Drummer Jim McCarty, who has participated in all of the Yardbirds’ many Rock and Roll Hall of Fame incarnations, stops by for a chat.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Wd2DveN0R0&w=500&h=305] If you last heard one-hit-wonder Joan Osborne doing “One of Us” in the 1990s, a turn to the blues likely comes as a shock. But time has weathered her voice in the best of ways, and her abiding passion for these soulful sides did the rest. You MayRead More

For Aerosmith’s Joe Perry and Steven Tyler, there was one moment — one song — that forged their musical bond: The Yardbirds’ version of “Train Kept a Rollin.’” You May Also Like: Aerosmith Finally Got Down, Dirty and Just Right Again on ‘Honkin’ on Bobo’ Why ‘Draw the Line’ SignaledRead More

You might be tempted to peg Simon Sullivan, a Canadian singer-songwriter and harp player, as a bluesman. And there’s plenty of that to be found here. In the end, though, that would be selling the genre-busting Groovin’ short. You May Also Like: The Young Rascals – Groovin’ (1967): On SecondRead More

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zk10No6YZcA&w=500&h=305] The source material here speaks to the essential versatility of these two Georgia-based music industry vets. Blues Say Goodbye includes two blues tracks, a quartet of jazz standards, three smartly reworked rock songs and two originals. You May Also Like: Richard Turgeon, “Goodbye to Summer” (2020): One TrackRead More

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6TEcqDkTS0&w=500&h=305] This list is necessarily all over the map. Heck, in a lot of respects, there’s no map at all. You’ll find it in tatters down on the passenger-side floorboard. Delving into unsigned bands is like that. You May Also Like: David Sancious: The Albums That Shaped My CareerRead More

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YI2uN8NBuk&w=420&h=315] Sky Road Songs, Elliott Sharp’s latest record by his outfit Terraplane, is outwardly blues, but there’s enough eccentric, wild stuff going on to make me wonder if blues as rendered here is merely a delivery system for a freak show. You May Also Like: Ivo Perelman + ElliottRead More

In one way or another, each of these recordings confounded and delighted me. Pushed me to new vistas, either in the way I approached the artist, their own original work, or the tunes they covered. Made me think, and feel differently. You May Also Like: Robert Cray – Robert CrayRead More

Led Zeppelin, appearing last night on David Letterman’s television program, paid tribute to fellow Kennedy Center honoree Buddy Guy — with Jimmy Page enthusing about Guy’s “out of this world” guitar style. You May Also Like: No related posts.

Part 2, Mainstream and Modern Jazz >>> For the sixth straight year, it’s time to look back on the year in music to recollect which albums I really, really liked this year and make a list. You May Also Like: Were the White Stripes Actually a Bad Thing for JackRead More