Posts From Jeff Tamarkin

Iron Butterfly’s Classic ‘In-a-Gadda-Da-Vida’

The single and album signaled a shift from the psychedelic sound toward something more aggressive, loud and primal. Rock fans either loved it or hated it.

Read More

Tom Jones: Sex Bomb on the Road—Concert Review

His voice is virtually indistinguishable from what it was when he first arrived well over 50 years ago with “It’s Not Unusual” and “What’s New Pussycat?”

Read More

The Summer of Love, by Those Who Were There

In 2017, Graham Nash, Michelle Phillips and others assembled in New York to remember the headiest summer of all. “I was stoned all the time,” recalled Nash

Read More

Over Under Sideways Down: Making Sense of the Yardbirds’ Album Releases

The Yardbirds’ recorded legacy was just as convoluted as their personnel timeline, with few correlations between their American and British output.

Read More

17 Classic Chuck Berry Covers

The legend, who may have invented rock and roll, died at 90 in 2017. To celebrate his legacy, we’ve chosen 17 of his best, by some of his biggest fans

Read More

A Vault Interview with Drummer John Barbata of the Turtles, CSN&Y & Jefferson Starship

From “Happy Together” to “Ohio” to “Miracles,” he drummed on them all.

Read More

The Summer of Love and That Song About ‘San Francisco’

It was a song of its time, inviting “gentle people” to wear flowers in their hair and migrate to California. Many thousands took Scott McKenzie’s advice

Read More

Procol Harum and ‘Whiter Shade of Pale’: That Melody!

To this day, fans still debate the meaning of the song. But more than half a century after its release, it remains one of the most popular of all-time.

Read More

John Barbata, Drummer for Turtles, CSN&Y, Airplane/Starship, Dead at 79

The musician had a long list of credits with some of the biggest acts of the late ’60s and well into the ’70s

Read More

The Vaults: An Interview with Twang Guitar Innovator Duane Eddy

“I got tired of hearing those rock ’n’ roll licks on the high strings. It was always the same thing,” said Eddy, and so he invented a new style.

Read More