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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…
Tonechaser – Understanding Edward: My 26-Year Journey with Edward Van Halen
Steve Rosen
Imagine having Edward Van Halen at your house, playing new Van Halen songs or listening to no-vocals cassettes of in-progress albums in EVH’s cigarette-smoke-filled car. How about jamming with the guitar icon? It…
Drew Emmitt – Long Road
Drew Emmitt has been making music for more than 25 years. His first band, Leftover Salmon, developed a cult following and though it still plays gigs during festival season, its members have moved…
Tom Principato – House on Fire
Tom Principato is probably familiar to many VG readers. A fine player in his own right, he’s also responsible for some fine books that teach about guitar, and he’s also been known lately…
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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…
Tedeschi Trucks Band
You might get the idea that the band led by husband-and-wife team Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi are feeling a bit laidback on their latest effort. But listen again, and you’ll get a…
Nathan Stanley
Nathan Stanley Entertainment
On the cover of My Kind of Country, Nathan Stanley looks a bit like Elvis, with big sideburns, slicked-back hair, and shades. But unlike some Las Vegas clone, Stanley was born into bluegrass/…
Darol Anger/Mike Marshall – The Duo
Darol Anger and Mike Marshall’s 1983 The Duo marks another acoustic-music first – a violin-mandolin duet. Joined by Rob Wasserman on acoustic bass for one cut, The Duo is just that – two…
Romane
Soir de Trottoir
Patrick Leguidecoq, better known as Romane, has been a pioneer of the Gypsy jazz revival. Beginning with his now-classic 1992 album Swing for Ninine, he’s hailed today for his ongoing efforts to spread…
Pete Levin – Certified Organic
Self-Distributed
As with his last record, keyboard whiz Levin concentrates on the organ and invites outstanding guitarists to join him. Among those taking part here are John Cariddi, Mike DeMicco, Jesse Gress, and the…
James “Blood” Ulmer
In and Out Records
Sometimes called a “modern bluesman,” James “Blood” Ulmer covers ground from Hendrix to Ornette Coleman to John Lee Hooker. His music is never dull; always a bit challenging, it’s also fun. His new…
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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…
Pat Martino
HighNote
Martino has been recording for almost 50 years, originally as sideman to such funk-jazz greats as saxophonist Willis “Gator” Jackson and organists Brother Jack McDuff, Richard “Groove” Holmes, Don Patterson, and Trudy Pitts.…
Alan Jackson
Following his 2013 bluegrass album, Alan Jackson returns to his usual format, in this case, 10 songs of varying topics and moods. Seven are Jackson originals (no collaborators) covering matters of the heart,…
BuckWheat Zydeco – Lay Your Burden Down
Singer/ accordionist/ keyboardist Stanley “Buckwheat” Dural became a popular solo act in the zydeco world years before the unchallenged King Of Zydeco, mentor (and former bandleader) Clifton Chenier, passed away in 1987. While…
Nora Jane Struthers
Blind Pig Music
Nora Jane Struthers knows how to twist a murder ballad. On the opening cut on her debut album she whisks us to the banks of the Ohio, where we experience the song from…
Various Artists – Power Of Soul: A Tribute To Jimi Hendrix
Power Of Soul: A Tribute To Jimi Hendrix
Only the second tribute album officially sanctioned by the Hendrix Estate, this joins 1993’s Stone Free as a fundraiser for the United Negro College Fund scholarship that bears the guitar legend’s name. Of…
The Deadlies
Self-distributed
Though its song titles imply this is “surf music,” James Patrick Regan and the Deadlies boast plenty of other inf luences. Yes, there’s plenty of reverb-drenched guitar from Regan, and bassist Bob St.…
Jerry Reed – Pickin’
This album was released last year, but I like it a lot and haven’t seen much written about it, so we’ll tell you a bit about it. It’s a pretty much what you’d…
Kenny Neal – Let Life Flow
Kenny Neal’s new release is full of blues and soul music of the highest standard. In fact, “Fly Away” alone is worth the price of admission, with its soaring soul tune with beautiful…
Danny Schmidt – Little Grey Sheep
Cover art matters. Take the image on Little Grey Sheep, displaying an artfully moody image of a black sheep and a white sheep “doing it.” If that doesn’t make you stop and think,…
Cheryl Wheeler – Defying Gravity
After 11 releases in 22 years, you might assume Cheryl Wheeler has written songs about nearly everything. But her latest release proves she still has plenty of fresh insight. In the last two…
Dolly Parton – My Tennessee Mountain Home
If the first songs that come to mind when you think of Dolly Parton are “Two Doors Down” and “9 to 5,” you need to pick up these albums – all three of…
Jinx Jones
Home Brand Records
Jinx Jones long ago proved himself a fine player, and his latest disc reinforces that he is a major talent in the rockabilly, jazz, and country field. On occasion, a strong Brian Setzer…
The Libertines
Up The Bracket 20th Anniversary Edition
Jimi Hendrix – Voodoo Child: The Jimi Hendrix Collection
Voodoo Child: The Jimi Hendrix Collection
The latest release from Experience Hendrix, Voodoo Child: The Jimi Hendrix Collection, is a two-CD set of the master at work. In his four-year career as a celebrity, Hendrix produced only three studio…
Dan Tyminski – Wheels
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…
Asleep At The Wheel and Leon Rausch
Bismeaux
As the Wheel celebrates its 40th anniversary, it’s taking care of business – releasing Willie And The Wheel (with Willie Nelson) in 2009 and now teaming with one of the great voices of…
Matt Rae – Twang!
Twang!
I’ve never been a Tele guy. I just have never found one I loved to play. However, every now and then a record comes along by a guy who just scorches the earth…
Bearfoot
The teenagers who began the Bearfoot Bluegrass Band in 2006 have matured into young adults. As they’ve matured, so has their music. Even their name has changed slightly; it’s been shortened to Bearfoot.…
Woodstock 1969
Ten Years After
Though he was a multifaceted guitarist, Ten Years After’s Alvin Lee had a reputation as a speed demon – not something he tried to dissuade. Never was it on display more than at…
James Kinds
Delmark
James Kinds is one of the overlooked maestros of the blues. In 1977, he was hailed as one of Chicago’s new generation greats – someone to keep an eye on, alongside Lurrie Bell,…
Andy Timmons
Electric Truth
Is there life after success in a glam-metal band? Many guitarists were asking themselves that question after the scene fizzled in the ’90s. Most blamed grunge. Danger Danger’s Andy Timmons never had to…
Bernard Allison – Times Are Changing
The times certainly are a-changing. Luther Allison’s son, Bernard, is back, unleashing a tough brand of modern blues that will blow the dust out of your speaker cones. This is new blues by…
Free – Free Forever
Eagle Vision
Dave Alvin – West of the West
The Great American Music Galaxy
