• Paul Johnson

    Music

    Paul Johnson

    The Hepcats Live at the Ajax Novelty Company

    This isn’t live, there may not be an Ajax Novelty Company, and the three felines known as the Hepcats are actually the brainchild of Paul Johnson, whose Belairs were early-’60s pioneers of surf music. Suspend reality and dig how the “trio” expertly articulates layers of acoustic guitar. Across decades, Johnson has embraced folk-rock, psychedelia, and…

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Dr. Feelgood

Finally available in America, Julien Temple’s superb documentary follows the brief career of England’s late, great Dr. Feelgood, Temple employing his trademark technique of mashing up new interviews with archival and fictive footage,…

Nickel Creek – Nickel Creek

Nickel Creek is a of (primarily) musical whiz kids. Three of its four members are under 23. Two are siblings, Sara Watkins (19) on fiddle and vocals, and Sean Watkins (22) on guitar,…

Eric Gales Trio

Eric Gales is arguably the most underrated guitarist of his generation. Emerging in the early ’90s with a post-Hendrix blueprint that combined a fusion of blues, rock, and gospel, he never sustained the…

Susanna Hoffs

The Deep End

The Bangles vocalist/rhythm guitarist’s fifth solo album is a folk-enriched blend of covers by classic and contemporary artists, enlivened by Hoffs’ angelic voice. The Deep End, like 2021’s Bright Lights, features legendary session…

Simon And Garfunkel – Live from New York City, 1967

“Sherman, set the Way Back machine for New York City, 1967. I want to go to a concert.” This new release from Columbia Legacy beats Mr. Peabody’s infernal device by a mile. Recorded…

Mike Zito – Today

Mike Zito’s debut disc is brimming with Texas-style fire and soul, even though he’s from St. Louis! Zito uses a variety of Strat tones and employs chops chock full of soul. His vocals…

Todd Wolfe Band

American Home Entertainment

Wolfe is best known as a sideman for Sheryl Crow, but he has also recorded with Leslie West and Faith Hill, among others. Now, with his own group – a trio – Wolfe…

American Epic

Truly Epic

This three-part documentary chronicles the early days of modern electrical recording in the 1920s and 1930s. Many seminal rural blues, country, Cajun, Hawaiian, norteño, and gospel acts were first recorded during this era…

The Steepwater Band – Grace and Melody

It’s easy to dig the Steepwater Band, and on this, their fourth studio record, the Chicago trio steps it up a notch with the help of producer Marc Ford, whose tenure with the…

Hamilton De Holanda Quintet

Adventure Music

Brazilian jazz, when played by a native group such as Hamilton De Holanda’s quintet, is far more interesting than what usually passes for Brazilian jazz. Holanda combines his native Choro music with foreign…

Lucinda Williams

Don’t Tell Anybody The Secrets I Told You: A Memoir & Stories From A Rock N Roll Heart

Turning 70 is a time for reflection, and Lucinda Williams offers two takes. Her poetic autobiography recounts her troubled, peripatetic childhood and the tales behind the songs it inspired. Yet her new album…

C’mon Sheryl Crow – America 2003(DVD), Best of (CD)

The latest releases from Sheryl Crow help affirm something I’ve thought for a long time… that she is a “keeper of the flame” for the kind of rock and roll a lot of…

Steepwater Band – Revelation Sunday

Precision, Passion, and Soul

The Steepwater Band’s 2004 release, Dharmakaya, was a very strong effort, and this is an equally strong followup. The band is a modern version of the classic rock trio many grew up loving.…

George Lynch

Seamless

Seamless is George Lynch’s first instrumental album, which is especially surprising when you compare it to catalogs of ’80s shred contemporaries like Steve Vai and Joe Satriani. Here, Lynch breaks from perceptions of…

Tom Principato – House on Fire

Tom Principato is probably familiar to many VG readers. A fine player in his own right, he’s also responsible for some fine books that teach about guitar, and he’s also been known lately…

Shawn Camp – Fireball

Shawn Camp’s latest record features his songwriting skills presented in a live acoustic and bluegrass context, framed with electric honkytonk flare. Even though the milieu may be different, the overall impression remains the…

Son House, Willie Trice, Sam Chatmon, and others

“Treasure trove” is a label as overused as “genius,” “virtuoso,” and “Holy Grail.” But, how else can one describe 115 minutes of footage, containing 33 performances by blues legends Rev. Gary Davis, Big…

Gore Gore Girls – Get The Gore

Formed in Detroit in 1997, the all-female Gore Gore Girls have undergone personnel changes with each of their CDs, with singer/guitarist Amy Gore the only constant. On this, the group’s fourth release, she…

Craig Chaquico – Shadow and Light

Shadow and Light

Most guitarists know Craig’s story. He was the young hotshot guitarist with the Jefferson Starship in the ’70s and ’80s. After that, he started making atmospheric acoustic records for Higher Octave. On his…

Van Morrison – Under Review

A documentary on Van Morrison’s most fruitful years including live concert footage would be welcomed by fans everywhere. Yet the academic subtitle here says all too much about this British film on Van…

Bob Dylan on Hybrid SACDs

Sony and Phillips have been heavily hyping their new Super Audio CD format since its inception two years ago. For most consumers, SACD and its competitor DVD-A have been non-issues because of the…

Greta Van Fleet

The Battle at Garden’s Gate

The Blue Shadows

Bumstead Records

Neil Young

Hitchhiker

Furry Lewis, Sleepy John Estes, Mud Boy and the Neutrons, and more

These days, Memphis’ Beale Street is a blues-lover’s Disneyland in all the worst ways. It’s been sanitized and sanctified, then thoroughly commercialized. Once upon a time, however, it was the “home of the…

John Lee Hooker & the Coast to Coast Blues Band

Live at Montreux 1983 & 1990

The early ’80s weren’t a high point of John Lee Hooker’s career. Demand for all blues – including his Mississippi hill-country music – had eroded and record deals were scarce. None of that…

Shawn Camp – Fireball

Shawn Camp’s latest record features his songwriting skills presented in a live acoustic and bluegrass context, framed with electric honkytonk flare. Even though the milieu may be different, the overall impression remains the…

The Bridge – Blind Man’s Hill

Singer/guitarist Cris Jacobs and singer/mandolinist Kenny Liner co-write the music for this Baltimore-based band. Jacobs writes songs with inherent soul. Whether slinky funk (like the opener, “Honey Bee”) or blues/rock with a ragtime…

Firecracker – The Wailin’ Jennys

Firecracker – The Wailin’ Jennys The second release from the tri-girl musical aggregate from Canada proves that even with a new contributor (songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Annabelle Chvostek), the Jennys’ music is still very tasty. The…

Nashville Pussy

For heavy-rock fans complaining that nobody makes good music anymore, meet Nashville Pussy. This Atlanta-based band has been kicking ass since ’97. Creating a white-trash blend of AC/DC meets Lynyrd Skynyrd with a…

Dick Dale – Better Shred than Dead: The Dick Dale Anthology

Well, what needs to be said about this? The King of the Surf Guitar at his finest. This covers 1959 to 1996 and hits all the high points. All the tunes are here,…

Geddy Lee

My Effin’ Life

Great autobiographies fill gaps and provide details untold in prior interviews. That’s true with this memoir by Rush vocalist/bassist/keyboardist Geddy Lee. As you’d expect, the book focuses on Lee’s bond with guitarist Alex…

Chuck Berry

Hip-O-Select

1964 was a good year for Chuck Berry. He hit number 10 on the pop charts with “No Particular Place To Go,” number 14 with “You Never Can Tell” and did pretty well…