• 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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Brian Ray – Mondo Magneto

Brian Ray – Mondo Magneto Brian Ray may not exactly be a household name, but the guy is no stranger to the music field. He’s spent the past few years in the band…

Shadowy Men On A Shadowy Planet, Mike Neer

All You Can Eat Instro Buffet

When the Kids In The Hall, an irreverent sketch comedy troupe from Toronto, got their own TV show in ’89, they chose “Having An Average Weekend,” an instrumental by a local trio, Shadowy…

Jonny Two Bags

Entering his 15th year as Mike Ness’ guitar foil in Social Distortion, Jonny “Two Bags” Wickersham steps out with a platter of his own. Social D fans hoping for a stopgap collection of…

Peter Frampton

Perhaps no rocker in history was ever punished as severely as Peter Frampton. In 1976, he was the celebrated king of pop-rock thanks to Frampton Comes Alive, but after a weak followup and…

Bruce Springsteen – Magic

Advance word on this album centered on its anti-war lyrics, but its true focus is on the return of the E Street Band and Springsteen’s classic signature sound. “In the Future” does discuss…

Crooked Still – Still Crooked

Signature Sounds

When a founding member of a band departs, the other members face a difficult choice. Do they find someone who merely “fits in,” or do they add personnel who might change the ensemble’s…

Rockabilly Rarities – Volume Two

Rockabilly Rarities Volume Two picks up where Volume One (“Spotlight,” June ’99) left off and features 30 tracks of rockin’, shakin’, foot-stompin’ music. Great/obscure labels like Bakers-field, Sure, Rebel, Cherry, Jan, Fox, Testa,…

The Stone Age: Sixty Years of the Rolling Stones

Lesley-Ann Jones

Six decades is a long time to cover, especially for a band with a history as volatile as the Rolling Stones, but British author Jones brings a befitting wit, sarcasm, and snark. While…

Paul Gilbert

The Dio Album

It’s been almost 13 years since the passing of vocalist and metal visionary Ronnie James Dio, yet his essence looms large in the minds of fans and bands around the world, many of…

The Derailers – Genuine

Genuine

With the new year comes a look at this album, a fine record deserving of notice. The influences here are wide and varied, and the Derailers manage to mix them to put together…

The Subdudes – Miracle Mule

Miracle Mule

Most contemporary bands can’t help but sound somewhat like another band. The Subdudes manage to avoid this pitfall by drawing from so many musical influences that their final synthesis becomes unique. They blend…

Warren Haynes

Million Voices Whisper

Warren Haynes’ first solo album since 2011 is an uplifting set that reflects am optimistic spirit of change and hope. With Haynes at the height of his superpowers on guitar and vocals, he…

Eric Johnson

When Eric Johnson came to prominence, he sounded like nothing anyone had ever heard before. He made a Strat sound like a violin, and transformed the Fuzz Face into an instrument of highbrow…

Steel Master

Jerry Byrd

Before and even after pedal-steel guitars began showing up on country records, Jerry Byrd (1920-2005) and his lap steel remained a gold standard. Whether soloing or accompanying, his distinctive, easy-flowing, undulating lines, flawless…

The Pretty Things

England’s Snapper Records recently released the ultimate retrospective of the Pretty Things, purveyors of “thrash R&B” (to quote lead singer Phil May) and psychedelia. Featured in July ’15’s “Check This Action,” it weighs…

Hank Williams

I’m Gonna Sing: The Mother’s Best Gospel Radio Recordings

Hank Williams, like other Grand Ole Opry stars, also hosted his own live shows over Nashville’s WSM. These 15-minute programs sponsored by Mother’s Best Flour featured him and his Drifting Cowboys, and each…

Fleetwood Mac – Rumors

Considering Fleetwood Mac’s enormous popularity in the 1970s, which can be traced to the moment Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks joined the waning band, Buckingham would have to rank as one of the…

Fletcher Bright and Bill Evans with Norman and Nancy Blake

  This jam session recorded in veteran fiddler Fletcher Bright’s living room in Lookout Mountain, Tennessee, exudes a warmth, passion, and joyfulness that’s right in line with the old-time music, fiddle tunes, and…

Lissa Schneckenburger – Song

Lissa Schneckenburger plays “progressive” New England/Celtic music that combines equal parts traditional harmonic textures with a modern acoustic sensibility. Her voice has a pristine directness that perfectly suits these traditional tunes. Song is…

Tom Principato – Raising the Roof!

Principato has long been known as a fine guitar player, but here production and vocals take him to a new level. There’s plenty of the stuff you expect from Principato, including funky New…

Chris Antonik

Self-distributed

Blues guitarist Chris Antonik seems determined to prove the adage that every note counts. While his song structures are familiar, his playing keeps them from being cliche. The opener, “More To Give,” is…

The Everly Brothers

If you’re weary of rock concert DVDs with critical commentary, typically unauthorized and of varying quality, this Everly Brothers retrospective is highly recommended. Authorized, with participation of Don Everly and a 2010 interview…

Ram On (Paul McCartney tribute)

Various artists

It’s been 50 years since Paul’s 1971 album arrived, credited to the ex-Beatle and late wife, Linda. Ram itself was recently reissued, but this uncanny tribute is actually more interesting. Led by original…

Scorpions

Only the most jaded rock fan can resist pumping their fist to the hardrockin’ nirvana of Scorpions. Long past their heyday, the German rock institution has decided to cap their career with a…

Shooter Jennings & the Werewolves of Los Angeles

Do Zevon

He may not have found a home in a certain institution in Cleveland, despite overwhelming “fan votes,” but the late Warren Zevon was highly respected among fellow artists. Linda Ronstadt, Dwight Yoakam, the…

Chris Thile – Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost

Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost

Even young prodigies eventually grow up. Mandolin whiz Chris Thile has reached the ripe old age of 20, and shows no signs of narrowing his ever-expanding musical horizons. His latest, Not All Those…

The Bottle Rockets – Brand New Year and Leftovers

Brand New Year and Leftovers

If you didn’t know better, you’d swear after hearing the first few bars of “Nancy Sinatra,” the opening song on the Bottle Rockets’ Brand New Year, that you were listening to an unearthed…

Mark Lettieri

Can I Tell You Something?

The Snarky Puppy virtuoso delivers a set of crisp funk-fusion, touching on everything from Steely Dan jazzisms to an ’80s dance party. Part of Lettieri’s charm is that he’s an absolute beast on…

The Black Crowes

1972

No surprise, the Crowes are a good – at times great – cover band, proven by this EP. Brothers Chris and Rich Robinson decamped to Sunset Sound in L.A., laying down heavy tracks…

Arthur Lee & Love

Complete Forever Changes Live

The fingerpicked intro to Bryan MacLean’s breathtaking “Alone Again Or” starts the heady, cinematic, night-through-day-through-night journey of Forever Changes. The 1967 album was the magnum opus of Love’s troubled visionary, Arthur Lee. MacLean,…


Art Tatum

Jewels In The Treasure Box: The 1953 Chicago Blue Note Jazz Club Recordings

Ben Hall

Tomkins Square

Jo’ Buddy’s One Man Stomptet

Lockdown Sessions & Beyond, Vol. 1