Blogcritics Category: Music: Blues

Best of 2008: Counting Crows, Oasis, Black Keys, Dave Carter, B.B. King, The Bittersweets, Mudcrutch, R.E.M., Coldplay, Gutter Twins, Glen Phillips

Josh Hathaway — Thu, 8 Jan 2009 18:39:57 EST

2008 was a great year for music.
It's become an annual rite of passage in the music business. Every year, the trade papers are filled with stories about how this year was worse than last year. If the music execs were hoping we'd get so tired of reading that story that we'd start to ignore it -- you know, 'the boy who cried wolf' routine -- it hasn't...

Music Review: Rory Block - Blues Walkin' Like A Man

Lou Novacheck — Thu, 8 Jan 2009 08:27:52 EST

�The blues got so bad that they manifested into human form and began walking down the road beside you ��
Rory Block is on a mission. She’s a missionary with a holy mission. She’s out to convince people to become more aware and appreciative of the Southern blues troubadours who started the Country Blues, the blues troubadours who made it famous, too, since they’re not always one and the same.Rory Block Blues Walkin’ Like A Man...

Music DVD Review: Jonny Lang - Live At Montreux 1999

Paul Roy — Mon, 5 Jan 2009 21:46:43 EST

Was kid Jonny really in his prime at the age of 18? Only time will tell.
Jeez, has it already been 12 years since Fargo, North Dakota's very own blues-guitar prodigy, Jon Gordon Langseth Jr. - that's Jonny Lang to you - released his 1997 major label debut at the ripe old age of fifteen? Well, seeing that I just watched the big crystal ball drop on Times Square a few days ago to usher in the 2009 new year, I...

Janiva Magness, Eden Brent, Buddy Guy, Lil' Ed, Nick Moss Lead 2009 Blues Music Award Nominees

Josh Hathaway — Mon, 5 Jan 2009 01:33:47 EST

The nominees are in.
The 30th annual Blues Music Awards will be handed out in Memphis on May 7 and the nominations have been announced. Singer Janiva Magness and newcomer Eden Brent received a year's best four nominations while several other artists received three. Buddy Guy's Skin Deep and Magness' What Love Will Do are among the nominees for...

Music Review: Indie Round-Up - D'Haene, June Moris, Back Door Slam

Jon Sobel — Fri, 2 Jan 2009 18:01:27 EST

In a world of hyper-talented young musicians, Back Door Slam plays truly impressive stuff, because it feels real.
D'Haene, VinylD'Haene's new disc is spring-loaded with hard-locked rhythms, chunky guitar riffing, and metalized melodies sung with a bluesy, soulful inflection. If, vocally, D'Haene tends to be a touch more convincing on more easy-going fare ("Took Me So Long"), that's because of the soulful quality that defines his...

Music Review: Gary Moore - Bad For You Baby

David Bowling — Thu, 1 Jan 2009 20:04:53 EST

Gary Moore returns with some electric blues for the mind and soul.
Gary Moore plays the blues with a little rock ‘n’ roll mixed in for good measure. His legacy now reaches back to the late 1960’s with his work in the Irish band, Skid Row. He also took a couple of turns as a member of Thin Lizzy plus spent time in Colosseum II, BBM with Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker, and played in Greg Lake’s...

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Thu, 1 Jan 2009 20:04:53 EST

Music Review: Beth Rowley - Little Dreamer

Jeff Perkins — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 03:51:12 EST

The album is beautifully lo-fi, radiating a warm glow of late night atmosphere amid some softly seductive vintage performances.
As soon as a promising white, blues-tinged, female soul singer arrives on the scene, it tends to ignite the inevitable comparisons to the likes of the legendary Dusty Springfield, amongst others. That, of course, is a huge legacy for any aspiring young singer to carry around. One of those who, along with Dusty -- and Amy Winehouse, for example --...

Music DVD Review: The Black Keys - Live At The Crystal Ballroom

Tan The Man — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 02:23:33 EST

Blues-rock duo The Black Keys showcase their live music on Live At The Crystal Ballroom.
Some dudes just want to rock, and that's exactly what a couple of guys that make up The Black Keys do.In support of their fifth full-length LP Attack & Release, The Black Keys recorded their April 4, 2008 concert performance at the Crystal Ballroom in Portland, Oregon. Produced and directed by Lance Bangs (R.E.M.'s Road Movie, Nirvana: With The...

Best Songs of 2008: Raconteurs, Black Keys, Bittersweets, Dave Carter, Jon Foreman, Glen Phillips, B.B. King, Oasis, Ryan Adams, Phil Keaggy

Josh Hathaway — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 11:33:50 EST

Here are a few of the 2008 tracks that dominated my iPod...
With thanks to the late Layne Staley I try not to plan the funeral before the body has died but there's only one Tuesday left in 2008 and there's nothing I'm in a hurry to go out and buy. Three years down the road I may come across a 2008 album I missed and want to amend this list, but for now, for better and worse these are...

Music DVD Review: Johnny Winter - Live Through The '70s

Paul Roy — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 22:17:36 EST

Blues guitar legend, Johnny Winter, finally gets some due justice on DVD.
"Born cross-eyed and albino, Johnny Winter (John Dawson Winter III) disregarded Mother Nature's unkindness to forge a career as one of the few great white blues-rockers." I thought that this quote from The Johnny Winter Story website summed it up quite nicely.I have not followed Johnny Winter's career as closely as I should have,...