• 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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Jackson Lynch

All My By Ownsome

It’s often said that music must move forward or die. But genres don’t evolve in a straight line – be they Joe Bonamassa paying homage to the Kings or the country blues of…

Strange Angels: In Flight With Elmore James

Dusting Off Elmo

In an essay for Guitar Player magazine in 1977, Frank Zappa said of Elmore James, “Even though Elmore tended to play the same famous lick on every record, I got the feeling that…

The Yardbirds – The Yardbirds: Ultimate

Two fallacies that invariably arise in discussions of the Yardbirds: 1) declaring them the fathers of psychedelic music and/or heavy metal; 2) focusing on their colossal lead guitar lineage at the expense of…

Happy Traum

Stefan Grossman’s Guitar Workshop

Resurrected from Stefan Grossman’s Kicking Mule label of the ’70s (1977, to be exact), Stranger was the followup to Traum’s solo debut, Relax Your Mind. In lieu of beefing up the 30-minute set…

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…

M. Taylor, M. Simpson, M. Carthy, J. Martin – The Valley & Martins 4

M. Taylor, M. Simpson, M. Carthy, J. Martin – The Valley & Martins 4 The London Times called Martin Taylor “the finest British guitarist of his generation” – which is, if anything, an…

The Love Dogs – New Tricks

New Tricks

Loveable? I guess. Dogs? Maybe. They’ve got all the musical tricks new and old, and they’re not jumping through hoops to get their rootsy message across. Elegant arrangements, diverse tunes, strong presentation, and…

Gurf Morlix – Cut ‘N Shoot

Is Gurf his real name? I don’t know. What I do know is he’s produced excellent records in the past few years for other artists, and in the past couple has started putting…

The Infamous Stringdusters

A band’s sophomore release usually has a snappier title than the name of the band. But in some ways this second album is a first album. Guitarist Chris Eldridge left to join the…

Paul Curreri

Tin Angel Records

Paul Curreri’s latest album follows a throat injury that forced him to stop performing for a couple years but didn’t stop him from producing numerous records, including Don’t Hurry for Heaven, by his…

BR5-49

Honky Tonkin’

In the mid ’80s, bands like Jason and the Scorchers, Webb Wilder and (originally) the Beatnecks, and – well, not many others – chose Nashville to make their mark on roots rock. And…

Cactus

Guitarist Jim McCarty (not to be confused with the Yardbirds’ drummer of the same name) initially turned heads in the mid ’60s, as a member of Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels. He…

Long Train Runnin’: Our Story of the Doobie Brothers

Tom Johnston, Pat Simmons, Chris Epting

For 50 years, the Doobie Brothers’ feel-good hits have been radio staples. In these pages, vocalists/guitarists Tom Johnston and Pat Simmons share memories and insights such as how the much-hyped psychedelic band Moby…

Red Allen, Frank Wakefield, and the Kentuckians

Washington, D.C. and vicinity, known for forward-thinking bluegrass bands like the Country Gentlemen and the Seldom Scene, also had staunch traditionalists, among them the team of mandolin virtuoso Frank Wakefield (a one-time Stanley…

Dave Alvin – West of the West

Dave Alvin is one of America’s best songwriters, and as such runs the risk of alienating casual fans when he does an album of covers. But then again, maybe not… The idea with…

Larry Campbell & Teresa Williams

Live at Levon’s!

The term “versatile” is laughable when it comes to Larry Campbell. A handful of the artists he has recorded, produced, and toured with includes Bob Dylan, Cyndi Lauper, Keith Richards, Judy Collins, Jorma…

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…

Johnny Cash – Personal File and American V: A Hundred Highways

Johnny Cash – Personal File and American V: A Hundred Highways It’s deliciously ironic that, in promoting the newly discovered archives of Johnny Cash’s solo acoustic recordings, logged in tape boxes as Personal…

Deep Purple

A Fire in the Sky

There have been innumerable Deep Purple compilations, but this clever set includes at least one track from every Purp album. Three guitar legends are spotlighted – Ritchie Blackmore, Steve Morse, and Tommy Bolin,…

Mel Brown – Chicken Fat

It’s been awhile since we saw and heard any vinyl, but these welcome guitar releases come courtesy of the fine folks at Sundazed. The sound, as you’d expect is wonderful. Everything’s big and…

Gov’t Mule

Heavy Load Blues

When a successful band of fine musicians is struck by the compulsion to revisit the muses of their youth by recording blues covers, it can go horribly wrong. Fortunately, Gov’t Mule’s first blues…

Viva

Guitarist and singer Viva DeConcini’s last record, Rock and Roll Lover, was a stunning collection of eclectic songs that fit together perfectly even though stylistically they ran the gamut from loud rock and…

Greg Koch Trio

ZYX Music

Milwaukee’s finest serves up another batch of songs showcasing his monster guitar chops and huge sense of humor. On this new disc, Koch is once again a tour de force of the six-string,…

Tommy Emmanuel

As the title suggests, this is a collection of performances pulled from several Public Television concerts Tommy Emmanuel has done, including some never seen before. It will come as no surprise to fans…

Steve Earle – Washington Square Serenade

Whether or not you appreciate the politics that have dominated his latest records, it’s hard to deny that Steve Earle is a brilliant songwriter. On his latest, Earle has gone back to a…

Pink Floyd

Animals 2018 Remix

After a four-year delay, the reworked 1977 epic Animals is here, touting high-resolution mixes by James Guthrie, Pink Floyd’s engineer for more than 40 years. Unlike some radical remixes like 2021’s dismal All…

The Rolling Stones

Eagle Rock

Some people think Exile On Main Street is the best album the Rolling Stones ever recorded. Those people are wrong. And it’s certainly not “the rock and roll Bible,” as Sheryl Crow proclaims…

  • Yes

    Yes

    Close to the Edge: Super Deluxe Edition

Jimmie Vaughan

The Pleasure’s All Mine

Vaughan’s 2010 album, Blues, Ballads and Favorites, honored his blues, R&B, country and rock roots, followed a year later by a second volume. This reissue offers both – all 31 exuberant, raw performances,…

Hot Tuna – Live In Japan, Sweetwater, and Sweetwater Two

Hot Tuna – Live In Japan, Sweetwater, and Sweetwater Two A feast of Hot Tuna! Extra helpings! Tuna leftovers! These guys are making our job too easy – reissuing three CDs (yes, remastered…

Waters, Winter & Cotton – Breakin’ It Up & Breakin’ It Down

Even though Waters was undoubtedly the most important blues artist in Chess Records’ stable (indeed, the most influential bluesman of his generation), when you look back on his discography, most of his albums…