Nick DeRiso is UCR's assistant managing editor. He was named columnist of the year five times by the Associated Press, Louisiana Press Association and Louisiana Sports Writers Association during a lengthy career in the newspaper industry, and previously oversaw a daily section that was named Top 10 in the nation by the AP.
Nick DeRiso
1972’s Best Rock Albums
Over the course of a strikingly diverse 12-month period, these bands hit upon just the right mixture of creativity, gumption and timing.
Jeff Beck Announces Album-Length Collaboration With Johnny Depp
"This Is a Song for Miss Hedy Lamarr" advances 13-track LP.
June 2022 New Music Releases
Look for a massive new album series and some equally massive reissue packages.
50 Years Ago: David Bowie Gives ‘All the Young Dudes’ to Mott the Hoople
"I told them I'd write them a hit single," he later said, "and I did."
50 Years Ago: Billy Preston Pioneers Rock Shows at Radio City Music Hall
Rising crossover star was moving to the world's biggest stages after working with the Beatles and Rolling Stones.
40 Years Ago: Clash Tour Postponed After Joe Strummer Vanishes
He was having a typical rock star's day, even doing a promotional interview for upcoming shows in Scotland.
50 Years Ago: Electric Light Orchestra Debut, Then Splinter
Issues included costs, the sound and the fragile creative partnership between Roy Wood and Jeff Lynne.
40 Years Ago: Toto ‘IV': Beyond ‘Africa’
Their lone chart-topper remains a concert sing-along staple and their signature song. But there's more to the LP.
40 Years Ago: Rolling Stones Punch Back With ‘Hang Fire’
Single boasted a hard-eyed relevance that was worlds away from their most recent work.
April 2022 New Music Releases
Record Store Day is returning to full throttle.
40 Years Ago: ‘Beatles Movie Medley’ Cashes in on Two Crazes
Single was deleted just two years later and has never reappeared on compact disc, vinyl, download or streaming platforms.
Steely Dan Drop Aimee Mann From Opening Slot on 2022 Tour
Donald Fagen is refuting her assertion that the decision was made based on gender.
Phil Collins and Peter Gabriel Albums Ranked Worst to Best
They led Genesis through their most celebrated eras. Here's what happened next.
13 Bands With No Original Members
As we see in this list of bands with no original members, not everybody can be U2.
Led Zeppelin Solo Albums Ranked Worst to Best
There have been vanity projects, weird detours and huge disappointments – but also some of the best LPs of the succeeding eras.
2022 New Music Releases
Guns N' Roses fans fans are having a heck of a year.
Monkees Co-Founder Michael Nesmith Dead at 78
He emerged from their pre-fab beginnings to become a musical pioneer in his own right.
35 Years Ago: Eric Clapton Begins Backing Away From the ’80s on ‘August’
Co-producers Phil Collins and Tom Dowd pulled guitar legend in different directions on 1986 LP.
35 Years Ago: ‘Sid and Nancy’ Empathizes With a Doomed Sex Pistols Bassist
Sid Vicious became a symbol of how the punk aesthetic could devolve into pointless self-destruction.
How Led Zeppelin’s ‘Going to California’ Crushed on Joni Mitchell
Robert Plant said this song "might be a bit embarrassing at times lyrically, but it did sum up a period of my life when I was 22."