by Fred Phillips When I reached into the envelope from B Side Music Group and felt something fuzzy, I wasn’t sure what, exactly, was going on. It soon became clear You May Also Like: Steven Tyler – We’re All Somebody From Somewhere (2016)
by Mark Saleski Big ears: usually a none-too-nice description of some poor kid on the elementary school playground. In the jazz world, “big ears” is a good thing. You May Also Like: Bill Frisell’s Timeless ‘Live’ Opened Up a New Musical World for Me Bill Frisell – Music IS (2018)Read More
Keb Mo isn’t that kid playing the old blues on the old steel guitar anymore. Instead he often comes off on his new album The Reflection like a pillowy-smooth 1970s-era singer-songwriter You May Also Like: Taj Mahal and Keb’ Mo’ – Tajmo (2017)
Philadelphia-based Mir Stavola pulls off a difficult act on Gypsy Heaven, expertly balancing between two seemingly disparate worlds. She longs for and appreciates the rich cultural history associated with these traveling tribes, but also the ways that this world now encroaches from all sides. You May Also Like: Gypsy, “GypsyRead More
Natural History, out now on eOne Music, is just the the second J.D. Souther solo effort in 25 years — following 2008’s If The World Was You. That curious quietude from such a talented creative voice has only deepened Souther’s essential anonymity You May Also Like: JD Souther – ‘IfRead More
by Tom Johnson My favorite guitarist released, at long last, his second live album in 2005. How a guitarist this amazing and talented had gone so long between live releases is beyond me. Whereas his first live album, the intriguingly titled Live, captured Frisell at the peak of his noisyRead More
by Mark Saleski Most people think of the mandolin as being a rootsy, countrified kind of instrument. Surely there is no denying the rich history of the bluegrass side of the mandolin. You May Also Like: Mike Baggetta, mike watt + Jim Keltner – ‘Everywhen We Go’ (2022) Tyler MitchellRead More
Tough times call for angry protest records, for political records, for records that produce rueful smiles. Ry Cooder has done that and more with “No Banker Left Behind,” a tart treatise on the recent financial meltdown You May Also Like: Ry Cooder’s ‘The UFO Has Landed’ Finally Put His AmazingRead More
Americana singer-songwriter Mike McGuire travels a land of heavy weather, echoing church bells, sad tales and long memories. But he never lets go of the one thing that binds us together: Faith, in ourselves, in our future paths, in our country. It’s something that adds a sustaining power to BeyondRead More
By Tom Johnson I spent most of the morning flipping between one disc and the next, restless for something that actually fit my mood. I just didn’t want to, you know, as they say, deal and nothing particularly appealed to me. On days like this, I tend to gather upRead More
