• 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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Tony Bacon – 50 Years of Fender – Half a Century of the Greatest Electric Guitars

In 1950, Leo Fender began production of the first solidbody electric guitar, and music hasn’t been the same since. Celebrating the anniversary of the event, this book provides a year-by-year chronicle of the…

The Sender

All Killer No Filler (1977-2001)

The PR for this double-LP (and CD) casts the Senders as “punk,” concentrating on seven live tracks featuring guitarist Johnny Thunders (New York Dolls, Heartbreakers). But 24 other cuts reveal the New York…

Anthony Gomes – Live

At 38, blues rocker Anthony Gomes makes music like a man in his prime, getting the best from himself while being neither too tired nor jaded to truly enjoy his life’s work. He’s…

The Rolling Stones

It’s become hip lately to make fun of the Rolling Stones. You’ve heard all the jokes about how bad they look, how grandpa should stay home – everything that goes with their advanced…

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…

Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys featuring Ricky Skaggs and Keith Whitley

Formed in 1946, the Stanley Brothers were the second bluegrass group, following Bill Monroe’s. But lead singer and rhythm guitarist Carter Stanley died in 1966 at age 41. Banjo-playing brother Ralph formed the…

Jo’ Buddy & Down Home King III

Finnish singer/ guitarist/ composer Jussi “Jo’ Buddy” Raulamo has played with just about every bluesman to pass through Finland and more on his pilgrimages to the States. Howard Armstrong, Eddy Clearwater, Maceo Parker,…

Laurie Lewis – Live

Bill Monroe never paid much attention to studio recording. He believed bluegrass music was created to be played live. On her latest release, entitled simply Live, Laurie Lewis treats us to a complete…

Bill Frisell, Nels Cline, David Torn, and others

European Union

You may have heard the name Terje Rypdal, but not really know the six-string legend or his music. For close to 50 years, Rypdal was a major force in Europe, pushing the lines…

Lamar Sorrento

As the title of his latest might just hint, Lamar Sorrento isn’t expecting to break into the big time or sweep the Grammys with this disc. That’s OK, because it’s all too good…

Sir Clive and the Raging Cartographers – Guitar Safari

An aptly titled collection of songs, if any guitarist was indeed hunting guitar sounds and styles, finding something like this would indeed make for a successful safari. Composed, played, and recorded by VG…

Check This Action: Real Gone for a Change

“Hold it, fellas.” After languidly singing the first line of “Milk Cow Blues,” Elvis Presley halted the proceedings. “That don’t move me,” he exhorted his sidemen. “Let’s get real, real gone for a…

Chuck Mead – Journeyman’s Wager

The BR549 co-founder’s new disc is loaded with great stuff, including his guitar work. In the band, Mead split lead duties with Chris Scruggs and Gary Bennett, but was more than capable of…

Robin Trower featuring Sari Schorr

Joyful Sky

Trower, a legendary guitarist who has occasionally sung lead on his own albums, has more-often worked with stellar vocalists to bring extra power to his combustible blues-rock. Collaborators have included the late, great…

Check This Action: England’s Renaissance Bluesman

Last month, I focused on the blues box Shake ’Em On Down, which included a couple of songs by London-born Dave Peabody. The guitarist/bandleader has covered a lot of ground and worn many…

Cary Morin

Cradle To The Grave

When a heard-it-all music critic stumbles onto a “new artist,” only to discover a back catalog and lifetime achievement award, then immediately orders three prior CDs, you know something’s up. A Crow tribal…

Rick Fowler – Back On My Good Foot

The closing, extended version of Savoy Brown’s “Hellbound Train” is this set’s only cover, but it may be the set’s most revealing track. With so many blues guitarists aping the Vaughans, it’s refreshing…

The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and John McEuen

The Dirt Band celebrates five decades in style with a host of new releases. The ensemble’s Ryman Auditorium all-star show from March 2016 originally aired on PBS TV, lending the DVD and separate…

Guy Clark – Somedays the Song Writes You

Guy Clark’s latest album features material written in collaboration, and the results demonstrate that choosing the right creative partner makes a world of difference. The 10 originals and one cover on Somedays the…

The Dead Live On

Various Artists

The Grateful Dead just may be more popular now that the band is actually dead and gone. Their musical industrial complex keeps a steady stream of live recordings coming – and with some…

Son House, Willie Trice, Sam Chatmon, and others

“Treasure trove” is a label as overused as “genius,” “virtuoso,” and “Holy Grail.” But, how else can one describe 115 minutes of footage, containing 33 performances by blues legends Rev. Gary Davis, Big…

Ric Lee’s Natural Born Swingers

This band doesn’t just hearken back to the late ’60s British blues movement; it includes two seminal figures from that period, in Ten Years After drummer Ric Lee and pianist Bob Hall, an…

Tony Holiday

Motel Mississippi

Following his two volumes of Porch Sessions collaborations with artists Lurrie Bell, Bobby Rush, Charlie Musselwhite, and the two Kids – Ramos and Andersen – the Memphis-based Holiday presents a fully realized, intriguing…

Bootzilla

Bootsy Collins

Bootsy Collins’ first album in six years continues the tradition of 2011’s Tha Funk Capital Of The World by enlisting special guests to extend his funkalicious reach. Proselytizing the holy gospel of uncut…

Larry Coryell

He’s the godfather of fusion guitar, and don’t you forget it. Chico Hamilton, Gary Burton, the Eleventh House, Alphonse Mouzon, the Guitar Trio – Larry Coryell was melding jazz, rock, and Indian music…

Ty Tabor

Shades

King’s X guitarist Ty Tabor’s 11th solo album is the follow-up to 2018’s Alien Beans. Ten tracks and three bonus songs tell the sonic saga of life, death, and the loss of a…

The Martian Denny Orchestra

Bob Irwin, founder-owner of New York-based Sundazed Music and a rock and jazz guitarist for decades, has a guitar-centric mind. Part of the instrumental band the Pluto Walkers, Irwin, who now lives near…

Bill Frisell

Music Is

Bill Frisell is a musical treasure who has proven himself in so many musical situations he’s impossible to categorize. His latest effort is his first “solo” record in many years. And it’s not…

Social Distortion

Epitaph

After 30-plus years, seven studio albums, a live album, and two DVDs, Social Distortion may have just released its masterpiece. The band came rocking out of Fullerton, California, in 1978, playing a tough…

Billy Strings

Live, Volume 1

Billy Strings has travelled far from his days as bluegrass flatpicking prodigy, though that style remains a linchpin of his sound as he’s kept moving, developing greater depth and range. Strings’ ability to…