By the writers of Last Word Features

Neil Young: ‘Dreamin’ Man Live ‘92’
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It doesn’t matter how well he sings, or how well he plays. There’s something beguiling about everything Neil Young does, whether he’s taking one of his occasionally audacious risks in sound or subject matter, rocking out in feedback-drenched crunch mode, or doing his folk troubadour thing, accompanying his reedy tenor with only a strummed guitar, plunked piano or lonely harmonica.

Perhaps just putting himself out there alone is actually the bigger risk. But as he proves on this gorgeous live rendering of the songs that would later be studio-recorded for 1992’s “Harvest Moon,” his follow-up to 1972’s “Harvest,” it’s also got a huge payoff. “From Hank to Hendrix,” “One of These Days,” “War of Man”: These songs were classics the minute he released them.

In this form, they’re somehow even more timeless. Each one is like a small crystal, or an ant in amber — rare and very, very special.
— Lynne Margolis
Buy if you like: Buffalo Springfield, Stephen Stills, John Hiatt 

Mary J. Blige: ‘Stronger With Each Tear’
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With recent albums like “The Breakthrough” and “Love & Life,” Mary J. Blige has made herself something of a poster child for overcoming heartbreak and turmoil and for showing female inner-strength and a strong self-image. She isn’t about to change that tune on her new CD, “Stronger With Each Tear.”
On the song “Each Tear,” she sings: “With each tear, there’s a lesson/Makes you wiser than before/Makes you stronger than you know.” On “Kitchen,” she makes it clear that she won’t let any other woman move in on her man, borrowing a famous blues metaphor for cheating (another woman cooking in your kitchen). That’s not exactly an original thought, and musically Blige doesn’t rewrite any rules of hip-hop/soul on “Stronger With Each Tear.” But she delivers plenty of solid tracks.
“Stronger With Every Tear” may not be profound, but it won’t diminish Blige’s stature as one of the best and most reliably engaging artists in urban music  – Alan Sculley
Buy if you like: Rihanna, Alicia Keys

Ellis Paul: ‘The Day After Everything Changed’
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Having come on the scene in the early 1990s as one of several new artists (including Dar Williams, Vance Gilbert and Patty Griffin) that turned the Boston music scene into a hotbed of folk, Paul has lived with the folk label for nearly two decades. His music, however, always has suggested a far wider range of influences.
With “The Day After Everything Changed,” Paul launches his own record label and forces listeners to re-think the notion that he’s simply a folk artist. To be sure, folk is in the mix, and songs like “Rose Tattoo” and “Nothing Left To Take” demonstrate Paul’s command of that style. But elsewhere, Paul steps outside of that box. “Annalee” is a sweet up-tempo country-laced track with a plucking banjo and plenty of electric guitar and organ. On “River Road” and “The Lights of Vegas,” Paul rocks out with full-on electric instrumentation.
Most importantly, Paul’s songwriting is as sharp as ever, as he fills the songs with bright melodies and writes some of the most conversational, heartfelt and, at times, topical lyrics of his career. “The Day After Everything Changes” feels like the start of a new phase for Paul and his music, and if this CD is any indication, he’s going to be better than ever as he moves forward with his music. – Alan Sculley
Buy if you like: Dar Williams, Iron & Wine

Trent Dabbs: ‘Your Side Now’
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Dabbs has made a name for himself lately as co-founder of the “Ten out of Tenn” tours, which spotlight emerging non-country artists who are emerging in Nashville outside of the glare of the city’s mainstream country scene. “Your Side Now” proves that Dabbs is also one of the best of this new wave of Nashville singer/songwriters.
The CD, his third, marks a move by Dabbs toward more of a cinematic pop sound, and the style suits him well. Songs like “Dear Jane,” “Inside These Lines” and “Nothing Left To Leave” all have an expansive feel that works well with the gracious pop melodies that populate them. Meanwhile, other songs, like “Wake Up Call,” “Rain Or Shine” and the title track are more intimate, but use a wide range of instrumentation to give them considerable heft.
Richly melodic and evocative, “Your Side Now” is a top-notch effort that, if it gets the attention it deserves, will establish Dabbs as an artist to watch, not only in Nashville, but by music lovers around the world.
— Alan Sculley
Buy if you like: Marc Cohn, Counting Crows

Person L: ‘The Positives’
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There are times on “The Positives” when the members of Person L (which features Kenneth Vasoli of the Starting Line) sounds as if they are trying very hard to create a distinctly different style of guitar rock. And on songs like the  jagged “Good Days” and the textured rocker “Untitled,” there are signs that the group is onto something good. But the best moments on this CD come when Person L follows an obvious talent for crafting a more conventional style of guitar rock.

The song “New Sensation” rides a vibrant guitar riff and energetic beat to create a potent bit of garage-y rock.  “Goodness Gracious” is an enervating fest of fuzzed-out electric guitar; while “Sit Tight” is another raucous slab of big guitars and big melody.

If Person L finds a way to develop a more seamless mix of its more eccentric tendencies and its obvious taste for accessible rough-around-the-edges rock, the band will be something really special. As it is “The Positives” has enough winning moments to make it worth noticing now. — Alan Sculley
Buy if you like: Foo Fighters, Sunny Day Real Estate