Urban Review Archives
Review of The Coffee Shop Chronicles : Part 2
Review of: David Lummis
The Coffee Shop Chronicles of New Orleans, Part 2: The Last Beaucoeur by David Lummis takes place on a single day, Friday August 26, read more...
The Last of the Pascagoula: A Review
Review of: Rebecca Meredith
Rebecca Meredith's first published novel The Last of the Pascagoula read more...
Vertically Coastal by Jerri Chaplin---A Review
Review of: Jerri Chaplin
I met Jerri Chaplin fifteen years ago at a conference for the National Association of Poetry Therapy. I was struck at that time by her warmth and genuineness and read more...
Overlook
Review of: Maria Taylor
(Saddle Creek) On her fourth proper solo album, Overlook, Maria Taylor proves that you not only can go home again, but it is often a good idea to seek out the familiar comforts that lie there. Although Taylor is a Birmingham, AL native, she has been read more...
The Great Book Of John
Review of: The Great Book Of John
(Communicating Vessels) There appears to be a time-shifted symmetry in effect within Birmingham's music scene. We've written about how the break up of Verbena, a band who were sadly forced towards major label grunge during the 90s, ultimately seeded that city's scene read more...
Barton Hollow
Review of: The Civil Wars
Last night as I sat with friends on my porch overlooking Elk River, I put The Civil Wars' new album Barton Hollow read more...
McLemore Avenue
Review of: Booker T & The MGs
(Concord Music Group) Recorded in January 1970, McLemore Avenue was the great Memphis group Booker T & The MGs tribute to the Beatles' landmark album Abbey Road. Booker T. Jones revealed read more...
New Orleans Jokerman
Review of: The Last Waltz Ensemble
(Raymond Records) The Last Waltz Ensemble formed in 2004. This Atlanta band plays the music of Bob Dylan &
Crossing the Creek
Review of: Anna Lillios
Crossing the Creek: The Literary Friendship of Zora Neale Hurston and Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings University Press of Florida, Gainesville, FL , 2010 Literary friendships are relatively commonplace, but a friendship which reaches read more...
RIYEL----Eclectic and Kreyol Jazz
Review of: RIYEL (Ken Watters, Andre Atkins, Yves Abel)
Summit Records, April 2010 Released internationally on April 13, 2010, Riyel’s first album is an overview of read more...
The Coffee Shop Chronicles of New Orleans
Review of: David Lummis
SIster Schubert: Cast Your Bread Upon the Waters
Review of: SIster Schubert
Reviewed by Penne J. Laubenthal Sister Shubert's recent cookbook,
A Review of Undeniable Truths
Review of: A. M. Garner
Rank Stranger Press, November 2009 Reviewed by Penne J. Laubenthal This month Anita M. Garner published her first collection of short stories: Undeniable read more...
Fairly Odd Mother
Review of: Kelly Kazek
Published by iUniverse, Inc 2009 Reviewed by Penne J. Laubenthal I have been a huge fan of humor in journalism for over thirty years. I particularly enjoy those southern humorists who follow in the footsteps of
When The Buddha Met Bubba: A Review
Review of: Richard "Dixie" Hartwell
Turner Publishing Co., Nashville, TN 2009 Reviewed by Penne J. Laubenthal When the Buddha Met Bubba is best-selling author
Pat Conroy's "South of Broad": A Review
Review of: Pat Conroy
Published by Nan A. Talese/Doubleday Company, August 2009 Reviewed by Penne J. Laubenthal When I read my first Pat Conroy book in the early 70s, it was love at first paragraph. When I finished reading the read more...
Among The Gold
Review of: Cheyenne Mize and Bonnie "Prince" Billy
"Old music is a major passion of mine. As I mentioned, I play a little old-time fiddle and have always loved old gospel music. The idea of keeping old music alive is very important to me" - Cheyenne Mize Considering the substance of Mize’s read more...
Tight Knit
Review of: Vetiver
Vetiver is the musical brainchild of Andy Cabic, who is part of a loosely organized group of musicians from the Swampland Footprint who have made their way out to California seeking creative refuge. Some of the more famous members of his coterie are the Black Crowes' Chris read more...
Around The Well
Review of: Iron And Wine
In less than five years, Iron and Wine rose from a batch of unadulterated home recordings to become one of the indie scene's most influential and successful artists. For those late to the party, Iron and Wine has but one member, Sam Beam who was born and raised in South read more...
Love Filling Station
Review of: Jesse Winchester
Jesse Winchester's songs have been recorded by songwriting legends like Waylon Jennings, Emmylou Harris, Jimmy Buffett, Ralph Stanley, Delbert McClinton, and the Everly Brothers too name a few.
Delta Blues
Review of: Ted Gioia
Delta Blues:The Life and Times of Mississippi Masters Who Revolutionized American Music by Ted Gioia W. W. Norton, 2008 Reviewed by bluesman Billy C. Farlow Delta Blues read more...
Me And My Friends
Review of: Matt Butcher
The best records shoot right to the heart with a truth and a passion that almost immediately puts them in constant rotation in your cd player, turntable, iPod, or, most importantly, in your mind. It usually starts with the basic ingredients of a set a first-rate songs read more...
I'm That Way
Review of: Beth McKee
Is it something in the water? Something in the land? People can analyze all they want, but Southerners have a different relationship to music than others. Beth McKee is prime example number one. This Jackson, MS girl has toughed it out as a musician with a career read more...
Milking the Moon
Review of: Eugene Walter
Milking the Moon: A Southerner's Story of Life on this Planet Eugene Walter (as told to Katherine Clark) Crown Publishers Reviewed by Penne J. Laubenthal Hold on to your hat and get ready for a wild ride.
Dixieland Delight
Review of: Clay Travis
As we head into the off season, now that the recruiting season is over (mostly), there might be no better time to pick up and read Clay Travis's
Friday Night Lights, Season 3
Review of:
Friday Night Lights began its entertainment lifespan as a fantastic book written by Buzz Bissinger. Bissinger's book told the engaging story of the near "life and death" importance of a high school football team to the west Texas town of Odessa. Bissinger's read more...
Eat, Drink, and Be From Mississippi
Review of: Nanci Kincaid
Nanci Kincaid’s most recent novel hit the bookstores just two weeks before President Barack Obama delivered his inaugural address, read more...
Boys Will Be Boys
Review of: Jeff Pearlman
Boys Will Be Boys: The Glory Days and Party Nights of the Dallas Cowboys Dynasty by Jeff Pearlman Harper Books Jeff Pearlman's new book neatly summarizes the shift to the modern era of the Dallas Cowboys. The early history of the team isn't read more...
From The Reach
Review of: Sonny Landreth
Sonny Landreth From The Reach Landfall Records Sonny Landreth returns with his first record in 5 years. With his deep catalog of work both as a solo artist and a collaborator/contributor to others (
The Prince of Frogtown
Review of: Rick Bragg
“My father was the prince of Frogtown” writes Alabama author and Pulitzer Prize winner Rick Bragg in his latest book entitled
The Bourbon Dynasty
Review of: The Bourbon Dynasty
The Bourbon Dynasty The Bourbon Dynasty Night World Records It's good to have Charles Walston back making music. Almost a decade ago, Walston's previous band, the Vidalias, were part of a roots and country music resurgence in read more...
Third And A Mile
Review of: William C. Rhoden
Third And A Mile by William C. Rhoden ESPN Books Third and read more...
Being Dead Is No Excuse
Review of: Gayden Metcalf and Charlotte Hays
Being Dead is No Excuse: The Official Southern Ladies Guide to Hosting The Perfect Funeral Hyperion Press, 2005 Reviewed by Penne J. Laubenthal Straight out of the Mississippi Delta,
Just A Little Lovin'
Review of: Shelby Lynne
After an early career spent bucking against the Nashville system, Alabamian Shelby Lynne has emerged as one of our Footprint's significant artists. Her latest, Just A Little Lovin', displays the vistas of her imagination and the strength of her read more...
Darius Goes West
Review of: Logan Smalley
“Something’s gonna happen like…Just spark the whole world,” exclaims Darius, the star of the award-winning independent documentary feature film Darius Goes West (DGW), 2007. read more...
Cappy's Oyster Bar (Volume One)
Review of: Cappy's Oyster Bar
Cappy’s Oyster Bar 2500 Cobb Parkway Kennesaw, Georgia 30152 770-590-9881 By James Calemine
Song of America
Review of: Various Artists
Song of America Various Artists 31 Tigers Records By James Calemine This 50-song, 3 CD collection tells the story of America through songs from the year 1492 through modern times. Song of America contains a diverse line-up of artists read more...
Hurricane Season
Review of: Neal Thompson
Hurricane Season by Neal Thompson Free Press Author Neal Thompson has tapped read more...
KELBRN
Review of: Carter Martin
KELBRN by Carter Martin Xlibris Press, 2007
Runnin' With The Big Dogs
Review of: Mike Shropshire
Part of [beating Texas] is that old Okie inferiority complex. There’s no better cure for that than whipping Texas’s butt. -Barry Switzer, former Oklahoma coach In 1929 at the height of the Great Depression, the Texas-Oklahoma game was moved read more...
Whatever Remembers Us: An Anthology
Review of: Various Authors
Whatever Remembers Us: An Anthology of Alabama Poetry edited by Sue Brannan Walker and J. William Chambers Negative Capability Press, Mobile, Alabama Whatever Remembers Us: An Anthology of Alabama Poetry, edited by Sue read more...
Dub's Burgers
Review of:
Dub's Burgers 204 South Jefferson Street Athens, AL 35611 256-232-6135 For the past forty-six years, Dub's Burgers has been serving up burgers and other such fare to the people of North Alabama. Located in a read more...
Driving With The Devil
Review of: Neal Thompson
Driving With The Devil by Neal Thompson Crown Publishing “We read more...
Whitt's Barbecue
Review of: Penne J. Laubenthal
Whitt's #1 1397 East Elm Street Athens, Alabama 35611 256-232-7928 My sister had a Whitt's BBQ sandwich for breakfast this morning. She called me on her cell phone to say excitedly that the Whitt's in downtown Athens, read more...
Gentleman Of Leisure
Review of: Jesse Winchester
(Sugar Hill Records) Born into a Memphis family of prominent heritage, young Jesse James Winchester hightailed it to Canada when he received his Vietnam draft notice. Filled with the sounds of Memphis music in his head, he started writing the songs for read more...
Deep Dark Black
Review of: D. Braxton Harris
D. Braxton Harris "Deep Dark Black" Ideal Records Still at work on the Quinsonic's new demos, leader D. Braxton Harris has put them aside and fashioned a quiet, transitional statement instead. As a result, "Deep Dark Black" read more...
Chock Full Of Country Goodness
Review of: Amazing Rhythm Aces
Amazing Rhythm Aces "Chock Full Of Country Goodness" Breaker Productions Born out of soul music's ashes, this six man ensemble played country music - meaning the music defined by Hank Williams, Bill Monroe, Bob Wills, and sometimes Al read more...
Say It One Time For The Brokenhearted
Review of: Barney Hoskyns
In the wake of Ray Charles's new country music box set as well as Lambchop's recent soul dabbling both on their own and with Vic Chestnutt, this reprint of Barney Hoskyns's "country soul" study couldn't have come at a better time. "Say It One Time For the read more...
Loose Strings
Review of: Carlo Nuccio
Carlo Nuccio Loose Strings Monkey Hill Records Carlo Nuccio has been kicking around New Orleans for over a decade serving as the drummer in residence for the roots rock scene in the Crescent City. Some might recall him from the Continental Drifter's read more...
Rest Of Our Days
Review of: Pawtuckets
Memphis has always seemed to exist in contrast to Nashville. Years ago as Nashville grew with country music, Memphis became one of the birthplaces of rock and roll. The dicotomy between these two Tennessee cities has been immortalized by fringe Nashville artist John Hiatt in his read more...