• 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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Shane Lamb

Shane Lamb Music

On his first solo release, Shane Lamb delivers an even dozen bitter-sweet country/rock bon-bons. Though his music shares a genre populated by last-name folk-rock icons such as Dylan and Petty, Lamb’s music vibrates…

Yawpers

Fans of four-barrel, huevos-to-the-wall roots rock will do well to investigate the latest from this Denver-based trio. Foregoing bass in favor of guitars and drums (à la Jon Spencer Blues Explosion), Yawpers ply…

Black John – The Soul of John Black

Black John is actually John Bigham, who some music listeners may know from his days with Fishbone or as a percussionist with Miles Davis. Bigham’s latest effort is a powerful mix of soul,…

Taj Mahal and Keb’ Mo’

Bluesy and the Folksy

Meeting the demand for fans hankering for two titans of the blues to finally make an album together, Taj Mahal and Keb’ Mo’ have done just that. These two folksy song-oriented stylists are…

Lamar Sorrento

As the title of his latest might just hint, Lamar Sorrento isn’t expecting to break into the big time or sweep the Grammys with this disc. That’s OK, because it’s all too good…

Byther Smith – Hold That Train

Byther Smith is bad in the best sense of the word. Nicknamed “The Mississippi Kid,” Smith is a former boxer and manual laborer who later learned to wield an axe. As a guitar…

Rich Kienzle

VG readers won’t be surprised to learn that contributor Rich Kienzle’s comprehensive bio of George Jones is a great read and a dispassionate chronicle of his drive-in movie of a life. While the…

Yes – Yesspeak: 35th Anniversary DVD

While many music DVDs contain mostly concert material, the 2-disc Yesspeak takes an alternate approach – it features the famous members of the prog-rock giant Yes talking about the music created during its…

Circle Jerks

Wild In The Streets 40th Anniversary Deluxe Edition

Early L.A. punk was a many-headed monster, birthing everything from the glammy Runaways to the more prototypical Germs, as well as rootsy outfits like X and the Blasters. Even the Go-Go’s broke in…

Grace Bowers

Wine on Venus

It would be easy to dismiss this 18-year-old as a prefab gimmick, but Grace Bowers’ guitar work ain’t no hype. Armed with a vintage SG Special, she lays down real funk with her…

2025 August Issue on Spotify

This month, we feature Rick Derringer, Kid Ramos, Booker T and The M.G.’s, Steve Stevens, Phil Manzanera, Doug Aldrich, Kenny Burrell, Eric Johanson, Gary Moore, and more! Spotify is free or available without…

Vinny Roth

Red Wine Sunshine and Loud Guitars

Vinny Roth proves adept at mixing funk, rock, and fusion to make a record that sounds fresh and new – and yet still seems to fit like an old shoe. There are numerous…

Allen Hinds

The Good Fight

The latest from the Lord of Legato features compositions that blur the line between prog, fusion, and Americana. From the majestic to the bucolic, Allen Hinds leaves it all in the ring with…

Sonny Landreth – From the Reach

Self-Distributed

Sonny Landreth records are typically gems, and this one is no exception. This time out, he has written songs for folks he admires, then invited them to play them with him; Eric Clapton,…

Davie Allan & the Arrows – Apache ’65, Blues Theme, & Cycle-Delic Sounds

Arriving just after instrumental surf music was dealt a knockout punch by the British Invasion, Davie Allan survived against all odds, providing numerous soundtracks to biker and teen exploitation movies and hitting the…

Robert Cray

Universal Music

 Made on the heels of Strong Persuader and the single “Smoking Gun,” Robert Cray and his band are superb during this live show, and Cray plays a lot of interesting, soulful guitar. Early…

Check This Action: Back Aboard

Despite (or because of) the huge Folk Boom of the late ’50s and early ’60s, these days “folk” is almost a dirty word in some circles. It’s replaced with “singer/songwriter,” as if that’s…

The Clash – The Singles

Rarely in the history of music has so much been packaged so beautifully for so many. The Clash The Singles box is a glorious collection of the band’s original 19 singles, reissued on…

Rocky Athas

Livin’ My Best Life

Hailing from the Dallas neighborhood of Oak Cliff, home of T-Bone Walker and the Vaughan brothers, Athas falls closest to Stevie Ray’s maximalist attitude. However, the title track on his new album aims…

Various Artists

Guitarists John Primer and Billy Flynn, bassist Felton Lewis, and drummer Kenny “Beady Eyes” Smith are part of an aggregation that’s long worked for the preservation and perpetuation of Chicago blues. That core…

Steve Howe – Elements

Elements

Some would say progressive rock, art rock, whatever you want to call it, has always seemed a little too pompous for it’s own good. Despite that, I’ve always loved Yes, and a good…

Deke Dickerson and the Eco-Fonics – Number One Hit Record

Number One Hit Record

Walk the dog, son…walk the dog! I love this CD. Deke covers the roots bases, from rockabilly to country swing to surf and everything in between. And he looks the part with his…

Tommy Castro – Soul Shaker

It’s time to give Tommy Castro his due. And with this new record, he might actually get it. For years, he has played the blues circuit, doing his thing – singing about as…

Joe Goldmark

Blue Steel

Along with his work with Jim Campilongo and others, San Francisco-based pedal steel guitarist Joe Goldmark has produced eight solo CDs (and three earlier vinyl albums) covering broad swaths of popular music, among…

Steve Khan

Backlog

Steve Khan has spent the last few albums mixing Latin music and jazz. The project has worked beautifully, culminating in this effort that takes tunes from Thelonious Monk, Bobby Hutcherson, Ornette Coleman, Steve’s…

Russell Potter

A Stone’s Throw and Volume II: Neither Here Nor There

Few artists are void of forebears and influences, though in some cases the connection is indiscernible. Albert King cited T-Bone Walker as his main influence, though his style bears no resemblance to the…

Tony Furtado

Funzalo Records

If you had picked up Golden without hearing one of Tony Furtado’s previous 14 albums, you’d never guess he was once a banjo prodigy. After winning the National Bluegrass Banjo competition at 19,…

  • Yes

    Yes

    Close to the Edge: Super Deluxe Edition

Jimi Hendrix Experience

Hollywood Bowl: August 18, 1967

 Imagine a Jimi Hendrix Experience concert where the audience actually disliked the band. That’s the scenario here, a secretly recorded gig opening for The Mamas & the Papas, a week before the U.S.…

The Hellecasters – Essential Listening Volume 1

Essential Listening Volume 1

I’m sure it’s the same for everyone. You have certain players and bands that just can do no wrong. It’s that way for me with the Hellecasters. I just don’t know how you…

The Rolling Stones

Dead Flowers Bloom Again

If you ever forget how good the Rolling Stones really were back in their heyday, the new edition of Sticky Fingers with outtakes and live recordings and this live shot from the Marquee…