Guitarist Joe Louis Walker earned the coveted "Album of the Year" honors at the 2010 Blues Music Awards back in May for his critically-acclaimed 2009 album Between a Rock and the Blues. The Reverend called the album "a collection of barn-burner blues-rock and sizzling soul-blues that is sure to satisfy and pacify fans of both styles with stellar performances all around from the guitarist and his seasoned band of merry pranksters."
I remember writing back in 2006, during season five of American Idol , that I was worried Elliott Yamin would get voted off the show too early. Though he almost always displayed impressive vocal skills, he lacked the stage presence of more seasoned performers like Chris Daughtry and Taylor Hicks. I needn’t have worried. Though Elliott did not win Idol that year, he became the “Rocky” of that season. He and his fans were determined that he “go the distance.” Ultimately, Elliott lasted one week longer than Chris Daughtry, finishing in third place.
Now, with the Idol experience behind him, Elliott has just released his second album of new material (he has also released two Christmas albums). The album, Fight For Love , was released on May 5th. His first album, Elliott Yamin , peaked at number three on the Billboard Top 200 album chart, spawning a
Blues-rocker hits adventurous career high
OK, I'll 'fess up. In the past I have found a lot of Joe Bonamassa's output on the lumpen side. There, I said it. I feel a whole lot better now. So I wasn't overly excited about this, the follow up to 2007's Sloe Gin. But I'm delighted to say that this is an absolute belter, and the best album Mr Bonamassa has ever...
Joe Bonamassa, the complete blues musician, has arrived.
When talking about major figures in blues, the conversation is almost guaranteed to include such luminaries as B.B. King, Muddy Waters, Steve Ray Vaughan, Howlin' Wolf, Robert Johnson, Koko Taylor and the like. But if you're talking about the blues scene of today, such talk has to include Joe Bonamassa. Think not?Consider that...
The big news this week is of course Green Day's much-anticipated punk-opera 21st Century Breakdown . Green Day's album is one which is sure to be carefully watched by industry bean-counters. Their last album, American Idiot , was an all too rare modern-day multi-platinum selling physical CD in the MP3 era. But decades from now it may well also be remembered as symbolizing the Bush era in the same way that people like Bob Dylan are considered synonymous with the sixties. Our own Jordan "J-Rich" Richardson will be along shortly to provide his own 21st century breakdown of sorts on whether or not Green Day have once again delivered the goods.
As uncompromising in his personal life as he is in his music, Steve Earle is one of the few guys left from the original era of outlaw country who has managed to survive despite his excesses with his artistic integrity
This is a follow-up of sorts to fellow Blogcritic Glen Boyd’s recent “Whatever Happened To The Live Album?” article published on BC a couple of weeks ago. I really enjoyed Glen’s piece. But there seemed to be an essential element of the Seventies live album absent from his article.
Whatever happened to the drum solo?
When you went to a concert in the Seventies, the drum solo was a given. And it was never really an issue. It simply provided you with an opportunity to reload the bong, or to take a whizz. Kind of an intermission basically. But then someone got the bright idea to include the drum solo in the inevitable double live album, and all hell broke loose.
Blame it on Iron Butterfly, or I. Ron Butterfly as Bart Simpson calls them. At one point their In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida was the biggest selling album in Atlantic Records’ history. The centerpiece
Blues-rock guitarist Joe Bonamassa drops his latest album, The Ballad of John Henry, on February 24th, 2009 and promptly hits the road for several months to sell it to the...
