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Music
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…
Dylan – Pop’s 15 Greatest Minutes
Pop quiz: What was the most important and influential live set in the history of pop music? Your choices are Elvis on Ed Sullivan, The Beatles at Shea Stadium, Jimi Hendrix at Monterey,…
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…
Blues Icon John Mayall
Check This Action
Few living blues artists could merit a package of 35 CDs. But what makes John Mayall: The First Generation most remarkable is that it only documents the British blues legend’s career up to…
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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…
Barney Kessel with Shelly Manne & Ray Brown
The Poll Winners
Kessel, bassist Brown, and drummer Manne – pillars of West Coast jazz – had already topped reader polls in Playboy and two jazz publications before teaming for this 1957 collaboration. Using the rarely-employed…
Jorge Garcia
Crossover
Jazz covers of FM rock can be cringeworthy unless you do it right – and Jorge Garcia does it right. His take on Jimi Hendrix’s “Purple Haze” recalls the groove of ’70s releases…
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…
Furry Lewis, Sleepy John Estes, Mud Boy and the Neutrons, and more
These days, Memphis’ Beale Street is a blues-lover’s Disneyland in all the worst ways. It’s been sanitized and sanctified, then thoroughly commercialized. Once upon a time, however, it was the “home of the…
Tommy Castro and the Painkillers
Stompin’ Ground
Veteran Tommy Castro feels right at home here as he takes his band and some pretty special guests through songs that, for the most part, harken back to his days growing up in…
Chet Atkins: Me and My Guitars – Chet Atkins and Russ Cochran
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…
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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…
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3Below
Live in Mérida
The members of 3Below mostly play in the bass clef. You may know names like fretless master Michael Manring (Michael Hedges) and “touch guitarist” Trey Gunn (King Crimson), but Mexican fusioneer Alonso Arreola is a wondrous addition. Together, they play world-inflected music rife with virtuosity, fresh sounds, and intoxicating results. Accompanied by Emmanuel Pina on…
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Genesis/Steve Hackett
Lamb Lies Down on Broadway 50th/Live Magic at Trading Boundaries
One of those double-LP masterpieces of the ’70s, The Lamb was Peter Gabriel’s final achievement with Genesis, quitting immediately after the 1975 tour. The music (remastered here and also available in ATMOS and HD formats) remains brilliant – a rock opera featuring Tony Banks’ keyboards, Steve Hackett’s haunting guitar, and both bass and electric 12-string…
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B.B. King
In France
By 1977, when this French live album was recorded at the Nancy Jazz Pulsations Festival, the “King of the Blues” had truly crossed over. He’d played Fillmores West and East and won a Grammy in 1970 for “The Thrill Is Gone.” In typical major-label fashion, subsequent albums saw him surrounded by rock stars and studio…
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Allen Hinds
The Good Fight
The latest from the Lord of Legato features compositions that blur the line between prog, fusion, and Americana. From the majestic to the bucolic, Hines leaves it all in the ring with epic tunes and sophisticated arrangements that grip the soul, the heart, and the mind. While songs like “Fearless” showcase his writing, use of…
Willie Nelson
For The Good Times: A Tribute To Ray Price
Soon after arriving in Nashville in 1960, Willie Nelson signed a songwriting contract with Pamper Music, co-owned by Ray Price, one of the era’s biggest stars. It launched a friendship that endured until…
J.J. Cale – Live
Live
J.J. Cale is one of rock’s greatest guitarists, and would probably be recognized as such if his six-string abilities weren’t so overshadowed by his songwriting. “After Midnight,” “Cocaine,” “Call Me The Breeze” and…
The Everly Brothers
If you’re weary of rock concert DVDs with critical commentary, typically unauthorized and of varying quality, this Everly Brothers retrospective is highly recommended. Authorized, with participation of Don Everly and a 2010 interview…
Jimmy Johnson – Pepper’s Hangout
Pepper's Hangout
Let’s word it this way: few if any blues artists can pump life into a overwrought classic like Tommy Tucker’s 1964 hit “High Heeled Sneakers.” Jimmy Johnson can, and does. Granted, this set…
Oz Noy
Fusion maestro Oz Noy expands his palette of influences by enlisting the help of a horn section and special guests. Noy basks in the funkalicious glory of instrumental ’60s soul. Jazz-rock Strat lines…
Lefty Williams – Snake Oil
31-year-old Jason Williams was born with a right arm that stopped a little below his elbow. Not many in that condition would pick guitar. But pick it up he did, and pick he…
Guy King
Joy Is Coming
On his fifth solo album, King offers 10 originals – cool soul grooves peppered with tasty blues guitar. Israeli-born and Chicago-based, the 43-year-old earned his blues stripes during his six-year stint with the…
Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs
External Combustion
Former Tom Petty guitarist Mike Campbell’s second release displays his group in tip-top shape as they push the boundaries of swampy L.A. rock and roll. Co-produced by Campbell and George Drakoulias (Black Crowes),…
Charlie Byrd, Barney Kessel, Herb Ellis – Great Guitars Live
Great Guitars Live
Call it a gimmick if you will, but the Great Guitars super trio of Charlie Byrd, Barney Kessel, and Herb Ellis made some great music. The concept came by accident. Byrd’s own trio…
Kenny “Blue” Ray – Git It!
I’ve lost count! I believe this is Kenny’s sixth self-produced CD. And, as have its predecessors, Git It, his most recent effort, again illustrates Blue Ray’s dedication to the blues craft. Rumor has…
Josh Smith
Josh Smith takes the soul stylings that marked his earlier work and puts it on the back burner here. In its place is a return to his first love – high-octane, supercharged blues-rock.…
Mac Arnold
PFOB Music/Plantation #1 Productions
On one of this album’s best cuts, “Gas Can Story,” Mac Arnold tells of how his then 10-year-old brother, William, so desperately wanted a guitar he made one from a gasoline can with…
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.D. Simo
Mind Control
The topic is psychedelic blues, and J.D. Simo is the man with the brown acid. Hypnotic wah, talking hollowbody guitars, and trippy drum patterns permeate an album that will change the equilibrium of…
Robert Cray
Universal Music
Made on the heels of Strong Persuader and the single “Smoking Gun,” Robert Cray and his band are superb during this live show, and Cray plays a lot of interesting, soulful guitar. Early…
Allen Toussaint
Think of New Orleans rock and roll and R&B, and icons such as Fats Domino, Professor Longhair, Dr. John, the Meters, and the Neville Brothers come to mind. As songwriter, producer, arranger, or…
Jackson Lynch
All My By Ownsome
It’s often said that music must move forward or die. But genres don’t evolve in a straight line – be they Joe Bonamassa paying homage to the Kings or the country blues of…
Tremonti
Creed and Alter Bridge guitarist Mark Tremonti is at it again, this time enlisting the help of guitarist Eric “Erock” Friedman, drummer Garrett Whitlock, and bassist Wolfgang Van Halen. Following up his first…
Art Farmer/Jim Hall – Jazz Casual
Jazz Casual
Jim Hall’s solo albums are consistently top-drawer – always eloquent and interesting, never samey or complacent. In fact, I’d be hard-pressed to name a jazz guitarist with a uniformly higher-caliber recorded output who…
North Mississippi Allstars
Blues Dance Music
Luther and Cody Dickinson’s latest pushes the boundaries of northern Mississippi blues music by integrating programmed loops and electronic dance beats. The four-song EP injects tinges of soul, gospel, blues, and The Blind…
U2 – How To Dismantle an Atomic Bomb
U2 has hit another home run. Try and think of another major rock and roll band this far into it and still making consistently good albums. Hell, at this point in their career,…
