Bob Margolin has spent his life around blues music’s most recognizable figures, and he’s now a respected band leader in his own right.

Willie Nelson and Wynton Marsalis continue a stirringly offbeat musical dialogue begun with their 2008 release Two Men with the Blues, this time focusing on the music of Ray Charles. You May Also Like: Willie Nelson and Wynton Marsalis shared an uncanny chemistry on Two Men With the Blues WillieRead More

A long-awaited advance single hails the return of that odd conundrum called Death Cab for Cutie, whose spit-take name can’t begin to hint at the deep musical complexities tucked away inside. You May Also Like: Death Cab for Cutie, “Black Sun” from Kintsugi (2015): One Track Mind Death Cab forRead More

This is a different kind of blues record, one with a joltingly modern menace. The Third International’s Beautiful Accident brilliantly updates a time-weathered genre by focusing on texture as much as lyrical content. You May Also Like: Michael McDonald – Wide Open (2017) Michael McDonald, “Find It In Your Heart”Read More

In a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame career dating back to the early 1950s, the Isley Brothers stayed on the move — transforming themselves from gospel shouters to doo-woppers to early rock ‘n’ rollers to nasty funksters to lover-man balladeers. You May Also Like: How the Isley Brothers MadeRead More

“Mississippi Mile,” a country-inflected blues, finds John Oates right up close, even as his band sets about making this rafter-rattling ruckus.

“The Soul Cages,” a Sting album about boyhood grief, remains this strangely powerful if demanding narrative, one with textured song structures and densely emotional themes. Its triumph comes right away, though, on the opener “Island of Souls” — a compellingly dark, perfectly conceived tale of a riveter’s son whose dreamRead More

Jon Anderson, co-founder and former long-time vocalist of the legendary progressive rock band Yes, shares unique insights into some of his more memorable tracks.

After a difficult bout with respiratory problems, Jon Anderson has returned with a furious creativity