From rockandbluesmuse.com on All Blues:

Enduring rock music legend Peter Frampton is set to release All Blues, an all-covers collection of Frampton’s favorite blues classics that will be available June 7th, 2019 via UMe. Frampton tracked the album live in his own studio in Nashville with his mighty road band that includes Adam Lester (guitar/vocals), Rob Arthur (keyboards/guitar/vocals), and Dan Wojciechowski (drums). Peter also called upon some of his extra-talented friends for guest appearances, and listeners are treated to contributions from heavy-hitters Kim Wilson, Larry Carlton, Sonny Landreth, and Steve Morse.

Peter Frampton explains, “I have always loved to play the blues. When we formed Humble Pie, the first material we played together was just that. For the last two summers I had been playing a handful of blues numbers every night on stage with Steve Miller Band. I enjoyed this immensely and it gave me the idea of doing an ‘All Blues’ album live in the studio with my band.”

The songs here are pulled from the canon of blues and jazz that include well-loved numbers from Willie Dixon, Miles Davis, Slim Harpo, B.B. King, Hoagy Carmichael, and others.

Sadly, the record is a farewell of sorts to his fans, as Peter has been diagnosed with the autoimmune disease Inclusion Body Myositis (IBM), a progressive muscle disorder characterized by muscle inflammation, weakness, and atrophy. This will affect his ability to play guitar and Frampton has decided to retire from the road after one last 50-some date run this Summer called the ‘Peter Frampton Finale – The Farewell Tour’ presented by SiriusXM and produced by Live Nation. The tour will feature special guest Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Evening, as well as Julian Frampton on select dates, with additional surprise guests. $1 of every ticket sold will benefit The Peter Frampton Myositis Research Fund at Johns Hopkins.

Peter Frampton, still at the top of his game, sounds great on these cuts and the vibe and energy of everyone involved tracking live is joyously reminiscent of The London Howlin’ Wolf Sessions, a landmark record by any standard.

All Blues opens with Peter Frampton’s take on Willie Dixon’s “I Just Want To Make Love To You” that features Fabulous Thunderbirds frontman, Kim Wilson on harmonica. The two stars don’t try to recreate the sacred Muddy Waters original version but play it like a new song written that day, keeping it fully in the present.

Next up is a sublimely grooving run at Taj Mahal’s “She Caught The Katy” that gives Frampton the chance to display a high degree of melodic playing rooted in the B.B. King style and expanded by his own, personal vision. This is immediately followed by Frampton’s gorgeous instrumental version of Hoagy Carmichael’s famous “Georgia On My Mind.” His playing is dynamic, expressive, and toneful, and Peter takes his melodicism even farther than the previous track while still maintaining a rock guitarist’s identity. His switch to the rolled-off neck pickup sound midway through, adds a cool, subtle ripple and recalls Clapton’s “Woman Tone.”

These three consecutive tracks opening this record are a strong statement of his love for this music and, if you’re not into it by this point, check your vital signs because something’s wrong.

Frampton opens things up even more with a soulful cover of Miles Davis’ “All Blues” featuring the great Larry Carlton that’s full of the kind of late-night headspace and gentle brilliance. This one shows the versatility and artistry contained in this group of musicians and is one of the record’s finest selections. Frampton also does an almost-straight cover of B.B. King’s “The Thrill Is Gone” right down to the string parts. Slide guitar master Sonny Landreth guests on it, dropping some of his slippery magic, but Frampton holds onto the emotional timbre of King’s original in a show of wisdom and respect.

Howlin’ Wolf’s “Going Down Slow” sees rock/fusion ace Steve Morse dropping in to bend the blues out of shape as only he can. His licks come from a whole different place than most guitarists do and he shows how far it’s possible to stretch the form without sacrificing soul. The song is also an ironic commentary on Frampton’s health situation and station in life, opening with the lines “If I never get well no more, I have had my fun… Oh, my health is fading. Oh yes, I’m going down slow.”

The record finishes with the piano-heavy jazz/blues of Don Nix’s “The Same Old Blues,” a song that brings the feel down low and the emotional content up high. The song comes across as an end-of-the-night goodbye from someone who really doesn’t want to go quite yet and Frampton’s performances on this are deeply touching.

All Blues is an obvious labor of love for Frampton, showing his fans his continued devotion to blues music and to the actual act of playing it. He’s been as big as it gets but still digs in and plays hard when the red light comes on. Show him some love if he comes to your town this year. He deserves every bit of it. Well played, sir, well played.

From rockandbluesmuse.com on Africa Speaks:

Carlos Santana will be releasing his latest album Africa Speaks on June 7th through Concord Records. This eleven song, Rick Rubin produced, collection is an arresting and significant piece of work from the already beyond legendary Rock/Latin/Jazz guitarist and musical/cosmic ambassador.

After five decades of ground-breaking musical explorations, Carlos Santana is at the enviable point in his long career where he is free to follow his musical heart wherever it leads him. This time around, the 10-time Grammy winner and Rock & Roll Hall of Famer has focused his energy on returning to the ultimate “source” of all things musical, and human: Africa. While I’m sure spinning these tunes would energize any Summer party, this isn’t a Summer party album. Africa Speaks isn’t background music. These are beats and sounds that instantly grab your attention not by clamoring for it, but by touching something deep and unnamed that you might not have known was a part of you.

Playing with family, familiar friends and some ridiculously talented guests, Carlos Santana and Rick Rubin have, seemingly casually, captured some musical magic on Africa Speaks that sounds both new and ancient, both spontaneous and pre-destined, both otherworldly and DNA-familiar. You’ll want to strap in and listen close.

Title and opening track “Africa Speaks” introduces itself with a spoken monologue, clearly stating the theme of the album and letting you know what you’re in for; a celebration of the sounds and rhythms that have been the soundtrack to our human journey since long before guitars were invented. A full two minutes after the opening spoken word section, the song finally settles into a piano and conga driven rhythm that supports a choir of vocals and Santana’s piercing guitar breaks. Carlos then ups the ante on “Batonga,” an aggressive, jazzy excursion driven by the poly-rhythms of the drums and congas, and aided by some equally fierce Hammond B3 work from guest David K. Mathews.

Guest Spanish vocalist Buika, a force throughout the album, is especially riveting on “Oye Este Mi Canto.” The tune launches itself sounding like a seduction until about halfway through, when the vibe gets funkier behind another crisp and astonishing Santana lead break. But even that remarkable tune feels like table-setting once “Yo Me Lo Merezco” starts flowing from your speakers. You don’t have to speak the language to be moved and transported by the absolute power of these vocals and mesmerizing music. In the lead break you can’t help but hear Santana’s heart and soul getting pushed out of his guitar. You’re hearing a pure musical vessel responding to the vibrations around him.

After all the chaos and catharsis of the previous two songs, “Blue Skies” slips in on quiet cat feet, with piano and bass building the foundation for a nine-minute jazz/rock odyssey featuring some luscious guest vocals this time from the UK’s Laura Mvula. Expect this jam to go long and strong during some upcoming Summer shows because, in a live setting, this song could go anywhere.

From therockpit.net on My Criminal Record:

My Criminal Record sees Barnes back to his rock roots for the first time since 2010’s Rage and Ruin and will surely become his tenth album to reach the #1 spot in the Australian Charts and continue to cement his position as one of the most successful solo artists in the country’s history.  The quality of the song writing is immediately evident with long-time collaborator, Cold Chisel’s Don Walker writing six of the thirteen tracks. Other contributions come from close friends Troy Cassar-Daley, Mark Lizotte (aka Diesel) and The Living End’s Chris Cheney, as well as Benjamin Rodgers, Harley Webster and Jade MacRae.

The album starts with the first single and title track ‘My Criminal Record’, a piano-infused bluesy smouldering masterpiece with its moody shuffle and you think this is going to set the tone to the album – how mistaken we all are as we are taken on a roller-coaster ride of rock n roll wonders.  ‘Shutting Down Our Town’ tells tales of working men on the brink of industrial hardships & poverty, something that Barnes visited in his documentary ‘Working Class Boy’, released last year.  I had the pleasure of hearing ‘I’m in a Bad Mood’ played & sung live earlier in the year and it works just as well on stage, as it does from the studio and this is clearly Barnes’s intention with using him his live band on this release.

‘Stolen Car’ takes us on a different road with its chilled start, before picking up at midway to be a classic punchy Jimmy Barnes rock song, with wonderful guitar work midway through and the joy of this is that this song is found as a second part later in the album.  Steel & slide guitars open ‘My Demon (God Help Me)’ as we stomp-blues our way through the opening bars, before crashing head first into another foot tapping rock n roll rippa, with humming harmonies and Barnes snarling his way through the verses & chorus.  The first of the covers comes almost midway through, as Jimmy delivers a wonderful version of John Lennon’s ‘Working Class Hero’ which was so beautifully used in the documentary last year, with its military drummer boy percussion and lyrics that Barnes himself says he could have almost been written for & about him.

The album once again moves with diversity with ‘Belvedere and Cigarettes’, ‘I Won’t You Down’ and one of my favourites on this release, the easy laid-back ‘Stargazer’.  ‘Money and Class’ again brings to the fore the very real problems of Jimmy’s self-doubt and lack of beliefs that have dogged his career, not that you would know with this gritty rock tune.  The second part of ‘Stolen Car’ is a shorter, rockier rendition with quicker tempo to the first, before we bleed into ‘If Time Is On My Side’, another big tune full of catchy beats & rhythms with a chorus to sing at the top of your voices at shows for years to come.  The album closes with an incredible cover of Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Tougher Than The Rest’; a song that Barnes himself says is “a hymn of undying devotion to the love of his life, Jane, his wife of 38 years”.

This is one collection of songs that I would love to see performed live, from start to finish and have no doubt that every track would be a crowd pleaser.  The album features Jimmy’s live band, who were spectacular at this year’s Red Hot Summer Tour at WA’s Sandalford Winery in January and comprise of Daniel Wayne Spencer and Davey Lane on guitars, son-in-law Benjamin Rodgers on bass, Clayton Doley on keyboards, with son Jackie Barnes and Warren Trout on drums and percussion.

From rockandbluesmuse.com on The Traveler:

Kenny Wayne Shepherd has been making records for nearly 25 years now and has gone from a teenage blues prodigy to a fully-developed songwriter, guitarist, and bandleader in that time. His latest effort, The Traveler, comes out May 31st, 2019 on Concord Records and proves that Shepherd has, indeed, traveled the distance between being a hot-handed guitarist in the blues world and becoming the big-picture-oriented musician responsible for this incredibly engaging band and album.

The Traveler is a cohesive and powerful “band” recording full of outstanding songs, great grooves, and the sound of talented musicians who are a perfect fit for each other. Shepherd still has guitar chops to burn but this record never tries to be a shred showcase. The group sound is clearly the focus and it makes all the difference.

Shepherd tracked The Traveler in Los Angeles when he and the band were on a break from their eternal touring schedule. Co-produced by Shepherd and Marshall Altman, the set includes some of the strongest songs he has ever recorded. The current KWS Band includes vocalist Noah Hunt, drummer Chris “Whipper” Layton (formerly of Stevie Ray Vaughan’s Double Trouble), bassist Kevin McCormick, and keyboardists Jimmy McGorman and Joe Krown, a top-flight assemblage of players who create an identifiable sound built on road miles shared and houses left rocked. All of this adds up to an eminently listenable record that is easily among the best releases of 2019 in any style.

Shepherd turns the heat on from the opening cut, “Woman Like You,” a strutting, hook-filled blues/rock tune with an extra-large infusion of soul from vocalist Hunt and the big beat of Chris Layton on the drums. Shepherd smokes on the guitar in between them but never overpowers the hip-shaking groove and well-written lyrics. In a better, vanished time, this would be a platinum-selling single heard blasting out of every car stereo in town all summer long.

“Long Time Running” is a straight-ahead driving rock song that takes the energy level even higher and features an extremely well-phrased guitar solo from Kenny Wayne in a spot where lesser minds would play like they were getting paid by the note.

“I Want You” brings the band back to the blues, giving Shepherd a chance to stretch out some over a sultry, heavy pocket. Kenny’s Stratocaster tones are full and defined on both lead and rhythm and he uses them to put his skills right out front, daring anyone to say he’s lost a step. “Tailwind” shifts the band into a more mellow gear in the cleanup spot, smoothing out the vibe with acoustic guitars and a more delicate, mid-tempo approach. The song also gives the album its title and puts Noah Hunt’s vocals at center stage. Hunt has an exceptional presence to his voice that’s more than big enough to compete with the heavyweights behind him and listening to him here will heal your spirit.

Shepherd includes two inspired covers on The Traveler to keep things unpredictable and pay tribute to music he loves. The first is a dangerous-sounding rendition of Buffalo Springfield’s “Mr. Soul” that was inspired by performing the song at a benefit show with Springfield founders Stephen Stills and Neil Young. It’s all horns, vocals, and ripping guitars and will catch listeners by surprise on their first pass through the album. The record closes with a gritty reading of Joe Walsh’s “Turn to Stone,” a song Shepherd first performed at a fundraising concert honoring Walsh.

The best thing about The Traveler is that it’s only ten songs long and every one of them matters. The digital age has left us with too many 19-song albums that ultimately crush under the weight of their own filler. Shepherd opts for a more focused “all thrill no swill” mentality here and it makes the album go down like a bare-knuckle classic from guitar music’s two-sided glory days.

Kenny Wayne Shepherd has consistently done himself proud since first hitting the scene back in the day but The Traveler is a high-water mark by any metric you’d care to employ. These songs communicate the experiences of Shepherd’s life to date and show the world that time has taken no toll on his musical power.

From kerrang.com on Tenderness:

When you’ve seen life from both top and bottom, you gain a good appreciation of how far it is between the two. If you’ve gone from the darkness back to the light, your emotions are likely to be of gratitude, of relief. It’s these feelings and emotions that underpin Tenderness, a reflective, pared- down, frequently revealing solo album from Guns N’ Roses bassist Duff McKagan.

Before opting to collaborate with country star and producer Shooter Jennings on these 11 songs, Duff envisaged the project as a new book – his third – reflecting on life, loss and love. The result is not, and was never intended to be, a rock record. Largely evoked on pedal steel and acoustic guitars, it’s a document of personal catharsis, looking back over the decades of his life and attempting to make sense of it all.

It opens with the title-track, which finds Shooter hitting sparse piano notes, allowing Duff’s words to resonate over gentle acoustic guitars. ‘Darkest days, the deals we made…God’s not around,’ he ruminates, perhaps reflecting on some of Guns N’ Roses’ less healthy pursuits during the band’s dysfunctional heyday. It moves towards a rousing chorus, backed by electric guitar, before returning to where it came from, the lyrics wishing for better days.

It’s Not Too Late furthers the positive vibe on which Tenderness ends, as does languid closer Don’t Look Behind You. Over sustained, silvery pedal steel sounds, Duff calls in the former for a return to the core values of humanity: ‘Turn off the screen and take a little stand, take a long walk and meet your fellow man.’ In Wasted Heart and Breaking Rocks, meanwhile, he sings in tones of hushed awe, the music and words dedicated to the significant others that stood by him during his days of alcohol abuse. Both have catchy hooks, but it’s the sentiment that strikes home – it genuinely feels as if the artist is finding ways of saying in song what he finds harder to articulate in real life.

Elsewhere, Last September and Feel are much darker, and for good reason. The former is quietly accompanied by violin, but the song’s gentility only amplifies the growing rage in Duff’s voice as he describes a violent predatory assault on a woman, and its aftermath. Feel, meanwhile, is a considered tribute to his former Velvet Revolver bandmate, the late Scott Weiland. It mourns the man that the bassist tried, unsuccessfully in the end, to help. A muted gospel choir adds depth to its sadness, which Duff – suffering the paradox of survivor’s guilt – addresses with the words, ‘All that remains is the love in my hands.’

There are further dark nights for the soul in Parkland, a scathing satire on America’s gun culture, and in Falling Down, in which dark, synthesised guitar spikes into a brilliant chorus. Chip Away, meanwhile, is the album’s most up-tempo, foot-tapping song, redolent of early David Bowie, bringing a welcome touch of ‘70s glam amid the country honk.

Throughout Tenderness, Duff takes a panoramic look through his past, one hand reaching for the holy water of exorcism, and the other raised in thanks for his journey’s happy resolution. It’s the work of a man expressing both gratitude and sorrow – while modestly overlooking his remarkable achievements. Country-fuelled it may be, rather than the expected full-pelt rock, but so open is this letter that it easily succeeds in transcending genres. It is, quite simply, the album Duff had to make.

From xsnoize.com on Where The Action Is:

Mike Scott’s inspired creation of the legendary band The Waterboys has produced a storied discography that defies genre labels. The band has wholeheartedly participated in the Big Music movement, redefined themselves as raggle-taggle folkies and produced mainstream rock all the while never letting the band get pigeonholed. On May 24 Mike Scott and his latest manifestation of The Waterboys will release “Where the Action Is”. The album follows their 2017 release “Out of All this Blue” and continues to defy genre definitions.

The title of the new album was inspired by the chorus of Robert Parker’s 1960’s Mod/Northern Soul classic, “Let’s Go Baby, Where the Action Is”. On the new release, the music generated is once again filled with emotion that connects on a deep level while elevating the soul. Mike Scott is the centre of the band’s existence as the membership in the Waterboys has intentionally continued to have an ever-changing musical line up.

On “Where the Action Is” Scott and The Waterboys continue his now over three-decade-long search to find and celebrate God’s mystical signature in the world. He combines pagan, primitive, spiritual and religious iconography with different sonic approaches to convey the latest results in his search. The recording begins with the title track an update of the Parker classic with new lyrics. There is a feeling of energy and pizzazz throughout that embodies the legacy of Scott’s enthusiastic Big Sound approach. Specific note should be paid to the Gospel-infused uplift played out with the call and response in the latter half of the song. Additionally, on the track, Steve Wickham’s fiddle was run through a fuzz box to provide the lead guitar sound. The result of this effort leaves the listener to proclaim “oh what fun”. “London Mick” is another pleasure as Scott shares his various encounters with The Clash’s Mick Jones. The song is an affectionate tribute to this legend in a Roman a Clef of sorts which produces a song that is lovable and winning. If you ever loved The Clash this song will thrill.

The track “Out of The Blue” might sound familiar to fans of The Waterboys because the song was the title track of the last album. Scott wanted another go at the selection feeling he could improve on the first version. The song was written for a friend who was in a dark place and discusses the wisdom acquired through pain and offers encouragement and reassurance. Scott retouches the track utilizing a Stax Records Gospel-flavoured approach that is just as engaging as the first recorded rendering.

The open-armed “Right Side of Heartbreak, (Wrong Side of Love) is an alluring track. The jangling guitar reminds me of Paul Weller’s bands The Style Council and The Jam. The crisp, clean production on this track is fascinating considering that it was initially recorded by Scott at home with a single mike and guitar. Scott on the song offers great insights into the challenges of relationships, and the cycles they go through. He questions the need for a façade to cover over deep emotions that exist under the surface in any bond.

On “In My Time On Earth” Scott continues to express his passionate, poetic nature. The song is set in our present day cultural landscape. Scott pulls no punches as he weighs in on what he sees. The chorus of the song balances all the angst of our immediate concerns and obsessions with the eternal secrets of the heart and the divine mystery that is hiding in plain sight. These truths are emphasized by lyrics like; “I will say what the heart knows and truth dies on a million tongues while a lie spreads like wildfire”. This acoustic track cannot help but be thought-provoking and evocative.

Bittersweet reminisce is captured on “Ladbrooke Grove Symphony” as Scott attempts to return to the time before this area of Notting Hill was gentrified. Again there is a bit of a Roman a Clef feeling to the narrative. Scott savours the aura of wild-eyed freedom that existed in the area when he resided there in the ’70s and ’80s. This genius track uses a “cocktail bar” sonic with insistent drums which would seem counter-intuitive but makes for a delightful selection. The recording makes a spectacular genre leap with “Take Me There I Will Follow You”, which captures Scott doing Rap. As unlikely as that seems the selection is an unexpected delight. The title of the track and its inspiration comes from a statement Scott made to his wife when he was befuddled by the confusing manic Tokyo street scene. I predict this will be a fan favourite in concert.

The final two tracks return to Scott’s wheelhouse, both look to the inspiration of nature, folk songs and literature as an impetus. “Then She Made the Lasses-O” is a modern interpretation of Robert Burn’s poem, “Green Grew the Rashes-O”. A poem that is beloved by Scott and he has finally recorded his own version. This interpretation blends the classic with the contemporary making for a winning amalgam. Steve Wickham provides the drama with his gorgeous fiddle play and the piano coda at the end is of note. The final track “Piper at the Gates of Dawn” is a reading by Scott set to music. The selection is taken from the most beautiful part of Kenneth Grahame’s “The Wind and the Willows” chapter of the same title. The song clocks in at nine minutes but is so very beautiful it is worth the time investment. “Piper” is transcendent as it illustrates all the awe and glory of nature. It is the realization of everything Scott has ever tried to convey with both his solo work and The Waterboys and it is a brilliant ending to a genre-jumping work of mastery.

The Waterboys has always been Mike Scott’s brainchild and no matter the band’s popularity he has always been inspiring and enthralling as he works within the project. On “Where the Action Is” longtime fans will find him continuing to build the band’s legacy and newcomers and occasional listeners will be wondering why they have waited so long to familiarize themselves with what the band has on offer. Scott and Co. show true mastery of their form and the set list is beautifully constructed with a great mix that carries you through to the end rapidly and engagingly. The Waterboys like a fine wine seem to only get better with age.