The opening track from Steve Earle’s upcoming ‘Terraplane,’ a chugging Howlin’ Wolf-esque electric blues, works on two levels.

Ultimate Painting’s “Riverside” is one of those songs which drift slowly into your head, and it’s hard to resist a replay.

The Florida-based JJ Grey and Mofro return to make an absolutely heavenly, cross-pollinated racket — like a bourbon tabernacle hootenanny.

Drum maestro Andrew Drury provides an advance listen to his dynamic upcoming quartet album ‘Content Provider’ with the leadoff track ‘Keep The Fool.”

Randy Bachman catches a flinty blues-rock groove in the muscular trio style of the late 1960s. A guitar battle with Peter Frampton then ups the ante.

It’s easy to think of “Black Sun” as Death Cab for Cutie’s layered farewell to Chris Walla. Instead, it feels more like a new beginning.

Robert Earl Keen’s take on Bill Monroe’s “Footprintw in the Snow” is this the best kind of cover song — timeless but personal.

UK guitar session vet Ray Russell gets back in touch with his trash-jazz side in this advance stream from the upcoming ‘Celestial Squid,’ a collaboration with Henry Kaiser.

‘Freedom Highway Complete’ makes viscerally clear that the Staple Singers, though they’d moved far afield of gospel, could still rattle the back pews.

The Jackson Browne-produced “Mohammed’s Radio” helped introduce Warren Zevon — with a key assist from Lindsey Buckingam and Stevie Nicks.