By Bob Deakin I didn’t think anyone could make an album this good again. Released in 1996 by the Anglo-Irish band, The High Llamas, Hawaii...

By Bob Deakin (Originally published for the Litchfield County Times) Paul Winter, founder and leader of the Paul Winter Consort , spends...

By Bob Deakin Thank you for coming back from last Friday! Let's keep going with Side B Woman’s Gotta Have It . Hello Isley Brothers. At...

By Bob Deakin What a pleasant surprise. At least the first half of the album. I can’t believe I never heard In The Pocket after all...

Oh, it's a long, long while from May to December, But the days grow short, When you reach September

No way could I play “The Beverly Hillbillies” or anything by Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs. But somehow it worked.

Not exactly The Royal Scam but a good listen during dinner or at a more sophisticated gathering.

North of a Miracle by Nick Heyward was originally released in 1983 following his success with British band Haircut 100. It epitomized the resurgence of that time using real orchestral instruments instead of synthesizers, so prevalent in years previous.

That is, what is the percussion sound (on beats 2 and 4) that dominates “Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)” - the album's biggest hit - and recurs throughout the rest of the record?

Ken Ascher: piano, keyboards, arranger, conductor, is one of those guys. A common sight for decades on the liner notes of an album.

Ken Ascher. You might not know the name, but he’s a legend as a session musician and composer.

By Bob Deakin "Let me have some coffee and then I'll listen," said a groggy voice-like that of a mother to a child who rises early and...

They weren’t a band, but they were. Mike Nesmith, Davy Jones, Peter Tork, and Mickey Dolenz. All Monkees go to heaven.

Halloween is almost here. Just two days until the big day, and who knows what’s in store this year.

My story “You and Me Against the World” is centered around the great song Paul Williams and Ken Ascher wrote for Helen Reddy in the 70s.

By Bob Deakin Most everybody's got seed to sow It ain't always easy for a weed to grow, no, no I’m the walking man these days, and thanks...