• 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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Penelope Spheeris

Was the Germs’ incoherent Darby Crash, writhing on stage while fans write on his forehead with indelible marker, really so different from W.A.S.P.’s incoherent Chris Holmes, floating in his pool and chugging three…

Diunna Greenleaf

Texas blues singer Greenleaf has gathered a host of noteworthy guest guitarists to help highlight her considerable virtues and versatility as a writer and singer. Three of the tunes here – “The Beautiful…

The Wrecking Crew (soundtrack)

L.A.’s Red-Light Masters

The Wrecking Crew, the documentary about L.A.’s well-paid but largely anonymous session players ranks with the very best music documentaries. Director Denny Tedesco, son of legendary studio guitarist Tommy Tedesco, did a fantastic…

Pat Metheny – Metheny with Mehldau

Guitarist Pat Metheny and pianist Brad Mehldau need little introduction, thus the near-cryptic titling of this new duet collection of jazz originals. The meeting of minds here brings back memories of guitarist Jim…

Ben Woolman

Self-distributed

Ben Woolman follows in the footsteps of great acoustic guitarists who need no accompaniment. He supplies clear, concise bass notes mixed with lovely melodies and chord changes to form songs that sound like…

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…

Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs

Vagabonds, Virgins & Misfits

It’s no shock the late Tom Petty’s right-hand man and MVP on Don Henley hits like “The Boys of Summer” and “The Heart of the Matter” would continue his superlative work. His latest…

Dave Alvin – Romeo’s Escape

Romeo's Escape

Here’s a reissue of Alvin’s 1986 solo debut that didn’t get nearly the attention it deserved back then. After his stints with the Blasters and X, he cut out on his own, doing…

Kelly Richey – Carry the Light

Kelly Richey’s live shows are full-tilt affairs where Richey wrenches blistering lines from her Stratocaster, occasionally using a beer bottle as a slide. At the end, everyone is sweaty and satisfied. That’s the…

Dumpstaphunk

Where Do We Go From Here

Dumpstaphunk’s fourth studio album combines earthy ’70s funk, vintage soul, ripping guitar, and New Orleans swagger. The NOLA natives consist of Ivan Neville on keys, Tony Hall (bass, guitar, and vocals), Nick Daniels…

Lee Roy Parnell- Midnight Believer

Remember the days when Lee Roy Parnell was seen as a country artist? His last album – 11 years ago! – was a blues-based affair. This latest puts him squarely in the corner…

LeRoi Brothers

Check This Action: Deluxe Reissue

The term “roots-rock” can mean many things, but few bands epitomize the sub-genre as definitively as Austin’s LeRoi Brothers. Cub Koda cited how they “capably take on anything from blues to rockabilly to…

New Guitar Summit – Shivers

Merely putting three great guitar players together doesn’t guarantee the results will qualify as music. All too often, ego, lack of chemistry, or merely inadequate rehearsal time results in a stiff, formulaic CD.…

Eric Bibb – Diamond Days

Bibb is a fine guitarist and singer, and here proves a very capable songwriter. It’s hard to pin him down – you could call him a folk singer, but his blues and pop…

Van Duren – Open Secret

Van Duren was an exponent of “power pop” way back in the mid 1970s. He did some recording in Memphis, but things didn’t get far. But here he reaffirms his love of the…

Lari Basilio

Your Love

Lari Basilio’s latest recording is a melodic and shred-tastic, yet compassionate, antidote to the effects of lockdown. The Brazilian phenom plays with spellbinding authority, feel, and subtextual themes, reminding listeners that God loves…

The Move, Santana, Derringer

Under the Radar

Sometimes great bands and albums don’t bubble to the surface of fame, depriving fans of brilliant music. The Move is one of those acts and its wondrous pop is compiled in the 2-disc…

The Best of Sessions at West 54th – Volume 1 (DVD)

Although this DVD is over two years old, I think it’s still the best live performance music DVD out there. What makes it so good? Not only are the production values top-notch, but…

Big Head Todd

Ryko

Doing an album of Robert Johnson songs may not be a particularly original idea, but it’s not a bad one. For this one, Todd Mohr and band have called upon veteran bluesmen to…

Charlie Haden and Jim Hall

In the past year, the jazz world lost two giants in guitarist Jim Hall and bassist Charlie Haden. All the more reason to celebrate this previously unreleased recording of the pair performing as…

Freddy Cole

HighNote

Asked what younger jazz guitarists stood out to him, in his March ’10 VG interview, George Benson listed Norman Brown, Mark Whitfield, Russell Malone, and “the guitar player who’s playing with Freddy Cole.”…

Dave Hill

New World finds West Coast guitarist Dave Hill at the top of his game as a player and composer. Produced by bassist Jimmy Haslip, the music veers where you’d expect, and Hill’s playing…

Biréli Lagr

Biréli Lagr

Gary Burton

Larry Coryell, Hank Garland, Pat Metheny, Buddy Emmons, Chet Atkins, Mick Goodrick, Jerry Hahn, Ralph Towner, Eric Gale, Sam Brown, John Scofield, Russell Malone, Kurt Rosenwinkle, Joe Beck, Wolfgang Muthspiel, Kevin Eubanks, Julian…

Tonechaser – Understanding Edward: My 26-Year Journey with Edward Van Halen

Steve Rosen

Imagine having Edward Van Halen at your house, playing new Van Halen songs or listening to no-vocals cassettes of in-progress albums in EVH’s cigarette-smoke-filled car. How about jamming with the guitar icon? It…

My Life in Dire Straits

John Illsley

Illsley’s story is unusual in that the bassist and co-founder of Dire Straits survived rock superstardom better than most. John grew up in a conservative post-war English home, and eventually discovered boredom-killing rock…

Tom Feldmann

Old Blues with New Soul

Everyday you hear someone who claims to have the blues. But if you’re going to revive the old songs once again for the umpteenth time, you better have something new to add. Tom…

  • Yes

    Yes

    Close to the Edge: Super Deluxe Edition

Robbie McIntosh – Widescreen

Perhaps Eric Clapton does think of himself as a “journeyman.” The truth of the matter is that he has, practically from day one, been a front man. Robbie McIntosh, on the other hand,…

JD Wilkes- Fire Dream

Best known as leader of the Legendary Shack Shakers for the past 20 years, JD Wilkes has a storied reputation for honoring Appalachia’s musical heritage and traditions in general, especially those of his…

Rodolphe Raffalli

Frémeaux

A hero of today’s Parisian jazz guitar scene, Rodolphe Raffalli is renowned for his virtuosity and glorious melodic sense. It’s a rare blend; he’s a true master who can still keep his music…