Category: Album Reviews

CD Review: Bruce Cockburn Is Still Searching for Answers on ‘Bone on Bone’

In the six years since Small Source of Comfort, his last album of new songs, Bruce Cockburn has gotten married, settled in San Francisco, become a father for the second time, and started going to church again. That’s a lot, and it’s only part of the story: Cockburn spent three…

Kenny Berkowitz
February 9, 2018

Review: Julian Lage and Gyan Riley Play the Music of John Zorn

This Shakespeare-inspired set is music of striking beauty. Rendered expertly by two of today’s finest young guitarists, it’s at once approachable and deeply satisfying.

Adam Perlmutter
January 10, 2018

Album Review: Tommy Emmanuel and David Grisman

On their first recording together, mandolinist David Grisman and guitarist Tommy Emmanuel prove to be perfect partners.

Kenny Berkowitz
January 3, 2018

Woody Guthrie—50 Years Gone: Spectacular Box Set Offers Historic All-Star Tribute Concerts, and More

On January 20, 1968, less than four months after folk music icon Woody Guthrie died in New York City at the age of 55, Carnegie Hall hosted an all-star tribute concert honoring the influential and much-loved musician, featuring such leading lights of the folk world as Judy Collins, Bob Dylan…

Blair Jackson
December 4, 2017

Adam Palma’s ‘Palm-istry’ Is a Fingerstyle Gem

Imaginative fingerstylist crosses genres in diverse set

Pat Moran
November 6, 2017

Charlie Parr’s Guitars Bring Lightness to a Heavy Album on ‘Dog’

Dog is a triumph of Parr’s art, grappling with mortality, mental illness, desperation, and the urge to stay inside all day long.

Kenny Berkowitz
October 30, 2017

Joe Bonamassa Mostly Sticks to Rhythm on Live Disc

For years, Joe Bonamassa used to sneak three or four acoustic songs into the middle of his live shows. That changed in 2013, when he retooled his back catalog for An Acoustic Evening at the Vienna Opera House, and four years later, he’s reconceived it again for the CD/DVD Live…

Kenny Berkowitz
September 25, 2017

A Treasure Trove of Unreleased Doc and Merle Watson

A beautifully designed box contains seven CDs encompassing 94 tracks by father and son Doc and Merle Watson, culled from four nights at the Boarding House club in San Francisco

Blair Jackson
September 20, 2017

Album Review: Fleet Foxes Return with Ambitious ‘Crack-Up’

With some maturity and distance, the 31-year-old Pecknold said he was finally ready to resume; the result—Crack-Up—is worth the wait.

Kenny Berkowitz
September 6, 2017

Album Review: ‘American Epic’ 5-CD Box Set

The word “epic” has been degraded through overuse in recent years, but here’s a new box set that truly merits that adjective. This is more than just the soundtrack for the brilliant three-part PBS documentary series American Epic—about the rise and spread of American vernacular (or what we now lump…

Blair Jackson
August 30, 2017

Allison Pierce album cover Year of the Rabbit

Album Review: Allison Pierce’s ‘Year of the Rabbit’

On her debut solo album after many years of performing and recording with her sister Catherine in the Pierces, Allison Pierce veers sharply from the atmospheric alt-pop of the duo’s 2014 Creation album in favor of a more natural, acoustic guitar–based country sound that, at its best, is somewhat reminiscent…

Blair Jackson
August 28, 2017

James Elkington’s ‘Wintres Woma’ is a Mystical Delight

This collection tethers Elkington’s mystic yet matter-of-fact worldview to labyrinthine guitar lines as strong and supple as a serpent’s spine

Pat Moran
August 7, 2017

The Suitcase Junket’s ‘Pile Driver’ Finds the Junkyard Virtuoso Better Than Ever

Junkyard virtuoso’s DIY approach is heartfelt and intense

Kenny Berkowitz
July 5, 2017

Album Review: George Thorogood’s ‘Party of One’ (Rounder)

Boogie King’s acoustic and resonator guitars shine on true solo album Musical trends and fads come and go, but 40 years after the release of his still-fresh-sounding debut album, George Thorogood continues to play pretty much what he’s always played: blues in every shade, from raunchy to delicate; screaming slide;…

Blair Jackson
June 28, 2017

Todd Albright’s ‘Detroit Twelve String: Blues & Rags’ Hollers “Vintage”

The character and emotional vibe of the performance are delicious

Derk Richardson
June 21, 2017

Pieta Brown’s New Album ‘Postcards’ Gets a Little Help from Friends Mark Knopfler, Calexico, and More

Each of the ten tracks features a special guest, including Rodriguez, Mason Jennings, David Lindley, and others.

Anna Pulley
March 24, 2017

Kelly-and-Ellis main by Tennille Melcher Moments by T (2)

FIRST LISTEN: New Music from Country Hitmakers Kelly & Ellis

Before recording The Long Road to You, Casey Kelly and Leslie Ellis’ debut as Kelly & Ellis, the husband-and-wife duo had each scored a stream of accomplishments, including country hits, a showstopper from the musical CATS, and a contribution to the Academy Award-winning film Titanic.

Pat Moran
February 9, 2017

Singer-songwriter Becky Warren with her acoustic guitar.

Becky Warren Turns Personal Hell into Poetic Song on New Album ‘War Surplus’

“I found it really freeing, to be able to think about these things as characters instead of as myself,” says Warren, talking by phone just before hitting the road with the Indigo Girls.

Cristina Schreil
December 21, 2016

New Holiday Music from Tommy Emmanuel, Laurence Juber, Loretta Lynn & More: VIDEO

The holiday season has inspired thousands of artists, from Will Ackerman and Elvis to John Prine and Emmylou Harris, to record their seasonal favorites, novelty songs, and everything in between (have you heard the Christmas Jug Band’s “Daddy’s Drinking Up Our Christmas”?). Many of us have a favorite set of…

Greg Cahill
November 30, 2016

Album Review: Dave McGraw & Mandy Fer’s ‘Off-Grid Lo-Fi’ Is Chock Full of Roots-Rich Gems

Tracked at a secluded wind-and-solar powered cabin on an uninhabited Washington State island in the dead of winter...

Pat Moran
October 26, 2016

Ramseur Reissues Folk Legend Josh White Classic 1956 Album on Hi-Def Vinyl

It’s a treasure trove of cool folk-blues and hellfire spirituals.

Greg Cahill
October 16, 2016

Dolly Parton, Bryan Sutton, and More Revive Appalachian Tunes on ‘On Top of Old Smoky’

Album focuses on simple, direct folk versions that hew close to the heart of these tunes.

Kenny Berkowitz
October 10, 2016

Album Review: ‘Live Book’ Highlights Andy McKee’s Sonic Storyteller Brilliance

Live Book is a must not only for Andy McKee fans, but those who love the diverse sounds of the acoustic guitar presented with a sonic storyteller’s brilliance.

Jeff Gunn
September 21, 2016

Jug Band Cohorts Jim Kweskin & Geoff Muldaur Reunite on a Collection of American Roots Classics, ‘Penny’s Farm’

It’s been nearly 55 years since two of the folk revival’s best guitarists, Jim Kweskin and Geoff Muldaur, first played together. Now they've reunited on Penny's Farm, a collection of American roots classics.

Derk Richardson
September 20, 2016

The Earls of Leicester Combine Standards and Rarities on ‘Rattle & Roar’

They’re not trying to recapture these Flatt and Scruggs songs, they’re trying to keep them alive

Kenny Berkowitz
September 8, 2016