• 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

    Read more >>

Chris Duarte Group – Vantage Point

It’ll surprise few familiar with Duarte to learn that this disc is full of hardcore Strat tones, killer blues chops, and lyrics that get to the point. Cynics might say “What’s the point?”…

Free – Free Forever

Eagle Vision

Free was capable of turning out such memorable originals as “Fire And Water,” “Mr. Big,” and its biggest hit, “All Right Now” – all from 1970’s Fire And Waterthe band’s third album. The…

Circle Jerks

Wild In The Streets 40th Anniversary Deluxe Edition

Early L.A. punk was a many-headed monster, birthing everything from the glammy Runaways to the more prototypical Germs, as well as rootsy outfits like X and the Blasters. Even the Go-Go’s broke in…

2025 August Issue on Spotify

This month, we feature Rick Derringer, Kid Ramos, Booker T and The M.G.’s, Steve Stevens, Phil Manzanera, Doug Aldrich, Kenny Burrell, Eric Johanson, Gary Moore, and more! Spotify is free or available without…

Eric Gales – The Psychedelic Underground

The Psychedelic Underground Eric Gales’ new disc picks up where last year’s Crystal Vision left off. It’s a double-barreled dose of muscular blues-rock riffs, real-deal life stories, and refreshing solos. Classic blues-rock riffage…

Suzi Quatro

The Devil In Me

Why didn’t Suzi Quatro become a star in America? The ahead-of-her-time Detroit native, now 71, had a distinctive voice, catchy glam/hard-rock songs, media attention, and played bass. TV appearances on “Happy Days” and…

The Grateful Dead

The hubbub over the Dead’s final runs of shows has finally quieted down, only to be replaced by the expected array of video and sound recordings of the events. And the various packages…

The Eliminators

Eliminator Records

There are many veins of surf rock; traditional, punk, classic instro, fusion, and many more. The SoCal-based Eliminators fit comfortably into the traditional instro/surf sound, presenting a wall of Fender-fueled reverb that would…

Moby Grape

Sundazed

Most bands that comprised San Francisco’s psychedelic scene circa 1967’s Summer Of Love consisted of folkies gone electric (the Grateful Dead, Country Joe & The Fish, Jefferson Airplane). Moby Grape was one very…

Vince Gill & Paul Franklin

Sweet Memories: The Music of Ray Price and the Cherokee Cowboys

Ray Price (1926-2013) created a distinctive hard-country sound in the ’50s, combining his powerful vocals with the iconic Cherokee Cowboys, a fiddle/pedal-steel band echoing the honky-tonk and Western swing of Price’s native Texas.…

Gentle Giant

There were plenty of rock virtuosos in the ’70s, but Gentle Giant was a band apart, as you can hear in this radio broadcast from 1976. Each member was a multi-instrumentalist capable of…

Ram On (Paul McCartney tribute)

Various artists

It’s been 50 years since Paul’s 1971 album arrived, credited to the ex-Beatle and late wife, Linda. Ram itself was recently reissued, but this uncanny tribute is actually more interesting. Led by original…

Neil Young

Hitchhiker

Neil Young fanatics known to obsess over a not-so-secret history of unreleased albums were agog at the announcement the mercurial Canadian would finally offer one of these scuttled LPs as an official release.…

Extreme

Six

Extreme’s sixth studio album – their first since 2008’s Saudades de Rock – was a long time coming. With only a live album released in 2016 to satiate disciples, Six is a recording…

R.J. & the Del Guapos

Guitarist/vocalist R.J. Ronquillo’s quartet utilizes three-fourths of the Panamericans, with him taking the place of Joao Erbetta. You can’t do much better than saxophonist Ron Dziubla, bassist Rob Douglas, and drummer Pete Curry…

Brian Wright

Sugar Hill

Brian Wright draws on the stylistic legacies of an eclectic bunch of influences, some quite obvious. There’s no mistaking his debt to classic Velvet Underground in “Striking Matches,” but less obvious is 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…

Ana Popovic

Three Faces of Ana

Belgrade’s Ana Popovic has been barnstorming the globe for years, entertaining audiences with her own brand of blues-rock, while gathering a loyal fan base. She knows where her bread is buttered, and it’s…

Yes

Hunting Heads

The term “holy grail” is overused these days, but stop the presses anyway – this is the holy grail of Yes concert records. Composed of live tapes from the fall of ’72 and…

Bob Dylan

Shadows In The Night, Dylan’s 2015 nod to Frank Sinatra, surprised those unaware of his love for the Great American Songbook. Using Sinatra’s original arrangements as a guide, he drew heavily from the…

Guy Davis – You Don’t Know My Mind

Guy Davis is the real thing. This young black bluesman plays his version of the downhome blues like he, too, has a hellhound on his trail. Davis has released two earlier collections of…

Roy Orbison

Roy Orbison’s Monument Records labelmate Tony Joe White says Orbison gave his all at every live performance; nothing on this disc will disprove that claim. Yes, there are a couple of small hitches…

SRV – Box Set

With every boxed retrospective that hits the changer, I’m reminded of the words of my old friend, Cub Koda. Quote: “All compilations suck except the ones you compile yourself” (an image of Roger…

Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs

External Combustion

Former Tom Petty guitarist Mike Campbell’s second release displays his group in tip-top shape as they push the boundaries of swampy L.A. rock and roll. Co-produced by Campbell and George Drakoulias (Black Crowes),…

Eric Johnson: Collage

As the title suggests, Eric Johnson’s latest album is indeed a collage. There are covers ranging from B.B. King to the Chantays, and classic Johnson instrumentals à la Ah Via Musicom. It’s wide…

John Pizzarelli – Knowing You

Pizzarelli is on a roll. His past few albums have been stone-cold killers, and his most recent, Knowing You, is a collection of songs by writers he loves, with guest musicians augmenting his…

  • Yes

    Yes

    Close to the Edge: Super Deluxe Edition

Jeff Beck

Portait of the Guitarist As A(n Older) Man

After years of on and off seclusion, Jeff Beck miraculously morphed into a road warrior this past decade. His tour with ZZ Top last year provided the raw material for this new live…

The City Champs

Electraphonic

See an instrumental, old-school R&B band consisting of Hammond organ, drums, guitar, and (in this case, added on) bass, and it’s a safe assumption it will owe a debt to Booker T. &…

Chris Duarte – Romp

Chris Duarte is a unique voice in a batch of blues-rock guitarists who hail from down Texas way. His playing, while rooted in many of the same influences the other fellas have, is…