Robert Baird

Brooklyn Rider: Lucid Flight
InterviewsMusic and Recording Features
Robert Baird  |  Jan 04, 2018  |  1 comments
Is classical music really on the ropes? Living in New York City, it's easy to think that is a myth cooked up in the provinces.

Recently, at a performance of the Metropolitan Opera's fabulous current production of Jacques Offenbach's The Tales of Hoffmann, directed by Bartlett Sher, I experienced Classical Music 2017 up close and personal. In the audience, multicolored sequined jackets and cheetah-print slip-on sneakers mixed with tuxedos. Merrell hiking shoes and Patagonia down jackets crossed with slim-fit outfits from Billy Reid and Hermes bags. Between bravura tenor Vittorio Grigolo in the title role and soprano Erin Morley's absolutely wonderful portrayal of the doll, Olympia (Bravo!!!), it was a performance for the ages. None of the recordings I've heard come close.

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Spector's Eternal Masterpiece
Robert Baird
Robert Baird  |  Dec 24, 2017  |  15 comments
The Essential Christmas Album!
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Elvis and the Royal Philharmonic
Robert Baird
Robert Baird  |  Dec 23, 2017  |  3 comments
Technology's New Christmas Record...
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Recording of January 2018: Carry Fire
Recording of the Month
Robert Baird  |  Dec 21, 2017  |  12 comments
In 2010, down in the East Village, on Delancey Street, at the NYC debut party for Robert Plant's Band of Joy, the assembled rock press, assorted hangers-on, and wannabe VIPs patiently sipped drinks as we waited for the guest of honor. Suddenly, with no fanfare or even announcement, he stepped out of a closet or secret passage of sorts into a roomful of astonished smiles. He'd been there all along.
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Happy Christmas: The Beatles Fan Club Singles
Robert Baird
Robert Baird  |  Dec 18, 2017  |  4 comments
Connecting with your most loyal and engaged fans is not a marketing strategy that was born with the advent of Facebook and Twitter.
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Christmas Candy
Robert Baird
Robert Baird  |  Dec 09, 2017  |  1 comments
It's sweet! It's vocals! It's Christmas!
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Solo Sounds: The Power of One
Music and Recording Features
Robert Baird  |  Dec 07, 2017  |  8 comments
While it hasn't always made money or hit records, the music business has never been short on ideas. Most are nonsense, but every once in a while—the gramophone, onstage monitors, Les Paul's overdubbing—the biz comes up with a winner.

Many of the craziest ideas I've heard in 30 years of writing about music have been expounded on at the South by Southwest Music Festival, held each year in Austin, Texas. At SXSW, hope springs eternal. Secrets are whispered. Buzz bands gain momentum. Rumors ripple through crowds. Everyone has visions of morphing into a mogul. There's an intoxicating energy to it all.

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Jersey Boys
Robert Baird
Robert Baird  |  Nov 27, 2017  |  2 comments
Finally, a Replacements Live Album!
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Tommy Keene 1958–2017
Robert Baird
Robert Baird  |  Nov 24, 2017  |  1 comments
Indie Rock Guitar Hero Dead at 59.
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Recording of December 2017: Bringin' It
Recording of the Month
Robert Baird  |  Nov 14, 2017  |  1 comments
Christian McBride Big Band: Bringin' It
Mack Avenue Mac 1115 (CD). 2017. Gretchen Valade, exec prod.; Christian McBride, prod.; Todd Whitelock, assoc. prod., eng.; Timothy Marchiafava, asst. eng. ADD? TT: 68:59
Performance ****½
Sonics *****

As musical movements go, rock and jazz seem to be running out of new ideas, most of the stylistic pathways in both genres having been explored to their logical conclusions. In rock in particular, every stream of inspiration has been followed past its headwaters, every droplet of inspiration wrung from established forms.

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