Part 2 (continued from Part 1): As fantastic as the previous night turned out to be, the second night, June 8, is my favorite of the three. There is something special in the air here, an electricity that was only hinted at during the first night. Things get off to a terrific start with an [...]

Part 1: Well, the end of summer if finally here. Well, technically summer doesn’t end until September 21, but we here at Music Mook are more than ready to bid August adieu and ride out it’s final days in glorious splendor. And with that we bring you one of our biggest reviews ever: Grateful Dead [...]

Wes Montgomery was arguably one of the greatest, most gifted and talented guitar players ever to grace history and yet, up until now, no video footage has ever been made available to the public. That has all changed with Jazz Icons: Wes Montgomery Live in ’65 and we should all be eternally grateful that some [...]

Originally released in 1960, Stanley Turrentine’s Blue Hour was a fantastic album that featured some of the bluest jazz ever recorded. After several decades we finally get to hear the rest of what went down during those spectacular sessions with Blue Hour: The Complete Sessions. I had been intrigued by this album for quite some [...]

Throughout my many years of listening to Frank Zappa I often get asked by newbies what I would recommend for them. Well, with near 90 official albums, and a HUGE cross section of genres and material to choose from, that question can get a bit difficult to answer. But don’t worry, I’m here to help. [...]

Much has been written about the Dead’s legendary European tour in the spring of 1972. It spawned a hugely successful live album, appropriately titled Europe ’72, and a host of tape trades throughout the years. In 1995 the two disc Hundred Year Hall was released which documented almost an entire show in Frankfurt Germany. This [...]

Jethro Tull’s Stand Up, released in 1969, was rumored to be on schedule for a 40th anniversary release in 2009. Of course, it is now 2010 and it looks like it will finally be coming out sometime this fall. Details are indeed sketchy, with several different retailers listing several different release dates, all of which [...]

Believe it or not, when Jerry Garcia wasn’t playing with the Grateful Dead he was using his free time to play with his other band. The man was a musician 100% of the time and we should all thank God for such a gift. Jerry and his boys step up in front of a very [...]

How do you improve upon one of the greatest albums of all time? Simple: remaster the already impeccable sound to beyond perfection, throw in some very fine alternate song takes, and then add an entire second disc of live material and previously unissued session recordings. 1977′s Exodus was already a perfect album in almost every [...]

Article first published as Music Review: Sly & The Family Stone – There’s A Riot Goin’ On on Blogcritics. Summer 2010 has proven to be quite a long, hot, and incredibly hazy experience. The days are long and the heat has been damn near unbearable. And yet, to get us through all that, we always [...]