• 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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Song of the South

You’re always taking a chance with a DVD that concerns a band and yet none of the band members take part in the production. That’s the case here. While there are no Allman…

Little Walter – The Complete Chess Masters (1950-1967)

Hip-O Select/Geffen

Someday someone will make a great movie about rock and roll, maybe even blues. Until then, we’re stuck with crap like Cadillac Records, which takes more than “artistic license” in telling the story…

The Hacienda Brothers – Hacienda Brothers

Hacienda Brothers

Take one of the most road-tested rock-a-bluesy guitarists in the game, the Paladins’ Dave Gonzalez, and add country/conjunto/Cajun soul man Chris Gaffney, and you’ve got the makings of something special. Add David “D.B.”…

Jack White

Willie Wonka Rocks

Jack White was recently crowned the Willy Wonka of the rock and roll world by Rolling Stone, and a better description of the man, his music, and his Third Man Records enterprise would…

Chris Hillman

Flying High

To understand this album’s significance, it’s worth recounting the highlights of Chris Hillman’s distinguished career. An admired West Coast bluegrass musician, in 1964 he picked up an electric bass and joined the original…

Black Label Society

Doom Crew Inc.

BLS’ 11th album has Zakk Wylde sharing duties with guitarist Dario Lorina. Huge tones, harmonized lines, and blistering solos dwell in the realm of metal-infested stomp and fretboard intensity. Dedicated to their roadcrew…

Joan Osborne

Songs Of Bob Dylan

Osborne could sing a dictionary and make it sound good, and though she’s written much of her best material, she’s proven to be a stellar interpreter – be it Motown, blues, Americana, or…

Yarn

UFO

On its third album, this Brooklynbased country/roots band pushes further into the darker side of Americana. Guitarist/lead vocalist Blake Christiana guides the band, with Trevor MacArthur on guitar and vocals, Andrew Hendryx on…

Ron Dziubla

Wabi-Sabi

Lately, Dziubla (pronounced JOObluh) has become the saxophonist of choice for everyone from Ricky Martin to Duane Eddy – with sessions with Deke Dickerson, Elmore James, Jr. and the soundtrack to Burlesque along…

Don Diego

The Guitar Album, Volume #1

The title might sound generic, but even a cursory perusing of the repertoire and execution explains why it’s so fitting. Eclecticism can be dangerous, but Italy’s Diego Geraci has the versatility to pull…

Kenny Wayne Shepherd

Dirt on My Diamonds, Vol. 1

It’s easy to summarize Kenny Wayne Shepherd’s raw-yet-modern blues approach. Joined by co-vocalist Noah Hunt, Shepherd delivers a lyric straight up. His remarkable guitar chops allow him to create riveting instrumental interludes that…

Fred McDowell – The First Recordings, Steakbone Slide Guitar, Leve

These three CDs of Mississippi Fred McDowell all show different sides of the great Delta bluesman. Rounder’s The First Recordings were recorded by famed musicologist Alan Lomax in 1959, yet among the 14…

Richie Kotzen

Soul Survivor

Richie Kotzen may not be a household name, but with nearly 20 albums and countless group projects on his resumé, he’s on the verge. Coming to prominence in ’89 after being signed to…

Rick Holmstrom

See That Light

After 13 years as soul/gospel/civil rights legend Mavis Staples’ guitarist and bandleader, Rick Holmstrom has earned the nickname from Staples’ herself as “Pops Jr.” He’s also played alongside Rod Piazza, William Clarke, and…

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…

Jon Koonce

Self-distributed

The guiding force behind Johnny and the Distractions circa 1980, Jon Koonce’s new release looks back on that time and his upbringing in Portland, Oregon. Songs from the Little Village on the River…

Kenny “Blue” Ray – Git It!

I’ve lost count! I believe this is Kenny’s sixth self-produced CD. And, as have its predecessors, Git It, his most recent effort, again illustrates Blue Ray’s dedication to the blues craft. Rumor has…

Steve Khan

Backlog

Steve Khan has spent the last few albums mixing Latin music and jazz. The project has worked beautifully, culminating in this effort that takes tunes from Thelonious Monk, Bobby Hutcherson, Ornette Coleman, Steve’s…

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…

Hill Country Revue

Razor & Tie

Rock and roll doesn’t get much grittier than Hill Country Revue, the band started by North Mississippi Allstars member Cody Dickinson. The group is Dickinson and Kirk Smithhart on guitars, Daniel Robert Coburn…

Pieta Brown

Red House Records

Put two great guitar players like Bo Ramsey and Richard Bennett together with one of the best songwriters to appear in the past decade, and there’s a chance you’ll get a great record.…

Joe Moss – Maricela’s Smile

Joe Moss is a veteran bluesman who expands the palette a bit here. The 13 cuts are not standard three-chord fare, and various other forms of music are sprinkled into the mix. “Suburban…

Pat Metheny Group – The Way Up

Early press about this made a big deal about it being one big composition. But there’s so much variation that it works to the ear as separate pieces, too. And they all sound…

Chris Duarte – Blue Velocity

It’s great to hear a plain-old guitar record. They used to be all over the place, but these days not so much. And while I’ve always been a Duarte fan, here he seems…

The Anthony Wilson Trio – Our Gang

This is a little different thing for Anthony. His past few albums have been him leading a big band, doing marvelous arrangements and playing guitar to die for. Here, it’s just him, Joe…

Dumpstaphunk

The New Orleans funk ensemble known as Dumpstaphunk has been at it for a decade now. Led by Ivan Neville on keys, the band consists of Nikki Glaspie on drums and vocals, guitarist…

Paul Reed Smith

Lions Roaring in Quicksand

The new album by guitar builder Paul Reed Smith and his band, Eightlock, offers soul-based sounds with deep grooves, three drummers, and three guitarists. Veteran drummer Dennis Chambers, bassist Gary Grainger, and guitarists…

  • Yes

    Yes

    Close to the Edge: Super Deluxe Edition

Burke Long

This infectious record has the homemade feel of mom’s Sunday dinner. North Carolina boy Burke Long evokes writing models like Rodney Crowell and Gene Clark for the almost California country of “About Love,”…

The Jimi Hendrix Experience

Experience Hendrix/Legacy

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Shelby Lynne

Everso Records

Revelation Road comes from an artist who knows exactly what she wants and how to get it, and can come up with an end product that displays brilliantly the worth of the work…