Monthly Archives: July 2011

Richard Thompson is one of the most prolific songwriters pop music has ever seen. Of course, being prolific is meaningless if one just churns out pap. But the quality of Thompson’s output is as impressive as its quantity – which goes far beyond his steady stream of standard releases to include soundtracks, DVDs, and website-only [...]

Jackie Greene’s music is hypnotic in the way of all good pop-rock. Its strongpoint is finely crafted interplay between guitars and keyboards. His new album is replete with gorgeous layered vocals, and while the lyrics are pretty plain, one is drawn in by the sounds; the Beatles’ influence is obvious, as is a lot of [...]

When four musicians the caliber of these get together, you always hope for the best, but sometimes it doesn’t happen. Here, however, it does. Michael Landau and Robben Ford supply most of the music, vocals, and the guitar, while Jimmy Haslip and Gary Novak form an amazing rhythm section. No one dominates, and each player [...]

Foghat guitarists “Lonesome” Dave Peverett and Rod Price have both passed on, but the band’s blues-boogie legacy is being carried forward by drummer (and co-founder) Roger Earl and singer/ guitarist Charlie Huhn, who worked with Ted Nugent for many years. Joined by slideman Bryan Bassett, the new Foghat is bluesier than ever, cranking out roadhouse [...]

 Made on the heels of Strong Persuader and the single “Smoking Gun,” Robert Cray and his band are superb during this live show, and Cray plays a lot of interesting, soulful guitar. Early parts emphasize older material, like a killer version of “Don’t Touch Me” and the funky pop-soul of “Bad Influence,” while later songs [...]

These two CDs almost couldn’t help but be hodgepodges, since they’re compilations culled from compilations – the tribute albums Rattlesnake Guitar (from 1995, dedicated to Peter Green) and 2002’s From Clarksdale To Heaven (remembering John Lee Hooker) and a ’97 roundup of then-newly recorded British blues, Knights Of The Blues Table. But they’re intriguing hodgepodges, [...]