• Paul Johnson

    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…

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Charlie Musselwhite – Sanctuary

Sanctuary

With his debut album in 1966, harmonica vanguard Charlie Musselwhite met and set the standard for authenticity and adventurism in blues. But in the past few years,

Steve Trovato – About Time

Yikes! Talk about your chops, Steve Trovato’s got ’em. Known best on the West Coast as an instructor (Studio Jazz Guitar at USC) and for his work on movie and TV themes, Trovato…

David Grisman Quintent – Dawgnation

Dawgnation

How many musicians can be said to have invented a truly new style of music in the past, say, 25 years? Not just form a new branch of an existing style, but plant…

Dutch Henry – All That Space

Dutch Henry writes the kind of soaring pop-rock that while never being completely out of fashion probably won’t be Top 40 any time soon. The title cut is a bouncy pop piece, much…

Various artists – Crossroads Guitar Festival

Talk about piquing one’s curiosity. The promos for the truncated pledge-drive version of the Crossroads Festival that aired on PBS in December began, “Sixty-five guitarists… 87 guitars … came to play with one…

Jimmy McIntosh – Orleans to London

At first glance, this record appears odd for a first-call player in Las Vegas. But the title says it all. Not only does it signify where parts of the record were recorded, it…

Samantha Fish

Faster

Samantha Fish’s latest continues an artful trajectory combining pop and gritty blues; Faster seduces the listener as it showcases empowerment, self-reflection, and taking control of one’s destiny. Under the watchful eye of producer…

Warren Haynes

Million Voices Whisper

Warren Haynes’ first solo album since 2011 is an uplifting set that reflects am optimistic spirit of change and hope. With Haynes at the height of his superpowers on guitar and vocals, he…

AC/DC – Family Jewels DVD

Family Jewels DVD

Like AC/DC? As in, a whole lotta AC/DC? If so, check out this massive 40-track/2-DVD set. Hardcore Angus-philes will dig that the first disc is devoted to the Bon Scott era, ca. 1975-’80…

San Francisco String Trio

May I Introduce to You

As the title may tell, here’s yet another collection of Beatles tunes – this one entirely from Sgt. Pepper – done mostly in the form of jazz instrumentals. The trio is Mimi Fox…

3Below

Live in Mérida

The members of 3Below mostly play in the bass clef. You may know names like fretless master Michael Manring (Michael Hedges) and “touch guitarist” Trey Gunn (King Crimson), but Mexican fusioneer Alonso Arreola…

Johnny Winter

Roots, from 2011, ended an almost 10-year drought for Winter, and in fine style, featuring excellent playing from Derek Trucks, Sonny Landreth, Vince Gill, and especially Winter himself. Step Back was to be…

Side Hustle

Thom Rotella

Rotella’s long-established fretboard brilliance has put him in some heady music, film, and TV sessions over the decades (including frequent contributions to “Family Guy”). A protégé of revered L.A. “Wrecking Crew” guitar giant…

John Pizzarelli – Bossa Nova

John Pizzarelli’s latest should come as a surprise to no one. The fact that he’s been influenced by Jobim and his many disciples is evident in his past work. And it should come…

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…

Newport Folk Festival

Bluegrass/Blues Elementals Before Farm Aid, Telluride, or even Woodstock, there was the Newport Folk Festival. Begun in the late ’50s, this yearly gathering molded and defined a generation’s tastes in music. It was…

Ricky Skaggs with Kentucky Thunder – History of the Future

History of the Future

From the opening accapella vocal lines of “Shady Grove,” Ricky Skaggs’ History of the Future roars out of your speakers with full-throttle devil-be-damned, fire-breathing bluegrass. Clay Hess’ first guitar solo is so jaw-droppingly…

Sean Costello – Sean Costello

Sean Costello – Sean Costello This is Sean’s first work for Tone Cool/Artemis, and while his past work was very good, he has matured to become one of the major young talents in…

Dolly Parton – Little Sparrow

Little Sparrow

When honky-tonk hero Merle Haggard found himself in the unlikely role of pop star, with the hits “Okie From Muskogee” and “The Fightin’ Side Of Me,” he wasted little time using his increased…

Rob Ickes & Trey Hensley

Living in a Song

Resonator-guitar whiz Ickes and singer/guitarist Hensley blend traditional and outside elements, sometimes on bare-bones acoustic. On others, they create an amalgam of bluegrass and the classic country of the ’80s and ’90s enhanced…

Bob Dylan – Live 1966: The “Royal Albert Hall” Concert

The history of rock and roll is marked by a handful of famous (or infamous) concerts that defined eras for better or worse. Among these landmark shows were the Beatles’ last U.S. tour,…

PRS Dragons – Jenna’s Eyes

Jenna's Eyes

The leader of PRS Dragons, as you might expect, is guitarmaker Paul Reed Smith. So it stands to reason the sounds here are just what you’d expect. Crunchy rhythm guitars and big fat…

Rick Holmstrom, John “Juke” Logan, Stephen Hodges

Mocombo

Three of L.A.’s most versatile, in-demand blues players, guitarist Holmstrom, drummer Hodges, and harpist Logan cut this live in one room with no outside players. There’s no bass, and Logan (an excellent keyboardist)…

Johnny Winter – Deluxe Edition

When you think about it, Johnny Winter has had quite a career. And here, from Alligator Records, just to let you know it continues strong, is a set of cuts from his stint…

Josh Smith

Bird Of Passage

Between playing guitar on the road and producing blues artists with Joe Bonamassa, Josh Smith found time to get in the studio for himself. Bird Of Passage is Smith’s dream of composing for,…

John5 – Requiem

Adrenaline Records

His resume includes names like Marilyn Manson and Rob Zombie, but John 5 is not your typical shock-metal guitarist. In fact, much of his new DVD shows him running down country licks… in…

Megan Slankard

(Self-distributed)

Megan Slankard is difficult to pigeonhole. Equal parts country soul, folk, pop, and alt rock, though still in her early 20s, Token of the Wreckage is her third disc, and amply demonstrates why…

The Doltones

Sound Recycle Machine

There must be something in those icy fjords. What else can explain the great surf music that has come out of Finland? In recent years, instrumental bands like the Regents, Beatmakers, and especially…

Metallica

72 Seasons

Metallica’s 11th album is a blast from the band’s hard-charging past, and does not disappoint. As the follow-up to 2016’s Hardwired… to Self-Destruct, drummer Lars Ulrich, guitarist Kirk Hammett, frontman/guitarist James Hetfield, and…

Tumbledown

End Sounds

From punk to rockabilly – it feels like a perfectly natural progression for Mike Herrera. Part of the 1990s punk trio MxPx, Herrera has stepped back in, with his group Tumbledown. Tumbledown marked…