Detroit 1967: From Uprising to Amplification
The 1967 Detroit Uprising did not create the music that followed; it clarified it by stripping away ambiguity, making it harder to ignore what was already there.
blues
Tinariwen’s ‘Hoggar’ Is a Brilliant, Bittersweet Homecoming
Tinariwen’s music is perhaps more poignant than ever, made with a reverence for history and a sense of community that grows stronger over time.
Carolina Chocolate Drops Bring the Past to Delight
Carolina Chocolate Drops’ third album is still revolutionary and lays out a singular vision that’s traditional, innovative, scholarly, and fun.
Tedeschi Trucks Band Shake Things Up with “Future Soul”
Derek Trucks discusses the new Tedeschi Trucks Band album and the logistics of co-fronting a 12-piece group with his guitar-slinging wife, Susan Tedeschi.
Cyril Neville and King Youngblood Serve Up Inspiring Gumbo
This is a big year for Cyril Neville and King Youngblood, a bonus for music fans who appreciate artists who use their talents to speak out and inspire social change.
The Band’s Rick Danko Possessed a Voice for the Ages
With his old-timey, soul-inflected voice, Rick Danko could sink like an anchor, plumbing the depths of existence that most singers would have to drown themselves to reach.
Furry Lewis Sang the Blues at Sun Records in 1961
The reissue of Furry Lewis’ Back on My Feet Again captures a daylong recording session at Sun Records from 1961.
Justin Townes Earle’s Unrealized Future
Rolling Stone editor Jonathan Bernstein’s biography of Justin Townes Earle, What Do You Do When You’re Lonesome, is rooted in the quiet devastation of Saint of Lost Causes.
Mike Mattison Turns the Corner at the Midnight Blues
Mike Mattison’s third release as a band leader is a concept album based upon a novella he wrote about a fictional 1930s country blues act, Ted ‘n’ Turk.
Blues Pianist Memphis Slim Had One Hell of a Debut
Gate of Horn highlights a set of new recordings of Memphis Slim’s best tunes, mostly credited to LC. Frazier, one of Slim’s several pseudonyms.
The Jewish Immigrant Song
Jewish immigrants music-saturated synagogues and rich theater, flavored with humor and lament, were a magical formula for the birth of the American Songbook.
Bob Dylan Rings in His Ears
Music theorist Steven Rings helps readers understand Bob Dylan the performer, not the lyricist or songwriter, in a welcome and indispensable addition to Dylan scholarship.