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Mark Leviton

Mark Leviton

Los Angeles native Mark Leviton had his first national publication in Rolling Stone while still in high school (a vicious pan of David Peel’s American Revolution album that he now feels was a bit harsh) and has written on music, film and books for over four decades, with hundreds of credits in Fusion, Phonograph Record Magazine, UCLA Daily Bruin, L.A. Weekly, BAM Magazine, Music Connection, New Musical Express, Let It Rock, Creem, The Los Angeles Times, Mojo and many other fly-by-night publications. From 1979-2004 he was with the Warner Music Group in Burbank, overseeing the release of over a thousand compilation albums and boxed sets, including The Cure’s Join The Dots, Left of the Dial: Dispatches From the ‘80s Underground and Time-Life’s Rock and Roll Era series. Before that he managed one of the original Rhino Records retail stores in Claremont, California.

An Anglophile since 1963, Mark graduated in 1974 from UCLA with a B.A. in English, having spent his junior year at the University Of Birmingham (U.K.) where he managed to divide his time between drinking Newcastle Brown, gigs by Roy Wood’s Wizzard and his class on the Catholic novel with professor David Lodge. He currently divides his time between Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area, and Nevada City, where he can be heard broadcasting his sixties-themed radio show Pet Sounds on KVMR-FM.
 

88 articles

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The Grass Roots: James Monroe High School, Van Nuys CA

Live Review by Mark Leviton, Van Nuys Valley News, 8 November 1968

Concerts by Grass Roots Draw Applause, Arrows ...

Cold Blood, Commander Cody, The Doors, Doug Kershaw: The Doors, Commander Cody, Cold Blood: Winterland, San Francisco CA

Live Review by Mark Leviton, Van Nuys Valley News, 20 February 1970

I HAD THE good fortune of being present at Winterland in San Francisco before the Doors came out for their Long Beach concert, which I ...

Frank Zappa: Chunga's Revenge

Review by Mark Leviton, Creem, March 1971

THIS ALBUM IS a preview of what is the ultimate rock opera-symphony, 200 Motels, which is constantly growing and taking on amazing proportions. ...

Michael Nesmith: Mike Nesmith: Nevada Fighter

Review by Mark Leviton, Phonograph Record, September 1971

MIKE NESMITH is about as noncommital as a person can be. Ask him about his music's derivation and he's likely to say that no, he ...

Loudon Wainwright III: Album II (Atlantic SO 8291)

Review by Mark Leviton, Coast, October 1971

LOUDON WAINWRIGHT'S first album last year was concerned with communication on a middle-Dylanish leveland it presented Loudon's character quite clearly: with sensitivity to his surroundings ...

Seatrain: Marblehead Messenger (Capitol)

Review by Mark Leviton, Phonograph Record, November 1971

SEATRAIN WAS the first major splinter of the Blues project (now reformed in rather truncated version) and have consistantly been one of the best recording ...

The Band: Cahoots (Capitol SMAS-651)

Review by Mark Leviton, Coast, February 1972

THE FIRST five times I played Cahoots I liked it — perhaps because I considered Stage Fright such a drought, and the new LP was ...

The Band: Cahoots (Capitol SMAS-651)

Review by Mark Leviton, Coast, February 1972

THE FIRST FIVE times I played Cahoots I liked it – perhaps because I considered Stage Fright such a drought, and the new LP was ...

Colin Blunstone: One Year (Epic)

Review by Mark Leviton, Phonograph Record, April 1972

AFTER the Zombies hit about two years ago with 'Time of the Season' they broke up for good. ...

The Incredible String Band: Incredible String Band: Liquid Acrobat as Regards the Air (Elektra)

Review by Mark Leviton, Coast, April 1972

SINCE THE Incredible String Band's last album, U, there have been some major changes. Joe Boyd of Witchseason Productions has quit the album-producing biz, leaving ...

Badfinger At The Crossroads

Profile and Interview by Mark Leviton, Phonograph Record, May 1972

ONE WOULD THINK that a group as successful as Badfinger, a group with their momentum (three top-selling singles, one LP million seller, association with Bangla ...

Long John Baldry Meets Mad Mark Leviton

Interview by Mark Leviton, UCLA Daily Bruin, 10 August 1972

WHEN I ARRIVED at the hotel for an interview with Long John Baldry during his most recent swing through Southern California, I half expected to ...

Randy Newman: Sail Away

Review by Mark Leviton, Words & Music, September 1972

Randy Newman deals with subjects and values that are all but forgotten in contemporary pop music, reflecting in his ironic, witty songs some profundities which ...

Van Dyke Parks: Discover America

Review by Mark Leviton, Words & Music, September 1972

Van Dyke Parks, surely one of the most inventive musical minds in the business, is definitely not for everybody. His first album Song Cycle came ...

Captain Beefheart: Clear Spot (Reprise K54007)

Review by Mark Leviton, Redbrick, 18 October 1972

EVEN IF you've never heard Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band, or heard them and hated them, you must hear this year's most interesting musical ...

Mott The Hoople: Top Rank Suite, Birmingham, England

Live Review by Mark Leviton, Phonograph Record, November 1972

YOU'D THINK that a group with a top ten record in Britain ('All The Young Dudes'), associated with David Bowie to boot, would have no ...

Rod Stewart: Never A Dull Moment

Review by Mark Leviton, Words & Music, November 1972

ONE CAN ALWAYS COUNT on Rod for superb vocalizing, but his recordings sometimes slip because of the spottiness of the material, from marvelous to mediocre. ...

Wizzard: Mayfair Suite

Review by Mark Leviton, Phonograph Record, February 1973

...AND I WAS STILL raving about it the next week: And they had this piano player (assulter more like it) named Pianos Demolished who pounded ...

Electric Light Orchestra: Town Hall, Birmingham (England)

Live Review by Mark Leviton, Phonograph Record, April 1973

THE TONE OF the evening was set when I spotted Jeff Lynne's electric guitar in the dressing room, leaning up against a sheaf of music ...

Fairport Convention: Rosie

Review by Mark Leviton, Let It Rock, April 1973

THE NEW Fairport Convention LP is going to alienate some fans – a radical change in musical approach by a popular band will always do ...

Procol Harum, Robin Trower: Procol Harum: Grand Hotel and Robin Trower: Twice Removed From Yesterday

Review by Mark Leviton, Let It Rock, June 1973

TIME WAS when I'd say that my favourite group and guitarist were Procol Harum and Robin Trower. It seemed all so simple, the steady intelligence ...

Maria Muldaur: Maria Muldaur

Review by Mark Leviton, Phonograph Record, October 1973

I CONSIDER it unfair, even immoral, for Maria Muldaur to look and sing so well. I mean, a reviewer like myself can get pretty worked ...

Merry-Go-Round, Emitt Rhodes: Emitt Rhodes: On And Off The Merry-Go-Round

Retrospective by Mark Leviton, UCLA Daily Bruin, 7 November 1973

MY FIRST MEMORY of Emitt Rhodes is still very vivid — he was on the television program Where the Action Is as a part of the group ...

Lowell George, Little Feat: Lowell George: A Feat Of His Own

Review and Interview by Mark Leviton, Blank Space, December 1978

FOR YEARS, fans of Little Feat have heard rumours about a solo album being prepared by Lowell George, the group's main songwriter, lead guitarist and ...

Terry Reid: Still Making Waves

Interview by Mark Leviton, BAM, 15 December 1978

SANTA MONICA — Suppose for a moment you're a member of some English supergroup in the midst of a 30-city tour of the United States ...

Bob Welch: Three Hearts Up His Sleeve

Interview by Mark Leviton, BAM, 16 February 1979

IT ISN'T EVERY DAY that a song, Phoenix-like rises from the ashes of its own failure and goes on to be a hit. It's even ...

McGuinn, Clark & Hillman: McGuinn Clark and Hillman: Flight From The Past

Profile and Interview by Mark Leviton, BAM, 2 March 1979

LOS ANGELES — To examine the fates of original Byrds members Roger McGuinn, Gene Clark, and Chris Hillman as they form a new act for ...

Cheap Trick Meet The Dream Police

Profile and Interview by Mark Leviton, L.A. Weekly, 21 September 1979

IN THE conference room of Epic Records in Century City, Cheap Trick guitarist Rick Nielsen is good-naturedly taunting the group's producer, Tom Werman, who can't ...

Terry Reid: Mme. Wongs, Chinatown, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by Mark Leviton, Music Connection, 21 January 1980

The Players: Terry Reid, guitar, vocals; Robert Newman, drums; Jon Brandt, bass. ...

Flying Burrito Brothers: More Hot Burritos: the Flying Burrito Brothers

Report and Interview by Mark Leviton, BAM, 7 March 1980

LOS ANGELES — If tradition in music is meaningful in any way, it is because performers can emerge and fade, groups can split up and ...

Pink Floyd: Memorial Sports Arena, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by Mark Leviton, BAM, 7 March 1980

MONEY CAN'T buy you love, but it can buy you the most expensive, elaborately mounted rock show you've ever seen. As spectacle, there's no question ...

The Specials: The Whisky, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by Mark Leviton, BAM, 7 March 1980

BEFORE THERE was reggae as we now know it, Jamaica had a ferociously happy, syncopated music variously called bluebeat, rock steady or ska. ...

Ambrosia: Life Beyond Ballads

Profile and Interview by Mark Leviton, BAM, 18 April 1980

LOS ANGELES — "About the time we were doing our first album we used to play a club up the street here on Lankershim that ...

Boz Scaggs: Middle Man (Columbia)

Review by Mark Leviton, BAM, 18 April 1980

WATCHING THE degeneration of an artist's talents is no fun, especially when they've done truly classic work in the past. Boz Scaggs has never recovered ...

John Stewart: Wheels of Thunder

Interview by Mark Leviton, BAM, 18 April 1980

If you can laugh in the face of the fireIf you can dance in the light of the flamesAnd if you don't look down when ...

Merle Haggard: The Country Club, Reseda CA

Live Review by Mark Leviton, BAM, 18 April 1980

MERLE HAGGARD and his ten-piece backing band opened this new club with the kind of set most performers must only dream of. The set relied ...

Angry Samoans: Comers: Angry Samoans

Profile by Mark Leviton, L.A. Weekly, 13 June 1980

PEOPLE GET upset by the Angry Samoans. It's not just that this feisty five-piece group trashes every cherished ideal of the middle class in language ...

X: Heart of the City

Interview by Mark Leviton, BAM, 12 September 1980

A Journey Into the Dark Underbelly of L.A. ...

Fleetwood Mac: Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by Mark Leviton, Music Connection, 3 October 1980

FLEETWOOD MAC, at the tail end of a long tour, performed a slightly edited version of their last Forum outings, but without enough tenacity or ...

Al Di Meola: Al DiMeola: Santa Monica Civic, Santa Monica CA

Live Review by Mark Leviton, Music Connection, 16 October 1980

WHILE THERE'S no doubting Al DiMeola's technical abilities or his thorough knowledge of the guitar from jazz, rather than jazz-rock, roots, several things conspired to ...

Wall of Voodoo: Separating The Myths From The Lies

Profile and Interview by Mark Leviton, BAM, 21 November 1980

HOLLYWOOD – They warned me. They all warned me. The woman at Index Records warned me. The disc jockey who interviewed them on the air ...

Stephen Bishop's Escape From Hollywood

Profile and Interview by Mark Leviton, BAM, 16 January 1981

IN APRIL 1975, an obscure singer-songwriter named Stephen Bishop wrote an article for the small Los Angeles publication Folkscene which stated he'd been writing songs ...

The Adolescents, Circle Jerks: The Adolescents/Circle Jerks: The Starwood, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by Mark Leviton, BAM, 16 January 1981

A PACKED house and a dance floor that demanded knee pads and crash helmets provided the Black Hole of Calcutta ambiance for an evening of ...

The Fleshtones: Fleshtones: Whisky a Go Go, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by Mark Leviton, Music Connection, 19 February 1981

IT ISN'T every evening you run across a virtually non-stop 40-minute set of high-energy instrumental and beat music. For my money the Fleshtones have the ...

Captain Beefheart: The Country Club, Reseda

Live Review by Mark Leviton, BAM, 27 February 1981

"YOU EITHER LOVE it or hate it," explained the guy standing behind me to his wary girlfriend during Captain Don's blistering set. "It's the weirdest ...

Angry Samoans: Gazzarri's, Hollywood CA

Live Review by Mark Leviton, Music Connection, 3 April 1981

The Players: Todd Homer, bass; Billy Vockeroth, drums; Gregg Turner, guitar & vocals; Mike Saunders, guitar & vocals; P.J. Gallaghan, guitar. ...

The Grandmothers: Grandmothers: We Are The Motherpeople

Profile and Interview by Mark Leviton, BAM, 22 May 1981

LOS ANGELES — In Don Preston's Echo Park rehearsal room, a band is running through what they refer to as a "punk version" of Frank ...

Little Feat : A Fan Remembers America's Greatest Unsung Band

Retrospective and Interview by Mark Leviton, BAM, 28 August 1981

LOS ANGELES – I have in my closet a roll of grainy 8mm silent film taken in spring 1970 at a concert near the base ...

The Gun Club: Miami (Animal Records)

Review by Mark Leviton, Music Connection, 6 January 1982

I LOVE AMERICA. It's a land with a heart as big as all outdoors, willing to clasp to its bosom all sorts of crazies — ...

Randy Newman: Ragtime to Riches

Interview by Mark Leviton, BAM, 15 January 1982

EVER SINCE his 1968 debut album, many have considered Randy Newman one of the greatest songwriters in America. ...

Richard Thompson: McCabe's, Santa Monica, CA

Live Review by Mark Leviton, BAM, 15 January 1982

"IT'S TIME TO ring some changes" was, in the words of the opening song of the set, the basic theme of Richard Thompson's first group ...

The Dream Syndicate: The Days of Wine and Roses (Ruby Records, Produced by Chris D)

Review by Mark Leviton, Music Connection, 20 January 1982

THE DREAM Syndicate has never had to struggle for a personal sound, even though their music is often like a wild river, flowing with ripples ...

Angry Samoans: The Angry Samoans: Back From Samoa (Bad Trip Records)

Review by Mark Leviton, Music Connection, 3 February 1982

THIS VENOMOUS collection of thirteen originals plus a nutty cover of 'Time Has Come Today' displays all the fury and sick humor of the band's ...

Foreigner: The Forum, Inglewood CA

Live Review by Mark Leviton, Music Connection, 4 March 1982

FOREIGNER HAS managed to transcend the clichés of the much-vilified heavy metal rock form. Their Forum show was a powerful, direct lesson in how to ...

Foreigner: The Forum, Inglewood CA

Live Review by Mark Leviton, Music Connection, 4 March 1982

FOREIGNER HAS managed to transcend the clichés of the much-vilified heavy metal rock form. Their Forum show was a powerful, direct lesson in how to ...

The Motels: Checking In With The Motels

Interview by Mark Leviton, Music Exchange, April 1982

SHE'S HAD LOVE affairs and bands break up around her, and she has steered a course to a successful career by combining the tough pragmatism ...

The Dream Syndicate: Dream Syndicate: Country Club, Reseda CA

Live Review by Mark Leviton, Music Connection, 1 April 1982

The Players: Steve Wynn, guitar and vocals; Karl Precoda, guitar; Kendra Smith, bass, vocals; Dennis Duck, drums. ...

The Blasters Bring It Back Alive

Profile and Interview by Mark Leviton, BAM, 21 May 1982

Records can be great, but hearing a great live performance is still, for me, the essence of music. Vinyl is only the documentation of a ...

Depeche Mode: Perkins Palace, Pasadena CA

Live Review by Mark Leviton, Music Connection, 24 July 1982

TECHNO-BUBBLE gum came to Perkins in the form of Depeche Mode, the most melodic of the new English synthesizer bands and the one most steeped ...

The Bangles: The Bangs: Al's Bar, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by Mark Leviton, Music Connection, 5 August 1982

THE PLAYERS: Vicki Peterson, vocals, guitar: Debbi Peterson, drums, vocals; Susanna Hoffs, guitar, vocals; Annette Zilinskas, bass. ...

Ava Cherry: Bowie Backups and Beyond

Interview by Mark Leviton, BAM, 19 November 1982

LOSANGELES — Back-up singers don't always rise to distinction, but vocalist Ava Cherry, who worked extensively with David Bowie on the pivotal Diamond Dogs tour ...

The Dream Syndicate: Dream Syndicate: Psychedelia Updated

Profile and Interview by Mark Leviton, BAM, 19 November 1982

LOS ANGELES — Steve Wynn is getting a little tired of having Dream Syndicate, the LA band for whom he writes, plays guitar and sings, ...

Rank And File: The Music Machine, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by Mark Leviton, Music Connection, 17 February 1983

A PACKED HOUSE witnessed a powerful Rank and File set that was a model of consistency and drive. The four-piece has narrowed their focus admirably, ...

Sparks

Interview by Mark Leviton, BAM, 8 April 1983

THE BEVERLY CENTER IN LOS ANGELES is a mod-a-go-go kind of shopping mall, acres of parking, chock full of stores devoted to video equipment, "intelligent ...

Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil: Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil: Still Going Strong After 20 Years

Retrospective and Interview by Mark Leviton, BAM, 20 May 1983

HOLLYWOOD — The walls of their workroom are covered floor to ceiling in awards certificates, gold records and photographs of the biggest hit-makers of today ...

The Blasters: Non Fiction (Slash/Warner Bros.)

Review by Mark Leviton, Music Connection, 9 June 1983

THIS RESILIENT band continues to deal with the major question of their career, namely how does a very good bar band win the hearts of ...

Black Flag: The Truth about Black Flag

Profile and Interview by Mark Leviton, BAM, 12 August 1983

LET'S FACE IT – much of what passes for music in our country is, in fact, nothing more than product, the worthless, soulless result of ...

The Long Ryders Shoot 'Em Up

Interview by Mark Leviton, BAM, 23 September 1983

LOS ANGELES – Fringe jackets, mini-skirts, turtlenecks, striped trousers, long hair, 12-string guitars, LSD, acoustic instruments, garage rehearsals – lots of things are coming back ...

Ray Manzarek Opens Another Door

Interview by Mark Leviton, BAM, 18 November 1983

FEW MUSICIANS have the opportunity, or possess the talent, to expand the capabilities of their instruments, to redefine for ensuing generations just how far musical ...

Violent Femmes: Music Machine, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by Mark Leviton, Music Connection, 24 November 1983

THE PLAYERS: Gordon Gano, guitar, vocals; Brian Ritchie, bass, vocals; Victor de Lorenzo, drums; Peter Balastrieri, saxophone. ...

The Firesign Theatre's Nostalgia for the Future

Interview by Mark Leviton, BAM, 2 December 1983

LOS ANGELES — Joey Yolk, wearing his T-shirt from the 1997 Rolling Stones Farewell Tour, has just struck out on foot for the big city, ...

The Blasters, Fear, The Germs, Rank and File, Violent Femmes, X: Slash: L.A.'s Maverick Label Meets the Majors

Interview by Mark Leviton, BAM, 10 February 1984

LOS ANGELES —"Music is a vehicle for ideas, and if the ideas suck and the music's good, it's still pretty bad music." The man at ...

Christine Perfect/McVie: Fleetwood Mac's Songbird Flies Solo

Interview by Mark Leviton, BAM, 9 March 1984

CHRISTINE MCVIE'S Greatest Hits? Yeah, I have a copy on cassette that I play in my car, but don't go looking for it in the ...

Wild Man Fischer's One-of-a-Kind Mind

Profile and Interview by Mark Leviton, BAM, 1 June 1984

LOS ANGELES — "Mark!" Larry "Wild Man" Fischer's voice crackles over the telephone. "I'm depressed. The music business is hard... I might be doing some ...

The Dream Syndicate: Dream Syndicate: Acid Punk Grows Up

Interview by Mark Leviton, BAM, 13 July 1984

IT'S A HUMID 100 degrees and smoggy in Hollywood. Yet there we are, Dream Syndicate vocalist-writer Steve Wynn and I, sitting in Steve's parked car ...

Rickie Lee Jones: The World According to Rickie Lee Jones

Interview by Mark Leviton, BAM, 12 December 1984

RICKIE LEE JONES is telling a story on the radio: "In the dreamscape where you write, there are people who shadow you. Like I have ...

John Fogerty: The Natural Is Back

Interview by Mark Leviton, BAM, 15 March 1985

WHAT BECOMES a legend most? You won't find John Fogerty in mink. He favors checked flannel shirts, suspenders, jeans and work boots, would rather go ...

Black Flag's Private War

Interview by Mark Leviton, BAM, 29 March 1985

LOS ANGELES — Henry Rollins simply will not look at me. The Black Flag vocalist has been described as everything from Jim Morrison with Charlie ...

Malcolm McLaren: The Great Opera Swindle

Interview by Mark Leviton, BAM, June 1985

Malcolm McLaren Reveals His Grandmother's Role In The Sex Pistols And Hypes His Hip Hop Opera ...

Walter Becker, China Crisis, Steely Dan: Walter Becker: Breaking the Silence

Interview by Mark Leviton, BAM, December 1985

Steely Dan's Walter Becker Ends His Five Year Absence From The Music Industry ...

Joan Baez: Speaking Of Her Dreams

Interview by Mark Leviton, Village View, 15 December 1989

NO DOUBT the desk clerk at the Registry Hotel in Universal City who gave Joan Baez her suite number was unaware that 1961 was a ...

Inspiral Carpets: Life

Review and Interview by Mark Leviton, Village View, 14 December 1990

INSPIRAL CARPETS are not just another band from Manchester, England, the city that's become one of the most exciting music centers on earth, home of ...

Undisputed Heavyweight Champions of the Mix Tape: 30 Years of Transatlantic Friendship on Cassette!

Memoir by Mark Leviton, Rock's Backpages, August 2009

MY ENGLISH FRIEND Neil and I have one of the longest, strangest, and most voluminous correspondences in the history of the world – a correspondence ...

Loudon Wainwright III: Loudon & I

Comment by Mark Leviton, Rock's Backpages, 14 February 2012

I'VE WRITTEN BEFORE about the parallels I continue to find between my own life and Loudon Wainwright III's, as he expresses events and feelings in ...

Frank Zappa: Gail Zappa: Mother of Re-Invention

Comment by Mark Leviton, Rock's Backpages, 8 February 2013

I'M A HUGE admirer of Frank Zappa, and have been since the mid-'60s. As a music critic I've written about him extensively, and during my ...

The Rascals On Broadway

Live Review by Mark Leviton, Rock's Backpages, 17 May 2013

BEFORE THE LIGHTS dimmed at the Richard Rodgers Theatre on 46th Street in Manhattan to signal the start of The Rascals: Once Upon a Dream, ...

Ani DiFranco: Righteous Babe: Ani DiFranco On Music, Politics, And Staying Independent

Interview by Mark Leviton, The Sun Magazine, May 2016

SINGER-SONGWRITER Ani DiFranco doesn't like her music to be labelled. Some have called it "folk-punk," but when asked to define what she does, DiFranco says, ...

Stephen Bishop, Chicago, Rick Derringer, Electric Light Orchestra, Genesis, Steve Hackett, Lighthouse, Dave Mason, Alan Parsons, Procol Harum, Al Stewart, The Strawbs, Vanilla Fudge, The Zombies: Cruisin' with Justin & the Fudge: Five Days at Sea with the Rock Boomers

Report by Mark Leviton, Rock's Backpages, February 2019

"I've realized audiences aren't listening to the lyrics of my first song – they're too busy trying to figure out how old I look..." Al ...

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