NICK DERISO: Four Dobie Gillis types, including brothers from Irvine, Calif., the Swamp Zombies were notable for having some amount of ability on all manner of instruments, but also at the clanging of pots and pans. They remain a great pop-music (or punk folk, I guess) example of what canRead More

NICK DERISO: As good as her studio recordings are, they have a certain airless perfection that doesn’t quite fit the rollicking piano genius of Marcia Ball. Hers is a bubbling soulfulness, loose limbed and informal – and it’s dripping over the sides of “Live! Down the Road,” Ball’s first-ever full-lengthRead More

The late, and unjustly obscure Washington D.C. guitar guru Danny Gatton — known, quite simply, as The Humbler — finally got his splashy major-label debut with this one, and it sparkles in the white-hot spotlight. Good thing, too. By 1994, one of music’s most versatile, talented and electric performers hadRead More

The Preservation Hall Jazz Band, perhaps the very face of New Orleans music, shoulders a heavy burden on “The Hurricane Sessions” in trying to convey the sweeping emotions surrounding Katrina. So much happened away from those familiar wooden benches at 726 St. Peter St. in the dusty room known asRead More

by Nick DeRiso Start with Husker Du’s “Everything Falls Apart,” a 1982 release that was a little more cohesive than the live debut. They chew UP Donovan’s “Sunshine Superman.” Eleven years later, “Everything Falls Apart” was released again on CD (and this is funny) with some extras as “Everything FallsRead More

Boz Scaggs, when he wanted, always had the chops back in the day. The throwback blues of ‘Come on Home’ made it clear that he still did.

The year’s best Marsalis record wasn’t from Wynton, Leno’s then-sidekick or Pops. Instead, it was pianist Ellis’ fourth son Delfeayo Marsalis.

by Nick DeRiso This two-hour documentary explores music from both southern and northern Louisiana, a rare tip of the hat to both traditions. So you have the expected segments on Acadiana- and New Orleans-based standouts Rosie Ledet, the Hackberry Ramblers, Henry Butler, Nathan Williams and the Jambalaya Cajun Band, amongRead More

A group with the sound and spirit of 1960s-era garage bands, the Woggles are best decribed by the things they are not — despite being from Athens, Ga. No Dead influences. No side projects with Peter Buck. “Teendanceparty” is, instead, refreshingly free of any jangly pretense. In fact, the Woggles’Read More

‘Fingerprints,’ Peter Frampton’s first-ever instrumental release, boasts a buffet-style diversity – from jazz to blooze to Soundgarden.