• 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 >>

Terry Burrows

Two boards, three pickups, some hardware, and various electric bits and pieces: Stratocasters are simple creations at heart. But setting one up perfectly, repairing it – especially stageside in the heat of a…

Marley’s Ghost

Sage Arts

Fans of the Chris Hillman/Gram Parsons version of the Flying Burrito Brothers will latch onto this. Though the Marley gang is a bit lighter, you hear Gibson Brothers influence on “Love And Happiness…

John Pizzarelli – Bossa Nova

John Pizzarelli’s latest should come as a surprise to no one. The fact that he’s been influenced by Jobim and his many disciples is evident in his past work. And it should come…

The Stray Cats

Unearthed Stray Cats

Formed in ’79, the Tomcats – singer/guitarist Brian Setzer, drummer Slim Jim Phantom, and bassist Lee Rocker – had only marginal success playing rockabilly at punk clubs like Manhattan’s CBGB. Reasoning that they’d…

Gov’t Mule – The Deepest End: Live In Concert

The Deepest End: Live In Concert

Everyone knows the story by now. Government Mule(and former Allman Brother) bassist Allen Woody passed away a couple years back, and the band paid tribute by releasing a couple of CDs that featured…

Foghat

Sonic Mojo

 Few things in life are guaranteed – but one is that drummer Roger Earl will keep Foghat truckin’. For 50-plus years, he’s been weathering lineup changes and members passing, bringing its people-pleasing blues-rock…

The Wailin’ Jennys

Red House Records

The concept of a “folk supergroup” sounds strange, sort of like “the folksinger’s Porsche.” But no musical amalgamation deserves this moniker more than The Wailin’ Jennys. With three world-class lead vocalists who are…

Jerry Krahn – No Wires Attached

No Wires Attached

Chances are you haven’t heard of Jerry Krahn. He’s from Milwaukee, but has spent the past 12 years in Nashville. He’s worked with bands like the Titan Hot Seven, the Time Jumpers, and…

J.W. Jones – Bluelisted

On his latest album, Jones proves a master of several styles of American music, and is joined by other impressive guitarists to purvey it. Jones goes toe-to-toe with Little Charlie Baty and Junior…

Robert Cray

Sweet Soul Music

Robert Cray’s new album with producer-drummer Steve Jordan and the Hi Rhythm section is a no-brainer slam-dunk – and a brilliant collaboration. Together with Cray’s indelible hybrid of R&B, blues, and soul-drenched vocals…

Scotty Anderson – Classic Scotty

Alright, here’s the deal. I haven’t played in a band for about three years. It became a deal of the “day job” getting in the way. But I just got some gigs with…

The Yardbirds – Ultimate

The Yardbirds: Ultimate

Two fallacies that invariably arise in discussions of the Yardbirds: 1) declaring them the fathers of psychedelic music and/or heavy metal; 2) focusing on their colossal lead guitar lineage at the expense of…

Parliament – Funked Up: The Very Best of Parliament

Funked Up: The Very Best of Parliament

Like the man said, “Make my funk the P-Funk. I wants to get funked up.” This is not the first “best of” by George Clinton and troop, but it is the best I’ve…

Steve Earle

The title, inspired by Robert Johnson’s immortal “Terraplane Blues,” says it all. Here’s Earle’s homage to the blues: 11 original, personal songs bathed in honest, authentic arrangements inspired by various vintage styles. “Baby…

Buddy Emmons: Steel Guitar Icon

Steve Fishell

No one would argue that Buddy Emmons wasn’t a transformative force in pedal-steel guitar. Immortalized as “The Big E,” he was known for his trademark derby hat, consummate musical brilliance, and good humor…

Eric Clapton & Electric Light Orchestra

It’s become fashionable, especially among younger players, to diss Eric Clapton and write him off as a minor player who stood in Jimi Hendrix’s shadow. Of course, nothing could be further from the…

Hilary Gardner

On The Trail with The Lonesome Pines

Vocalist Gardner explores the association between jazz and country, the Great American Songbook, and cowboy movie stars. Similar territory was mined by Asleep At The Wheel and Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks,…

Jeff Golub with Brian Auger

Two years back, touring pro and studio ace Jeff Golub’s optic nerves collapsed, leaving him permanently blind. Now he’s back, with a twelfth solo album, getting a little help from jazz-rock keyboard pioneer…

Jackie Greene

429 Records

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…

Robert Plant & the Strange Sensation – Soundstage

Robert Plant & the Strange Sensation, Soundstage. Robert Plant and his band, The Strange Sensation, play 11 songs; covers, old Zep songs, and newer Plant tunes. The band is the perfect complement, anchored…

Eric Johnson

The Book of Making/Yesterday Meets Today

During lockdown, Eric Johnson killed time by poring through his old recordings of songs, ideas, and jams. He took old tapes – some mere audio cassettes – and recorded new material on top,…

Chris Thomas King – Me, My Guitar and the Blues

Chris Thomas King is the real deal: a modern-day blues revivalist with one foot firmly in the past and the other keeping time in the present. Born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, King grew…

Lyle Brewer

Even when Lyle Brewer covers standards, he makes the song his own. His last couple albums have been filled with familiar songs given the Brewer treatment. With his latest, we get a record…

Michael Bloomfield

It’s difficult to critique compilations, especially those that include material from various labels: you never know what licensing restrictions were imposed, which cuts the A&R folks would’ve included but weren’t able to. It’s…

Corey Christiansen – Essential Jazz Lines: The Style of Charlie Parker

Looking for a key to unlock your jazz solos or comping? Essential Jazz Lines: The Style of Charlie Parker offers fine entries to the playing of a great jazzer. Essential Jazz Lines: The…

Eric Lindell – Low On Cash, Rich In Love

Eric Lindell’s second album is full of great songs and inspired playing while his hipster feel and look match his guitar grooves. You get an idea with the opener, “Lay Back Down” –…

Dan Summer & Kathryn Hobgood Ray l

Snoozer Quinn: Fingerstyle Jazz Guitar Pioneer

Legend has it that Ed “Snoozer” Quinn could shake your hand while playing guitar – and never miss a beat. A pioneering fingerstyle-jazz picker, he was famous in the late 1920s and ’30s,…

  • Yes

    Yes

    Close to the Edge: Super Deluxe Edition

Jules Shear – More

Jules Mark Shear is living proof that talented pop musicians who prefer to remain on the fringes can maintain a successful career without cowtowing to the winds of fad and fashion. On his…

Chuck Berry – The Millennium Collection

MCA has released a treasure trove of “millennium collection” greatest hits discs just in time for the new century. This guitar hero gets his due recognition with single-CD package that do justice in…

We’re an American Band: A Journey Through The USA Hard Rock Scene, 1967-1973

Various artists

Early hard-rock bands were often British (Led Zep, Sabbath, Purple), but this box set looks at the American acts morphing from psychedelia into something crunchier. The wildly influential Vanilla Fudge delivers “Ticket to…


Various Artists

Homegrown Heroes

Susanna Hoffs

The Deep End

Big Star

Shining Even Brighter