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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…
Hadden Sayers Band – Swingin’ From The Fabulous Satellite
If tasteful, solid, rock is your thing, this band is for you. Storming out of Texas and led by guitarist Hadden Sayers, they blend blues, classic rock, country, and good old-fashioned pop music…
The Blue Shadows
Bumstead Records
Led by Bill Cowsill and Canadian guitarist Jeffrey Hatcher, the guitar-strong rockabilly-oriented Blue Shadows made two fine albums in the ’90s, but neither was released in the U.S. and they weren’t able to…
Johnny Winter
Guitar Slinger
Texas-born guitarist/vocalist Johnny Winter, who died at 70 in 2014, was steeped in the blues, but many of his big FM hits were rock-oriented. He ultimately boomeranged back to straight blues, and one…
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Yes
Close to the Edge: Super Deluxe Edition
Are you a high-fidelity audio geek? If the answer is, well, yes, this Rhino release brings together an HD experience of Close to the Edge in no fewer than four versions, plus rarities and a ’72 concert. For starters, the 2025 remaster sounds as close to the analog 1972 mix as you’re going to get…
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Pink Floyd
Have You Got It Yet? – The Story of Syd Barrett and Pink Floyd
It’s understandable that fans warily approach the flood of pseudo-documentaries and biopics. Add the fact that the late Syd Barrett, Floyd’s original guitarist/leader, suffered from mental illness, and exploitation alarms are sure to go off. But this documentary handles the subject with dignity instead of sensationalism. Interviews by longtime Floyd cover artist Storm Thorgerson with…
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The Wildhearts
In the raging ’90s, The Wildhearts blasted out of Newcastle upon Tyne like some unholy melding of Guns ’N Roses, Cheap Trick, and The Replacements. Hard rock, power pop, and punk still make up their secret sauce, heard on this latest effort with original singer/guitarist Ginger Wildheart. Ben Marsden plays lead, while Kavus Torabi adds…
Al Di Meola – Anthology
Anthology
Al Di Meola needs no introduction, and most of the music on this fine two-CD collection will be familiar to most guitarists as well. The only question is What’s new? The 20 tracks…
NRBQ and the Whole Wheat Horns – Derbytown: Live ’82
NRBQ is one of the most underappreciated bands in rock and roll history, and even this poorly-shot live show from 1982 does not change that. In fact, despite the grainy appearance, odd angles,…
LA LOM
The Los Angeles League of Musicians
It’s Latin, it’s surfy, it’s twangy – okay, what the heck is it? LA LOM is an instrumental trio that mines a vein of electric South and Central American music known as “chicha.”…
Carole King and James Taylor
Hear Music/Concord
There have always been singer/songwriters in rock (from Buddy Holly and Chuck Berry to the Beatles and Bob Dylan), but from 1968 to ’75, L.A.’s Troubadour helped launch the “singer/songwriter” as an entity,…
Deep Seven – Rapid Serve
Rapid Serve
I love stuff like this. Deep Seven is a quartet of very odd designs. With guitar (Paul Diethelm, Johnny Lang’s touring rhythm guitarist), keyboards (the wonderful Jeff Olson), bass(Mike Zeleny), and drums(Jay O’Donnell),…
Tony Bacon – Willie G. Moseley
Into The Spotlight
Whatever were they thinking? In hindsight, it’s tough to fathom how Gibson could scrap the Les Paul Standard at the end of 1960 and replace it in ’61 with a new design, the…
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Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band
Honeysuckle
Resonator-slide specialist Reverend Peyton returns to his primary influences – early 20th-century African-American music – compelling him to shout from the hollers and the hills. Rootsy, acoustic, inter-war blues is the specific genre, and Peyton doesn’t hold back. With top-tier tutelage from the likes of David “Honeyboy” Edwards, T-Model Ford, and Robert Belfour, he masterfully…
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Mike Campbell with Ari Surdoval
Heartbreaker: A Memoir
In his autobiography, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers guitarist Campbell admits he’s quiet and shy. Self-doubt plagued him his entire life, and when problems arose in the Heartbreakers, a lack of confidence had him blaming himself first, even when he wasn’t responsible. Perhaps his attitude was psychologically rooted in his impoverished childhood and coming from…
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Alan Gogoll
Lioness Lullabies
Venture online and watch a few videos by Tasmanian guitarist Alan Gogoll and you’ll see he’s nothing short of a phenomenon. On acoustic, he conjures artificial harmonics in a manner that almost defies gravity. Better still, he never shows off these chops – everything on Lioness Lullabies is in the service of the song and…
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Jimmy Vivino
Gonna Be 2 of Those Days
A veteran vocalist/guitarist/keyboardist and purveyor of blues, R&B, and rock’, Jimmy Vivino has an incredible résumé. A longtime fixture in Conan O’Brien’s house band, he has played on movie, radio, and Broadway projects and worked with Levon Helm, Hubert Sumlin, Al Kooper, Jimmie Vaughan, Donald Fagen, Warren Haynes, Laura Nyro, along with innumerable others. He’s…
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Thin Lizzy
The Acoustic Sessions
Thin Lizzy’s first studio release in decades, this album reimagines tracks recorded 50+ years ago by the trio of vocalist/bassist Phil Lynott, guitarist Eric Bell, and drummer Brian Downey. The songs are from Lizzy’s first three albums – 1971’s Thin Lizzy, ’72’s Shades of a Blue Orphanage, and ’73’s Vagabonds of the Western World. Recently,…
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Eve Monsees and Mike Buck
& Their Groovy Orbit
This is not a solo album as much as an anthology of Austin artists and styles – from blues to country to ’60s garage and psych, demonstrating the versatility of singer/guitarist Monsees (Eve & the Exiles, Blue Bonnets) and her husband, drummer Buck (LeRoi Brothers), as producers/organizers. The tracks span three years, but the names…
Elvis Presley
Guitar Royalty
Should you ever forget why the King is the King, this ultimate boxed set of Elvis’ 57 albums and soundtracks, plus three CDs of rarities and outtakes, will set you straight all over…
The Stryker/Slagle Band – Latest Outlook
On his latest release, Dave Stryker collaborates once again with saxophonist Steve Slagle, and the two are joined by bassist Jay Anderson and Billy Hart on drums, and Joe Lovano joins on tenor…
Bernard Allison – Times Are Changing
The times certainly are a-changing. Luther Allison’s son, Bernard, is back, unleashing a tough brand of modern blues that will blow the dust out of your speaker cones. This is new blues by…
Tweedy
Where does time go? In 1996, the liner notes to Being There, Wilco’s masterful two-disc paean to American music, included a dedication from ringleader Jeff Tweedy to his wife and their newly born…
Christian Scott
If you’ve been waiting for the future of jazz to arrive, this may well be it. The young trumpeter is creating a beguiling blend of post-bop, dark rock, and hip-hop – try to…
Doyle Bramhall – Is It News?
Yes, it is! Any re-lease by Texas blues stalwart Doyle Bramhall is something to get hot and bothered about. But from the first big bang of his bass drum to the last reverberations…
Check This Action: My Kind of Blues
The notion of blurring the boundaries of jazz is almost laughable, since the umbrella already covers so many variations. From the Dixieland of King Oliver to the swing of big-bands like Tommy Dorsey’s,…
The Pinecaster: Early Electric Guitars 1920-1955
Nacho Baños and Lynn Wheelwright
Four volumes, 960 pages, more than 1,000 photos and historical documents – The Pinecaster is heavier than the heaviest 1958 ’burst. Plus, an accompanying app has more of everything, including guitar demos from…
The Magpie Salute
The Magpie Salute
This debut album from a 10-piece band is woven together from the smoldering embers of the Black Crowes. Vocalist Rich Robinson, guitarist Marc Ford, bassist Sven Pipien, and the late keyboardist Eddie Harsch…
Paul Brown
A lot of people paint the smooth jazz world with a broad brush that sometimes ignores the players who play with soul, intensity, and smartness. Paul Brown would be one such player. While…
Davie Allan & the Arrows – Moving Along
Davie Allan came along when, by all rights, instrumental rock should have been long past rigor mortis and decomposing, after the British Invasion nailed instro surf’s coffin shut. But, against all odds, as…
Stan Martin
Stan Martin is a keeper of the traditional country music flame. He’s a Don Rich/Danny Gatton-schooled Telecaster-loving guitar picker, a virtuoso who is not a showoff. And he’s a skilled writer and musician…
Rodney Crowell – Fate’s Right Hand
Fate's Right Hand
Ana Popovic
Three Faces of Ana
Mojo Thunder
The Infinite Hope
The rockin’ Kentucky outfit is back with stomping tunes, passionate lyrics, and a charismatic double-guitar assault. Drummer Zac Shoopman, bassist Andrew Brockman, lead guitarist Bryson Willoughby, and rhythm guitarist/vocalist Sean Sullivan, share sonic…
Janis Ian – Hunger
An album just short of brilliant from a name I had’t heard in awhile. Killer songs, great delivery, and amazing use of an acoustic guitar. Highly recommended. This review originally appeared in VG‘s…
Bob Dylan – Live 1966: The “Royal Albert Hall” Concert
The history of rock and roll is marked by a handful of famous (or infamous) concerts that defined eras for better or worse. Among these landmark shows were the Beatles’ last U.S. tour,…
Darren Jay and the Delta Souls
Darren Jay may not be in Gregg Allman’s class as a singer, but he’s still effective. As a guitar player and arranger, though, he can stand with many, and he leads this big…
Chris Whitley – War Crime Blues
Chris Whitley caught my attention back in ’91 with a brilliant album called Living With the Law. He’s done a lot of things since. His sound has definitely gotten rougher, with stops at…
Chris Duarte
Ain’t Giving Up
After Stevie Ray Vaughan’s death in 1990, an army of Strat cats rushed into the breach, vying to be the next blues god. One of the first through was Chris Duarte, who understood…
Roy Orbison
Unequivocally Essential
When Roy Orbison walked onstage, the black Gibson ES-335 around his neck wasn’t just for show. Orbison was a pretty good picker, and he holds down a good portion of the guitar on…
Monster Mike Welch – Ax To Grind…
As a parent of a 15-year-old boy, I would hope that “Monster” Mike’s music packs a message that belies his 17 years. Perhaps he has a ghost writer lurking nearby with 40 years…
Richie Allen And The Pacific Surfers – The Rising Surf and Surfer’s Slide
Of all the bandwagons to infiltrate rock and roll, surf music would have to rank as one of the shortest lived but most widespread. I’m not talking about Dick Dale, the Belairs, the…
