Born in Miami but weaned on the mid-'60's coffee house scene around Boston, Smither remains a strangely undiscovered talent. The 11th album of his 33-year recording career is a masterclass in deftly-picked country blues guitar, drawing on Lightnin' Hopkins and Mississippi John Hurt (a sunny-side-up cover of "Candy Man") alongside the more lugubrious Fred Neil. Smither's weathered old pipes are a joy as he tramples over melting chords like a bear with a migraine.
Ravi Shankar's posthumous Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award was accepted by his daughters at a pre-Grammy event in Los Angeles on Saturday (February 9).
Anoushka Shankar, a gifted sitar-player herself, and award-winning singer Norah Jones, accepted the award on behalf of their late father at a ceremony at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre in California.
R.E.M. has announced the September 24th release of an expanded 25th Anniversary Edition of the band’s 1987 album, Document.
The new edition features the digitally remastered original album, plus a previously unreleased 1987 concert from R.E.M.’s “Work” tour. The commemorative release also adds new liner notes, with the 2CD package presented in a lift-top box with four postcards. On the same date, the remastered original album will be reissued by Mobile Fidelity on 180-gram vinyl.
The tracklisting for R.E.M.: Document (25th Anniversary Edition) is:
