Music Criticism
I was a music critic with American Record Guide from 2008 to 2024, covering classical music of all varieties while specializing in music by Soviet and Eastern Bloc composers. At The Absolute Sound, classical was my mainstay, but I also covered Vaughan Williams to Hank Williams, bluegrass to hyperpop, Celtic folk-rock to hip-hop, fado to gospel. I still contribute occasionally to both magazines.
Click or tap on pictures to view articles.
Seven Years of Plenty
British Folk Rock from 1967 to 1974The Incredible String Band, Fairport Convention, Pentangle, Steeleye Span, and more
Lully, Rebel, Marais
Comedie et Tragedie Vol. 1Baroque music with guts
Ryan Adams: Heartbreaker
Deluxe EditionA touchstone of alternative country with outtakes, extras, and a DVD
Carly Simon
First four albumsMobile Fidelity's audiophile remasters on SACD
3 new psych rock albums
Ty Segall, The Mystery Lights, Dawg YawpPsychedelic rock is alive and tripping
Edmund Rubbra
Choral musicDeceptive simplicity and inner depth
William Bolcom: Piano Rags
with Spencer MyerA Chopin-like approach to ragtime.
Also, orchestrations of Brahms's Four Serious Songs
Flying Burrito Brothers: Gilded Palace of Sin
Intervention LP reissueCosmic American music sounding better than ever
Shostakovich: Cello Concerto 1; Symphony 1
Speakers Corner LP reissueA classic from Rostropovich and Ormandy that bests Sony's CD reissue
Angelique Kidjo: Remain in Light
Song-by-song cover of Talking Heads albumAngelique brings the African grooves to the fore
Dust-to-Digital
Profile of the record labelPreserving music from around the world; D2D has the best remaster of Washington Phillips recordings available
Jason Ringenberg: Stand Tall
Cow-punkScintillating album from the leader of Jason and the Scorchers
Luther Russell
formerly of the FreewheelersA survey of his work in roots rock from the Bootheels (with Jakob Dylan) through the Freewheelers and into his solo albums
Sandor Veress and Bela Bartok
An excellent string trioVeress may change your mind about serialism
Black Composer Series
Columbia/SonyReissue of the original 9 LPs. William Grant Still, Fela Sowande, George Walker, and others
Daniel Muller-Schott: Cello Unlimited
Kodaly, Hindemith, Crumb, and othersThe single best-sounding cello album I've ever heard
Shostakovich: Babi Yar Symphony
Chicago Symphony, Alexey TikhomirovStately and powerful, a memorial rather than an accusation
Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji
A maverick of classical musicAn introduction to the man who wrote mind-boggling 8-hour piano pieces
Auguste Descarries & Herbert Howells
Chamber music and the Missa SabrinensisDescarries deserves to stand next to Faure and Hahn; Howells's Mass is demanding, an ocean of a work
Hank Williams: Pictures from Life's Other Side
6 CDs from radio showsSuperior sound; hear Hank as a human, not just as a mythologized broken heart
Michael Rabin and His Magic Bow
Troubles and Triumphs of his Recorded LegacyI'll take Rabin's tone over that of any other violinist, past or present. A 3-page survey of his extant recordings and performances
Michael Rabin
on the Bell Telephone Hour, volume 2Review of a compilation that came out after I had written my feature article
So is it really hi-res?
SACD remasters aren't always as claimedHow to rip SACDs and do a spectrum analysis to see if they're actually CD-quality
Run-DMC: Raising Hell
Mobile Fidelity remasterAn audiophile issue of a rap classic. I'm proud to say I was the first person to review hip-hop for The Absolute Sound
Shostakovich: Violin Concertos
Alina Ibragimova & Vladimir JurowskiThe first recording of the Concerto No. 1 as originally written, without the break after the cadenza that Oistrakh requested
Paul Ben-Haim
A Refugee in the Mediterranean SunAn introductory article to the German-Jewish composer and his influence on Israeli classical music
Corey Ledet: Zydeco
Nouveau Electric RecordsA fantastic album with a catchy cover in Cajun French of Fats Wallers's "I'm Walking"
Rudolf Wagner-Regeny: Genesis
Berlin Radio Symphony, Johannes KalitzkeAn unusual setting in Latin of the creation story, with The Lord's Prayer substituted for the command to subdue the earth
Hilary Hahn: Paris
Chausson, Prokofieff, RautavaaraA fine LP from one of our greatest violinists
Industrial Strength Bluegrass
Kentucky Muscle and Ohio SteelA review of the book and CD history of bluegrass in Southern Ohio, courtesy of Joe Mullins
Billie Eilish: Happier than Ever
Darkroom/Interscope RecordsInteresting textures, actual melodies, and pop provocation
Ralph Vaughan Williams: Folk Songs, vol. 2
Mary Bevan, Roderick Williams, Nicky SpenceCrystal-clear diction and personality in spades
Igor Levit: On DSCH
Shostakovich's Preludes and Fugues; Ronald Stevenson's Passacaglia on DSCHFine sound and performances of two monuments of 20th Century piano music
Ralph Vaughan Williams: Earth's Wide Bounds
From the Ralph Vaughan Williams SocietyPremiere recording of the Communion Service, a revision of the Mass in G Minor
Goodwill Hunting
Crate-Digging for Holy Grails and Hidden GemsRandom, weird, and wonderful LPs that have found me at the thrift store
Shaylee: Short-Sighted Security
Kill Rock Stars RecordsCatchy, introspective power pop from Portland. This is in my personal top 20
Jules Massenet: Songs with Orchestra
A Palazetto Bru Zane productionA classy, detailed album of forgotten French song
Randy Travis: Storms of Life
Mobile Fidelity remasterA strong album from a country great, with improved sonics from MoFi
Shostakovich & Schubert: Cello Sonatas
Daniel Shafran, Lydia PecherskayaAnalogue Productions' LP reissue of this rare, lovely RCA recording
New Classical on Vinyl
A survey of modern releasesThe Absolute Sound tended to focus on audiophile reissues of the same old RCA and Mercury recordings; this is a corrective
Scriabin: Poem of Ecstasy; Prometheus; Piano Sonata 5
Yevgeny Sudbin, Lan Shui, Singapore SymphonyBrilliant orchestral colors, and possibly the best recording yet of the sonata
100 gecs: 10,000 gecs
Dog Show RecordsADHD hyperpop full of whimsy and whiplash
Shostakovich: Symphonies 8-10
Berlin Philharmonic, Kirill PetrenkoFrom winning the war to getting the last laugh at Uncle Joe, three of Shostakovich's most important symphonies
Trio Mediaeval: An Old Hall Ladymass
2L RecordsClear and ethereal performances of music from the 1400s and today
A Christmas Fantasia
Vaughan Williams, Finzi, Howells, Ireland, et alAnother stunning, varied production from the Ralph Vaughan Williams Society's Albion label
Marvin Gaye: In the Groove
Elemental Music LP reissueAn essential Motown title that includes "I Heard It through the Grapevine"
The Lost Generation
Hans Erich Apostel, Hugo Kauder, Adolf BuschKauder's symphony is wonderful, influenced by Mahler yet more reserved. Kauder's son almost got me into a car wreck once...
Mēla Guitar Quartet: Overtures & Dances
TRPTK RecordsThe most enjoyable album of 2025
Anna Lapwood: Firedove
Sony RecordsA superb entry from the most prominent young organist around
Courtney Granger & Cedric Watson: Cajun & Creole Music of Louisiana
Analogue Productions LPAn outstanding record from a fiddler who died way too young
Carl Perkins: The Dance Record
Intervention Records LP reissueA Sun Records releases on dead quiet wax, popping with rockabilly vitality
Mieczyslaw Weinberg: String Quartets
Quatuor DanelAn invaluable cycle of quartets written by one of Shostakovich's closest friends