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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…
Dr. Feelgood
Finally available in America, Julien Temple’s superb documentary follows the brief career of England’s late, great Dr. Feelgood, Temple employing his trademark technique of mashing up new interviews with archival and fictive footage,…
Nickel Creek – Nickel Creek
Nickel Creek is a of (primarily) musical whiz kids. Three of its four members are under 23. Two are siblings, Sara Watkins (19) on fiddle and vocals, and Sean Watkins (22) on guitar,…
Eric Gales Trio
Eric Gales is arguably the most underrated guitarist of his generation. Emerging in the early ’90s with a post-Hendrix blueprint that combined a fusion of blues, rock, and gospel, he never sustained the…
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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…
Susanna Hoffs
The Deep End
The Bangles vocalist/rhythm guitarist’s fifth solo album is a folk-enriched blend of covers by classic and contemporary artists, enlivened by Hoffs’ angelic voice. The Deep End, like 2021’s Bright Lights, features legendary session…
Simon And Garfunkel – Live from New York City, 1967
“Sherman, set the Way Back machine for New York City, 1967. I want to go to a concert.” This new release from Columbia Legacy beats Mr. Peabody’s infernal device by a mile. Recorded…
Mike Zito – Today
Mike Zito’s debut disc is brimming with Texas-style fire and soul, even though he’s from St. Louis! Zito uses a variety of Strat tones and employs chops chock full of soul. His vocals…
Todd Wolfe Band
American Home Entertainment
Wolfe is best known as a sideman for Sheryl Crow, but he has also recorded with Leslie West and Faith Hill, among others. Now, with his own group – a trio – Wolfe…
American Epic
Truly Epic
This three-part documentary chronicles the early days of modern electrical recording in the 1920s and 1930s. Many seminal rural blues, country, Cajun, Hawaiian, norteño, and gospel acts were first recorded during this era…
The Steepwater Band – Grace and Melody
It’s easy to dig the Steepwater Band, and on this, their fourth studio record, the Chicago trio steps it up a notch with the help of producer Marc Ford, whose tenure with 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…
Hamilton De Holanda Quintet
Adventure Music
Brazilian jazz, when played by a native group such as Hamilton De Holanda’s quintet, is far more interesting than what usually passes for Brazilian jazz. Holanda combines his native Choro music with foreign…
Lucinda Williams
Don’t Tell Anybody The Secrets I Told You: A Memoir & Stories From A Rock N Roll Heart
Turning 70 is a time for reflection, and Lucinda Williams offers two takes. Her poetic autobiography recounts her troubled, peripatetic childhood and the tales behind the songs it inspired. Yet her new album…
C’mon Sheryl Crow – America 2003(DVD), Best of (CD)
The latest releases from Sheryl Crow help affirm something I’ve thought for a long time… that she is a “keeper of the flame” for the kind of rock and roll a lot of…
Steepwater Band – Revelation Sunday
Precision, Passion, and Soul
The Steepwater Band’s 2004 release, Dharmakaya, was a very strong effort, and this is an equally strong followup. The band is a modern version of the classic rock trio many grew up loving.…
George Lynch
Seamless
Seamless is George Lynch’s first instrumental album, which is especially surprising when you compare it to catalogs of ’80s shred contemporaries like Steve Vai and Joe Satriani. Here, Lynch breaks from perceptions of…
Tom Principato – House on Fire
Tom Principato is probably familiar to many VG readers. A fine player in his own right, he’s also responsible for some fine books that teach about guitar, and he’s also been known lately…
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…
Son House, Willie Trice, Sam Chatmon, and others
“Treasure trove” is a label as overused as “genius,” “virtuoso,” and “Holy Grail.” But, how else can one describe 115 minutes of footage, containing 33 performances by blues legends Rev. Gary Davis, Big…
Gore Gore Girls – Get The Gore
Formed in Detroit in 1997, the all-female Gore Gore Girls have undergone personnel changes with each of their CDs, with singer/guitarist Amy Gore the only constant. On this, the group’s fourth release, she…
Craig Chaquico – Shadow and Light
Shadow and Light
Most guitarists know Craig’s story. He was the young hotshot guitarist with the Jefferson Starship in the ’70s and ’80s. After that, he started making atmospheric acoustic records for Higher Octave. On his…
Van Morrison – Under Review
A documentary on Van Morrison’s most fruitful years including live concert footage would be welcomed by fans everywhere. Yet the academic subtitle here says all too much about this British film on Van…
Bob Dylan on Hybrid SACDs
Sony and Phillips have been heavily hyping their new Super Audio CD format since its inception two years ago. For most consumers, SACD and its competitor DVD-A have been non-issues because of the…
Ray Mason Band – Three Dollar Man
Three Dollar Man
Furry Lewis, Sleepy John Estes, Mud Boy and the Neutrons, and more
These days, Memphis’ Beale Street is a blues-lover’s Disneyland in all the worst ways. It’s been sanitized and sanctified, then thoroughly commercialized. Once upon a time, however, it was the “home of the…
John Lee Hooker & the Coast to Coast Blues Band
Live at Montreux 1983 & 1990
The early ’80s weren’t a high point of John Lee Hooker’s career. Demand for all blues – including his Mississippi hill-country music – had eroded and record deals were scarce. None of that…
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…
The Bridge – Blind Man’s Hill
Singer/guitarist Cris Jacobs and singer/mandolinist Kenny Liner co-write the music for this Baltimore-based band. Jacobs writes songs with inherent soul. Whether slinky funk (like the opener, “Honey Bee”) or blues/rock with a ragtime…
Firecracker – The Wailin’ Jennys
Firecracker – The Wailin’ Jennys The second release from the tri-girl musical aggregate from Canada proves that even with a new contributor (songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Annabelle Chvostek), the Jennys’ music is still very tasty. The…
Nashville Pussy
For heavy-rock fans complaining that nobody makes good music anymore, meet Nashville Pussy. This Atlanta-based band has been kicking ass since ’97. Creating a white-trash blend of AC/DC meets Lynyrd Skynyrd with a…
Dick Dale – Better Shred than Dead: The Dick Dale Anthology
Well, what needs to be said about this? The King of the Surf Guitar at his finest. This covers 1959 to 1996 and hits all the high points. All the tunes are here,…
Geddy Lee
My Effin’ Life
Great autobiographies fill gaps and provide details untold in prior interviews. That’s true with this memoir by Rush vocalist/bassist/keyboardist Geddy Lee. As you’d expect, the book focuses on Lee’s bond with guitarist Alex…
Chuck Berry
Hip-O-Select
1964 was a good year for Chuck Berry. He hit number 10 on the pop charts with “No Particular Place To Go,” number 14 with “You Never Can Tell” and did pretty well…
Eric Bibb, Rory Block, Maria Muldaur – Sisters and Brothers
Sisters and Brothers
Elizabeth Moen
Wherever You Aren’t