• 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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Biller & Horton – Texotica

Apparently, Dave Biller ran out of existing styles to master and had to start making up new ones. His work as leader and sideman – all of the highest order – has ranged…

Written In Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos

Various artists

You may think you know Stax, but this seven-CD set of 146 tracks (140 never before released) proves again how much creative genius was contained in that old Memphis theater turned recording studio.…

Jackson Browne

Eagle Rock

Part documentary, part performance (then-current and archival), this reissue of the 1999 portrait of the singer/songwriter reveals his sense of humor, commitment to social causes, and, most of all, talent. There is no…

The Spencer Davis Group – I’m A Man & Gimme Some Lovin’

I'm A Man & Gimme Some Lovin'

In its original incarnation, the Spencer Davis Group was one of the best R&B or pop bands of the British Invasion. Unfortunately, that incarnation only stayed together long enough to record two albums.…

Lee Ritenour

In honor of his 40th year of recording, Lee Ritenour blended a bit of new material with journeys in time, revisiting tunes he’d recorded starting with First Course, his 1975 debut. He kicks…

Woodstock 1969

Ten Years After

Though he was a multifaceted guitarist, Ten Years After’s Alvin Lee had a reputation as a speed demon – not something he tried to dissuade. Never was it on display more than at…

Emmylou Harris – 5 Recording Review

Pieces Of Sky, Elite Hotel, Luxury Liner, Quarter Moon In A Ten Cent Town and Blue Kentucky Girl As huge a star as Emmylou Harris is, and as long and varied as her…

Doyle Bramhall II

Rich Man

In the 15 years since his debut album, Welcome, Doyle Bramhall, II has been in great demand. Along with a decade working with Eric Clapton in the studio and onstage, he’s has collaborated…

Dave Specter – Live In Chicago

For some time, Dave Specter has made great music that covers a broad spectrum of genres. Known as a blues guitarist, he has never shied from jazz or soul, and this live record…

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…

James Kinds

Delmark

James Kinds is one of the overlooked maestros of the blues. In 1977, he was hailed as one of Chicago’s new generation greats – someone to keep an eye on, alongside Lurrie Bell,…

Wilco

Roger That

Tough to believe it’s been two decades since Jeff Tweedy reluctantly took the remains of the critically adored but ultimately doomed alt-country standard-bearers Uncle Tupelo and laid down roots for a Chicago-based band…

Stanton Moore – Groove Alchemy

Telarc

On Groove Alchemy, drummer Stanton Moore, Robert Walter (organ) and Will Bernard (guitar) serve up groove after groove. Bernard’s solos show his versatility and chops, while his rhythm work is solid as a…

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,…

Christone “Kingfish” Ingram

Live In London

In a world where Red Bull-injected athletes have hijacked blues guitar, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram is a welcome return to feel, nuance, style, communication, and imagination. Drawing from the most-outstanding performers of the African-American…

Deke Dickerson

Guitarchaeology

When Deke Dickerson’s first Strat In The Attic book debuted in 2013, it was an instant best-seller among guitarists in the smart set. Beer parties were abuzz; jam sessions dissolved into ersatz book…

Perry Beekman

Perry Beekman’s solo debut, subtitled Sings And Plays Cole Porter, offers 15 examples of why Porter’s catalog has outlived passing fashions and fads. The Woodstock-based guitarist considered calling it A Tale of Two…

Moby Grape

Sundazed

Most bands that comprised San Francisco’s psychedelic scene circa 1967’s Summer Of Love consisted of folkies gone electric (the Grateful Dead, Country Joe & The Fish, Jefferson Airplane). Moby Grape was one very…

Sons Of Apollo

Psychotic Symphony

As eyes roll at the thought of yet another project album by virtuosos on a break from touring, one can’t help but be curious about Sons Of Apollo. Keyboardist Derek Sherinian (Planet X,…

The Andy Poxon Band

Poxon might present a dilemma for some listeners. He was only 16 years old when this material was recorded, and considering the mix of blues, country, rock, and funk he presents, it’s easy…

Dave Alvin – West of the West

The Great American Music Galaxy

Dave Alvin is one of America’s best songwriters, and as such runs the risk of alienating casual fans when he does an album of covers. But then again, maybe not… The idea with…

Dolly Parton – My Tennessee Mountain Home

If the first songs that come to mind when you think of Dolly Parton are “Two Doors Down” and “9 to 5,” you need to pick up these albums – all three of…

John Mayer

Sob Rock

John Mayer’s latest is a somber ode to the soft-rockin’ ’80s – think Henley and Hornsby. But don’t start eye-rolling just yet. Produced by Don Was, Mayer delivers the most polished guitar playing…

Steve Vai

Modern Primitive

Steve Vai’s quirky artistry has evolved light years beyond David Lee Roth’s first post-Van-Halen band. From his tenure with Frank Zappa to a stint in Whitesnake, Vai has continually expanded his melodic sensibility…

The Sandro Albert Quartet

Daywood Drive Records

Played well, guitars and f lutes make an excellent combination. Such is the case in Sandro Albert’s quartet. Albert is a gifted guitarist whose soloing swings, and his knowledge of the harmonic structure…

Ravi Shanker and George Harrison

Dark Horse

After George Harrison played the simple hook to the Beatles’ “Norwegian Wood” on sitar, then studied with Ravi Shankar, Indian music became all the rage, with Shankar its rock star. Harrison signed Shankar…

Laura Orshaw

What’s Old Is Still Alive and Lively

It’s refreshing to hear a young female playing fiddle and singing bluegrass and old-time music who is not yet another Alison Krauss wannabe. Not to take anything away from Krauss – her iconic…

Big Apple Blues and Smokin’ Joe Kubek and Bnois King

Blues A-Plenty

Considering that its first-cousin, jazz, is predominantly an instrumental form, it’s surprising that there are so few instrumental blues albums. In terms of guitar, of course, Freddie King excelled most successfully, but that…

Social Distortion

Epitaph

After 30-plus years, seven studio albums, a live album, and two DVDs, Social Distortion may have just released its masterpiece. The band came rocking out of Fullerton, California, in 1978, playing a tough…

Tom Verlaine – Dreamtime

Collector’s Choice Music

In some circles, Tom Verlaine is a legendary musician. As a member of Television in the late ’70s, he and Richard Lloyd cut a swath of influence far and wide. Collector’s Choice is…