John Paul

John is a Michigan-based musician and writer. His work has appeared in PopMatters, Spectrum Culture, Cover Me Songs, Hagerty magazine and more. Follow him at @john_r_paul

Mostly Other People Do the Killing: Loafer’s Hollow

John Paul / 21 March 2017

For their latest avant rendering of jazz and culture in a broader sense, MOPDTK take on trad jazz in a decidedly non-traditional manner, using literary titans from Pynchon to Joyce to Vonnegut as source material.

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The Grateful Dead: The Grateful Dead (50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition)

John Paul / 20 March 2017

Fifty years on, the Grateful Dead’s debut gets the deluxe reissue treatment along with an early, previously unreleased live performance.

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Donald Byrd: Love Has Come Around – The Elektra Records Anthology 1978-1982

John Paul / 17 March 2017

Donald Byrd’s late ‘70s/early ‘80s studio albums are sliced and diced in this newly issued collection of the most forgettable era of his otherwise illustrious and well-regarded career.

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Thundercat: Drunk

John Paul / 3 March 2017

With Drunk, Thundercat has delivered a fascinatingly scattershot series of song fragments, snippets, and ideas perfectly suited to the increasingly limited, equally fragmented attention spans of modern listeners.

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Dennis Coffey: Hot Coffey in the D

John Paul / 22 February 2017

These 1968 live recordings offer a glimpse into Detroit’s storied music history courtesy of three of its finest session players.

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‘You Say You Want a Revolution’? Hell, Yeah!

John Paul / 9 February 2017

The images in You Say You Want a Revolution inspire, and the ideas behind them offer spark to ignite another, much needed cultural revolution.

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The Mavericks: All Night Live, Vol. 1

John Paul / 6 February 2017

All Night Live, Vol. 1 offers a wildly eclectic, highly enjoyable set of songs performed by the legendary group.

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Heartache Is an Uphill Climb: An Interview With Tift Merritt

John Paul / 1 February 2017

Tift Merritt opens up on the joys of motherhood, life on the road with her new daughter in tow, and what the future might hold for them both.

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‘Sounds of the Underground’, Excavated

John Paul / 1 February 2017

Stephen Graham manages to distil the essence of underground and fringe music into identifiable and recognizable components of a larger, global movement.

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Charlie Haden and the Liberation Music Orchestra: Time/Life

John Paul / 30 January 2017

Released posthumously, these gorgeously lush recordings serve as a fine tribute to the late Charlie Haden.

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Iggy Pop: Post Pop Depression – Live at the Royal Albert Hall

John Paul / 26 January 2017

Half a century into an improbably long career, the original punk continues to deliver, offering up a DVD/CD combo of a riotous performance at the Royal Albert Hall.

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Foxygen: Hang

John Paul / 20 January 2017

With full orchestra in tow, Foxygen’s Sam France and Jonathan Rado deliver an absurdly overblown, gloriously over-the-top album celebrating all of pop's excesses without the slightest hint of ironic detachment.

John Paul

Mostly Other People Do the Killing: Loafer’s Hollow

The Grateful Dead: The Grateful Dead (50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition)

Donald Byrd: Love Has Come Around – The Elektra Records Anthology 1978-1982

Thundercat: Drunk

Dennis Coffey: Hot Coffey in the D

‘You Say You Want a Revolution’? Hell, Yeah!

The Mavericks: All Night Live, Vol. 1

Heartache Is an Uphill Climb: An Interview With Tift Merritt

‘Sounds of the Underground’, Excavated

Charlie Haden and the Liberation Music Orchestra: Time/Life

Iggy Pop: Post Pop Depression – Live at the Royal Albert Hall

Foxygen: Hang

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