Derk Richardson began writing about music in 1978 and is host of 'The Hear and Now' radio program, airing Thursday nights on KPFA-FM in Berkeley. He is a regular columnist at SFGate.com.
For more than 40 years, San Francisco bands have had to live up to, manifest their refusal of, or (not so) simply transcend the legacy of the Summer of Love.
For better or worse, the acid-drenched, blues-and-folk-influenced San Francisco scene of the late 1960s forced the world to focus on one city as a musical and cultural fountainhead, momentarily, at least, eclipsing New York, Detroit, and Chicago, and going head-to-head, so to speak, with the Los Angeles of the Doors, Buffalo Springfield, and the Byrds.
As a Bay Area native who came of age musically somewhere between the release of Elvis Presley's first RCA LP and Joni Mitchell's Blue, the "San Francisco Sound" provided the backdrop for more than a few of my formative teenage experiences.
Thus, this list of the best albums of the San Francisco's psychedelic era is steeped in a deep well of emotional associations. But it also has been filtered through a set of critical standards honed during four decades of study, reflection, and, hopefully, refinement. (Why are Creedence Clearwater Revival's Bayou Country and Green River missing? Because at the time I appreciated John Fogerty's swampy vehicle only as a brilliant singles band.)
Still, I can't help but rank the entries of this essential library in the order of how often I actually go back and either listen to them in their entirety or tap them for my weekly radio show.
And if you need to start with a box set compilation to get a mind-blowing overview and sample such heretofore unmentioned bands as the Charlatans, the Beau Brummels, the Sons of Champlin, the Loading Zone, the Grass Roots, It's a Beautiful Day, and We Five, check out the astonishing various artists compilation:
Wayne Horvitz knows that if he still lived in New York, his Gravitas Quartet, which performs at the San Francisco Jazz Festival on Sunday, Nov. 9, might be a bigger deal. But the pianist/keyboardist/composer moved to Seattle with his wife, Robin Holcomb,... Read More Topics:
music ,
jazz ,
improvising ,
jazz festivals ,
SFJAZZ ,
chamber jazz ,
Wayne Horvitz ,
John Zorn
Cecil Taylor, the most important "jazz" pianist of the past 50 years, has also been the most problematic for some listeners. Branford Marsalis sparked much animosity when, in the avant-deficient Jazz series by Ken Burns, responding to a Taylor... Read More Topics:
jazz ,
improvising ,
jazz festivals ,
SFJAZZ ,
Cecil Taylor ,
Marilyn Crispell
In 1972, when Mavis Staples' incredibly sultry voice came snaking and beckoning out of car radio speakers on the Staples Singers hit, "I'll Take You There," it didn't matter what destination she was singing about, you wanted to go. Then,... Read More Topics:
music ,
soul ,
pop music ,
R&B ,
jazz festivals ,
music festivals ,
Mavis Staples ,
SFJAZZ
Ry Cooder doesn't get out much. By my reckoning, it's been eight years since the legendary guitarist/producer played much guitar in public for a general audience in the Bay Area. That was in February 2000 when he sat in with the Buena Vista Social... Read More Topics:
music ,
rock ,
Americana ,
blues ,
music festivals ,
guitar players
Teddy Thompson doesn't face the same problems as, say, Jakob Dylan or Julian Lennon, or Sean Ono Lennon or Frank Sinatra Jr., or Dweezil Zappa or Jason Bonham or Zak Starkey. OK, I'm getting carried away. But the point I'm trying to make is that... Read More Topics:
music ,
folk music ,
singer-songwriters ,
pop music ,
folk-rock ,
Americana
When a guitar quits telling a story, that’s when my obsessive passion wanes. That’s why I was happy not to attend the recent Guitar Superstar contest at the Great American Music Hall, especially after reading Joel Selvin’s SF Chronicle... Read More Topics:
music ,
rock ,
world music ,
african music ,
guitar players
Katia and Marielle Labèque's back-story may not be as titillating as that of Sarah and Bristol Palin, but for music fans it's a lot more interesting.The French piano-playing sisters help open the San Francisco Symphony's regular season Thursday,... Read More Topics:
music ,
jazz ,
art-rock ,
avant-garde classical ,
classical music