• Smith/Kotzen

    Music

    Smith/Kotzen

    Black Light/White Noise

    This is the third album from rock veterans Adrian Smith (Iron Maiden) and Richie Kotzen (The Winery Dogs). The busy axeslingers – especially Kotzen, who is always involved in solo and band projects – released their full-length debut and an EP in 2021. Smith-Kotzen has happily blossomed into a going concern. What’s interesting about Smith/Kotzen’s

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Jethro Tull

Masterwork Revisited

Jethro Tull’s 1975 masterwork gets the deluxe box-set treatment with all the trimmings. Packaged in a hardbound book cover, the set includes remastered tracks (with that classic “green” Chrysalis label); a fresh live…

The Routes

Mesmerised

Color the Routes’ mastermind Chris Jack’s music how you like: vintage-y, psychedelia, joyfully and unapologetically garage. But be sure to color it outside the lines. Jack is a musical mad scientist. Each release…

Ruby Dee and the Snakehandlers

Full-Throttle Rockabilly

Ruby Dee, guitarman Jorge Harada, and crew serve up 200-proof rockabilly. Their brand of music is not Stray Cats glitz or Reverend Horton Heat psychobilly; instead, this is traditional rockabilly – a little…

Michael Angelo Batio

MAB ignores the critics and pushes his art forward with prodigious talent and inspired business savvy. He borrows here from the model used on Santana’s hit album Supernatural to bring together some of…

Vince Gill

In the four years since his Guitar Slinger album, Vince Gill kept busy producing others, recording an album with the Time Jumpers and a Bakersfield tribute with pedal steeler Paul Franklin. This time,…

The Charlie Sizemore Band – Good News

Charlie Sizemore’s career began at age 17, when he was hired by Ralph Stanley to replace legendary lead singer Keith Whitley. After leaving Stanley’s band, Sizemore went back to school and graduated from…

Kenny Burrell – The Best Of Kenny Burrell

The good thing about compiling a Kenny Burrell “best of” is, since his 1956 solo debut, it’s hard to find any clinkers; the hard part is knowing where to begin and when to…

Jimi Hendrix

Machine Gun: The Fillmore East First Show

POWER SOUL Jimi Hendrix learned the hard way that signing contracts for fast money can come back to haunt you. Hendrix’ naiveté forced him to settle a breach-of-contract dispute with Ed Chalpin of…

Various Artists – Hittin’ On All Six

If you’re a fan of jazz guitar, especially that from 1920 to 1950, you need to check out Hittin’ On All Six (Proper Records CD Properbox 9), a four-CD set (with a 52-page…

Greg Olliver

Johnny's Blues

In an intimate scene in this DVD’s bonus features, after a short interview and solo slide performance at home (“Murdering Blues” on his ’64 Gibson Firebird V), Winter says, “I love playing guitar.…

Lee Rocker – Racin’ the Devil

Lee Rocker is best known as the bassist in the Stray Cats. He’s signed with Alligator, which appears to be expanding its scope with acts outside of blues, and here they’ve made a…

Elvin Bishop

Delta Groove

Bishop’s 2008 album, The Blues Roll On, was a landmark of sorts, as he surrounded himself with elder statesmen like B.B. King and James Cotton, as well as young guns like Derek Trucks…

Matteo Mancuso

The Journey

When guitarists as diverse as Al Di Meola and Joe Bonamassa are singing your praises, something’s up. Sicilian guitar prodigy Matteo Mancuso’s debut record displays effortless facility, charisma, and fresh ideas instead of…

Jon Spencer Blues Explosion

Shout Factory

Jon Spencer formed his Blues Explosion ensemble in New York City in 1991. The band was instantly hated and beloved; purists saw them as treading on age-old blues traditions with no respect. Others…

LeRoi Brothers

Check This Action: Deluxe Reissue

The term “roots-rock” can mean many things, but few bands epitomize the sub-genre as definitively as Austin’s LeRoi Brothers. Cub Koda cited how they “capably take on anything from blues to rockabilly to…

Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys featuring Ricky Skaggs and Keith Whitley

Formed in 1946, the Stanley Brothers were the second bluegrass group, following Bill Monroe’s. But lead singer and rhythm guitarist Carter Stanley died in 1966 at age 41. Banjo-playing brother Ralph formed the…

Sweet

Self-distributed

Sweet – the ’70s glam-pop act that’s almost as famous for its hairdos as its music – is today actually two bands touring under the name. The U.S. version that recorded this disc…

Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen

Contemporary bluegrass comes in many varieties – neo-trad bands such as Del McCoury or Open Road, Nash-Vegas acts such as Rhonda Vincent or The Grascals, “newgrass” bands such as John Cowan and Sam…

Joel Harrison String Choir

Sunnyside

Paul Motian is one of the most unusual figures in jazz – respected for his composing as much as his drumming. He was a member of Bill Evans’ famed trio, backed such greats…

Was (Not Was) – Boo

The brothers Was (okay, they’re not really brothers) are back after a layoff of almost 20 years. Not much has changed, and that’s a good thing. The 10 cuts here all “reek” of…

John Scofield

John Scofield

In a lengthy career marked by collaborations with other jazz icons, Scofield’s first solo-guitar album (using only a looper) is no minor departure. He covers a swath of material, combining standards and originals…

Gemma Ray

Gemma Ray might rock the neo-’50s look, but she’s no Wanda Jackson wannabe; her songs and guitar work are not held in check by any known musical category. Instead, the tunes are like…

Moby Grape – Grape Jam/Wow

When Columbia/Legacy released the single-disc Listen My Friends! The Best Of Moby Grape, the label made the mistake of dubbing a career overview a “best of” – when nearly everything the band did…

Side Hustle

Thom Rotella

Rotella’s long-established fretboard brilliance has put him in some heady music, film, and TV sessions over the decades (including frequent contributions to “Family Guy”). A protégé of revered L.A. “Wrecking Crew” guitar giant…

The Clash – The Singles

Rarely in the history of music has so much been packaged so beautifully for so many. The Clash The Singles box is a glorious collection of the band’s original 19 singles, reissued on…

The Who – BBC Sessions

Let’s face it; The Who deserves to be mentioned in the same breath with the Beatles and the Stones. Yes, you’ll like one more than the other, but Pete Townshend and company were…

Little Milton – Think of Me

Little Milton is a stone-cold legend of black music. He’s called a blues singer and guitarist, but has always seemed to be more. Here, a bit older and longer of tooth, we get…

  • Yes

    Yes

    Close to the Edge: Super Deluxe Edition

Crown Lands

Fearless

This Canadian duo doesn’t disguise its Rush fanaticism. The obvious parallel is Greta Van Fleet, and what that quartet did for Led Zeppelin, Crown Lands does for Rush. On the 18-minute “Starlifter: Fearless…

Undone: A MusicFest Tribute to Robert Earl Keen

Texas-born singer/songwriter Robert Earl Keen has influenced a passel of younger performers during his 30-year career. On Undone, we have an opportunity to hear how these young’uns interpret his material. Recorded live, the…

The Replacements

Tim: Let It Bleed Edition

The Mats once released a live cassette entitled The Sh*t Hits the Fans, but when it comes to deluxe editions, they do not disappoint. This boxed set of their 1985 major-label Sire/Warner Brothers…