Blues-rock music don’t normally lend itself to big themes, and the trio of Moreland & Arbuckle didn’t start out intending to have one, but when they got done finalizing the song roster for their latest release, they took a look at what they had and found one. You May AlsoRead More

Tinsley Ellis’ almost feral attack on the guitar is put aside for more considered riffs and melodies on his first-ever all-instrumental release, the brilliantly un-volcanic, endlessly varied Get It! You May Also Like: Tinsley Ellis, “Pawnbroker [Live]” from Best of Tinsley Ellis (2014): One Track Mind How Pee Wee EllisRead More

Omar Dykes clearly possesses a deep-seated passion for the rumbling joys of old Howlin’ Wolf records — both his gruff howl, and the work of his flinty guitarist Hubert Sumlin. Luckily, he doesn’t let that passion turn into mimicry. You May Also Like: How ‘London Howlin’ Wolf Sessions’ Gave BoomerRead More

If you were to go back and check the choices I made at the middle of 2012 for non-jazz albums released the first six months of that year, you’d find the artists being awarded were among the biggest hitmakers You May Also Like: Robben Ford with Keb Mo + RobertRead More

This song makes everything that happened on the Tedeschi Trucks Band’s Grammy-winning Revelator debut in 2011, not to mention last year’s concert recording Everybody’s Talkin’, seem like a good-fun preamble. You May Also Like: Tedeschi Trucks Band – Let Me Get By (2016) Susan Tedeschi’s Varied ‘Back to the River’Read More

An easy atmosphere of camaraderie, a lived-in sense of community, surrounds this homey reunion, as Delbert McClinton and Glen Clark amble up, sit a spell, and share a few songs. You can almost hear the rocking chair creaking below them on the front porch. You May Also Like: The BlindRead More

Walter Trout, over a 22-album solo career, has never before recorded a project devoted to cover songs. Then again, few players have impacted the 62-year-old quite like the late Luther Allison. You May Also Like: Walter Trout – Battle Scars (2015) Captain Beefheart, “Pachuco Cadaver” from Trout Mask Replica (1969):Read More

Michael McDonald’s “Judgement Day” has a ballsy gumption that his smoothed-out pop hits and plasticine Motown remakes scarcely aspire to.

Beth Hart, a raw and dynamic singer, has joined forces once again with guitarist Joe Bonamassa — and, as with 2011’s Don’t Explain, this collaboration brings out the best in both. You May Also Like: Beth Hart, “Might As Well Smile” from Better Than Home (2015): One Track Mind BethRead More

The title track from If The River Was Whiskey, the first album of new material from 1990s radio-darlings the Spin Doctors since 2005, scuffs up the hitmaking formula for familiar songs like “Little Miss Can’t be Wrong” with a snarling city-blues vibe. You May Also Like: “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott, “WhiskeyRead More