Michael Elliott's Blog, page 5

Shuffle It All: 'pride & glory'

The early to mid-1990s stand as the second golden age of Southern Rock (something I’ll address in an upcoming piece right here on the Mixtape). In the meantime, consider this to be Exhibit A: 1994’s pride & glory, the self-titled first - and only - album by the trio led by Ozzy’s axman, Zakk Wylde.

Wylde, né Jeffrey Phillip Wielandt, is no more a southerner than California-born Ed King (composer of the most southern of all guitar riffs). Wylde hails from the swamps of New Jersey (Bayonne, to be p...

Growin' Up With Bruce Springsteen

Photo: Eric MeolaGrowin’ Up

How Bruce Springsteen is tied to my birthday with three landmark compilations spread over three decades. (Originally published on my former website on November 14, 2021.)

The cover may be a little worse for wear, but the contents of my old box set are still in great condition.

I turned 16 on November 14, 1986. By then, I’d been a fan of Bruce Springsteen for at least five years or so. The first song I remember hearing of his on our local rock station - WQDR, of course - ...

Country Musings: Cringe Country

WARNING: This post contains sensitive subject matter and language. If that’s not your idea of fun, feel free to check out my many other articles in the archive.

First, allow me a moment to hype my Country cred.

I’ve sat backstage at the Grand Ole Opry, in Roy Acuff’s dressing room, as the man himself regaled me with tales from the old days, tuned his fiddle, and signed my Country Music Hall of Fame souvenir book.

I’ve met and shook the hands of Porter Wagoner and Minnie Pearl.

My first concert was J...

The Best of 1984

Talk about a pivotal year, 1984 is when the ‘80s became the ‘80s.

The years 1980 to 1983 were still shaking off the corduroy pants and orange countertops of the ‘70s. By 1984, most of the pieces were in place that would define the decade musically: the synths, the drum machines, the digital production, and - of course - the music videos.

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It was also the year that revealed the biggest gap between blockbuste...

New Sounds for September

Moving toward the fourth quarter of 2024, the challenge of picking a best-of-the-year list gets tougher, as both hot young artists and legacy acts start flooding the record stores and streaming platforms with material. Here are a few that have caught my ear in the last week or so.

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David Gilmour - Luck and Strange

There’s comfort in the sound of Gilmour’s mournful Strat as it creeps in from the ether on the opening instrumental “Black Cat,” leading its way to the epic title cut of his latest s...

"We Quit Doing Rock" - WQDR and the Death of Rock Radio

Like many others, I was drawn to the radio as a kid. First, as a listener, soaking up all the sounds I heard; from the voices of the jocks to the commercials to the songs. I listened to not only what the DJs said, but how they said it, and how they presented the music. Soon enough, I’d hold my little cassette recorder up to the speaker and capture every song I could.

The radio was almost always tuned to WQDR in Raleigh, NC.

The only country station in the area we could pick up was WAKG-FM (Coun...

September Mixtape: What's New at Summer's End

Labor Day weekend traditionally closes the door on summer. The days are getting shorter and pumpkins are sprouting up everywhere and in everything - even where they don’t belong. Let’s break out our fall clothes and dig into what’s new on the Mixtape.

Photo by Lukasz SzmigielJason Isbell and the 400 Unit - “You’re Gonna Get It!”

Fresh from his much-talked-about (and deservedly so) appearance at the DNC, Isbell offers up this throwback attack of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ title track from th...

Mixtape ReMix: Rod Stewart - 'When We Were the New Boys'

‘Mixtape ReMix’ is a new occasional series where I take an OK album from the past and imagine how it could be better. It’s like fan fiction for hopeless music geeks.

Rod Stewart has spent nearly half a century disappointing the fans who brought him to the dance. Since “Da Ya Think I’m Sexy” - and some argue before that - the audience that marveled at the detailed storytelling of “Every Picture Tells a Story,” “Maggie May,” “Gasoline Alley,” and other early solo tunes, not to mention his work with...

Country Musings: The Tractors

It was 30 years ago this month that a group of veteran rock’n’roll side guys whipped up a boogie-woogie throwback tune that mentioned Jerry Lee Lewis, Jimmy Swaggart, and choo-choo trains; included a solo by the incomparable James Burton; and hit the top 40 on the country charts. It was the most unlikely country hit of the year, and it was just one moment out of an album packed with the most fun you could have listening to a record that year.

The Tractors had come to town.

Country music was hot i...

Happy Birthday, John Hiatt

Photo: David McClister

If you’re new to my little corner of the Substack world, welcome! I’m happy you’re on board and I hope you’ll stick around.

In 2021, Chicago Review Press published Have A Little Faith: The John Hiatt Story. (You can order one - or several - here.) Needless to say, it was quite an honor to speak with John, his wonderful wife Nancy, their eldest daughter, Lilly, and everyone from Ry Cooder and Rosanne Cash, to Bonnie Raitt, Robert Cray, Lyle Lovett, and so many others for the...