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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…
Rod Piazza & The Mighty Flyers – Beyond The Source
There is no group more dedicated to the blues idiom then Rod Piazza and the Mighty Flyers. And they are a group. You can rest assured this it not some off-the-cuff aggregation. These…
Peter Tuffrey
British Guitarists 1952-1972: Electric Pioneers
Peter Tuffrey is an author of general-interest books (several about English trains) who is adroit at compiling information. This one keys on 40 British guitarists – from the obvious (Clapton, Beck, Page) to…
Brad Paisley
Hot-Picking Comfort Zone
Brad Paisley’s albums have followed a formula that began on his 2001 sophomore album Part II. Generously programmed with abundant cameos, they blend love songs with catchy numbers celebrating idealized small-town and rural…
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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…
Canned Heat
Finyl Vinyl
In the mid/late ’60s, the top American groups of the Blues Revival were Chicago’s Paul Butterfield Blues Band and Los Angeles’ Canned Heat. The latter’s original incarnation featured Bob Hite, Henry Vestine, and…
Humble Pie
The A&M CD Box Set (1970-1975)
Arena-rock pioneers Humble Pie launched some of the grittiest heavy rock of the ’70s, courtesy of vocalist/guitarist Steve Marriott, bassist Greg Ridley, and successive lead men Peter Frampton and David “Clem” Clempson. This…
Ronnie Wood
Eagle Records
This is Wood’s first solo album since 2001, which isn’t surprising, seeing as it’s only his seventh studio album in 36 years – his solo output usually dictated by his schedule with his…
Nat King Cole
Live at the Blue Note Chicago
Many Nat Cole fans, even diehards, are unaware that, in addition to his beautiful singing voice, he was among the greatest jazz pianists. Fewer still are aware of the world-class guitarists who played…
Rick Vito – Complete Guide to Slide Guitar
The guy who played the slide part in Bob Seger’s “Like a Rock” and played in Fleetwood Mac lends insight on improving your slide playing. He covers a range of topics including setting…
Bob Dylan
1970
Not yet 30, Bob Dylan had already conquered the world at the beginning of the 1970s. Wisely, he plowed ahead, entering a New York studio with ringers David Bromberg, Charlie Daniels, and another…
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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…
Eric Johnson
Renaissance Guitarman
Eric Johnson digs deep. Not in the way that guitarists will explode an artery to nail the ultimate epic guitar solo or clone the microscopic nuances of Stevie Ray Vaughan. EJ is about…
Brian Setzer
Gotta Have the Rumble
Setzer’s first solo album in seven years straddles the line between what you want and what you expect. You get both Stray-Cats-flavored rockabilly ravers and the big-band beats of the Brian Setzer Orchestra,…
Coco Montoya
Hard Truth
It’s been awhile since Coco Montoya’s last studio effort, but he comes out firing here. From the Albert King-style blast that kicks off the opener, “Before The Bullets Fly,” to the loud, raucous…
Mehran
Iranian-born Mehran has mastered flamenco guitar and here uses his skills on a concept album about events in his home country. The music is a mix of jazz, new age, and Iranian. The…
Robin Trower
No More Worlds to Conquer
You can depend on the prolific Robin Trower dropping a new album every year or two. Here, his blues-drenched vibrato and Strat-through-Marshall tone are front and center, peppered with an array of Fulltone…
Guy Davis – You Don’t Know My Mind
Guy Davis is the real thing. This young black bluesman plays his version of the downhome blues like he, too, has a hellhound on his trail. Davis has released two earlier collections of…
Jim Fox – Natural Blonde
Talk about a guitar feast! Fox, a fixture in L.A.’s jazz and studio scenes, goes toe to toe with two giants of those same circles, a generation his senior (John Pisano and Bob…
Mem Shannon – Memphis In The Morning
Once everyone’s favorite cabby in the Cresent City, Mem Shannon is now rapidly making tracks toward the same level of popularity in the contemporary blues idiom. Making his home in Memphis (where is…
Victoria Vox
Obus Music
When one first hears an artist and album undeniably unique and idiosyncratic, they’re often reduced to describing it as a marriage of known quantities. So once again, here goes; think of Victoria Vox’s…
John Mayall and Friends – Along For the Ride
John Mayall (VG, July ’98) has been doing it for so long it seems he has always been there. And he has. In a career that has lasted nearly 40 years and produced…
Muddy Waters – The Blues: Rolling Stone 1941-1950
The Blues: Rolling Stone 1941-1950
This new collection chronicles the rise of Muddy Waters from tractor driver to the king of the blues. It presents 36 of his formative first recordings on two CDs covering his debut years…
Popa Chubby – Stealing the Devil’s Guitar
Good ol’ Popa Chubby – a.k.a. Ted Horowitz – keeps chuggin’ along and making solid records, especially when it comes to guitarslinging. A couple of tunes here seem like mere excuses to jam…
Brian May
Back to the Light
After frontman Freddie Mercury’s death in 1991, Queen seemed done and gone. But the following year, their resident guitar hero bounced back with this solo U.K. hit, now expanded into a two-CD set.…
Sarah Harmer – You Were Here
Canadian musicians have long found it necessary to come south to the US of A if they want to make it big. Sarah Harmer is one of a long line of Canadians lured…
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…
Various Artists – All My Loving
“All My Loving” was a 1967 TV special on the BBC that scared some people – and it’s easy to see why. For older folks tuned in, video of musical acts and other…
Bloom
Larkin Poe
Grammy-winning sisters Rebecca and Megan Lovell deliver an album that continues their trajectory into rural soundcapes and bluesy, heartfelt authenticity. Produced and composed by the duo with guitarist/songwriter Tyler Bryant, Bloom is saturated…
The Del McCoury Band – It’s Just the Night
It's Just the Night
Del McCoury and his boys have risen to the top of bluegrass music by championing and epitomizing a traditional approach that makes the best use of their talents. Their sound is built around…
Little Charlie and the Organ Grinder Swing
Any fan of the original Little Charlie and the Nightcats knows Charlie Baty can swing; he always had one foot in the jazz world while playing the band’s brand of blues. Here, on…
NRBQ and the Whole Wheat Horns – Derbytown: Live ’82
NRBQ is one of the most underappreciated bands in rock and roll history, and even this poorly-shot live show from 1982 does not change that. In fact, despite the grainy appearance, odd angles,…
The Twangbangers – 26 Days on the Road
Pretty hard to screw up this one. You’ve got Bill Kirchen and Redd Volkaert on guitar, Joe Goldmark on pedal steel, and Dallas Wayne on vocals, along with the killer rhythm section of…
Matt Rae – Twang!
Twang!
