Dave Segal

Finding out that Nigeria had thriving psych-rock and funk scenes in the '70s is akin to discovering Yemen harbored a killer ice-hockey league in the Phil Esposito era. But several bands in the Lagos area were absorbing the Anglo-American funkadelic zeitgeist and putting distinctive spins on freaky groove construction, largely...

Hoping to capture the imaginations of young African-Americans who were breaking sweats to James Brown and Sly & the Family Stone, Miles Davis intended 1972's On the Corner to be his commercial breakthrough. How odd, then, that it turned out to be one of the most rhythmically innovative, atmospherically menacing...

The holidays are a time of family, schmaltzy Christmas commercials that somehow make you cry and, for music journalists, list-making. Lots and lots of list-making. Over the past few years, the availability of year-end critics' lists has multiplied faster than the worry lines on Ben Bernanke's brow. Mark our words,...

Betty Davis was different — three-javelins/thigh-high-silver-boots/skyscraper-Afro/Egyptian-warrior-from-outer-space-getup-on-her-album-cover different. And a whole lot more besides. For decades, Davis's uniqueness was known only to rare-funk specialists and assiduous beat-diggers. But now, thanks to Seattle-based Light in the Attic Records, her eponymous 1973 debut LP and 1974's They Say I'm Different are available to...

Instrumental rock has long been the genre's redheaded stepchild. Radio ignores it, and many people start squirming in their seats if a singer doesn't start whining and growling into their ears. And you know what? Six Parts Seven doesn't give a damn about your need for lyrics and vocalization. These...