Can Take The Boy Out Of Texas...
Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, September 1981
IT DOESN'T take a genius to figure out that country music is in pretty sorry shape these days. There's something wrong when unbearably bland hacks ...
Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, September 1981
THERE'S A BIG difference between playing crudely out of necessity and harnessing primitivism to say things that can't be said any other way. Rock thrives ...
Joe Jackson's Jumpin' Jive: Savoy, New York NY
Live Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, October 1981
WHITE ROCK musicians are notorious for "borrowing" from blacks. Were it not for the inspiration of Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, James Brown and so ...
Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, October 1981
THAT OLD saw about prophets without honor in their own land has a ring of truth even today, as Ron and Russell Mael, known as ...
Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, 1982
THEIR LOOKS and their sound may strike some as a bit suspect, but there's no doubting the Stray Cats' affection for the classic rock 'n' ...
Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, January 1982
WITH A LITTLE embroidery Annabella Lwin's story could be a classic show business myth: Discovered working at a dry cleaners, an ordinary 14-year-old girl becomes ...
Elvis Costello: Almost Blue (Columbia FC37562)
Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, February 1982
WHY SHOULDN'T Elvis Costello make a country album? An accomplished dilettante, he's previously drawn from such diverse sources as Tin Pan Alley ('My Funny Valentine') ...
Neil Young: Re•ac•tor (Reprise HS2304)
Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, February 1982
NEIL YOUNG'S sustained vitality is a truly amazing phenomenon. Where most superstars burn out, he's so dependable you tend to take his consistency for granted. ...
The Human League: Dare (Virgin V2192)
Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, February 1982
LAST YEAR'S fracturing of the Human League into two camps held more promise than the usual band breakup. For two albums the original League displayed ...
8-Eyed Spy: 8 Eyed Spy: 8 Eyed Spy (Fetish FR2003)
Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, March 1982
"IT WAS FUN while it lasted," Pat Irwin (now a Raybeat) sighs in the liner notes to this catch-all retrospective of live and studio tracks. ...
The Fleshtones: This Year's Authentic Embodiment of Rock 'n' Roll
Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, April 1982
A COMMON thread runs through all great rock 'n' roll, from Elvis Presley and Little Richard to Dave Edmunds and the Ramones. It's a sublime ...
Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, May 1982
"A dB IS A proportion, a logarithmic measurement of energy," Chris Stamey, 27, explains. "It doesn't mean there's necessarily a lot of it; it relates ...
Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, August 1982
The Germs: Germicide (ROIR A108 cassette) Stimulators: Loud Fast Rules! (ROIR A109 cassette) Circle Jerks: Wild in the Streets (Faulty Products COPE3) Flipper: ...
Kim Wilde: A Face In The Crowde
Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, October 1982
DO YOU believe that children of celebrities have it made? British pop singer Kim Wilde doesn't think so. "Daughters of famous fathers don't have an ...
Bruce Springsteen: Nebraska (Columbia)
Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, January 1983
Starkness at the Edge of Town ...
Kate Bush: The Dreaming (EMI America ST17084)
Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, February 1983
KATE BUSH'S The Dreaming is a stunning record in more ways than one. Besides being a triumph of inventive songwriting and unpredictable performances, it is ...
Soft Cell, Yazoo: Soft Cell and Yaz(oo): Synths and Singers
Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, February 1983
JUST TWELVE months ago it was unclear if the primarily British phenomena of synthesizer bands would exhibit any staying power. Although 1981 was a good ...
Neil Young: Trans (Geffen GHS2018)
Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, April 1983
NEIL YOUNG must struggle to find something new for each album. When you've made as many records as he has, and covered as much stylistic ...
Ric Ocasek: Beatitude (Geffen GHS2022)
Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, April 1983
WHY WOULD Ric Ocasek make a solo album? He's the songwriter for the Cars, as well as one of the lead singers. Not surprisingly, Beatitude ...
Soft Cell: The Art of Falling Apart (Sire 237691)
Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, May 1983
MARC ALMOND and David Ball of Soft Cell make great singles. Like Paul McCartney, Abba and precious few others these days, they're adept at creating ...
Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, August 1983
ARE YOU tired of constantly being told how this or that band is the new greatest wonder? Of course you are. Unfortunately, superlatives have a ...
The Replacements: Hootenanny (Twin Tone)
Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, August 1983
HOOTENANNY??! BY way of explanation, the liner notes remark that the "hoot" began as "a completely spontaneous, unrestrained event," and go on to say, "Today, ...
Report and Interview by Jon Young, Trouser Press, September 1983
IF DICKENS HADN'T gotten there first, Great Expectations would be the perfect title for the saga of Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh. After their ...
The Clash: I Call On Joe Strummer — And Live to Tell About It!
Interview by Jon Young, Boston Rock, 16 April 1984
WHAT BECOMES a legend most? In the case of the Clash, overcoming the obstacles and carrying on, head held high. If you've followed their inconstant ...
The Dream Syndicate: Dream Syndicate: Medicine Show (A&M)
Review by Jon Young, Musician, July 1984
WHAT'S THE best way to judge a band like the Dream Syndicate? On one hand, they're a lean, hard-charging attack force, with plenty of swell ...
The Style Council: My Ever Changing Moods (Geffen)
Review by Jon Young, Creem, July 1984
GRANTED, THAT Paul Weller is a talented guy who can concoct swell rock songs and crank out a pretty fair guitar lick. But the truth ...
Split Enz: Conflicting Emotions (A&M)
Review by Jon Young, Creem, October 1984
GENERALLY SPEAKING, growing up is boring. There's no way the exercising of common sense can be as much fun as letting it all hang out. ...
Interview by Jon Young, Creem, October 1984
NEW YORK — Soft-spoken Englishman Matt Johnson, a.k.a. The The, complains, "The press likes to stereotype me as a depressive. It's due to my confessional ...
REO Speedwagon: Wheels Are Turnin' (Epic)
Review by Jon Young, Creem, April 1985
THESE ARE THE MEN OF BONANZA ...
Interview by Jon Young, Creem, April 1985
NEW YORK — Singer-guitarist Jeffrey Lee Pierce can't stop playing a part, but he does admit that he's one satisfied ghoul these days: "My problem ...
Midnight Oil: Red Sails In The Sunset (Columbia)
Review by Jon Young, Musician, June 1985
IN A SITUATION reminiscent of the celebrated "breath mint/candy mint" controversy, Australia's Midnight Oil is two bands in one. Listen once to Red Sails In ...
Penguin Cafe Orchestra: Penguin Served Here
Profile and Interview by Jon Young, Creem, July 1985
NEW YORK — To partake of the Penguin Cafe Orchestra, you first need to find the Penguin Cafe. Cross the barren tundra of Eno's ambient ...
Jason & The Scorchers: Hot Crackers To Go!
Interview by Jon Young, Creem, August 1985
EVEN IF Willie Nelson only releases 10 albums this year, 1985 has already distinguished itself as a truly terrific time for good old-fashioned Amurrican music. ...
New Order: Low-Life (Qwest/Warner Bros.)
Review by Jon Young, Creem, September 1985
INTEGRITY OOZING from every tortured pore, England's New Order are not your usual mopesters. Although the breathy vocalizing and smooth synthesizing of Low-Life keep the ...
Review by Jon Young, Musician, January 1986
OUT OF THE ASHES: JOE STRUMMER ROCKS, MICK JONES SWINGS ...
Cabaret Voltaire: Come to Ze Cabaret!
Profile and Interview by Jon Young, Creem, February 1986
"WE'RE PROBABLY more accessible now than ever before," notes genial Richard Kirk of Cabaret Voltaire, but don't get the wrong idea. Although the Cabs have ...
Charlie Sexton: Pictures For Pleasure (MCA)
Review by Jon Young, Creem, May 1986
AS FEW of you remember, young Charlie Sexton made a mildly auspicious vinyl debut on the soundtrack of The Wild Life, the flop 1984 teen comedy ...
Dwight Yoakam: Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc. (Reprise)
Review by Jon Young, Musician, May 1986
TIPPING HIS Stetson to Lefty Frizzell and Merle Haggard, Yoakam recharges the honky-tonk tradition like a savior sent down from hillbilly heaven. Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., ...
Jackson Browne: Lives In The Balance (Asylum)
Review by Jon Young, Musician, May 1986
JACKSON BROWNE is mad as hell. He's also a gentleman, which removes the sting from his expressions of outrage on Lives In The Balance. Although ...
R.E.M.: Lifes Rich Pageant (I.R.S.)
Review by Jon Young, Creem, November 1986
FOREVER CHANGELESS ...
Billy Idol: Whiplash Smile (Chrysalis)
Review by Jon Young, Musician, January 1987
BILLY BABY! What happened? Just when he seemed destined for a multi-platinum rut, with that frozen sneer and perpetually raised fist, the punk-turned superstar has ...
James Brown, Aretha Franklin: James Brown: Gravity (Scotti Bros.); Aretha Franklin: Aretha (Arista)
Review by Jon Young, Creem, March 1987
LADIES AND gentlemen, the Godfather and the Queen of Soul, Mr. James Brown and Ms. Aretha Franklin. Whether you hail 'em as living legends — ...
Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark: They Need Your Love So Bad!
Interview by Jon Young, Creem, March 1987
ANDY MCCLUSKEY laughs at the memory of The Song that changed the fortunes of Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark. ...
Georgia Satellites: Georgia Satellites (Elektra)
Review by Jon Young, Creem, April 1987
PEACHES IN CREEM! ...
Charles Brown: Still Deep in the Blues
Profile and Interview by Jon Young, Musician, July 1987
"PEOPLE WHO come to see me play say, 'Are you Charles Brown or are you his son? After all these years, you should be walking ...
LL Cool J Takes The Rap, Beats The Rap, Raps It Up, Raps Around The Clock, Encourages Bad Puns
Interview by Jon Young, Creem, October 1987
"YOU AIN'T gettin' no scoop, lookin' at me with your beady eyes!" ...
Terence Trent D'Arby: Introducing the Hardline According to Terence Trent D'Arby (Columbia)
Review by Jon Young, Musician, November 1987
YOU CAN'T call Terence Trent D'Arby shy. On his audacious, uneven debut, this extroverted youngster co-produces, writes most of the tunes and sings 'em in ...
Robyn Hitchcock: Globe of Frogs (A&M)
Review by Jon Young, Musician, March 1988
EXALTED BY an adoring audience, rock 'n' roll cult figures frequently turn amusing quirks into annoying affectations. Happily, this isn't the case with Robyn Hitchcock, ...
Depeche Mode: Spreading A Pack Of Lies About Depeche Mode
Interview by Jon Young, Creem, April 1988
OR, NEW WAYS TO HAVE FUN ...
Review by Jon Young, Musician, August 1988
RECENTLY THE paper brought news that two men have been arrested for the murder of DJ Scott LaRock last year, giving By All Means Necessary ...
Barbara Lynn: A Good Thing She Didn't Give Up
Profile and Interview by Jon Young, Musician, December 1988
"I'M A CAPRICORN, and Capricorns don't give up," Barbara Lynn laughs, explaining how she's endured years of obscurity. "All this time I've had the patience ...
The Dirty Dozen Brass Band: Voodoo (Columbia)
Review by Jon Young, Musician, May 1989
HAVING BACKED Elvis Costello (Spike) and inspired David Byrne (The Knee Plays), the Dirty Dozen Brass Band of New Orleans may be poised to capture ...
The Beastie Boys: Beastie Boys: Paul's Boutique (Capitol)
Review by Jon Young, Musician, August 1989
HIDE THE silverware. Put the vinyl slipcovers back on the furniture. Turn Mom's picture to the wall. Those eager-to-offend Beastie Boys are back at the ...
Kool Moe Dee: Knowledge Is King (RCA/Jive)
Review by Jon Young, Musician, September 1989
HE MAKES hit records. The girls won't leave him alone. The man considers his spiritual healing powers comparable to those of Christ. And yet, rapmaster ...
That Petrol Emotion: Chemicrazy (Virgin)
Review by Jon Young, Musician, May 1990
MAYBE OLD-fashioned guitar bands will follow dinosaurs and vinyl into extinction one of these days. In the meantime, give thanks for That Petrol Emotion, who've ...
Lynyrd Skynyrd, Johnny Van Zant: Johnny Van Zant: It's A Family Affair
Interview by Jon Young, Musician, November 1990
Johnny Van Zant grabs the spotlight with a walk down Brickyard Road ...
Victoria Williams: Swing the Statue! (Rough Trade)
Review by Jon Young, Musician, November 1990
ECCENTRIC AND proud, Victoria Williams could be a cross between Tom Waits and Natalie Merchant. Or maybe Jonathan Richman and Kate Bush. Anyway, Swing the ...
Interview by Jon Young, Musician, February 1991
The brothers Robinson work it out ...
Violent Femmes: Why Do Birds Sing? (Slash/Reprise)
Review by Jon Young, Spin, July 1991
VIOLENT FEMMES have long carried on the proud tradition of rockin' cool jerks without inspiring the respect accorded fellow geeks David Byrne and Jonathan Richman. ...
Review by Jon Young, Musician, September 1991
WHETHER YOU loathe him or merely despise him, Vanilla Ice has cast the entire rap scene in a new light. Now the likes of Heavy ...
Widespread Panic: Widespread Panic (Capricorn)
Review by Jon Young, Musician, October 1991
ITS SWELL that R.E.M. and the B-52's represent the enlightened New South. But don't you miss the backwards Old South, where hairy wild men who ...
Keith Richards & The X-Pensive Winos: Live at the Hollywood Palladium, December 15, 1988 (Virgin)
Review by Jon Young, Spin, January 1992
HE SINGS like a dying dolphin and hasn't played a new lick in 20 years, but you'd be a fool not to love Keith Richards. ...
Steve Forbert: The American in Me (Geffen)
Review by Jon Young, Musician, March 1992
HE HAS seen the best minds of his generation, ripped by recession and crunched by credit rates, run screaming from the country club of life. ...
Peter Case: Six-Pack of Love (Geffen)
Review by Jon Young, Spin, April 1992
NOW THIS is more like it. After the wan folk stylings of The Man With the Blue Postmodern Fragmented Neo-Traditionalist Guitar, Peter Case has wisely ...
Review by Jon Young, Spin, May 1992
SOB, SOB. Whimper, sniff. Sorry. I was just savoring the new Cure disc, which means taking a headlong plunge into a deep, dark pit of ...
Lush, Ride: Lush: Spooky (4AD/Reprise); Ride: Going Blank Again (Reprise)
Review by Jon Young, Musician, June 1992
VISIONARY ART or nouvelle junk food? Perfect masters of evocative soundscapes, Britain's Lush and Ride can create a mood quicker than you can dim the ...
Review by Jon Young, Musician, October 1992
ENGLAND'S BRAND New Heavies may be an ordinary soul-funk combo, but that hasn't stopped enterprising A&R types from gettin' busy. For their debut album, somebody ...
Interview by Jon Young, Musician, January 1993
"I DIDN'T KNOW what to expect," says Mariah Carey, recalling the taping of her Unplugged special for MTV last March. "I wasn't originally planning on ...
Review by Jon Young, Musician, February 1993
IN THE WAKE of the Rodney King verdict and the Los Angeles riots, Ice Cube can take grim satisfaction in seeing his harrowing rhymes validated ...
Paul McCartney: Docklands Arena, London
Live Review by Jon Young, Musician, April 1993
"THE WEEKEND starts here," beamed a well-preserved Paul McCartney, surveying the friendly crowd at London's Docklands Arena one dank Friday night in February. Say what ...
Guru: Jazzmatazz Volume One (Chrysalis)
Review by Jon Young, Musician, June 1993
"IT WAS INDEED a privilege and a blessing to have worked on this project with such amazing people." Eastwood at the Oscars? Clapton on Grammy ...
Interview by Jon Young, Musician, June 1993
"THE TITLE is sarcastic," says Prince Be softly. "On the first record, we tried to show bliss by example, through utopianism. This time we tried ...
Kate Bush: The Red Shoes (Columbia)
Review by Jon Young, Musician, November 1993
IF YOU'VE pegged Kate Bush as a dreamy cosmic spirit, don't miss the climax of The Red Shoes, where the stunning 'You're the One' renews ...
Hole: Live Through This (Geffen)
Review by Jon Young, Musician, 1994
"JUST YOU try to hold me down/Come on, try to shut me up," snarls Courtney Love near the end of Live Through This, hurling a ...
Ben Harper: Welcome to the Cruel World (Virgin)
Review by Jon Young, Spin, March 1994
STILL PONDERING his options, Ben Harper raises an array of tantalizing possibilities on this confident, sometimes inspired debut. His spicy guitar work and Dobro licks ...
Kate Bush: Frontwoman: Kate Bush
Interview by Jon Young, Musician, March 1994
THE DEDICATION of the album to your mother and songs like 'Moments of Pleasure' lend a strong sense of loss to The Red Shoes. ...
Arrested Development: Speech: "Sampling is like picking up a spirit."
Interview by Jon Young, Musician, June 1994
SECOND ALBUMS are traditionally harder to make than first ones. Was that true for Arrested Development with Zingalamaduni? ...
Throwing Muses: University (Sire/Reprise)
Review by Jon Young, Musician, March 1995
KRISTIN HERSH may envy the commercial inroads made by Belly and the Breeders, but she'd never let it show. Having helped pave the way for ...
Meshell Ndegeocello: Me'Shell Ndegéocello: Peace Beyond Passion (Maverick/Reprise)
Review by Jon Young, Musician, August 1996
FUNK OUGHT to be its own reward, but Me'Shell Ndegéocello isn't buying that right now. Perhaps embarrassed by the commercial success of John Mellencamp's rollicking ...
Amy Rigby: Diary of a Mod Housewife (Koch)
Review by Jon Young, Musician, December 1996
IN THE LINER notes to her inspired study of relationship hell, Amy Rigby describes a mod housewife as "a woman being dragged kicking and screaming ...
Review and Interview by Jon Young, Musician, January 1999
YOU PROBABLY think you've got P.M. Dawn figured out. After all, the lush melodies, intricate production, and cosmic sentiments expressed by Prince Be's brooding vocals ...
Review by Jon Young, Blender, August 2002
New Yawk maverick gets commercial makeover from Ziggy Stardust, reaps chart reward. ...
The Good Bad & The Queen: The Good, the Bad and the Queen: The Good, the Bad and the Queen
Review by Jon Young, Spin, January 2007
AFTER THE high-concept pop art of Gorillaz, it's startling to see Damon Albarn in a rock group again. ...
Review by Jon Young, Spin, 10 January 2012
COOLER THAN COLDPLAY but less provocative than R.E.M., the Irish-Scottish modern-rock quintet Snow Patrol embrace the "bigger is better" philosophy on their sixth studio album, ...
Review by Jon Young, Spin, 5 September 2013
EARLY EXPOSURE to the fifth Arctic Monkeys record might betray a few symptoms of Pretentious Artiste Syndrome – frontman Alex Turner has name-checked Dr. Dre ...
Review by Jon Young, Mother Jones, 23 September 2013
LOUISIANA-BORN Tony Joe White scored his biggest hit, the stomping 'Polk Salad Annie', in 1969, and has been making great swamp rock ever since. ...
Shelby Lynne, Allison Moorer: Shelby Lynne & Allison Moorer: Not Dark Yet
Review by Jon Young, Paste, 16 August 2017
IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME COMING. Though Shelby Lynne and her younger sister, Allison Moorer, have released a slew of solo records between them since ...
Nick Lowe: Nick the Knife and other reissues (Yep Roc)
Review by Jon Young, Mother Jones, 21 August 2017
Nick the Knife/The Abominable Showman/Pinker and Prouder Than Previous/Party of One/Nick Lowe and His Cowboy Outfit/The Rose of England (Yep Roc) ...
Various Artists: Jesus Rocked the Jukebox – Small Group Black Gospel (1951-1965) (Craft Recordings)
Review by Jon Young, Mother Jones, 25 September 2017
IF YOU WANT to know how James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding and a host of other great singers first became inspired, check out Jesus ...
Shilpa Ray: Door Girl (Northern Spy)
Review by Jon Young, Mother Jones, 22 October 2017
Shilpa Ray's songs capture life on the edge in New York City. Door Girl echoes the streetwise, hard-boiled vibe of Lou Reed. ...
Review by Jon Young, Mother Jones, 30 October 2017
FOR MORE THAN three decades, North Carolina's Dexter Romweber has been a walking encyclopaedia of early rock'n'roll styles, making great, underappreciated roots music. ...
Angel Olsen, Sharon Van Etten: Angel Olsen: Phases/Sharon Van Etten: (it was) because i was in love
Review by Jon Young, Mother Jones, 9 December 2017
WHETHER PERFORMING stark acoustic folk or giving her confessional songs a jolt of electricity, Angel Olsen always sounds like she's one beat away from a ...
Belle and Sebastian: How to Solve Our Human Problems
Review by Jon Young, Mother Jones, 29 January 2018
FOR MORE THAN two decades, Scotland's Belle and Sebastian has championed the virtues of old-fashioned pop music, crafting gorgeous, compassionate tunes that balance heartbreak and ...
Joan As Policewoman: Joan as Police Woman: Damned Devotion
Review by Jon Young, Mother Jones, 12 February 2018
JOAN WASSER, who's been recording under the name Joan as Police Woman for more than a decade, possesses a slow-burning, late-night voice that can handle ...
Françoise Hardy: Personne d'autre (Parlophone France/Arts Music)
Review by Jon Young, Mother Jones, 28 May 2018
SINCE VAULTING to international stardom as a teenager in the pre-Beatles '60s, Françoise Hardy has been France's leading female pop singer. ...
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