Bentley’s Bandstand: July 2026
Albert Castiglia, GRITS & GLORY. When it’s time to throw it all against the wall and get funky through the night, Albert Castiglia has the right idea. Take the whole gang to the Abbey Road studio in London and go for broke. And that’s exactly what Castiglia and his hopped-up crew did. The guitar-slinger showed what his Mama gave him, and brought the whole American blues sound to the end of the line. Castiglia’s guitar can set fire to any place he wants to, and luckily London got the call for this crowd. It’s been awhile since any London crowd was given the freedom to go for broke. Luckily, everything came through. Castiglia’s guitar leads are rarely equaled, especially in a UK room, but here it is. Abbey Road has been thrown around like this for a long time. Naturally, there were all kinds of influences flying around the London room, and the sounds that got captured took it to the limit. By the end of the sessions, everyone involved immediately knew something different had happened. Blues had been fullborn again in London, and like one of the old sayings from the American sound was enlivened again: “Grits ain’t groceries / eggs ain’t poultry / and Mona Lisa was a man.” And if that don’t scramble the brain enough then it’s time to pack it and come home. But that wasn’t necessary, but Albert Castiglia had done himself and his home country proud. The blues is alive and living.”Yer Blues” forever.
Glenn Morrow’s Cry For Help, OUR FINAL VOL. 1. This man is someone who has had his hand on the rock plot for decades. And decades. He wrote songs, played them, edited magazines and generally kept his thumb on whatever rock music was. And still is on top of all like very few people have been able to conquer. Morrow’s last album is right back at the top of the pack. It’s almost beyond definition, but the man does rock. Maybe that’s because he zeroes in on New Jersey like very few have been able to do. The Garden State might be adjacent to New York, but doesn’t suffer from jealousy. Instead, Morrow and other neighbor-staters go their own way. Morrow is a creator of his own and writes, sings, produces and grooves to his own path. This “Final Album” is one of his winningest yet. This is rock & roll with its own sound and spirit, and comes across with ultimate life. Morrow is able to purge through regular sounds and find his own for the band. It really is a delight to hear such strength without showing off. Sometimes there are rock heroes who reach their greatness without stepping on other genres or sounds. Glenn Morows is a friend of this nation and has written a batch of new songs that proves his prowess, and gives plenty of room to share with such fine band mates. And, yes, the new song “Let’s Stay in Bed” feels like something that will live forever without ever having to be modernized. Love is love.
Marley’s Ghost, HONKY TONK. There are moments in the air of the United States that Americana music has become a little too present. Not that it’s a bad idea, but rather one that knocks other styles off into the side of the road. Luckily, Marley’s Ghost does no such thing. Their sound is so pure and positive that it can never overstay its welcome. And for smart starters, the group’s producer is none other than Larry Campbell, who has been involved in much of the great swinging music of the past 50 years. Add to that the truly groovy song ideas to cover names like Roger Miller, Mel Tillis, Jack Clement, Bobby Bare, Boudeleaux Bryant and, why not, Merle Haggard. And even better, besides all these righteous songwriters, there’s the just-right idea to keep everything right down the middle. There are no fancy-dancy soloists or far-out arrangements. Instead, each and every song is right in the pocket for what needs to be done. And just for kicks every now and then there’s a cover that comes way out of left field and turns up the discovery setting to flip the lid of listeners a bit. The end result is one of the most swinging sets of Americana of the past few years. Hopefully there will be coast-to-coast tours soon and listeners can all swing and ding a bit in honoring American music. Let’s hear it for a country that at its best really does love its roots. Accept no substitutes.
Danielle Nicole, FIREFLIES. There are several soul singers running around America now, and several of them are most ricky-tick. And then there’s Danielle Nicole, straight outta Kansas City, This woman has something very special in her voice. She can take a ballad and turn it into a heart-buster of the highest order. As in she’s up there with any female who ever took hold of a microphone. Nicole’s voice takes on such a deep feeling that it’s like another type of singer has entered the room. She goes straight to the heart of what vocals can do. A true individual. Her new album, FIREFLIES, takes a big jump up in feeling more than anything she’s done before. It opens a door to the soul of the human spirit. The way the feelings come alive are something not heard that often. Producer Tony Braunagel makes sure the sound of the song and the singing takes it all the way home, and Ms. Nicole doesn’t miss a lick in letting her lovelight shine. It’s such a joyous celebration of music and the heart of a woman in a way that isn’t heard much anymore. And, yes, the songs–most of them originals–are right in the pocket. There is such a human graciousness to everything on this album that it’s Shiver City from the very start. In today’s world, it all feels like it’s the right to ring the bell. Danielle Nicole must surely be happy to have created such a righteous set of songs, and found the perfect producer to help her bring it all together. Do not miss.
Clark Paterson, ARE YOU LONELY LIKE ME?. Popular music can always use a few fruit kabobs to show up around the edges. Not unlike Clark Peterson. And while the man is a tried and true musician/songwriter, he never gets too cozy with pop music. There is always a little trickiness around the edges. Paterson’s new album ARE YOU LONELY LIKE ME? is a full-tilt winner. There is such a free-form swing-a-ding-ding delight to the all-around delight of living that by the end of the album’s sweetness on “There is a Light” it feels like there really might be a shot at survival. Paterson and his musical sidekick Mark Cline Bates rip open the big-screen kicks of every sense of living, and mix joy and jive in just the right measures. Album opener “If I Didn’t Laugh” has a way of promising that no matter how far off the rules of life might travel, in the end it’s a sure bet that everything in modern life is going to pay off somehow. There are people in the world like Clark Paterson who will not be deterred. Ever. And while it might take a few passes to get down to the real nitty-gritty of this man, rest assured that truths will be shared. And the good news is that underneath these songs are truisms that will deliver goodness. So fear not: just when it seems like every single nation on Planet Earth will soon end up in a war with someone, there will be secret passages to assure we all pass through the travails in honor. It just can’t be that it’s all supposed to end like this. Take the faith of Clark Paterson and believe where he is taking us. We’ll overcome again.
Michael Rubin, 5 MINUTES OF PASSION. Sometimes folk music likes to hit the word “go” and then take a run at the wild side. Michael Rubin is a man of many passions, and each one comes across on these 11 songs in full power. Since Rubin wrote all them by himself we have to take him at his word. It’s a full take on American music, and then some. If the cover of this passionate album is any clue to Rubin then it’s time to sit down on the couch for the next 50 minutes and spill the beans for just what kind of fellow the man is. Surely this is a tip of the hat to psychological testing and what comes next in the world of desire and hope. And why not take a tip from the song titled “Alien in a Chair,” and let it ride. The beauty of the music itself is full of clues, offering up riffs and raps right and left, and not taking this life we share with green alliances too seriously. And with other songs titled “Gravity,” “Grudge” and others raising their hand for attention, there is no telling where everything is going. Sometimes it feels like so much of the world is spinning into the beyond that it’s no using try to find the truth. Instead, turn up the bass, wack the drums a touch hard and never forget to blow the harp because that ability still isn’t illegal. In the end, the album will go silent and the musicians will go home. As for figuring out what these songs are really all about, why run a nice stroll of fiction down the lane. Wear a hat.
Sublime, UNTIL THE SUN EXPLODES. It’s not every band that can make a powerful return after 30 years of losing their leader. In fact it’s a downright miracle. But that’s exactly what Long Beach’s finest has done with Sublime’s UNTIL THE SUN EXPLODES. The way the son of original singer-guitar’s Brad Nowell’s has taken over the center of the band is beyond magical. And that’s because Jakob Nowell is without a single solitary doubt truly his own person. For all intent, while Sublime is a brand new band, it is also an aggregation that has reached for the outer limits and brought everything back home with a stunning presence. The younger Nowell is a truly incredible front person for the trio, someone whose own personality fills all the slots from start to finish. And bassist Eric Wilson and drummer Bud Gaugh don’t shrink an inch of their fully-needed positions as it was in the original lineup that set all those fireworks off the first time around. In some ways, it starts to feel a little beyond reality; that’s just how perfect the new trio is. Nowell’s voice sounds like purely his own, but somehow sprinkles in the gorgeous feeling his father had in the band the first time around. Surely there are other group histories that have made this leap, but it’s been awhile. Now, when it’s time for Sublime to fill the bandstand there is nothing to hide from. This is a great American band whose Act II will engender pride and excitement. Listen to their new album and hear for yourself. It’s Sublime’s time.
Texas Headhunters, RISE AND SHINE. There is something about Texas that brings things to a bigger-than-normal size. It’s been that way for just about forever, and it doesn’t look like something that will be slowing down anytime soon. This new knocked-out trio of guitar glory includes Ian Moore, Johnny Moeller and Jesse Dayton. After all this years smashing guitar pedals and twist guitar strings that really isn’t a need to go deep into descriptions. Better to just say each of the three can tear up a bandstand at their own whims and lay out plenty of soul whenever they want to. Their new album, RISE AND SHINE, leaves plenty to groove about in the way it takes the listener to new revelations. There is something just naturally killer-diller with what’s going on with the guitartronics and the way the blues comes out naturally, in its own individualistic way, of the three hombres pulling the notes from the air. Its obvious true ability is alive and living on these tracks, and it all comes out as true joy when the first song kicks in. It’s like Freddy King is looking out for the three, and is smiling that big Gilmer, Texas smile King used to switch on when he’d walk on the stage of the Lost Acres’ stage back outside Taylor, Texas in the 1960s. There is just no way to describe the true love of Lone Star State musicians when they take over a place of their own. Which is exactly what happens all over every song here. Rise and shine.
REISSUE OF THE MONTH
Ma Rainey, MOTHER OF THE BLUES, THE COMPLETE PARAMOUNT RECORDINGS 1923-1928. When it’s time to really sink all the way down in the early American blues, and treasure the experience of listening to an artist in its total greatness, Ma Rainey might just be the exact artist that’s needed. When Gertrude Rainey took over the main seat in American blues in the 1920s, there just wasn’t any other person to take it away. The way the woman sang stopped time period. It had a higher level of consciousness that Rainey was able to take over the Queen’s seat in singing blues. This beyond-vital box set isn’t called THE MOTHER OF THE BLUES for nothing. There wasn’t anyone really in her world who could sing like she did and bring home the feeling of earthly hurt and loss. But add to that an unending among of love and joy in the same space and it’s easy to see why the woman was never bested, not even to this day. Now, from everything of “Oh Papa Blues” to “Shave ‘Em Dry,” it is like a heavenly gusto of blues has been collected into one amazing collection and opened up the doors to a life of incredulity concerning the blues. Ma Rainey has returned back home with her music and humankind will never be the same. Wear it out.
BOOK OF THE MONTH
By Richie Unterberger
DO WHAT YOU FEAR MOST: THE HISTORY OF THE VELVET UNDERGROUND
What this band comes down to, and what the reader supplies to the equation of consuming this voluminous biography, is how deep their love affair has been with one of America’s truly mind-blowing bands. If true interest in the affair has been laced with love and interest then this is the work to move in with. If not, it’s better to save the hours and physical effort it takes to hold and read the book for something closer to the heart. Like the Velvets’ music itself, this takes total commitment. For my interest, there is no other book stronger to devote the soul to. There is no way to describe the incredulousness of the deepness of Unterberger’s work. It is simply best to say it’s ALL there, or at least what’s ever going to be all there. Nothing is left out, and it’s a good bet that the members of the band remember more than what the writer has gathered. It is truly beyond belief. Unterberger is beyond devotion in so many aspects. The writer is consumed by it all, as any and all of the Velvet Army that takes over so many of our lives. Somehow I ended up in the Austin band The Bizarros with original Velvet Sterlng Morrison in 1974, and spent four years listening to the man talk for all those years, and didn’t even come close to finding out all the total memories and beliefs he felt about being in the Velvet Underground. And this is spending those years with the most talkative person I have ever known. With Morrison and Lou Reed gone now, there is no way to find out any more first-person memories. DO WHAT YOU FEAR MOST is our only source to study the best place to start and live close to the truth. Or what we can only assume to be the truth. And for that we owe Unterberger so much. It’s all here.
Bentley’s Bandstand: July 2026