Album Review: Boosie Badazz- BooPac

The incendiary Southern rapper Boosie inists that “I’m that n----- now" on his stunning new 90-minute album BooPac.  While I’m not about to challenge the assertion that he’s 2Pac's successor, I’m unable to stifle inappropriate cackles at some of the audaciously awkward lines on bangers like “Motherless Child”, “Me, Myself & I” and “Webbie I Remember”.  I’m not laughing at Boosie- I’m laughing with him.  It’s shocking that a man who’s spent a substantial portion of his life behind bars can be so guileless.


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My remembrance of Kevin Mahogany was published at Plastic Sax.

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A list of my ten favorite albums of 2017 by musicians based in the Kansas City area is part of a compilation of ballots titled best of 2017 lists from 20 KC music influencers.

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I write weekly music previews for The Kansas City Star.

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Trombonist Roswell Rudd has died.

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Jaimie Branch’s Fly or Die would have figured prominently on my year-end listings had I encountered the magnificent free jazz recording before the final days of December.  RIYL: Don Cherry, purposeful chaos, Ambrose Akinmusire.

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Huncho Jack, Jack Huncho, a collaboration between Travis Scott and Quavo, is unreasonably engaging.  RIYL: Migos, intoxicants, Future.  Here's “Saint Laurent Mask”.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Album Review: Mark Eitzel- Hey Mr. Ferryman

Mark Eitzel has my number.  Not literally- we last spoke in the ‘90s.  Yet his new album Hey Mr. Ferryman resembles a musical narration of my inner voice at 3 a.m.  Like Eitzel, I’m a fifty-something American whose life was changed by the music of Frank Sinatra, Sonny Rollins and Joe Strummer.  ”The Last Ten Years”, the opening track of Hey Mr. Ferryman, is loaded with zingers like “I saw the bartender’s love- I saw it in her yawn.”  The songs in which Eitzel banters with Jesus, dreams of slow-dancing in a kitchen and paints a portrait of a forlorn man who “gets grumpy trying to keep hope alive” hit uncomfortably close to my dilapidated home.


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I reviewed Winter Jam at the Sprint Center.

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I pondered the enigmatic Erica Joy on KCUR.

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I wrote an extended concert preview about Eric Church’s return to the Sprint Center.

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I write weekly music previews for The Kansas City Star and Ink magazine.

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An anti-rap editorial in The Sedalia Democrat was inspired by a KCUR segment based on my advocacy of a song by the Popper.

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John Wetton has died.

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Delbert McClinton doesn’t give a flip on Prick of the Litter.  And that’s a good thing.  The new album is RIYL Dan Hicks, constructive indifference, Leon Russell.

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Boosie’s fatalistic ”Crabs In a Bucket” is my new theme song.

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Into the Blue, an EP by a trio led by the teen jazz pianist Emily Bear, is an exercise in tedious formalism.  RIYL: Joey Alexander, hype, Bill Charlap.

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Kehlani’s SweetSexySavage is RIYL Janet Jackson, generic R&B, Jhene Aiko.  Here’s “Distraction”.

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Bell Biv DeVoe’s Three Stripes is a barely passable reunion.

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Miles Mosley’s Uprising is RIYL Snarky Puppy, bluster, Al Kooper’s Blood, Sweat & Tears.  Here’s a live version of “L.A. Won’t Bring You Down”.

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Code Orange’s excellent Forever is RIYL chaos, the concept of metal version of Crass, throwing bricks.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Album Review: Hélène Grimaud- Water

I listen to instrumental music as I write.  Words from vocalists and rappers disrupt my already tenuous ability to concentrate.  Dramatic orchestral works are also out of the question.  While I can’t focus as Hélène Grimaud plays a stirring rendition of Sergei Rachmaninoff’s flashy Piano Concerto No. 2, her unusual new album Water provides ideal accompaniment to my typing.  A thought-provoking and creativity-inducing combination of solo piano compositions by the likes of Leoš Janáček and electronic “transition” pieces, Water will likely provide me with conducive workplace inspiration for the remainder of 2016.


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I reviewed a concert by Mark Chesnutt, Joe Diffie and Lorrie Morgan.

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I contribute the weekly Local Listen segment to KCUR.  Your Friend was featured last week.

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I write weekly music and event previews for The Kansas City Star and Ink magazine.

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The lineup for Rockfest will be revealed on February 8.  I’ve set odds on the most likely headliners: Five Finger Death Punch (6/4), Megadeth (9/4) and Volbeat (9/1).  Bet at your own discretion.


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I look forward to spending quality time with Westend Recording Presents: "Amplify KC" Vol. 1, a collection of “heavy music” by Kansas City bands.

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Paul Kantner of Jefferson Airplane has died.

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Reading about the Fat White Family’s antics is more enjoyable than listening to the music created by the band of British hooligans.  Songs for Our Mothers is RIYL: exhaustion, the Brian Jonestown Massacre, hangovers.  The video for ”Whitest Boy on the Beach” is suitably messed up.

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I like Kevin Gates’ Islah in spite of myself.  Here’s 2 Phones.

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Boosie has ”Cancer”.

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I don’t particularly care for elaborate high-concept musical humor, but the David Gordon Trio’s Alexander Scriabin’s Ragtime Band is both amusing and impressive.  RIYL: P.D.Q. Bach, music school, André Previn.

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When You Wish Upon a Star, Bill Frisell’s new album of film music, is RIYL: Ennio Morricone, hillbilly jazz, Nino Rota.  I highlighted Frisell's forthcoming Kansas City show at Plastic Sax.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Percy Sledge, 1940-2015

Tears come easily for me.  Music often acts as the trigger, and classic R&B voices get me almost every time.  I just cued up Percy Sledge’s out-of-print 1994 album Blue Night and was immediately overcome by emotion.  Listen for yourself.  Damn.  Sledge died last week.


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I reviewed Lil Boosie’s wack concert at the Midland.

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I reviewed a solid concert by Sixx:A.M. and Apocalyptica.

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I reviewed Matt Kane & the Kansas City Generations Sextet’s Acknowledgement at Plastic Sax.

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I didn’t know about Tony Bennett’s secret weapon until I first saw Ralph Sharon perform with the vocalist in the 1990s.  Sharon died on March 31.

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Johnny Kemp has died.

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After years of conjecture, a collaboration between Tech N9ne and Eminem has been released.

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Todd Clouser’s Chant is RIYL: Allen Ginsberg, beatniks, John Trudell.  Clouser created a video for “You the Brave.”

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Lila Downs’ Balas y Chocolate is a lot of fun.  RIYL: Vicente Fernández, parties, Kinky. 

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Tyler, the Creator’’s Cherry Bomb is much better than I anticipated.  And yes, “Smuckers” is the hip-hop event of the year.

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Kenny Lattimore’s Anatomy of a Love Song is RIYL: Luther Vandross, classic R&B, Marvin Gaye.  Here’s the video for “Love Me Back.”

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The-Dream’s silky Crown is RIYL: Michael Jackson, radio playlists, Future.

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Beethoven, Period, a collaboration between Matt Haimovitz and Christopher O’Riley, is my default work soundtrack.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)