From its very first gig, this surf quartet sounded like they’d been playing together for years – which isn’t surprising, considering the pedigree of its members. Mike Guerrero was lead guitarist of Austin’s Sir Finks, while Joe Emery led the spaghetti-surf Death Valley, and drummer Bobby Trimble is best known for his work with Big

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This is the British TV counterpart to the German broadcasts that were unearthed on three stunning volumes of The American Folk Blues Festival, in 2003. If you saw those, you’ve probably already stopped reading and are halfway to the DVD store. The presentation is more straightforward here – onstage performances, as opposed to the uncannily

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When you’ve made your living and reputation as a hired gun, and finally decide to cut a solo album, what do you do? In the case of David Grissom, the question is particularly interesting because his sideman and session work has covered such a wide gamut. In addition to stints with Joe Ely, John Mellencamp,

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Jazz guitar was forever split into two schools early in its development, each defined by a stylistic genius – the bop-anticipating, electric lines of Charlie Christian and the acoustic swing of Gypsy Django Reinhardt. If there is a third headmaster, even though he began as a Christian devotee, it would be Wes Montgomery. If you’re

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The Rosetta Stone of Dick Dale’s brand of surf guitar is 1962’s Surfer’s Choice, which, even though it was his first album, was largely a collection of the singles he’d already released on his own Deltone label. Having already reissued that classic on CD, Sundazed now issues the four albums that followed his signing to

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Even though Waters was undoubtedly the most important blues artist in Chess Records’ stable (indeed, the most influential bluesman of his generation), when you look back on his discography, most of his albums for the label imposed some sort of gimmick. Muddy the acoustic folkie, Muddy surrounded by brass, Muddy in London, Muddy in Woodstock.

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John Sebastian and David Grisman first ran into each other in the early ’60s, when Greenwich Village’s Washington Square Park was the epicenter of the national Folk Boom. They were both recruited by guitarist Stefan Grossman for a recording project to be dubbed The Even Dozen Jug Band – in hindsight, somewhat of a supergroup,

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Formed in Detroit in 1997, the all-female Gore Gore Girls have undergone personnel changes with each of their CDs, with singer/guitarist Amy Gore the only constant. On this, the group’s fourth release, she is joined by drummer Nicky Styxx, bassist Carol Anne Schumacher, and lead guitarist Marlene “Hammer” Hammerle. The distortion and decibel level suggest

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Larry Carlton and Robben Ford share a special relationship. Carlton helped the young blues-slinger learn some of his licks and techniques when he got the gig backing Joni Mitchell. As he writes in the liner notes, “He had a unique approach to playing the blues (mixing bebop notes and phrasing). Man, could that kid swing!”

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The best way to avoid people second-guessing your selections is to issue an artist’s work in its entirety. Not only are there no “glaring omissions,” there are no omissions at all. In the case of Chuck Berry, this is definitely the right call, since, even in cases of tracks that are somewhat substandard, this is

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