Rusty Truck

Jakob Dylan, Gillian Welch, Lenny Kravitz, T-Bone Burnett, Willie Nelson, and even Matchbox 20’s Rob Thomas all have a hand in producing, singing, and playing on this expanded edition of Rusty Truck’s debut.…

Larry Carlton and Tak Matsumoto

Take Your Pick

Larry Carlton teams with veteran studio guitarist (in his home country of Japan) Tak Matsumoto, who achieved international recognition in a rock band called TMG. A jazz disc, most of the tunes here…

Sonny Landreth – From the Reach

Sonny Landreth records are typically gems, and this one is no exception. This time out, he has written songs for folks he admires, then invited them to play them with him; Eric Clapton,…

Bob Dylan on Hybrid SACDs

Sony and Phillips have been heavily hyping their new Super Audio CD format since its inception two years ago. For most consumers, SACD and its competitor DVD-A have been non-issues because of the…

Tommy “CGP” Emmanuel and David “Dawg” Grisman

Certifiable Pickin’

Tommy Emmanuel is one of just five pickers hailed by his mentor Chet Atkins as a “certified guitar player,” or CGP. On two new albums, Emmanuel provides proof with every passage. Australia-born Emmanuel…

Steep Canyon Rangers – Lovin’ Pretty Women

The Steep Canyon Rangers are part of a new wave of young bluegrass bands that turn the energy past hot to fricassee. In 2006, they won the International Bluegrass Musician’s Association’s “Emerging Artist”…

King Crimson and Toby Amies

In the Court of the Crimson King

This film asks the musical question, “Is Robert Fripp a virtuoso guitarist, sensitive tone-poet – or brutal taskmaster?” The answer is, resoundingly, yes. Throughout this rock doc, Fripp’s acerbic comments intermingle with a…

Damon Fowler

Blind Pig

Damon Fowler has a smokyMemphis-like style of soul and blues at its peak on his third album. The combination infuses his originals (“After The Rain”) with a Southern rock feel that recalls Lynyrd…

The Band – The Last Waltz DVD and CD Boxed Set

If there were ever a group of musicians for whom the term “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts” fit like a glove, it was The Band. Perhaps even more…

Darren Jay and the Delta Souls

Darren Jay may not be in Gregg Allman’s class as a singer, but he’s still effective. As a guitar player and arranger, though, he can stand with many, and he leads this big…

Eli Cook

Self-distributed

As music evolves and grows, it sometimes hits roadblocks. That has been a problem in the past with the blues. Eli Cook’s latest album takes a stab at helping the music evolve. It’s…

Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble

The Good, The Bad, and The Troubling

One of the greatest blues guitarists of any era, Stevie Ray Vaughan’s recorded output with his band, Double Trouble, consisted of only five albums (four studio, one live) during his lifetime. And though…

Seth Walker – Leap of Faith

Seth Walker’s latest effort takes a slightly different path, mixing blues with soul and a group-driven R&B feel. Old-school horn charts dominate “Can’t Come With You,” where Walker’s vocals take on the soul/bluesman…

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…

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…

Mark Selby – More Storms Comin’

More Storms Comin'

Mark Selby is best known as a songwriter. He’s written songs covered by the likes of the Dixie Chicks and Kenny Wayne Shepherd. But, here, on his Vanguard debut, he rocks out as…

John Scofield

The history of jazz guitarists playing country tunes is long and distinguished, starting with Slim Bryant, Les Paul, and George Barnes in the 1930s. Joe Pass’s final recording, with Roy Clark, was an…

Jeff Richman

Nefer Records

Jazz guitarist Jeff Richman’s latest is full of great songs that leave ample room for chops, and he enlists A-list help (including drummer Vinnie Colaiuta and bassists Neil Stubenhaus and Dean Taba) to…

Sons Of Apollo

Psychotic Symphony

As eyes roll at the thought of yet another project album by virtuosos on a break from touring, one can’t help but be curious about Sons Of Apollo. Keyboardist Derek Sherinian (Planet X,…

North Mississippi Allstars

If anybody is keeping the raw spirit of the blues alive, it’s the North Mississippi Allstars. And this new album is guitarist Luther Dickinson’s reaffirmation to honor his elders and keep the traditional…

John Basile

By many standards, this shouldn’t work: a group of songs by the Beatles done in jazz arrangements. Not only that, it’s one guitarist, using MIDI technology, playing all the parts – guitar, drums,…

Check This Action: Dave Davies’ Kinky Journey

Frank Zappa

Halloween 77

Steve Earle – Townes

Dutch Henry – All That Space

Lucinda Williams

Don’t Tell Anybody The Secrets I Told You: A Memoir & Stories From A Rock N Roll Heart

Muddy Wates Live at Chicagofest

Filmed in Chicago in 1981, this video captures Muddy with a band featuring Mojo Buford on harp, guitarists John Primer and Rick Kreher, pianist Lovie Lee, bassist Earnest Johnson, and drummer Ray Allison.…

Kentucky Headhunters – Soul

Yes, it’s true, this one came out some time ago, but it has occupied space on my listening stack for a long time. The Headhunters have been “popular” for more than 15 years,…

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…

Cream – BBC Sessions

BBC Sessions

These cuts were recorded over a 15-month period from late 1966 to early ’68. They were cut for the British Broadcasting Corporation. Because of strict regulations on the number of phonograph records that…

Robben Ford – The Art of Blues Rhythm

Robben Ford has been a prolific artist since the early ’70s and is as much a teacher as a recording artist. His impeccable soloing techniques, phrasing, and tone have been the subject of…

John Cipollina – Electric Guitarslinger

Electric Guitarslinger

John Cipollina was probably best-known as the lead guitarist for the Quicksilver Messenger Service. He was also a seminal figure in the San Francisco music scene. He died in 1989 at the age…

Alison Krauss and Union Station – Alison Krauss + Union Station Live

Although fine female bluegrass singers and songwriters like Hazel Dickens and Emmylou Harris have achieved success, Alison Krauss must be considered the first woman bluegrass superstar. Ever since her first release, Krauss’ CDs…

Kentucky Colonels

1966

Clarence White is best known as the B-bendin’ Telecaster pioneer with the Byrds – and his tragic 1973 death. But he’s also admired for his groundbreaking flatpicking with the Kentucky Colonels. This set,…

Rory Block – I’m Every Woman

I’ve always thought of Rory Block as a modern country-blues, acoustic-slide playing, soulful singer. Here, she changes the program a bit. The emphasis here is on soul music. Not the stuff of Robert…

Corb Lund

Songs my Friends Wrote

Last In Line

Joe Strummer

Joe Strummer 002: The Mescaleros Year

The Go-Go’s

Alison Ellwood (director)

The Explosives – Ka-Boom!