Many supergroups lack true superpowers, but Derek and the Dominos was the real deal. Burned out on the supergroup phenom after his troubled times in Cream and Blind Faith, Eric Clapton sought anonymity from stardom and its demands behind the moniker “Derek.” He also ached to get back to the companionship of a band of [...]
Every musician I’ve spoken to who was around to witness or participate in the birth of rock and roll, from Carl Perkins to J.J. Cale to Jeff Beck, agrees that it was like turning on a light switch, and that “Elvis changed everything.” But as revolutionary as rock’s ’50s beginnings were, the next decade saw [...]
Eric Bibb’s last few studio efforts have proven he can deliver the goods when it comes to folk, blues, and soul music. And with Troubadour Live, we get a feel for his stage presence and versatility; all but one of the live cuts here also feature veteran Swedish guitarist Staffan Astner, and it’s obvious they [...]
From the opening notes of “Slow Train” to the echo of the last note of “Prisoner,” modern blues guitarslinger Joe Bonamassa’s Dust Bowl is a masterpiece. Bonamassa has released 11 previous solo albums and was crowned Billboard’s Blues Artist of 2010. But many blues-guitar fans have been hip to him for far longer. Dust Bowl [...]
Off kilter, warped, but addictive, Brian Wright’s music grabs your attention. He describes it as, “…situated somewhere between Woody Guthrie and The Velvet Underground.” Where exactly, depends on the song. Beyond writing the songs and singing lead vocals on House On Fire, Wright plays all instruments in the core band. Cameos by Michael Starr (dobro), [...]
Heart Of Texas Records holds the line against the carpetbagger forces of “modern” country music, producing the kind of country best played on honky tonk jukeboxes and the radios of American-made pickups. These three discs are among the best and most typical of the label’s recent releases from a roster of mostly-veteran country artists. Like [...]
With his new album, Matt Panayides makes a case for being mentioned among the best jazz traditionalists playing guitar these days. Boppers like “Seoul Soul” show how he easily navigates complex changes while soloing. His accomplice is saxophonist Rich Perry, and Panayides lays down the perfect layer of changes for Perry to do his thing. [...]
After more than a decade of recording and playing his own original compositions, Tom Feldmann decided it was finally time to pay homage to the music the first inspired him to pick up a guitar. Tribute collects his versions of old-time gospel songs by the likes of Muddy Waters, Blind Willie Johnson, Fred McDowell, Lightnin’ [...]
After violin virtuoso Niccolò Paganini died in 1840, several violinists claimed to be possessed by his spirit when they performed his violin concerto. I wonder if Chet Aktins has managed a similar supernatural transposition through Ben Hall. To say this young picker plays like Chet Atkins is an understatement; he channels Chet’s style with an [...]
There’s a solid old-school thump to Amy Black’s modern, acoustic-guitarbased blues. Sometimes (as on “Stay”), she leavens her music with a rockabilly flavor with the help of fiddler Dan Kellar, who gets some of his best moments on the title cut and the dark “Ain’t No Grave (Gonna Hold My Body Down).” Adding to the [...]
