Ever since Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi married in 2001, the two have frequently contributed to each other projects and performed together. But through (and likely because of) the rigors of The Allman Brothers, The Derek Trucks Band, Tedeschi’s own band, and the rigors of raising two kids, they neverRead More

by Mark Saleski MTV Unplugged. It was an interesting show (heck, it was an interesting network, back when the ‘M’ actually stood for “music”). Can an artist/band deal with going ‘naked,’ the protective cover of studio sheen stripped away? You May Also Like: How the Isley Brothers Made Seals andRead More

No major artist has or will ever claim to be more of a 1970s-styled musical chameleon than Lenny Kravitz, since his whole career has been about simulating the analog sounds and feel of that decade You May Also Like: The Beatles’ ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’: Greatest of AllRead More

by Derrick Lord Faith is a difficult and complicated thing. If you understand that much you likely also realize that even the strongest faith is doomed to eventually be tested by hard times. You May Also Like: The Blind Boys of Alabama’s Down in New Orleans added a new musicalRead More

Tribute records are a tricky things; star-studded tribute projects even more so. It takes a strong unifying voice, some central character beyond the featured composer, to save them from sounding like choppy compilations. Steve Cropper, on today’s 429 Records release Dedicated, is that voice. Co-founder of Booker T and theRead 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)

Sly Stone appeared in the late 1960s just as he was needed – in a time when the music itself seemed to be a reflection of the emotional divide between blacks and whites. You May Also Like: The Immediate Family, “Cruel Twist” (2020): One Track Mind Robert Randolph & theRead More

by Mark Saleski Inertia. Sure, it’s a physics thing, but I like to apply it to music every once in a while. I’m not talking career inertia; the rising star thing. No. It’s the music. You hear it and it has an energy that’s impossible to resist. You May AlsoRead More

Even though it’s really a dance record, I loved the old-school touches from Groove Collective — like an organ, vibes and a flute (memorably tooted on “Rashaanasong” from this self-titled release). It’s like Basie by way of Bootsy. When the cacophony crescendoes, there’s even the pure fusion expansiveness of turn-of-the-1970sRead More

New Life arrived amidst much anticipation of something in keeping with drummer Zigaboo Modeliste’s mythically groovetastic tenure with the Meters. And, bless him, I got it. But that wasn’t all. Take the title track. “New Life” doesn’t mimic the expected grease-fire funk of his old band, so much as forcablyRead More