By James Calemine The Black Keys’ guitarist Dan Auerbach produced Dr. John’s studio release Locked Down. Dr. John and Auerbach wrote the ten originals on this album together. It’s an interesting batch of songs… Dr. John’s musical legend speaks for itself. It seems...
Merle Haggard’s release, The Bluegrass Sessions, upholds his reputation as one of America’s finest musicians. These songs were recorded at Ricky Skaggs’ Tennessee studio in two days. The “living room style” sessions prove Haggard’s voice remains that of a great...
“The main thing a musician would like to do is to give a picture to the listener of the many wonderful things he knows of and senses in the universe.” –John Coltrane Crescent contains five original John Coltrane compositions. A meditative album, Crescent served as the...
By James Calemine Texas born, Tift Merritt relocated to North Carolina years ago. See You On the Moon counts as her 5th studio release. Tift Merritt always constructed finely crafted songs. Her songwriting remains the backbone of her career. Her previous...
By James Calemine Stax Records president Al Bell brought in Detroit producer Don Davis to work with artists such as Carla Thomas and Johnny Taylor to diversify the label’s sound. The Dramatics were a vocal group from the Motor City. This album was recorded in Memphis...
By James Calemine “A writer is congenitally unable to tell the truth and that is why we call what he writes fiction.” –William Faulkner Nick Nolte narrates this Tom Thurman documentary on Kentucky writer Hunter S. Thompson. Archival footage contains interviews with...
By James Calemine Blessed counts as Lucinda Williams’ tenth studio album. Produced by Don Was (Rolling Stones & Black Crowes), Blessed features Lucinda’s strongest collection of songs in years. Now 58, her material retains a resigned wisdom on these 12...
By James Calemine Recorded at their Jacksonville, Florida, home studio, married duo Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi formed a new 11-piece band for Revelator. Between Trucks and Tedeschi, they’ve played with everyone from Bob Dylan to Buddy Guy to the Allman Brothers...
By James Calemine The Booker T. Jones album–The Road From Memphis–follows his acclaimed release Potato Hole. Jones utilizes the Roots as his back-up band along with musical guests such as My Morning Jacket’s Jim James, Dennis Coffey and Lou Reed. Best known for his...
Stax Records released Albert King’s seminal albums (like Born Under A Bad Sign) in the early 70s. In 1973, with cantankerous reluctance, King allowed a skinny white kid to sit in with him one night in Austin, Texas. The two got along and played famously together,...