Issue Articles
Astral Project: Let’s Stay Together
Perhaps it’s no surprise that when people in a band called Astral Project talk about the band, they get, well, spacey. “Snug Harbor is like a sacred space, and when […]
Waylon Thibodeaux, Who’s Yo Cher Be Be (Rabadash)
Bourbon Street fiddle player Waylon Thibodeaux hits what he aims at on Who’s Yo’ Cher Be Be, an album of crowd-pleasing, rockin’ zydeco. His New Orleans-based band effectively maintains enough […]
Hearts Full of Soul
“I’d hear him backstage warming up, and that’s when I heard his voice as a solo artist,” Ben Jaffe says of Carl LeBlanc. LeBlanc plays banjo with the Preservation Hall […]
Lost Bayou Ramblers, Vermilionaire (Independent)
By most objective measures, it would be wrong to call Grammy-nominated Cajun band the Lost Bayou Ramblers punk rock, but everything they play goes forward and does so hard (though […]
Joe Ely and Joel Guzman, Live Cactus! (Rack ’em)
Joe Ely’s a more of rock ’n’ roll singer than a folkie, but when he has tried to be an outlaw or make rock-flavored albums, the results have sounded forced. […]
Kathleen Edwards, Asking for Flowers (Zoe/Rounder)
Anyone who can work hockey player Marty McSorley into a chorus has admirable songwriting chops. The mystery on the album is really why roots rock fans haven’t rallied around Edwards […]
Al Green, Lay it Down (Blue Note)
With the help of the Roots’ Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson and musical fans Anthony Hamilton, Corinne Bailey Rae and John Legend, Al Green has found his way-back machine. Lay it Down […]
T-Bone Burnett, Tooth of Crime (Nonesuch)
You’ve got to go back to 1980’s Truth Decay or maybe 1986’s self-titled country album to find anything resembling a lighthearted T Bone Burnett album, and his return to recording […]
Roy Young, Memphis (Tommy Boy)
Long-time Al Green producer Willie Mitchell is behind the board for Roy Young’s Memphis, which updates his Memphis soul sound without making it slick. Mitchell frames the songs with a […]
Bobby Lounge, Bobby’s Back in Town LIVE (Abitian)
I’m a fan of the Bobby Lounge but I’m not a fan of live albums, and Bobby’s hasn’t changed my mind. The songs remain the songs, though some benefit from […]
