Texas ’51
Van Wilks’ first new studio album in 10 years is a solid set of blues-rock boasting some of the finest guitar tone ever put on wax, easily holding a candle to efforts by more-recognizable names such as Kenny Wayne Shepherd, the Fabulous Thunderbirds and Joe Bonamassa.
Rhino
Looks like Jazz Is Dead finally has some competition in the subgenre of “instrumental interpretations of Grateful Dead songs” — sort of.
Landslide
Slide guitar has more of a presence on “Mississippi Moderne” than on Webb Wilder’s other albums — perhaps because Nashville session player Bob Williams, who’s been co-guitarist since 2007 but played on just three songs off 2009’s “More Like Me,” is fully incorporated this time around.
Grandpa Raccoon
Even serious Youngbloods fans may have had a hard time keeping up with Lowell Levinger (the artist almost formerly known as Banana) since that group disbanded 42 years ago.
Louisiana Red Hot
Colin Lake traded in the Pacific Northwest for the Deep South, relocating from Portland, Ore., to New Orleans and finding a mentor in musician Eric Lindell. “One Thing That’s for Sure” is Lake’s second post-migration album, continuing his metamorphosis into a notable blues/soul/R&B singer-songwriter who excels on slide and lap steel guitar.
