• 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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Petra van Nuis & Andy Brown

String Damper Records

There’s not a lot of precedent for albums featuring nothing but a female voice and a jazz guitar, but those that come to mind set a high bar. There was Al Viola with…

Hank Williams

This 15-CD, one-DVD collection features 143 Hank Williams sides that had never appeared together in an official release, and were once thought lost. This elaborate limited-edit ion package includes a healthy amount of…

Mathew Ryan – Concussion

I’m a big fan of un-slick, direct acoustic music. Mathew Ryan’s Concussion is just that – country music in the mold of Steve Earle, not Garth Brooks. Ryan’s music has the grit of…

The Infamous Stringdusters

A band’s sophomore release usually has a snappier title than the name of the band. But in some ways this second album is a first album. Guitarist Chris Eldridge left to join the…

Eric Lindell – Low On Cash, Rich In Love

Eric Lindell’s second album is full of great songs and inspired playing while his hipster feel and look match his guitar grooves. You get an idea with the opener, “Lay Back Down” –…

Jake Andrews

In The Shadows

Twenty-three years ago, a guitarist who shall remain nameless was booked to play SXSW only to discover his slot was right after Jake Andrews, better known as 13-year-old “Guitar Jake” at the time.…

Gil Parris – Live at the Next Door Café

A live setting is the perfect place for Parris to show his stuff. A versatile and unique guitarist, he has been around and done some major-label work in the past. Now releasing his…

Jeffrey Halford and the Healers – Kerosene

Jeffrey and the boys specialize on one of my favorite kinds of rock and roll. You just put a few chords together, write some great lyrics, sing and play with great fervor, and…

Alan Jackson

Following his 2013 bluegrass album, Alan Jackson returns to his usual format, in this case, 10 songs of varying topics and moods. Seven are Jackson originals (no collaborators) covering matters of the heart,…

Coco Montoya

Writing on the Wall

Since his debut album in 1995, Coco Montoya – who cut his teeth with fellow southpaw Albert Collins and John Mayall – built a reputation marked by skill and feel. His ninth album…

Hellecasters – Live…Raw…In Germany On…The Filter Video

Yikes! Here’s a truly awe-inspiring display of guitar playing. Recorded live on German television, Jerry Donahue, John Jorgenson, and Will Ray take you on a roller-coaster ride that will leave you sitting on…

The Deadlies

Self-distributed

Though its song titles imply this is “surf music,” James Patrick Regan and the Deadlies boast plenty of other inf luences. Yes, there’s plenty of reverb-drenched guitar from Regan, and bassist Bob St.…

Graham Central Station – Anthology

It is extremely rare for a band to have one true innovator. Sly & The Family Stone had two. There was the vision of Sly Stone, and the thumb of Larry Graham. His…

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…

Art Tatum

Jewels In The Treasure Box: The 1953 Chicago Blue Note Jazz Club Recordings

It’s a wonder how never-released recordings continue to emerge – in this case, an engagement led by jazz piano virtuoso Art Tatum. Upon seeing the pianist enter a club he was playing, the…

The Wailin’ Jennys

Red House Records

The concept of a “folk supergroup” sounds strange, sort of like “the folksinger’s Porsche.” But no musical amalgamation deserves this moniker more than The Wailin’ Jennys. With three world-class lead vocalists who are…

Lil’ Ed and the Blues Imperials – Rattleshake

It’s tough to find a guy who sounds like he’s having as much fun making a record as does Lil’ Ed. His sixth Alligator effort kicks off with “Leaving Here,” and the old…

John Scofield

John Scofield

In a lengthy career marked by collaborations with other jazz icons, Scofield’s first solo-guitar album (using only a looper) is no minor departure. He covers a swath of material, combining standards and originals…

Larry Carlton/Steve Lukather – No Substitutions

No Substitutions

I don’t really know what to say about this one. It’s just a good, old-fashioned jam by a couple of great guitarists. To no one’s surprise, they’re both up to the task. The…

Albert Glinksy – Theremin: Ether Music and Espionage

The theremin holds the distinction of being the only instrument that is played without being touched. Using a human body’s natural capacitance to manipulate radio waves, the theremin was also the first electronic…

Hillbilly Idol

I love this record. You don’t really think of great country music as coming out of Cleveland, but this would be the exception to that rule. Whether it’s honky-tonk, country swing, pop-like country,…

Kentucky Headhunters – Soul

Yes, it’s true, this one came out some time ago, but it has occupied space on my listening stack for a long time. The Headhunters have been “popular” for more than 15 years,…

Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble – Live At Montreux 1982 & 1985

By now, every guitar fan worth his salt knows the story behind these two concerts by Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble at the legendary Montreux Jazz Festival. Appearing in 1982, the boys…

The Jelly Jam

The Jelly Jam’s forth album is a weighty recording that combines the best elements of modern prog and aspects of King’s X. Nobody does dark and moody like King’s X guitarist Ty Tabor.…

Arv Garrison

The Unknown Wizard Of The Six-String

In the ’40s, Arv Garrison recorded with bebop legends Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. Besides his own group, he was one-third of the Vivien Garry Trio with his bassist/wife. And he wrote and…

Chet Atkins – Ten Different CDs

This is the kind of thing that really excites me. One Way has taken 20 Chet Atkins albums from the early ’60s through the late ’70s and put them on 10 CDs. Two…

Corb Lund

Lund’s debut, 2014’s Counterfeit Blues, showcased him and his three-piece Hurtin’ Albertans (guitarist Grant Siemens, upright bassist Kurt Ciesla, and drummer Brady Valgardson) revisiting previously recorded material at Sun Studios in Memphis, a…

  • Yes

    Yes

    Close to the Edge: Super Deluxe Edition

Richie Kotzen

Soul Survivor

Richie Kotzen may not be a household name, but with nearly 20 albums and countless group projects on his resumé, he’s on the verge. Coming to prominence in ’89 after being signed to…

The Derek Trucks Band

Live recordings really are the way to show what the Derek Trucks Band does best. Onstage, its members play off each other as well as any band today, and few jam bands know…

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…