Merle Haggard’s 1969 anti-hippie anthem “Okie From Muskogee” was part provocation, part spoof. It became such a hit that Capitol Records hustled in October of that year to record an entire live album in Muskogee, Oklahoma, the bucolic town that inspired the song. That LP is now back, remastered, in a two-CD package combined with […]
This album’s chock full of solid musicianship, including stylish guitar from co-producer Chris Bruce. Yet the story here, as it is on all Holmes Brothers records, is the vocals and the songs. Sherman and Wendell Holmes, plus Popsy Dixon, fill everything they do with soul and make it irresistible. Check out the angelic singing on […]
If you’ve lost touch with Chris Robinson since the Black Crowes’ slow down, his latest effort with the CRB is an opportune time to catch up on what’s become a most satisfying second act. This new album, the band’s third studio release, is a snapshot of a group growing securely into itself as a fine […]
When Eric Johnson came to prominence, he sounded like nothing anyone had ever heard before. He made a Strat sound like a violin, and transformed the Fuzz Face into an instrument of highbrow elegance. The press conjured images of a Texas guitarslinger weaned on Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck, and Chet Akins, but hearing him was […]
The latest from Kenny Wayne Shepherd is an homage to players and songs that influenced him while he was coming up. For the most part, it’s a splendid collection with some of the blistering guitar work you expect. “Palace Of The King” is soul heaven. Shepherd’s playing channels Jimi Hendrix complete with blistering sharp-nine chords […]
The Year (or so) of Mudhoney rolls on. The long-running Seattle foursome has experienced a resurgence of interest lately. The latest example: this well-researched and crisply written biography from rock journalist Keith Cameron, who’s followed the band ever since a London appearance 25 years ago. Most everyone knows the drill by now: Mudhoney fused punk […]
The re-release of these films on DVD gives jazz guitar fans a glimpse at one of the all-time greats. Pat Martino’s story is known well: surgery for a brain aneurysm in 1980 left him with no memory – and no ability to play guitar. The documentary lets folks in on the struggles he and his […]
During the span covered by these four CDs, Stewart charted 41 singles – 14 of them in the Top 10 – and he had earlier hits like “Maggie May” and “You Wear It Well” to weave into his high-wattage concerts. He always employed first-rate sidemen and paid them well, but for all their talent, with […]
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 be tough to come by. White revels in weird; the unexpected, the unexplained, and the uncategorizable all seem to come naturally. Or […]
Oz Noy masterminds an inspired jazz sequel with spectacular feel and blues embellishments. Amidst Noy’s quirky, energetic, funk-charged compositions is gutbucket slide. “You Dig” features slide player Greg Leisz, who offsets Noy’s intervallic bop with the raw and the nasty. Chick Corea and Allen Toussaint are featured on “Rumba Tumba” and “Slow Grease” with swampy […]
