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“Have you ever been to Electric Ladyland?" Counterbalance's Eric Klinger and Jason Mendelsohn have, and they file this report.

Able to write and sing the blues, gospel, folk, rock and alt-country with the same amount of true grit and passion, Lucinda Williams comes out swinging while discussing her explosive new album during these troubled times.

On her new searing album, Good Souls Better Angels, Lucinda Williams rages against the darkness of our era and seeks the strength to get through it.

From apocalyptic blues boasts to backwoods chant-alongs, here are 15 songs that encapsulate Tom Waits' incredibly varied career.

In 1972, the Rolling Stones were holed up in a rickety mansion in the South of France, writing an epic love letter to American music. Counterbalance examines the Rolling Stones' Exile on Main St and separates the fever from the funk house—now!

Daniel Pearson retains the knack for atmospheric melodies that garnered his reputation while confidently strutting back to his grittier rock roots on "Brother".

Hot Tuna is power trio rock at its finest as sonic sparks fly in the band's astonishing seventh decade of performing at rock's most sacred venue.

Forty years into his career, Robert Cray has been steadily building one of the most consistent catalogs of pure soul and smooth blues with the help of his stinging Stratocaster and a voice that somehow gets even better with age.

If Greta Van Fleet are that wonderful horrible thing called zeitgeisty, that zeitgeist is defined by desire to escape to a fantasized past where the battles were cleaner and the battle lines simpler than today's appear to be.

Marcus King has a raw ache in his throat that makes him sound as if he's coarsely whispering the words. Even when he's singing about a "Young Man's Dream", King's vocals suggest the experience of age.

Big Band of Brothers is a truly remarkable and imaginative take on the music of the legendary Allman Brothers Band, rendered with affection and imagination, it asks us to appreciate the true genius of Macon, Georgia's finest.

On their sophomore album, Trigger Hippy cement their reputation as a hard-working American rock band with a bright future. Co-founder Steve Gorman says, "This feels special and that's worth protecting."

The Doors' fourth album was a deeply polarizing work and perhaps their most difficult to love. But the 50th anniversary deluxe edition goes a long way in spotlighting its many highlights.

Although created in the midst of personal and global turmoil, the Rolling Stones' 1969 studio album is routinely considered one of their best. A 50th anniversary deluxe edition is now out and celebrates this masterpiece.

Blues rocker Mike Zito pairs with axeman Walter Trout for an incendiary version of Chuck Berry's seminal rock 'n' roll song, "Johnny B. Goode".

Powerhouse blues vocalist Beth Hart teams with producer Rob Cavallo to confront her own sense of spirituality on her intensely personal new release, War in My Mind. She tells us that story.

As part of the upcoming benefit album Blanket the Homeless, the Stone Foxes shine through the atmospheric, rhythmic rock of "Million Dollar Shoes", a song that sets the spotlight on the San Francisco Bay Area's homelessness crisis.

For an artist whose discography spans continents both literally and stylistically, there was one reliable thing: Ginger Baker knew what was needed, and if he had to invent new ways of forcing rhythm to the forefront, that was his job. It will remain his legacy.

Bad Company's albums have been fairly and consistently good -- all of them crucial to the development and popularity of album-oriented rock. The Swan Song Years is a perfect and convenient way to get all of the band's first six albums in one package.

Oumar Konaté shreds, howls, and loves his job on new Malian blues rock release I Love You Inna.

Saharan collective Tinariwen reign over a star-studded album of sincere desert blues on their latest gem Amadjar.

In 1969, the deeply strange musician known as Captain Beefheart released an album that is still ahead of its time a half-century later. PopMatters spoke with musicians and writers about this landmark work of art and why it continues to fascinate.

Legendary soul singer P.P. Arnold's new adventures include recording new baroque, soul-pop hybrids and a wild take on an old Dylan poem with Ocean Colour Scene's Steve Cradock and Paul Weller.

More than 50 years after her last solo album, Northern soul legend P.P. Arnold returns with a magnum opus produced by Ocean Colour Scene's Steve Cradock. Arnold discusses this and her long musical history working with the likes of the Small Faces, Ike & Tina Turner, and the Rolling Stones.

Blues guitar legend Jimmie Vaughan reflects on his latest album, Baby, Please Come Home, the greatness of T-Bone Walker, and the importance of remaining curious about your instrument.

The Black Keys loudly rock out with Let's Rock, an album celebrating the directness and enjoyment of the electric guitar.

Moving from Mahavishnu Orchestra-style to '70s-style rock sees the trio move from being Sand to becoming Ether Feather on "Your Half in the Middle".

On their first album in more than ten years, Jack White's acclaimed foursome the Raconteurs are back with a solid collection of songs.

For Bark, the question isn't whether life's glass is half-full or half-empty; the point is to drink it all in deeply because it's the only glass we get. This is music that celebrates life despite its necessary pains and setbacks.

Blues rock's Kenny Wayne Shepherd incorporates all of his Southern influences and a few surprising covers on his dynamic new record, The Traveler.

The Heavy's latest release, Sons, demonstrates that their musical trajectory is far more complicated and nuanced than what's been embraced by popular culture.

The blend of diverse original material with a wide-ranging array of superb blues and classic rock covers is part of what makes the Tedeschi Trucks Band a leading torch carrier for the blues tradition, ever paying tribute to the past while continuing to move the medium forward.

Multi-instrumentalist Matt Lorenz uses a three-word name for his one-man band (the Suitcase Junket), working at a dizzying pace as a recording artist, tour performer and, now, an intrepid filmmaker.

Bruce Springsteen and Neil Young collaborator, Nils Lofgren's Blue With Lou is a career high that frequently recalls his early work with Grin, while rising to new, majestic heights.

Flying Buffaloes offer up an easy combination of rock, country, and blues on their infectious new single, "Lonesome Cowboy".

Author C. M. Kushins talks with PopMatters about the complicated legacy of Warren Zevon, from crack-up to recovery and back again, and his research for Nothing's Bad Luck: The Lives of Warren Zevon.

Left Lane Cruiser's new album arrives later this spring. In the meantime we have a small taste of its almighty might, musical muscle via a deep appreciation of a good friend and cosmic character, "Two Dollar Elvis".

The Doors' fourth album was a deeply polarizing work and perhaps their most difficult to love. But the 50^th anniversary deluxe edition goes a long way in spotlighting its many highlights.