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Music
Paul Johnson
The Hepcats Live at the Ajax Novelty Company
This isn’t live, there may not be an Ajax Novelty Company, and the three felines known as the Hepcats are actually the brainchild of Paul Johnson, whose Belairs were early-’60s pioneers of surf music. Suspend reality and dig how the “trio” expertly articulates layers of acoustic guitar. Across decades, Johnson has embraced folk-rock, psychedelia, and…
Check This Action: Animals Let Loose
As a kid, I dug The Beatles, Stones, Yardbirds, Kinks, Manfred Mann, and pretty much the whole British Invasion. But, The Animals were special. Listen to the Fab Four’s “I Want To Hold…
Henry Robinett
Jazz Standards Vol. 2 Then Again
A second cousin of jazz fountainhead Charles Mingus, Robinett’s first guitar hero was Jimi Hendrix, and he spent much of his career playing fusion. These recordings from 2000, however, reveal him in a more mainstream setting,…
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?”…
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Yes
Close to the Edge: Super Deluxe Edition
Are you a high-fidelity audio geek? If the answer is, well, yes, this Rhino release brings together an HD experience of Close to the Edge in no fewer than four versions, plus rarities and a ’72 concert. For starters, the 2025 remaster sounds as close to the analog 1972 mix as you’re going to get…
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Pink Floyd
Have You Got It Yet? – The Story of Syd Barrett and Pink Floyd
It’s understandable that fans warily approach the flood of pseudo-documentaries and biopics. Add the fact that the late Syd Barrett, Floyd’s original guitarist/leader, suffered from mental illness, and exploitation alarms are sure to go off. But this documentary handles the subject with dignity instead of sensationalism. Interviews by longtime Floyd cover artist Storm Thorgerson with…
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The Wildhearts
In the raging ’90s, The Wildhearts blasted out of Newcastle upon Tyne like some unholy melding of Guns ’N Roses, Cheap Trick, and The Replacements. Hard rock, power pop, and punk still make up their secret sauce, heard on this latest effort with original singer/guitarist Ginger Wildheart. Ben Marsden plays lead, while Kavus Torabi adds…
The Grascals – Keep On Walkin’
From the kick-off of the opening song, “Feeling Blue,” the Grascals demonstrate that traditional bluegrass doesn’t have to sound old-fashioned. Even on moderate-tempo songs they maintain a driving rhythm that would make any…
Derek and the Dominos
Polydor
Many supergroups lack true superpowers, but Derek and the Dominos was the real deal. Burned out on the supergroup phenom after his troubled times in Cream and Blind Faith, Eric Clapton sought anonymity…
Strange Angels: In Flight With Elmore James
Dusting Off Elmo
In an essay for Guitar Player magazine in 1977, Frank Zappa said of Elmore James, “Even though Elmore tended to play the same famous lick on every record, I got the feeling that…
Old Crow Medicine Show
The Show is back!After a hiatus starting in August 2011, with old band members leaving and new ones joining, this album was much anticipated by fans. Never fear. It’s every bit worth the…
Toots and the Maytals – Light Your Light
News flash: Toots is sporting dreads! Since the dawn of his career in the mid 1960s, Frederick “Toots” Hibbert has sworn by a close-shaven head. And his music has remained close to its…
Thin Lizzy
The cool thing about the vinyl revolution is that strange and wonderful albums are being reissued by the score. Take Thin Lizzy’s 1971 debut, back when they were a power trio and five…
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Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band
Honeysuckle
Resonator-slide specialist Reverend Peyton returns to his primary influences – early 20th-century African-American music – compelling him to shout from the hollers and the hills. Rootsy, acoustic, inter-war blues is the specific genre, and Peyton doesn’t hold back. With top-tier tutelage from the likes of David “Honeyboy” Edwards, T-Model Ford, and Robert Belfour, he masterfully…
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Mike Campbell with Ari Surdoval
Heartbreaker: A Memoir
In his autobiography, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers guitarist Campbell admits he’s quiet and shy. Self-doubt plagued him his entire life, and when problems arose in the Heartbreakers, a lack of confidence had him blaming himself first, even when he wasn’t responsible. Perhaps his attitude was psychologically rooted in his impoverished childhood and coming from…
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Alan Gogoll
Lioness Lullabies
Venture online and watch a few videos by Tasmanian guitarist Alan Gogoll and you’ll see he’s nothing short of a phenomenon. On acoustic, he conjures artificial harmonics in a manner that almost defies gravity. Better still, he never shows off these chops – everything on Lioness Lullabies is in the service of the song and…
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Jimmy Vivino
Gonna Be 2 of Those Days
A veteran vocalist/guitarist/keyboardist and purveyor of blues, R&B, and rock’, Jimmy Vivino has an incredible résumé. A longtime fixture in Conan O’Brien’s house band, he has played on movie, radio, and Broadway projects and worked with Levon Helm, Hubert Sumlin, Al Kooper, Jimmie Vaughan, Donald Fagen, Warren Haynes, Laura Nyro, along with innumerable others. He’s…
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Thin Lizzy
The Acoustic Sessions
Thin Lizzy’s first studio release in decades, this album reimagines tracks recorded 50+ years ago by the trio of vocalist/bassist Phil Lynott, guitarist Eric Bell, and drummer Brian Downey. The songs are from Lizzy’s first three albums – 1971’s Thin Lizzy, ’72’s Shades of a Blue Orphanage, and ’73’s Vagabonds of the Western World. Recently,…
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Eve Monsees and Mike Buck
& Their Groovy Orbit
This is not a solo album as much as an anthology of Austin artists and styles – from blues to country to ’60s garage and psych, demonstrating the versatility of singer/guitarist Monsees (Eve & the Exiles, Blue Bonnets) and her husband, drummer Buck (LeRoi Brothers), as producers/organizers. The tracks span three years, but the names…
California Breed
Big rock crooner/bassist Glenn Hughes has seen it all. From Trapeze and Deep Purple to Black Sabbath, his life is a compelling rock escapade filled with good drugs, great music, and over-the-top excesses.…
Terry Robb
The Oregon Blues Trail
Portland-based Terry Robb has managed to keep a fairly low profile despite being one of the best players, on acoustic and electric, embracing a range of blues styles and then some. He is,…
Wilco – Being There
I really didn’t think this kind of band and album existed anymore. Or at least, they sure seem few and far apart. Jeff Tweedy and his cohorts make very catchy pop/rock mixed with…
Robert Earl Keen
Happy Listeners
Robert Earl Keen is all about roots. He has mined his Texas upbringing to create a celebrated career playing Americana that’s ranged widely from folk to country and beyond. His latest foray steps…
Mike Baggetta/Jim Keltner/Mike Watt
Everywhen We Go
Guitarist Mike Baggetta teams up with renowned rock drummer Jim Keltner (Harrison, Dylan, Frisell) and equally legendary punk bassman Mike Watt (Minutemen, Stooges) for the trio’s second album. As one might expect given…
Neil Young with Crazy Horse
Toast
Neil Young and Crazy Horse are known for uncorking an electric-guitar roar that would shame most heavy metal bands. The mesmerizing Toast, while not explosive, relies on distorted electric guitars, with simple hooks…
Various Artists
Bill Frisell and Thomas Morgan and Dominic Miller
Bill Frisell is a living jazz icon, famed for his ethereal tone and snaking post-bop lines. Here, he partners with Thomas Morgan for a live set – just guitar and standup bass –…
Hot Club of Cowtown
Proper Records
Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys and Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grapelli’s Hot Club both blended early 20th century blues and jazz with the folk music of their culture. Both featured hot-shot fiddlers…
The Bottle Rockets – Brand New Year and Leftovers
Brand New Year and Leftovers
If you didn’t know better, you’d swear after hearing the first few bars of “Nancy Sinatra,” the opening song on the Bottle Rockets’ Brand New Year, that you were listening to an unearthed…
Long John Baldry – Remembering Leadbelly
The Brits, in at least as far as the blues is concerned, have always been our archivists. With a few exceptions in the ’60s, including John Hammond, Butterfield and Bloomfield, Taj Mahal, and…
Arv Garrison
The Unknown Wizard Of The Six-String
In the ’40s, Arv Garrison recorded with bebop legends Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. Besides his own group, he was one-third of the Vivien Garry Trio with his bassist/wife. And he wrote and…
The Kinks
After Lennon-McCartney, the most prolific and interesting songwriter of the British Invasion was the Kinks’ Ray Davies. The only other writer in the running, Pete Townshend, has acknowledged Davies’ clearly evident influence. The…
Phil Keaggy – Zion
Phil Keaggy doesn’t always get his due. Those of you familiar with his work know what I mean. He’s a marvelous singer and guitarist who’s been around awhile, but because he records mostly…
B.B. King & Friends – 80
B.B. King & Friends – 80 To mark his 80th birthday, the King of the Blues has cut an album of duets with friends old and new. The gimmick is nothing new, but…
Tony Bacon – Willie G. Moseley
Into The Spotlight
Whatever were they thinking? In hindsight, it’s tough to fathom how Gibson could scrap the Les Paul Standard at the end of 1960 and replace it in ’61 with a new design, the…
Tomo Fujito
Self-distributed
Berklee guitar instructor Tomo Fujita returns with memorable tunes that highlight his affinity for melody and “the funk.” Fujita brought in players who know how to do it; Steve Gadd, Bernard Purdie, and…
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…
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…
The Bridge – Blind Man’s Hill
Singer/guitarist Cris Jacobs and singer/mandolinist Kenny Liner co-write the music for this Baltimore-based band. Jacobs writes songs with inherent soul. Whether slinky funk (like the opener, “Honey Bee”) or blues/rock with a ragtime…
Ralph Heibutzki – Unfinished Business: The Life and Times of Danny G
If it’s true that an artist suffers for his music, then some guitar players suffer more than others. We can never know exactly what demons torment some of our favorite players, or why…
Carbe and Durand
The combo of two acoustic guitars and what could be considered modern-day standards seems on first blush like a recipe for a pretty common record. With a duo as talented and imaginative as…
Charles Lloyd & the Marvels
Tone Poem
Envy of None
Envy of None
Bob Schneider – I’m Good Now
I'm Good Now
