Glenn Jones’ ‘The Giant Who Ate Himself’ Takes Off from Fahey and Others with Genre-spanning Set
If you ever have to explain the “American primitive” guitar style to someone, just pop Glenn Jones’ The Giant Who Ate Himself into the CD player.
CD Review: Tim Easton’s ‘Paco & the Melodic Polaroids’
The “Paco” in the title of Tim Easton’s latest folk-blues album is the nickname that was bestowed long ago on his trusty, travel-worn, black Gibson J-45, his constant companion over many years of traveling the globe—busking, playing clubs and any place that would have him, scraping by, while building a…
ADVERTISEMENT
Review: Stephane Wrembel’s ‘The Django Experiment III’
It’s not that Gypsy jazz is amenable to experimentation, Stephane Wrembel seems to be saying. Gypsy jazz is experimentation.
Review: “Primitive Guitar & Banjo” Collection is a Trip Back in Time
This stuff is rough and ragged in places, much of it clearly improvised, and sonically not what modern audiences perhaps expect/demand. But it’s undeniably heartfelt and soulful in a deep and occasionally even spiritual way.
45 Acoustic Guitar Albums From the 2000s You Should Hear
We asked our writers and our readers to give us lists of their favorite acoustic-guitar-dominated recordings that came out between 2000 and 2017.
ADVERTISEMENT
Review: John Oates Digs Deep into Country Blues on ‘Arkansas’
With Arkansas, John Oates—yes, that John Oates, of the ’70s and ’80s hitmakers Hall & Oates—delivers what will likely endure as the most surprising roots-music release of 2018.
Tommy Emmanuel and Friends Shine on ‘Accomplice One’
Star duets bring out guitar slinger’s best
‘Before the Dead’: New box set sheds light on Jerry Garcia’s roots in folk music
Several hours of Garcia’s early folk forays have been brought together in a spectacular new box set called Before the Dead
ADVERTISEMENT
Country, Bluegrass, and Blues Pickin’ Through a European Lens
New albums from Thierry Massoubre, Jacques Stotzem, and Jean-Luc Thievent have a root language of Travis Picking
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…
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.
ADVERTISEMENT
Album Review: Tommy Emmanuel and David Grisman
On their first recording together, mandolinist David Grisman and guitarist Tommy Emmanuel prove to be perfect partners.
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…
Adam Palma’s ‘Palm-istry’ Is a Fingerstyle Gem
Imaginative fingerstylist crosses genres in diverse set
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.
ADVERTISEMENT
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…
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
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.
ADVERTISEMENT
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…
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…
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
ADVERTISEMENT
The Suitcase Junket’s ‘Pile Driver’ Finds the Junkyard Virtuoso Better Than Ever
Junkyard virtuoso’s DIY approach is heartfelt and intense
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;…
Todd Albright’s ‘Detroit Twelve String: Blues & Rags’ Hollers “Vintage”
The character and emotional vibe of the performance are delicious
ADVERTISEMENT
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.
