• 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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Bob DeVos – Playing for Keeps

He may be relatively obscure, but Devos can navigate traditional pieces and write fresh material that holds up. This is an organ trio with saxophone, and the players are very comfortable with each…

Rob Blaine

The liner notes for this are on-target when they say Rob Blaine yanks “big chunks” of music from his guitar. But that’s not the whole story. Yes, he can channel Freddie King, Jimi…

Lucky Peterson

Plain and simple, this is a monster album. Lucky Peterson sings, plays great guitar, a lot of keyboards, and covers a lot of great songs. The rockin’ wah-drenched cover of Ernie Isley’s “Deal…

Heybale – The Last Country Album

The incomparable Redd Volkaert and “Mr. Honky-Tonk Piano” Earl Pole Ball (whose collective resume is a Who’s Who of musical greats that includes Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard and Buck Owens) join drummer Tom…

Matteo Mancuso

The Journey

When guitarists as diverse as Al Di Meola and Joe Bonamassa are singing your praises, something’s up. Sicilian guitar prodigy Matteo Mancuso’s debut record displays effortless facility, charisma, and fresh ideas instead of…

Neil Young

Chrome Dreams

After being shelved for more than 45 years, Neil Young’s long-lost 1977 album finally sees daylight. Nestled between an impressive run of comeback albums such as Comes a Time, Rust Never Sleeps, and…

Mike Zito – Today

Mike Zito’s debut disc is brimming with Texas-style fire and soul, even though he’s from St. Louis! Zito uses a variety of Strat tones and employs chops chock full of soul. His vocals…

Various Artists – Ruf Records 12 Year Anthology

Ruf Records’ mix of blues, soul, and rock can be a welcome addition to any record collection, and this CD/DVD expands its reach. The CD features 13 cuts from the likes of Aynsley…

Fleetwood Mac – Tusk

Considering Fleetwood Mac’s enormous popularity in the 1970s, which can be traced to the moment Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks joined the waning band, Buckingham would have to rank as one of the…

Wes Montgomery

There’s not a lot more that can be said about Wes Montgomery that hasn’t already been said. But new recordings keep surfacing, almost demanding more superlatives about his playing. Suffice it to say…

Shooter Jennings, Ryan Bingham, and Various Artists

Outlaw: Celebrating The Music Of Waylon Jennings

Waylon Jennings, who died in 2002, would have turned 80 in 2017. He and compadre Willie Nelson still personify country’s early-’70s Outlaw movement, focused on gaining creative control of their records after years…

Sex Pistols: I Wanna Be Me

Dave Simpson

1977’s Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols LP was an atomic bomb dropped on rock music and culture. To commemorate the explosion, Simpson’s short, photo-packed, book examines this seismic blast. Even…

Danny Gatton – Funhouse

Funhouse

This is incredible stuff. Hardly a scoop to guitar players. What surprises me is that there are tapes of Danny Gatton out there that sound this good, and we’ve never heard them. This…

Eric Bibb

Telarc

Eric Bibb’s last few studio efforts have proven he can deliver the goods when it comes to folk, blues, and soul music. And with Troubadour Live, we get a feel for his stage…

Big Head Todd

Ryko

Doing an album of Robert Johnson songs may not be a particularly original idea, but it’s not a bad one. For this one, Todd Mohr and band have called upon veteran bluesmen to…

Lee Rocker – Black Cat Bone

On his second record for Alligator, former Stray Cats bassist Lee Rocker continues to show just how vital he was to that band’s sound, and that he can write and interpret songs as…

George Benson

Concord Jazz

While Benson is a fine soul singer, some have been frustrated that his guitar has often taken a back seat on records full of vocals. There are a couple of vocals here, but…

Darren Jay and the Delta Souls

Darren Jay may not be in Gregg Allman’s class as a singer, but he’s still effective. As a guitar player and arranger, though, he can stand with many, and he leads this big…

Alison Krauss and Union Station – Alison Krauss + Union Station Live

Although fine female bluegrass singers and songwriters like Hazel Dickens and Emmylou Harris have achieved success, Alison Krauss must be considered the first woman bluegrass superstar. Ever since her first release, Krauss’ CDs…

Parliament – Funked Up: The Very Best of Parliament

Funked Up: The Very Best of Parliament

Like the man said, “Make my funk the P-Funk. I wants to get funked up.” This is not the first “best of” by George Clinton and troop, but it is the best I’ve…

Danny Gatton – Funhouse

Funhouse

This is incredible stuff. Hardly a scoop to guitar players. What surprises me is that there are tapes of Danny Gatton out there that sound this good, and we’ve never heard them. This…

Tom Rush – How I Play My Favorite Songs

On this vid, Tom Rush demonstrates what makes his playing so special. His teaching style is perfect for beginning acoustic guitarists who haven’t had much experience with capos. He knows how to break…

Rickenbacker Guitars: Out of the Frying Pan and into the Fireglo

Martin Kelly and Paul Kelly

At long last, Rickenbacker gets the treatment it deserves, with this glorious large, comprehensive, and colorful history of the guitars, basses, amps, players, and more. Richard R. Smith’s groundbreaking work set the scene…

The Clash – Live At Shea Stadium

If the Rolling Stones were the “World’s greatest rock and roll band” from 1968 to ’72, then 10 years later, that appellation could safely be conferred on the Clash. In that late ’70s/early…

Bill Mize – Joyful Noise

Joyful Noise

Man, talk about your great albums by folks you may not be familiar with! Bill Mize has done other nice work, but this disc is 10 songs of pure joy. He’s an acoustic…

Flatt & Scruggs – Best of The Flatt and Scruggs TV Show

Before “Hullabaloo” or “Hootenany” there was the Grand Ole Opry, America’s first national country music show broadcast on the radio. Of course the Opry garnered a slew of imitators, and when television came…

Peter Frampton

Perhaps no rocker in history was ever punished as severely as Peter Frampton. In 1976, he was the celebrated king of pop-rock thanks to Frampton Comes Alive, but after a weak followup and…

  • Yes

    Yes

    Close to the Edge: Super Deluxe Edition

The Cowsills

Rhythm Of The World

The Cowsills were pop-rock’s first family band and, yes, the model for the Partridge Family. During a two-year period beginning in 1967, they scored four Top 40 hits, with “The Rain, The Park…

Chris Antonik

Self-distributed

Blues guitarist Chris Antonik seems determined to prove the adage that every note counts. While his song structures are familiar, his playing keeps them from being cliche. The opener, “More To Give,” is…

Michael Bloomfield – If You Love These Blues, Play ‘Em As You Please

I’ve had more than one conversation with a colleague when The Paul Butterfield Blues Band album came up, and we said in unison, “That album changed my life.” A big reason for the…