The thing about music is everyone has an opinion and no one is necessarily wrong – sort of.

Nowhere is this more evident than with guitar players. Everyone has their favorites, across genres, styles and technique. Take Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 100 greatest guitarist, which was compiled in 2003. There’s an argument at every [...]

Murali Coryell spent years shunning his legacy.

With an affinity for languages, he toyed with the idea of becoming a translator or an academic.

Anything, he thought, but to become a musician and toil in the shadow of his father’s greatness. Because Larry Coryell is a veritable legend, a founder of jazz-fusion guitar who counted Jimi Hendrix, [...]

Listen to him play.

Yes, the name is ridiculous and the gimmick is ludicrous – something seemingly drawn from an unhealthy fascination with Styx’ “Mr. Roboto” or the Jet Jaguar character in the Godzilla B-movies.

But just listen to Buckethead play, because behind the mask is bonafied guitar genius.
(photo courtesy of last.fm.com)

Buckethead is the stage persona of [...]

It’s hard to envision a better night of music than a Keb’ Mo’ show, particularly if blues is your thing.

Or even if it isn’t.

The California-born blues singer, songwriter, guitarist and storyteller is a bluesman of the old school. Don’t think his music’s dated — he’s as improvisational a musician as you’ll find. But he’s cut [...]

Leave it to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to put on a show.

Last night marked the first of a two-night stand at Madison Square Garden to commemorate the Rock Hall’s 25th anniversary. By all accounts it was a rousing success, with legendary performers like Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder, Bonnie Raitt, John Fogerty and [...]

The myth has persisted that the Allman Brothers’ classic album Eat a Peach was named in honor of Duane Allman, who was killed when he drove his Harley-Davidson into a truck – presumably a peach truck.

The story’s not true. The title came from a comment Allman made to a reporter when asked what he was [...]

Guitar Player magazine once called this Texas guitar slinger “a virtual deity – a living legend.”

Because while his kid brother may have stolen the spotlight, Jimmie Vaughan is as genuine a guitar icon as has ever come along in modern blues.

He is, in short, the real deal.
(photo courtesy of explorechicago.org)

The onetime co-founder of The Fabulous Thunderbirds [...]

By Jack Alcott
Listening Room music critic

Formed in 1983, The Flaming Lips cut their teeth playing Oklahoma City’s underground punk and new wave clubs, gradually  evolving into one of the most experimental and original bands on the national scene.

With 2002’s “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots,” they burned their way onto the airwaves with memorable trance tunes [...]

The economy may still be tanking, but you wouldn’t know it from the numbers being reported by the music industry.

USA Today says gross revenue from some big tours are on a par with last year, while attendance at major shows is up slightly. The newspaper says fans may be going to concerts as an escape [...]

Paul Carrack is really more than just the guy who replaced Jools Holland in Squeeze.

Although Carrack’s soulful vocals on “Tempted” forever linked him to the group’s legacy, he’s actually an accomplished and prominent musician, singer and songwriter in his own right.

So what have we lost and now found from Carrack?

That would be “I Need You,” [...]

Goodbye Bruce, Hello Jon.

Just weeks after Hall of Fame rocker New York Daily News is reporting that another famed Jersey rocker, Jon Bon Jovi, will open up the new stadium with his own show next year.

It certainly seems to make sense: If Bruce is the king of New Jersey rock, then Bon Jovi is certainly [...]

If innovation is the measure of a great guitar player, then Eric Krasno should be top of the heap.

The jam-crazed axeman for Soulive has delved into every musical genre from rock and jazz, to hip-hop, reggea and funk — and mastered all of them.

And the beauty of it is that he’s just getting warmed up.
(photo [...]

“I think the blues will always be around,” Johnny Winter once said. “People need it.”

Amen to that. And the beauty of Johnny Winter is that he does his part to keep the blues alive. The legendary blues man has been cranking out electric blues for decades, and continues to bring his show on the road.

He’ll [...]

When artists like the Sex Pistols and Joan Jett both cover your song, you know you’ve pretty much come up with a classic.

And “Roadrunner” is just that.

Jonathan Richman’s catchy two-chord tune is rock and roll simplicity at its best — and has the staying power of any rock anthem.

This is one of those tunes you [...]

Jim Morrison once called Blue Cheer “the single most powerful band I’ve ever seen.”

They were. Long before Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin, Blue Cheer was putting together the genre that would come to be known as heavy metal. Along with bands like the MC5 and Dust, Cheer was cranking out loud, aggressive rock before anyone [...]

Ray Toro was a relatively late bloomer when it comes to playing guitar, having first devoted himself to it as a sophomore in high school.

He’s made up quite a bit of ground since.
(photo courtesy of Getty Images)

The lead guitarist for Jersey rockers My Chemical Romance has since carved a niche for himself, with a guitar [...]

Some 17 years ago I had a memorable cab ride in New York city. I was heading from Grand Central down to the lower East Side, where I had a date with an ex. I was running late, and the cabbie was one of those hard-edged ones. The guy seemed to hate his life, his [...]

San Francisco-based Wolfgang’s Vault has announced it will offer more than 800 new live recordings next month, expanding its already massive online music archive.

The site’s “Cracking The Vault Day” on Nov. 3 will feature the release of performances by Santana, Jimi Hendrix, The Ramones, Miles Davis, Twisted Sister and others.

Let’s face it, it’s like the [...]

The last time I saw Johnny Winter he was playing the old Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor, playing a show with Buddy Guy. And Johnny did what he always does on stage: He just put his dead down and wailed on the guitar for two hours.

With a growl of a voice and a mastery [...]

Scottish diva Annie Lennox has wowed the music world with her powerful voice for over a quarter century, initially taking the world by storm with the Eurythmics’ worlwide hit, “Sweet Dreams.”

But she’s actually been belting out hits longer than that.

Before Lennox teamed up with former boyfriend Dave Stewart to form the Eurythmics, the duo was [...]

In early August we told you that legendary British rockers Mott the Hoople were set for a reunion in London, marking the first time the band’s original lineup played together in decades.

Well, the shows are getting under way, and so far so good. And, boy, do I envy all you Brits out there who are [...]

I’ve always remembered where I first heard that Stevie Ray Vaughan had died in that helicopter crash. 

I was on the Long Island Expressway coming home from the beach when the news came on the radio. It was late August, and I remember the initial relief was that Eric Clapton, first thought also killed, was not [...]

Legendary rockabilly crooner Robert Gordon will return to the Turning Point on Sunday, making one of his regular appearances at the cozy Piermont venue that has hosted everyone from Bo Diddley and Johnny Copeland, to Hot Tuna and Roger McGuinn.

If you’ve ever had a chance to see him you know he puts on a fun [...]

As lost tunes go, Ian Lloyd’s “Slip Away” was a pretty successful one.

It was also a departure for Lloyd, who first made a name for himself as the lead singer of the Stories with an impressively soulful voice. His best known performance was the Stories’ 1973 cover of the Hot Chocolate song, “Brother Louie,” which [...]

How does someone spend five years playing with the world’s most famous rock band and still make it onto a list of guitar players “under the mainstream radar?”

Because Mick Taylor never got the credit he deserves.
(courtesy of Fred the B-slinger/jimsatten.com)

Taylor’s jazz/blues guitar playing revitalized the Rolling Stones after he was hired to replace Brian Jones [...]

They weren’t the first band to rise out of the L.A. club scene, but they probably rose the highest.

And that’s no surprise, because hit rockers Guns N Roses grew out of two of the best known and most successful West Coast glam bands of their day.L.A. Guns took its name from lead guitarist Tracii Guns, [...]

Sad news out of England today with word that Lucy Vodden passed away this weekend.

You might not recognize the name, but Vodden is the “Lucy” in the Beatles’ classic “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds,” off their legendary Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album.

She had been battling lupus.

The Listening Room last checked in on [...]

Some of you have already heard that Bob Dylan has a new Christmas album this year—something we hear Iggy Pop was planning earlier this year.

Well, you can indeed now hear the legendary folk singer/songwriter take a stab at the Holiday season.

I’m not exactly a Dylan-head, but I have tons of respect for the man and [...]

Loud. That was kind of the thing with The Dickies.

And, back then, loud was how I listened to all my music, so it was a perfect marriage.

The L.A. punk band first came to my attention with their first album, The Incredible Shrinking Dickies, in 1979. Since, as I have pointed out before, I love covers, [...]

Grammy winning guitar great Larry Carlton is hitting the road, his management company announced this week.

Carlton, best known for his work with Steely Dan, has established himself as one of the most sought-after guitar players on the planet, with credits that include everybody from Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones to Joni Mitchell and Linda Ronstadt.

Unfortunately, [...]