adkins steel thats

Roll On

DAVE ADKINS and REPUBLIK STEEL make an impression on their debut album, That's Just the Way I Roll, as a new bluegrass band to be dealt with. Secret weapon: Adkins himself, a formidable vocalist.
by David McGee
 

 
 
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‘Daddy G,’ In Full

GENE 'DADDY G' BARGE, saxophonist and vocalist par excellence, made his first record in 1955 and went on to accompany some of the greatest names in blues and soul. His new solo album, OLIO, demonstrates all his gifts in full.
by David McGee
 

 

 
ian tyson carnero

Of Life and Hearts in the Balance

The earth and the hearts of people living on it are in the balance in the potent songs on IAN TYSON's memorable new album, CARNERO VAQUERO. It's a Tyson classic.
by David McGee
 

 
 
sarah betty bandit

Songs From The Heart and The Headlines

In laying out challenges and rewards for even a casual singer-songwriter fan, SARAH BEATTY'S 'BANDIT QUEEN' says much about her confidence in herself and in her audience.
by David McGee
 

 

 
keb mo featured

Rise Above, Find More Peace, Make More Love

KEB' MO' delivers the finest Christmas album of the 2019 season in MOONLIGHT, MISTLETOE & YOU. Highlights include a duet with MELISSA MANCHESTER on 'I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm.'
by David McGee
 

 
 
Honey Dont Threadbare cover

Hey, Colorado

HONEY DON'T returns with its first new album in nearly eight years, and it's a gem. THREADBARE finds songwriter BILL POWERS at his peak, and the band speaking to a larger moment.
by David McGee
 

 

 
booker t 1

Ever Fresh: A Half-Century of ‘Green Onions’

In honor of the 50th anniversary of ‘Green Onions,’ we salute BOOKER T. & THE M.G.s’ reissued debut album of the same name, along with the group’s reissued-remastered 1970 Beatles tribute, McLemore Avenue, all-instrumen...
by David McGee
 

 
 
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Of Secret Smiles and Unfinished Symphonies

RED RIVER DRIFTER may be MICHAEL MARTIN MURPHEY'S best yet. He's singing love songs again, but love songs of a different stripe, examining the emotion in all its complexity.
by David McGee
 

 

 
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Existential Bluegrass

Bluegrass existentialists THE ROYS are back with THE VIEW, comprised of songs pondering the burden of memory as time marches on, along with philosophical appraisals of quotidian troubles and joys.
by David McGee
 

 
 
joan jeanrenaud featured

Feeling The Vibrations

Post-Kronos Quartet, cellist Joan Jeanrenaud has created one compelling solo work after another. Her latest, VISUAL MUSIC, delivers an unusual range of emotional wallops, says reviewer DERK RICHARDSON.
by David McGee
 

 

 
michelle david gospel sessions2

Timeless Gospel Messages Delivered in New Ways

MICHELLE DAVID is a gospel dynamo, and she's outdone herself, again, with THE GOSPEL SESSIONS VOL. 2. Bob Marovich weighs in one on of 2017's finest new CD releases.
by David McGee
 

 
 
club27cover 1 1

The Dark Saint Rises

A genuine Statement record, IVY FORD's CLUB 27 finds the gifted Chicago-based blues artist-singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist--coming into her own in a powerful way. One of the year's best here.
by David McGee