From Cash’s hard-scrabble childhood through his Air Force stint, Sun years, hazy ’60s, largely forgettable ’70s, ’80s relapse, and second redemption in the ’90s, former LA Times critic Hilburn scours the details of his subject’s past. Myriad interviews include family members, military pals, early music associates (Sam Phillips, Jack Clement, the Collins Kids, and more), […]
Two years back, touring pro and studio ace Jeff Golub’s optic nerves collapsed, leaving him permanently blind. Now he’s back, with a twelfth solo album, getting a little help from jazz-rock keyboard pioneer Brian Auger. This is a smooth jazz record with blues, funk, and rock overtones. It’s full of nifty cover tunes, swingin’ instrumentals, […]
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 Coles – the other being Nat “King” Cole, whose drummerless-trio format Beekman uses here, with pianist Peter Tomlinson and upright bassist Lou […]
Born in rural Kentucky in 1954, Ricky Skaggs (named for “I Love Lucy’s” Ricky Ricardo) stands today as a supremely versatile musician. With his band Kentucky Thunder and his own record label, he focuses on the traditional bluegrass that nurtured him from boyhood on. That journey, from bluegrass child prodigy to admired young sideman to […]
Most guitarists will never have the opportunity to play high-end or vintage gear, but that’s what guitar pornography like this book is for. If you’ve never been fortunate enough to play or own a 1967 Guild Starfire V, EccoSonic amp, or Musitronics Mu-Tron III, author and VG contributor Dave Hunter offers you the next best […]
Kentuckian Wendell Berry is a 79-year- old farmer, activist, novelist, journalist, and poet. He has received numerous awards, but never anything like this tribute, which puts Berry’s words to music – in two distinct formats, each succeeding admirably. One CD, In Song And Shade, finds Berry reading from 10 of his poems, which are then […]
In 1990, Michael Lee Firkins’ first album made a monstrous splash in the guitar community. His soulful use of the tremolo bar showcased a signature style that has morphed to encompass more traditional guitar techniques. Yep is a Southern-rock opus 10 years in the making, with Firkins as producer, guitarist, and vocalist. His band includes […]
Brian Henneman should be a country super-star. For more than two decades, Festus, Missouri’s favorite son, has combined Tom T. Hall wit with Roy Nichols chops as front man of the criminally underappreciated Bottle Rockets. But the BRox have always had a rowdy flip side – their love of loud, loud rock equally inspired by […]
Jazz and R&B great Phil Upchurch said, “Lenny Breau was the most innovative guitarist since Wes Montgomery.” Considering that Montgomery is widely regarded as the third link in the chain of jazz guitar’s greatest stylists, after Django Reinhardt and Charlie Christian, it’s a lofty claim – but one with which Pat Metheny, Martin Taylor, and […]
The Prophets are a blues-rock bar band that brings around a lot of people to music they might not otherwise have heard. The PCPs will remind you of both Grand Funk and ZZ Top. With the opening cut “Close Your Eyes,” they’ll also bring fond echoes of Lee Michaels to those who remember. When guitarist […]
