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Rick Allen
Kelly Richey – Carry the Light
Kelly Richey’s live shows are full-tilt affairs where Richey wrenches blistering lines from her Stratocaster, occasionally using a beer bottle as a slide. At the end, everyone is sweaty and satisfied. That’s the Kelly Richey of her first 10 albums. On her 11th, she shows her artsy side, with contemplative Robin Trower-like power ballads railing…
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Rick Allen
Donna The Buffalo – Silverlined
Some still think Jethro Tull is the name of that band’s lead singer. So was it wise for a band, especially one with a female lead singer, to name itself Donna The Buffalo? The hippy pretentiousness of it begs for the administering of a Moe Howard-style group slap. But Silverlined, their sixth album, is full…
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Rick Allen
Kilborn Alley – Tear Chicago Down
There may not have been a blues bandleader since at least the mid ’60s who has not turned to his rhythm section and asked, accusingly; “Do you guys even know how to play a shuffle?” It’s a safe bet that question has never been asked of Kilborn Alley’s Chris Breen (bass) and Ed O’Hara (drums)…
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Rick Allen
Alex Woodard – Alex Woodard
When Alex Woodard was a kid, his sister spoonfed him the music of her favorite rocker, Tom Petty. Five albums later, the effect still holds. Woodard’s arrangements, phrasing, and even the timbre of his voice combine to make much of this album sound like a songwriter’s demo for Petty. But a whole lot of Woodard…
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Rick Allen
Jim Lauderdale – Honey Songs
When Gram Parsons, Mike Nesmith, and Gene Clark were making their best music, major country radio stations ignored them. It wasn’t much of a jump from Hank Williams Jr. and Charlie Daniels to the Allman Brothers, Lynyrd Skynyrd, the Flying Burrito Brothers, Poco, and other country-compatible bands. But they got the big brush off, too.…
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Rick Allen
Cherryholmes – Black and White
From mandolin playing mom, Sandy, and bass player pop, Jere, to 14-year-old Molly, the six-person Cherryholmes family band picks and sings like they were born to it. Was it the air or water in their native Arizona? Is it something Jere hides in that long white beard? Just what is the secret? Practice and devotion…
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Rick Allen
Ruby Rendrag – Wartime Favorites
Ruby Rendrag has definitely learned a lot from Chrissie Hynde, and it’s a good thing. She handles most of her own guitar work on this album (with a little harmonica thrown in) and sings her smart, accessible, lively adult pop songs like a grownup. As a guitar player, Rendrag moves freely from electric (“Not Today”)…
