• 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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Sunny War: With The Sun

A phrase like “overnight sensation” is usually all kinds of wrong in that the artist in question was beating the pavement long before a writer or reviewer “discovered” them. Case in point is…

Allen Hinds, Tyler Reese, Brad Myers and Michael Sharfe

Instrumental Eclectic

In the hands of creative players, the guitar can do so many things. These three recent releases of mostly instrumental music illustrate this perfectly. Allen Hinds is a player with a liquid touch…

Suzi Quatro

The Devil In Me

Why didn’t Suzi Quatro become a star in America? The ahead-of-her-time Detroit native, now 71, had a distinctive voice, catchy glam/hard-rock songs, media attention, and played bass. TV appearances on “Happy Days” and…

Gene Bertoncini – Concerti

Bertoncini hits the jackpot; the nylon-string guitar whiz is joined by a string quartet for a set of music that is both challenging and exquisite to hear. Familiar tunes like “East of the…

Bill Kirchen – Tied to the Wheel

Bill’s no stranger to country music, having anchored the lead guitar slot in Commander Cody’s Lost Planet Airmen way back when. Since the break-up of that band, he’s been around plenty too, and…

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…

Chris Duarte – Romp

Chris Duarte is a unique voice in a batch of blues-rock guitarists who hail from down Texas way. His playing, while rooted in many of the same influences the other fellas have, is…

Paul Priest – The Keeley Effect

The title references the “impact” of the guitar effects pedals made by Robert Keeley in making the album. That’s all fine and good, but more important is the fine music, propelled by the…

Gil Parris – Gil Parris and Friends Live

We’ve discussed Gil’s playing in these pages several times, and this DVD reinforces that use of ink. Shot at the Irvington Town Hall Theater in Irvington, New York, it’s obvious Parris is among…

Yes

Live at Knoxville Civic Auditorium, November 15, 1972

This concert tape captures Yes on its triumphant autumn ’72 tour. Even 51 years later, it’s scintillating prog featuring hallowed names like Howe, Squire, Anderson, and Wakeman. Unlike the muddy audio of their…

The Halibuts/Jon and the Nightriders – Life on the Bottom/Fiberglass Rocket

If you haven’t noticed, there’s a Surfin’ comeback goin’ on. We get tons of CDs from bands that play it; some good, some not-so-good, and some in-between. Here are two excellent ones. The…

John Mayall and Friends – Along For the Ride

Along For the Ride

John Mayall (VG, July ’98, and look for a new talk next month) has been doing it for so long it seems he’s always been there. And he has. In a career that…

Creedence Clearwater Revival – Boxed Set

This arrived just in time for me to program “Graveyard Train” to play over and over on Halloween, scaring (or at least bewildering) unsuspecting trick-or-treaters, wondering, “What’s with that old coot handing out…

Robert Plant and the Strange Sensation – Soundstage

Robert Plant and his band, The Strange Sensation, play 11 songs; covers, old Zep songs, and newer Plant tunes. The band is the perfect complement, anchored by guitarists Liam “Skin” Tyson and the…

Gerald Weber – Advanced Tube Guitar Amplifier

Advanced Tube Guitar Amplifier

Gerald Weber is back with his third video on the inner workings of tube amps. It should be noted at the outset that this video is geared to advanced technicians (Weber has other…

Kombo – Cookin’ Out

Kombo is Ron Pedley on keyboards, and Jon Pondel on guitars. They’ve got lots of great help too, with guys like Steve Ferrone, Matt Bissonette, and Sharon Hendrix. The music is the same…

Toy Matinee – Toy Matinee Special Edition

I love this album. I’ve loved it since the original version came out around 1990. Toy Matinee was the work of Patrick Leonard on keyboards, Kevin Gilbert on vocals and various instruments, and…

Joe Strummer

Joe Strummer 002: The Mescaleros Year

After the Clash, Saint Joe Strummer (to borrow the beatification endowed by The Hold Steady) spent some years in the wilderness. His first full solo album, 1989’s Earthquake Weather, didn’t sell well despite…

Robert Gordon: Memphis Rent Party

There’s no city like Memphis when it comes to music. And thankfully, there’s Robert Gordon to chronicle its story. Gordon has written books and helmed documentaries about Muddy Waters, Stax Records, and, of…

Rush

Rush 50

The goal of any anthology is to capture the broad scope of an artist’s career. Rush 50 is a strong attempt, starting with their first singles (previously unreleased) all the way to their…

ALVINLEETENN_HOME-MAIN-THUMB

“Rockabill-Lee”

England’s Albert Lee provided one of Woodstock’s highpoints, with his band Ten Years After’s frenetic version of “I’m Going Home,” and Lee got caught up in the faster-is-better era. But as his sophisticated…

Justin Golden

Hard Times and a Woman

Big Bill Broonzy

Ambassador Of The Blues

UFO

Lights Out 2024 Remaster

Bola Sete

Samba In Seattle

The uninitiated will wonder why they’re just now hearing such a guitar genius, while aficionados bemoan the fact Bola Sete isn’t a household name. Previously unreleased, this triple-CD, subtitled Live At The Penthouse…

The Hot Club of San Francisco

Original Gadjo

Django Reinhardt is inarguably near the top of the most-influential jazz artists, considering how many ensembles (speaking globally) strive to emulate his Quintette du Hot Club de France 70 years after his death.…

Roy Orbison

The Ultimate Collection

Playing the role of a lonely, heartbroken teen, Roy Orbison was the Enrico Caruso of early ’60s pop, his voice gracing more than a few torchy hits. “Oh Pretty Woman” from 1964 remains…

Omar And The Howlers – Swingland

I first ran across Omar Dykes in the mid ’80s when I heard a bluesy radio-ready rock album called Hard Times In The Land Of Plenty. I liked it, and some quick research…

Dex Romweber Duo

Dex Romweber and his trusty Silvertone have been kicking over the gnarly dustbins of American music since he was a teenager. (The uninitiated are advised to seek out a mini-documentary that aired on…

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…

  • Yes

    Yes

    Close to the Edge: Super Deluxe Edition

John Hiatt

New West

Hiatt is nothing if not prolific – not only releasing approximately 20 albums in 36 years, but writing virtually every song they included. There’ve been some twists and turns and ups and downs…

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…

Dave Alvin – West of the West

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…