Dan & Claudia Zanes — Let Love Be Your Guide Released on Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, Dan & Claudia Zanes’ 14-song album is a record designed for the whole family to enjoy. Dan Zanes (the Del Fuegos) is a GRAMMY award winning creator of children’s albums and Claudia Zanes is a Haitian-American jazz vocalist (and therapist). […]
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Sue Foley — Pinky’s Blues (Stony Plain Records) If you’re into the blues and Central Texas BBQ like me, Sue Foley’s latest offering Pinky’s Blues is a hot set of Texas ribs comin’ right out of the burner and on to your plate smokin’, ready to devour. Produced by Mike Flanigan smack dab in the […]
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Music Reviews: ‘Next Stop Is Vietnam,’ plus Kinky Friedman and Billy Joe Shaver As I observed in a 2018 review of Battleground Korea: Songs and Sounds of America’s Forgotten War, Motown artist Edwin Starr got it wrong when he sang, “War, what is it good for? Absolutely nothin’.” True, war isn’t good for much, […]
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Georgia Blue — Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit On November 5, 2020, two days after Election Day and two days before President Biden realized victory, Georgia’s vote counts were slowly – agonizingly slowly – tilting away from Donald Trump. Seeing the momentum turning, Jason Isbell promised, for the whole world to see on Twitter, […]
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BC & The Big Rig – Liars & Saints This Oklahoma-based 5-piece ignites an 11-cut set with cleverly crafted tunes & typical bar band lyrics. It’s well-recorded with blistering guitars & authoritative vocals (Brandon Clark-vocals/guitar). Recorded at Blackbird Studios in Nashville the group maintains a high decibel mode in an early Allman Brothers/Foghat/Georgia Satellites memory. […]
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Haunted Like Human – Tall Tales & Fables What’s instantly noticeable on these 12 songs is they’re all recorded with pristine production. It does help when vocalist Dale Chapman (percussion) has meticulous vocal tone. Warm, & carved out of a traditional folk style but then, Ms. Chapman could probably sing anything. Despite the musician lineup, […]
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Abby Bryant & The Echoes – Not Your Little Girl There was a period in 1968 when a group of prominent musicians including Eric Clapton came together remarkably as part of a dynamic all-star band with horns — known as Delaney & Bonnie & Friends (the studio “Groupie [Superstar],” written by Bonnie & Leon Russell […]
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TK & the Holy Know-Nothings — The Incredible Heat Machine TK & the Holy Know-Nothings is a band from Portland that describes its sound as psychedelic doom boogie. While it is a unique description (something every band could use), it is perhaps a little misleading. After all, doom has its roots in bands like Black […]
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Billy Joe Shaver & Kinky Friedman – Live Down Under A little raw at times this 22-cut live LP serves as more of a document for aficionados & completists than the curious. Nonetheless, the well-recorded live show by 2 Texas legends down in Australia as part of their “Two For Texas” tour shimmers. From the […]
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My last concert before the whole shut down in March 2020 was Colorado-based musician Joel Van Horne. Performing with his band as Covenhoven, the artist’s show was an intimate affair at Denver’s Mercury Cafe where we all found ourselves a bit unsure whether we were supposed to be enjoying, well, anything, especially in a group […]
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