james armstrong guitar

The Angels Listened In

It's been a long, hard climb back to the active list for JAMES ARMSTRONG following a 1996 home invasion that left him without the use of his left arm. But back he has come, all the way, with GUITAR ANGELS, a blues triumph throu...
by David McGee
 

 
 
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From Any Angle, It’s Still the Blues

BLUESMAN and former boxer GRADY CHAMPION is launching his new label with strong albums from his first signings: EDDIE COTTON with HERE I COME and JJ THAMES with TELL YOU WHAT I KNOW
by David McGee
 

 

 
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Rhonda’s Revenge

Though she says it was inspired by George Jones, Rhonda Vincent's ONLY ME, a double-CD release containing one side of country and one of bluegrass, has n other message to send. Call it Rhonda's Revenge.
by David McGee
 

 
 
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An On-Time Messenger for the Lord

It takes no special insight to point out the kinship of blues and gospel but 81-year-old LEO 'BUD' WELCH's debut album, Sabougla Voices, presses that truth home with a ferocity and unwavering conviction remarkable even for thes...
by David McGee
 

 

 
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‘There Is a Great Desire in All Souls for What Is Good and Beautiful’

The BENEDICTINES OF MARY, QUEEN OF APOSTLES are back with another moving seasonal epistle to follow last year's chart busting Angels and Saints. LENT AT EPHESUS, the sisters' new album, is a true sacred masterpiece.
by David McGee
 

 
 
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Do Right Woman, Do Right Man

No longer incommunicado, BILL POWERS and SHELLEY GRAY are back with some friends as HONEY DON'T. The group's second album, HEART LIKE A WHEEL, is a solid advance over the group's 2009 self-titled debut.
by David McGee
 

 

 
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EPs of the Year 2013

Our first-ever citations of the Best EPs we received in 2013--an Elite Four, you might say.
by David McGee
 

 
 
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2013’s Elite Half-Hundred – Part II

Part II of 50 keepers from the year since passed: Selections include albums by CLAIRE LYNCH, FRANK SOLIVAN & DIRTY KITCHEN, BOBBY RUSH, MARY J. BLIGE, SAMANTHA FISH, et al.
by David McGee
 

 

 
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2013’s Elite Half-Hundred – Part I

Selections 1-25 of the 2013 Elite Half Hundred include THE BENEDICTINES OF MARY, QUEEN OF APOSTLES, STEEP CANYON RANGERS, DAILEY & VINCENT, ALAN JACKSON, et al.
by David McGee
 

 
 
gene kelly featured2

A Gene Kelly ‘Omnibus’

In 1958 the distinguished Omnibus series commissioned GENE KELLY's first TV special. For the first time since its historic broadcast on December 21, 1958, Kelly's DANCING: A MAN'S GAME is available commercially, via DVD.
by David McGee
 

 

 
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Get Thee Hence, Sinner – Christine Santelli

EPs are proliferating these days, but few can match CHRSTINE SANTELLI's new one, LIMELIGHT '69, a collection of first-rate original songs and possibly a search for spiritual redemption, all at once.
by David McGee
 

 
 
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Catch Them If You Can

THE BOXCARS' third album, Grammy-nominated IT'S JUST A ROAD, is the quintet's strongest amalgam yet of inspired covers and impressive original songs in a traditional bluegrass mode.
by David McGee