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Music
Paul Johnson
The Hepcats Live at the Ajax Novelty Company
This isn’t live, there may not be an Ajax Novelty Company, and the three felines known as the Hepcats are actually the brainchild of Paul Johnson, whose Belairs were early-’60s pioneers of surf music. Suspend reality and dig how the “trio” expertly articulates layers of acoustic guitar. Across decades, Johnson has embraced folk-rock, psychedelia, and…
Glen Campbell & Jimmy Webb
It’s no surprise, given Glen Campbell’s 2011 Alzheimer’s diagnosis and his lengthy Farewell Tour, that music and video from the past are emerging, like this 1983 Canadian TV show he did with songwriter…
The Highwaymen
Country’s first supergroup emerged from a 1984 Johnny Cash Christmas special taped in Switzerland. Along with Marty Stuart, the guests were longtime Cash pals friends Kris Kristofferson, Waylon Jennings, and Willie Nelson. The…
John Hiatt with the Jerry Douglas Band
Leftover Feelings
Teaming veteran singer/composer John Hiatt with resophonic master Jerry Douglas and his band could have yielded yet another predictable Americana spin on modern bluegrass. Luckily, that didn’t happen. With Douglas producing, the collaboration…
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Yes
Close to the Edge: Super Deluxe Edition
Are you a high-fidelity audio geek? If the answer is, well, yes, this Rhino release brings together an HD experience of Close to the Edge in no fewer than four versions, plus rarities and a ’72 concert. For starters, the 2025 remaster sounds as close to the analog 1972 mix as you’re going to get…
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Pink Floyd
Have You Got It Yet? – The Story of Syd Barrett and Pink Floyd
It’s understandable that fans warily approach the flood of pseudo-documentaries and biopics. Add the fact that the late Syd Barrett, Floyd’s original guitarist/leader, suffered from mental illness, and exploitation alarms are sure to go off. But this documentary handles the subject with dignity instead of sensationalism. Interviews by longtime Floyd cover artist Storm Thorgerson with…
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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 up their secret sauce, heard on this latest effort with original singer/guitarist Ginger Wildheart. Ben Marsden plays lead, while Kavus Torabi adds…
Kate Rusby – The Girl Who Couldn’t Fly
When you listen to Kate Rusby, you hear the very essence of Celtic music. Her voice soars over the top of a song without the gross limitations of a human form. Kate Rusby…
The Beatles – Rare and Unseen
Most unauthorized retrospectives of pop music are overly academic and usually a bit cynical – consisting of revisionist perspectives from people who weren’t there “at the time.” With the exception of a couple…
Big Jack Johnson and the Oilers – We Got to Stop This Killin’
Big Jack “Oilman” Johnson lays down modern-day Mississippi Delta blues at their best. Hailing from Clarksdale, some of his songs come straight from his front porch, such as “Lonesome Road;” others are hot…
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers – Damn the Torpedoes
MCA’s reissue of the Heartbreakers albums from ’79 to ’82 is a perfect chance to revisit this album. I’ve always felt this is arguably the best rock album of the past 25 years.…
Dave Biller & Jazz Pharaohs – LeRoy’s Swing & Old Man Time
The connection between these two albums is one Dave Biller, a multi-talented Austin guitar man who plays it all – Hot Club swing to straight-ahead jazz – with a fine dose of rockabilly…
Anson Funderburgh and The Rockets – Which Way Is Texas?
Which Way Is Texas?
Anson Funderburgh is one of the few – if not only – blues guitarists I’ve ever seen get an ovation for a chorus solo. Such applause might be common for jazz shows, but…
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Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band
Honeysuckle
Resonator-slide specialist Reverend Peyton returns to his primary influences – early 20th-century African-American music – compelling him to shout from the hollers and the hills. Rootsy, acoustic, inter-war blues is the specific genre, and Peyton doesn’t hold back. With top-tier tutelage from the likes of David “Honeyboy” Edwards, T-Model Ford, and Robert Belfour, he masterfully…
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Mike Campbell with Ari Surdoval
Heartbreaker: A Memoir
In his autobiography, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers guitarist Campbell admits he’s quiet and shy. Self-doubt plagued him his entire life, and when problems arose in the Heartbreakers, a lack of confidence had him blaming himself first, even when he wasn’t responsible. Perhaps his attitude was psychologically rooted in his impoverished childhood and coming from…
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Alan Gogoll
Lioness Lullabies
Venture online and watch a few videos by Tasmanian guitarist Alan Gogoll and you’ll see he’s nothing short of a phenomenon. On acoustic, he conjures artificial harmonics in a manner that almost defies gravity. Better still, he never shows off these chops – everything on Lioness Lullabies is in the service of the song and…
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Jimmy Vivino
Gonna Be 2 of Those Days
A veteran vocalist/guitarist/keyboardist and purveyor of blues, R&B, and rock’, Jimmy Vivino has an incredible résumé. A longtime fixture in Conan O’Brien’s house band, he has played on movie, radio, and Broadway projects and worked with Levon Helm, Hubert Sumlin, Al Kooper, Jimmie Vaughan, Donald Fagen, Warren Haynes, Laura Nyro, along with innumerable others. He’s…
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Thin Lizzy
The Acoustic Sessions
Thin Lizzy’s first studio release in decades, this album reimagines tracks recorded 50+ years ago by the trio of vocalist/bassist Phil Lynott, guitarist Eric Bell, and drummer Brian Downey. The songs are from Lizzy’s first three albums – 1971’s Thin Lizzy, ’72’s Shades of a Blue Orphanage, and ’73’s Vagabonds of the Western World. Recently,…
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Eve Monsees and Mike Buck
& Their Groovy Orbit
This is not a solo album as much as an anthology of Austin artists and styles – from blues to country to ’60s garage and psych, demonstrating the versatility of singer/guitarist Monsees (Eve & the Exiles, Blue Bonnets) and her husband, drummer Buck (LeRoi Brothers), as producers/organizers. The tracks span three years, but the names…
Hank Williams – The Unreleased Recordings
Time Life
For Hank Williams Sr. collectors who have all his studio material, the Holy Grail has been recordings of his live early morning radio shows, 15 minutes long, broadcast daily over Nashville’s WSM in…
Hound Dog Taylor, Son Seals, and Others
“I’m A Woman” sings Koko Taylor in her face-smacking distaff take on Bo Diddley’s “I’m A Man” to open this collection of Alligator’s best, past and present. Telecaster god Albert Collins follows with…
Alan Parsons
For the recording enthusiast, Alan Parsons talking about recording techniques is cherry stuff. Parsons of course was the assistant engineer on The Beatles’ Let It Be and Abbey Road, and the engineer on…
Faces
Sloppy Rock, The Way God Intended
When singer/guitarist Steve Marriott left England’s Small Faces at the end of ’68, to form Humble Pie with Peter Frampton, the band replaced him with two émigrés from the Jeff Beck Group –…
George Harrison
All Things Must Pass 50th Anniversary Edition
Is the world big enough for two distinct renderings of All Things Must Pass, Harrison’s iconic masterpiece? This anniversary set features a dramatic new mix (overseen by George’s son, Dhani), offering a sweeping…
Gary Moore
How Blue Can You Get
Posthumous studio albums can be rare as some artists leave behind little, if anything, that’s releasable. Blues, rock, and fusion virtuoso Gary Moore has been gone for a decade, so any fresh music…
Henry Robinett
Jazz Standards Vol. 2 Then Again
A second cousin of jazz fountainhead Charles Mingus, Robinett’s first guitar hero was Jimi Hendrix, and he spent much of his career playing fusion. These recordings from 2000, however, reveal him in a more mainstream setting,…
Gov’t Mule
Peace… Like a Rive
It’s fortunate the world still has artists like Gov’t Mule to influence aspiring musicians and prove that it’s possible to have a long, fruitful career playing this kind of music. The creation of…
Sonny Black – Hart And Soul
Sonny Black is an English guitarist who has absorbed several styles of American music and made them his own. It’s a hard sound to describe, but suffice it to say it contains jazz,…
Sean Costello – Moanin’ For Molasses
Moanin' For Molasses
I really enjoyed Sean’s last album, Cuttin’ In, and this one is just as likeable. He’s young, but man, he knows the blues. Both his singing and his guitar playing reek of soul.…
UFO
Lights Out 2024 Remaster
UFO was a ferocious live band, but had trouble translating that hard-rock excitement to the studio. They got close on 1977’s Lights Out, and this remaster is proof, delivering chunky, restored bass tracks…
Don Rich and The Buckeroos – The Don Rich Anthology
The Don Rich collection definitely reaches the heights of the live CD. It’s a 24-song retrospective featuring songs recorded when the late guitarist/fiddler was the instrumental hero of Buck Owens’ band. There’s lots…
Billy Joe Shaver
Since he first emerged as a songwriter more than 40 years ago, Billy Joe Shaver has remained an authentic country rebel, a far cry from contemporary Nashville’s bogus, self-proclaimed young “outlaws” who use…
Andreas Oberg – My Favorite Guitars
If you were to judge this disc by its cover, you might think something was fishy; a handsome Swedish guy with a leather jacket and t-shirt, guitar thrown over his shoulder… Yeah, right!…
Mark Newton – Hillbilly Hemingway
At first listen, you’d call Mark Newton’s music bluegrass, but it’s not just bluegrass. Sure, the affects are slathered on, but the drums give away the game – this is really honkytonk roots…
Scorpions
Rock Believer
The 19th studio album by Germany’s metal titans reveals a re-energized band recording live in one room, like they did in the ’80s, and with no outside songwriters. Guitarists Rudolf Schenker and Matthias…
Dick 50 – Late Show
Self-distributed
Dick 50 is Delbert McClinton’s touring band. Guitarist Rob McNelley handles most of the lead vocals and brings the same soulful feel he did to his two solo albums. His guitar is the…
Monster Mike Welch – Ax To Grind…
As a parent of a 15-year-old boy, I would hope that “Monster” Mike’s music packs a message that belies his 17 years. Perhaps he has a ghost writer lurking nearby with 40 years…
Pentagram
If you want to explore the roots of metal, check out Pentagram, an obscure Virginia band that started recording in 1971. Unlike the technically proficient metal of Black Sabbath and Deep Purple, this…
Ernest Ranglin
Standing at a crossroads of reggae and jazz, Ernest Ranglin has crafted a unique voice. His mellow-toned and laidback fusion is singular. And stunning. To anyone familiar with Jamaican music and reggae, Ranglin…
Waylon Jennings – The Essential Waylon Jennings
RCA is doing a really nice job re-releasing some country stuff with their “essential” series. They’ve put out a ton of them already, and I’m sure there’ll be more to come. This Waylon…
Julian Lage
View With a Room
