• 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

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Grayson Capps – Wail and Ride

Down South, it seems, songwriters like Grayson Capps just fall from the trees. Born in Alabama, he spent the last 20 years in New Orleans before Hurricane Katrina kicked him out, and with…

INXS – Shine Like It Does: The Anthology 1979-1997

A completely beautiful package for a band that really deserves the recognition. In the 1980s and ’90s, these Australian rockers made perfect pop/rock records that were laced with funk, soul, and R&B. They…

Harvey Mandel and Dennis Coffey

Two Instrumental Masters

If it’s possible to be both unsung and an icon, then guitarists Dennis Coffey and Harvey Mandel would fit the description. Mandel is one of those rare examples of a guitarist who’s not…

Ike Turner & His Kings of Rhythm – Ike’s Instrumentals

Ike's Instrumentals

If it’s true that one’s personality is revealed through one’s music, then Ike Turner is probably every bit the lowdown, badass motor-scooter his reputation implies. And on this collection of rockin’ blues instrumentals…

Larry Coryell

The lastest from the godfather of fusion guitar harkens back to his ’71 album Barefoot Boy, revisiting the energy, philosophy, and spirit of that period. “Sanpaku” opens the set with Coryell’s take on…

Fletcher Bright and Bill Evans with Norman and Nancy Blake

  This jam session recorded in veteran fiddler Fletcher Bright’s living room in Lookout Mountain, Tennessee, exudes a warmth, passion, and joyfulness that’s right in line with the old-time music, fiddle tunes, and…

Subdudes – Street Symphony

It’s a good thing the Subdudes decided to “put the band back together” in ’02. In this set of music, their first since Hurricane Katrina devastated their hometown of New Orleans, they touch…

San Francisco String Trio

May I Introduce to You

As the title may tell, here’s yet another collection of Beatles tunes – this one entirely from Sgt. Pepper – done mostly in the form of jazz instrumentals. The trio is Mimi Fox…

The Isley Brothers & Santana

Love, Peace – And Soul!

Ernie Isley was a hero to a generation of young, bell-bottom-clad guitarists who wore afros and enveloped themselves in soul crooners and the funkiness that caused involuntary dancing. Positioned in one of the…

Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio- Close But No Cigar

No disrespect to bassists but there’s just something about a funked-up organ trio that sticks to your backbone. Made popular in the cool music joints of the ’50s and ’60s, organists Jimmy McGriff,…

Vassar Clements – Livin’ With The Blues

For the last 40 years whenever a band leader uttered the phrase “Take it Vassar…” you could be assured the next sounds would be amazing. Clements’ reputation for playing innovative fiddle began with…

Rob Blaine

The liner notes for this are on-target when they say Rob Blaine yanks “big chunks” of music from his guitar. But that’s not the whole story. Yes, he can channel Freddie King, Jimi…

Josh Williams

Josh Williams would be the first to tell you he’s heavily influenced by Tony Rice – vocally and instrumentally. Rice has had vocal-cord problems since the ’90s, and in a cosmic “irony,” arthritis…

The Atomic Bitchwax – II

Ed Mundell – my choice for Guitar God 2001. Although Mundell, lead guitarist for Monster Magnet (his day gig) and the Atomic Bitchwax (his side gig), might lack name recognition, he certainly doesn’t…

Red Simpson – Truckers’ Christmas

Truckers' Christmas

It’s the time of year when you may be looking to make a few additions to your collection of Christmas records. The theme this year is “Eclectic.” For oddball fun, check out Red…

Blues Traveler

With this new outing, Blues Traveler breaks from the familiarity of the band’s past work by collaborating with outside songwriters. JC Chasez, 3OH!3, Secondhand Serenade, Hanson, Plain White T’s, Jewel, Thompson Square, Bowling…

Lindsey Buckingham and Christine McVie

Lindsey Buckingham/Christine McVie

When Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks joined Fleetwood Mac, the group not only had three lead singers in its arsenal (with Christine McVie already onboard), it had three distinctive songwriters. But there was…

Duke Robillard Band

They Called it Rhythm & Blues

Robillard, his guitar, and band preside over a celebration of classic R&B and blues made up of 18 familiar and obscure numbers aided by heavy-hitting guests. Instrumentally, he remains a model of brevity…

Elvin Bishop

Delta Groove

Bishop’s 2008 album, The Blues Roll On, was a landmark of sorts, as he surrounded himself with elder statesmen like B.B. King and James Cotton, as well as young guns like Derek Trucks…

The Darkness

Motorheart

Once you get past Justin Hawkins’ love it-or-hate it falsetto, The Darkness is a fierce, rockin’ band that wears its influences proudly. Case in point: “Welcome to Tae Glasgae” finds Justin and his…

The Rolling Stones

Eagle Rock

Some people think Exile On Main Street is the best album the Rolling Stones ever recorded. Those people are wrong. And it’s certainly not “the rock and roll Bible,” as Sheryl Crow proclaims…

Kelly Mulhollan

Divine Inspiration

Arkansas farmer Ed Stilley was plowing his fields in 1979 when he was struck down by a heart attack; lying in the dirt, he had a vision that God wanted him to build…

The Eliminators

Eliminator Records

There are many veins of surf rock; traditional, punk, classic instro, fusion, and many more. The SoCal-based Eliminators fit comfortably into the traditional instro/surf sound, presenting a wall of Fender-fueled reverb that would…

Chet Atkins and Mel Cochran – Chet Atkins: Me and My Guitars

Chet Atkins: Me and My Guitars

Chet Atkins has a deserved reputation as a great guitar player and all-around nice guy. So it’s a pleasure to see a book that is part biography and part history of his personal…

Son Volt – A Retrospective: 1995-2000

Spinning off from the roots-rock trailblazers Uncle Tupelo, Jay Farrar’s Son Volt is famed for its honest, no-nonsense, straight-to-the-heart songs. A Retrospective: 1995-2000 is a fine greatest hits celebration with six unreleased bonus…

Dan Tyminski – Wheels

Rounder Records

Even if you haven’t heard of Dan Tyminski, you’ve likely heard his music. His Grammy-winning version of “I Am A Man of Constant Sorrow” from the soundtrack O Brother Where Art Thou? garnered…

Jonny Lang

Signs

A long way from the days of “Kid” Jonny and four years since his last studio record, Lang’s latest is the second consecutive record to exhibit a maturity in writing, playing, and vocals.…

  • Yes

    Yes

    Close to the Edge: Super Deluxe Edition

Jim Kweskin

Never Too Late: Duets with my Friends

The Jim Kweskin Jug Band was among the most-influential acts of the ’60s folk revival. Its free-spirited mix of retro jug band, jazz, blues, folk and ragtime inspired the Lovin’ Spoonful and Dan…

Mr. Sun

Plays Duke Ellington’s Nutcracker Suite

In 1960, Duke Ellington’s orchestra recorded his reimagining of Tchaikovsky’s “Nutcracker Suite.” He and arranger Billy Strayhorn took ample liberties with the ballet’s familiar movements, like “Dance Of The Sugar-Plum Fairies,” even giving…

Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver

Life Is A Story

Bluegrass today follows countless musical variations, but through nearly 40 years, Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver have remained true to the classic sound. Lawson, a veteran Jimmy Martin and J.D. Crowe sideman, launched Quicksilver…