ZZ Top – Eliminator

For its 25th anniversary, the most iconic of all ZZ records (one of the first albums to “go diamond,” signifying sales of 10 million copies) gets a much-deserved deluxe treatment, with the original…

The Rolling Stones

Chrome Dreams/MVD

Despite the title, the focus of this “unauthorized” Stones documentary is not directly on Mick Taylor nor his guitar playing, but a general analysis of the band’s heyday. That said, there’s a lot…

John Monteleone

The Chisels Are Calling

Captured in this documentary, John Monteleone’s hand-crafted fretted instruments draw inspiration from the past. His chief inspirations are legendary guitar craftsmen John D’Angelico and Jimmy D’Aquisto, and he incorporates untraditional design ideas such…

Donal Clancy – Close to Home

Donal Clancy continues the tradition of the Clancy Brothers, demonstrating that contemporary Celtic music is as vibrant as any musical genre. Clancy grew up surrounded by traditional Irish music, and all 12 cuts…

Eric Bibb and J.J. Milteau

Lead Belly Lives!

The September ’15 “Check This Action” column was devoted to an impressive box-set the Smithsonian Folkways label dedicated to Lead Belly, whom Eric Bibb and J.J. Milteau honored with this CD. Lead Belly’s…

Creedence Clearwater Revival

What band has ever had a year like Creedence Clearwater Revival did in 1969? After its debut in ’68, John Fogerty’s group released a followup, Bayou Country, in January ’69 and “Proud Mary”…

Tedeschi Trucks Band

You might get the idea that the band led by husband-and-wife team Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi are feeling a bit laidback on their latest effort. But listen again, and you’ll get a…

Cailyn

Cailyn Lloyd’s former life as a blues rocker of the Peter Green school gave her the stuff to put blood into the New Age music she has been making for the last few…

Diana Krall

Fans familiar with Krall’s records featuring swinging tunes and gentle ballads might be more than a little surprised when they hear Glad Rag Doll. It wouldn’t be fair to say she’s left the…

The Replacements – Tim, All Shook Down, Pleased to Meet Me

Rhino Records

The final four Replacements LPs are back in deluxe style, thanks to Rhino. Accompanying the label’s re-release of the band’s first four albums and EPs earlier this year, the band has finally been…

Mary Osborne

This isn’t just a reissue; the first CD appearance of Mary Osborne’s only solo album is an event. Osborne was not just the first major female jazz guitarist, she was arguably the best…

Carole King and James Taylor

Hear Music/Concord

There have always been singer/songwriters in rock (from Buddy Holly and Chuck Berry to the Beatles and Bob Dylan), but from 1968 to ’75, L.A.’s Troubadour helped launch the “singer/songwriter” as an entity,…

Blackberry Smoke

The Atlanta band walks the line between blues, alt country, and Southern rock on their fifth studio album, getting lower down and rocking harder all the way. The quintet lives to play, touring…

Jo’ Buddy

To celebrate 30 years on the road, this Finnish bluesman gathered up the various aggregations he’s toured and recorded with, along with some special guests, to deliver a dozen originals – each screaming…

Beastie Boys

This groundbreaking album needs little introduction – except maybe to guitarheads. Yes, it’s rap, but the Beastie Boys showed the world what composing with sound samples can create. Here’s a primal fusion of…

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…

Mud Ride: A Messy Trip Through The Grunge Explosion

Steve Turner with Adem Tepedelen

Mudhoney never really cashed in on the early-’90s grunge sweepstakes. In fact, its members have largely eschewed the G word. Until now. Lead guitarist and cofounder Steve Turner chronicles Mudhoney’s formation and career…

Mountain Heart – The Road That Never Ends (The Live Album)

Mountain Heart plays music its own way. What makes the band so different? Breadth. While most bands narrow their scope to one particular sound, Mountain Heart pushes boundaries past traditional bluegrass into other…

Beasts of Bourbon – Little Animals

The Beasts of Bourbon have always been a vehicle for vocalist Tex Perkins, but have also been as much a side project as a major recording and touring force. Well-regarded and influential in…

Eric Clapton

If you read Eric Clapton’s recent autobiography, you know he is very content with his life and were he stands musically. This album conveys that same feeling – laid-back and intimate – though…

Janiva Magness – Blues Ain’t Pretty

Blues Ain't Pretty

Well, I do agree, the blues ain’t pretty. But svelte torch singer Janiva Magness sure is a sight for sore eyes. In addition to belting out the blues and fronting her own band…

Brad Allen Williams

Annie Ross

Oz Noy

Nathan East

Robben Ford – Keep On Running

Pat Martino – Live at Yoshi’s

I’ve always found it hard to review Pat’s records. He’s one of those almost mystical players who always play so brilliantly, before and after his health problems, that it just seems silly to…

The Clutter Family

(Self-distributed)

Whatever else happens to The Clutters, they will never be invited to Sarah Palin’s house for Thanksgiving dinner – the name of their song about her can’t even be printed. But they are…

Muddy Waters and The Rolling Stones

Reissues and new arrivals

The cup runneth over with Rolling Stones live discs, a heady mix of reissues and new arrivals. Ladies & Gentlemen… is the soundtrack to the concert film shot over four nights in the…

Various Artists – A Twist of Marley

Sort of the second in a series of “twist” tributes, this is an all-star tribute to Bob Marley. It was put together by guitarist Lee Ritenour, and features the likes of Jonathon Butler,…

Frank Zappa

Apostrophe (’) 50th Anniversary

Great googly-moogly! Frank Zappa’s potty-mouth masterpiece is a half-century old and now fêted with a 75-track box set. The original LP has been expertly remastered to increase separation between tracks without sacrificing analog…

Jimmy Thackery and Tab Benoit – Whiskey Store Live

Whiskey Store Live

Two artists get together and record a live album. Could be disaster, could work great. Jimmy Thackery is a veteran who knows his way around a song, and Benoit is a marvel. About…

Cow Bop

Picture yourself in a smoky cowboy-jazz joint around 1952, and you’ll get the picture on where Cow Bop is coming from. The combo’s music is tantalizing postwar bop, but with ample heaps of…

Fred McDowell – The First Recordings, Steakbone Slide Guitar, Leve

These three CDs of Mississippi Fred McDowell all show different sides of the great Delta bluesman. Rounder’s The First Recordings were recorded by famed musicologist Alan Lomax in 1959, yet among the 14…

Andrew Winton – The Decompression Chamber

Based in Perth, Australia, this Dobro and lap steel specialist has obviously listened to some David Lindley, plenty of blues, and his neighbor (and former steel guitarist with Asleep At The Wheel), Lucky…

Darrell Webb Band

Martin Taylor – In Concert

In Concert

Annie Ross

R.L. Burnside – Well… Well… Well

Royal Trux

Drag City Records