• 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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Steve Dawson

Steve Dawson shines as a session player and producer supporting other artists’ work. But when he hides away in his own studio and cuts his own tunes, his music truly comes alive. On…

Cedric Burnside

Be Trying

One of 35 grandchildren of the late R.L. Burnside, Cedric grew up in the rundown Holly Springs, Mississippi, home that housed four generations of Burnsides. An award-winning drummer, he was behind a kit…

Cadillac Angels – Two Blocks Off Main

Guitarist Tony Balbinot employs an array of classic Gretsch guitars to make his band’s distinct rockabilly music. Sure, they wear the derigueur cowboy gear and sideburns, but they treat the music seriously, as…

Hasse Fröberg & the Musical Companion

Do you like Queen, Boston, and other purveyors of ’70s rock anthems? If so, check out the debut from singer/ guitarist Hasse Fröberg, who’s best known as co-vocalist for Sweden’s Flower Kings. Hasse…

Roy Orbison

Playing the role of a lonely, heartbroken teen, Roy Orbison was the Enrico Caruso of early ’60s pop, his voice gracing more than a few torchy hits. “Oh Pretty Woman” from 1964 remains…

Duke Robillard – A Swing Lesson with Duke Robillard

Stony Plain

Duke continues his impressive output with a nod to his swing roots. Among guitarists, Robillard is known as a do-all, as he can be at home in almost any musical style, not only…

Slightly Stoopid & Friends

Slightly Stoopid is a group of friends who have been making music since their teenage days, mixing reggae, funk, R&B, and punk. They also play acoustic rock that lets two front men, Miles…

Pete Levin

Self-distributed

The past few Pete Levin albums have featured his fine organ playing, great songs, and lots of room for whatever guitarist was working with him. Jump! is no different, with Dave Stryker on…

Darrell Scott – The Invisible Man

On his latest solo release, Darrell Scott delivers 12 reasons why he’s one of the most outstanding and underrated songwriters/performers in the U.S. today. Compared with his past efforts, The Invisible Man has…

Carolyn Sills Combo

On the Draw

Listening to the Carolyn Sills Combo, you might do a double-take: Is this newly fashioned country music, or a long-lost 1950s or ’60s band coming out of the ether? The combo is indeed…

Mudhoney

Plastic Eternity

When it comes to writing music reviews, nothing’s more Lamesville than a critic swiping text from a label’s press release. But in the case of Mudhoney’s new full-length, one would be hard-pressed to…

Whiskey Shivers

Some Part Of Something

Whiskey Shivers’ instrumentation, the basic construction of their songs, and lightning fast picking mean you could call this a bluegrass band. But the ensemble takes things one step beyond. “Like A Stone” ruminates…

Check This Action: England’s Renaissance Bluesman

Last month, I focused on the blues box Shake ’Em On Down, which included a couple of songs by London-born Dave Peabody. The guitarist/bandleader has covered a lot of ground and worn many…

Cesar Rosas – Soul Disguise

I’ve been of the opinion for a couple of years now that Los Lobos is one of the finest rock bands around. Rosas is one of the singer/guitarists in that band. This is…

The Gourds – Blood of the Ram

The Gourds may be the most dangerous band in America. They aren’t hazardous to your bodily health, but they can certainly cause pain and consternation to your cerebral cortex, especially if you have…

Robert Earl Keen

Happy Listeners

Robert Earl Keen is all about roots. He has mined his Texas upbringing to create a celebrated career playing Americana that’s ranged widely from folk to country and beyond. His latest foray steps…

Ike & Tina Turner – Sing the Blues

The late Ike Turner, due to ex-wife Tina’s revelations of his various abuses, has been dismissed as a marginally talented manipulator who rode his wife’s coat-tails to success. Ike has only himself and…

Black Star Riders

A few years ago, a rejuvenated lineup of Thin Lizzy hit the road, earning great acclaim thanks to longtime Lizzy guitarist Scott Gorham, singer Ricky Warwick (The Almighty), and later, co-riffer Damon Johnson…

J.W. Black and Albert Molinaro – The Fender Bass: An Illustrated History

Bass players have always been somewhat taken for granted. It’s almost as if they didn’t have to be good, merely profi-cient, for the music of the band to come across. Of course, anybody…

Big Apple Blues and Smokin’ Joe Kubek and Bnois King

Blues A-Plenty

Considering that its first-cousin, jazz, is predominantly an instrumental form, it’s surprising that there are so few instrumental blues albums. In terms of guitar, of course, Freddie King excelled most successfully, but that…

Ace Frehley

Ace is back – and he told you so! The former Kiss guitarist shares a buffet of the gems that influenced him – Hendrix, Clapton, Page, and the Rolling Stones, to name a…

Electric Prunes – Release of an Oath

Collector's Choice Music

The ’60s produced some mighty weird bands, perhaps none odder than the Electric Prunes. The group is primarily known for its 1967 hit “I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night)” and the…

Wes Montgomery

Concord Music Group

The re-release of this brilliant album shows the man many consider the finest guitarist to ever live guiding Mel Rhyne (on Hammond B-3) and Jimmy Cobb (drums) through a set of tunes that…

Charles Brown – A Life In The Blues

This is more than just an album by the late R&B great Charles Brown. It’s truly the story of a life – a scrapbook of history, photos, testimonials, music, vintage film clips, a…

Thin Lizzy – Still Dangerous

Thin Lizzy was one of the most badass guitar bands of the ’70s. After a series of lineup changes early in the decade, the Irish-rooted group finally settled on the axe duo of…

Written In Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos

Various artists

You may think you know Stax, but this seven-CD set of 146 tracks (140 never before released) proves again how much creative genius was contained in that old Memphis theater turned recording studio.…

Envy of None

Envy of None

Let’s start with the obvious: Alex Lifeson’s new project sounds little like Rush. Billed as “dark, cinematic alt rock,” Envy of None pulls from ’90s industrial and early-2000s synth rock with electro-drums, pulsating…

  • Yes

    Yes

    Close to the Edge: Super Deluxe Edition

The Clash

In the far distant past – 1979, to be exact – the Clash were crowned “The Only Band That Matters.” The mantra originally appeared on a promo sticker stuck to their double LP…

Jerry Miller – Life is Like That

Let me preface this review with a personal note; Jerry Miller is one of the finest guitarists on the planet. A rough-hewn gem from the Pacific Northwest, Jerry was the fire behind the…

Cesar Rosas – Soul Disguise

I’ve been of the opinion for a couple of years now that Los Lobos is one of the finest rock bands around. Rosas is one of the singer/guitarists in that band. This is…


J&B Brothers

Different Mothers

999

A Punk Rock Anthology 1977-2020