VIA PRESS RELEASE | Gary Stewart’s quavering vibrato and heart-tugging, cry-in-your-beer songs like the Top 10 country hits “Drinkin’ Thing,” “Out of Hand,” and the chart-topping “She’s Actin’ Single (I’m Drinkin’ Doubles),” earned him a lasting place in country music history as The King of the Honky-Tonks. More than two decades after his passing, Stewart’s fans, new and old, can discover an untold chapter of his incredible story on One Track Mind, a collection of rare and previously unreleased recordings from Delmore Recording Society, to be released July 17.

One Track Mind finds Stewart toward the beginning of his career as a songwriter—newly arrived in Nashville from Fort Pierce, Florida, signing first with Cedarwood and then Forrest Hills publishing. These recordings—songwriting demos, an informal home tape, even a lone acetate—have been preserved from archival sources by producer Mark Linn and Stewart’s close friend Tommy Schwartz. Working primarily with early songwriting partner Bill Eldridge, several tunes heard on this collection would be recorded by luminaries of the genre, including Del Reeves (“One Track Mind”), Cal Smith (“You Can’t Housebreak a Tomcat”), Jack Greene (“There’s a Whole Lot About a Woman (A Man Don’t Know)”), and Nat Stuckey (“The Snuff Queen”). But no one sang these songs quite like Gary Stewart.

Those who know Stewart through his most famous recordings—namely, a near-decade run as a recording artist for RCA Victor in the ‘70s and ‘80s—will find unique and revealing detours on One Track Mind. The version of “The Snuff Queen” heard here, different from the one released as a single by Kapp in 1970, offers just Stewart’s voice and guitar, digging into a dark country-blues groove. “Beautiful River” Is a gorgeous, unfinished ballad recorded in the trailer he shared with Mary Lou, his beloved wife of more than 40 years; it features fingerpicked guitar and a soft, drifting whistle throughout.

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Wide of range and stylistically diverse, the output of the Sublime Frequencies label is a vast repository of global revelations. The latest addition to the catalog exemplifies the sense of discovery that has become the undertaking’s norm. Himba Hymn: Ghosts Of Namibia’s Skeleton Coast sheds considerable light onto a style of music heretofore unheard beyond its country’s borders. Recorded and produced by esteemed and dogged musical researcher Ian Brennan, these wild sounds flower out there far beyond any reasonable expectations, available now on vinyl and digital.

For many, the persevering interest in global sounds stemmed from, if not boredom, then certainly sustained restlessness with an overabundance of variations on the same old thing. And that thing was a deluge of different sub-things: pop-rock, alt-rock, indie, punk, Americana, electronica, etc.

Often described as a musical boom period, the 1990s were also a time when interested listeners began seeking something other than the standard contemporary kicks. There was the impulse to give earlier eras and styles a deeper investigation, a curiosity that wasn’t anything particularly new, especially regarding the music of distant cultures.

The reason the Nonesuch Explorer Series released recordings from 1967 to 1984, with numerous reissues to follow, was clearly due to unflagging consumer interest. And Nonesuch Explorer wasn’t alone, as Folkways broadened outward from US shores, and the 1980s brought an influx of labels including World Circuit, Hannibal, Original Music, Shanachie, and more.

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AUSTIN, TX | The Dave Matthews Band transformed the Moody Center into something far beyond a concert Monday night. What unfolded over the course of the evening felt wild, emotional, deeply human, and completely consuming—the kind of performance that grabs hold of you somewhere deep inside and refuses to let go long after the final note fades.

Even before arriving at the venue, the night already weighed heavily on me.

I had originally applied to shoot the show over a month earlier, only to withdraw because I was supposed to have eye surgery. When the surgery was postponed, I couldn’t shake the feeling in my heart and gut that I was supposed to be there. At the last minute, knowing full well I was crazy and it probably wouldn’t happen, I just said screw it, I’m asking again, because that’s just kind of what I do; if I feel it, I take the shot, so I asked if I could be put back in for approval. They said yes and put me back in, so I knew the Universe could now do what it may.

Monday morning, I packed my gear. Cameras. Extra clothes. Batteries. Everything. Not because I was certain—but things happen when they are meant to be, not when we expect, sometimes—and for some reason, through it all, there was this stubborn little flame inside me that refused to die. Then, sometime around 11 a.m., my phone rang, and suddenly the impossible became real. I remember chuckling to myself because I just kind of already felt it.

Walking into the Moody Center that night already felt special. It was my first time photographing there, and the building itself carried this massive energy before the band even appeared. But nothing—absolutely nothing—prepared me for the atmosphere once Dave Matthews Band took the stage.

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | Originally released in 2006, Kiss of Death is a ferocious reminder of Motörhead’s uncompromising, no-frills spirit—and a timely nod to the legendary status they’ve earned as one of the greatest hard rock bands of all time.

Driven by Lemmy’s unmistakable growl, backed by Phil Campbell’s blistering guitar work, and Mikkey Dee’s razor-sharp precision drumming, Kiss of Death—their 18th studio album—picks up exactly where 2004’s Inferno left off. It’s Motörhead doing what they do best: loud, fast, and relentless.

Leaning into the heavier edge of their sound, the album also features guest appearances from Mike Inez (Alice in Chains) and C.C. DeVille (Poison), and delivers standout cuts like “Sucker,” “Trigger,” and the fan-favourite “God Was Never On Your Side.”

Marking its 20th anniversary, this new edition sees the album newly half-speed mastered from the original tapes, with fresh liner notes from Classic Rock’s Dave Ling paying tribute to the contribution of the legendary Phil Campbell following his recent sad passing. It also includes an exclusive bonus live LP, capturing the band’s 2007 performance at Lowlands Festival in Biddinghuizen, Netherlands, available on vinyl for the first time. The CD edition features three additional bonus tracks.

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Celebrating Pete Townshend on his 81st birthday. —Ed.

Many have called The Who’s 1970 Live at Leeds the best live album of all time. Me, I’ve always scoffed. It made no difference that I’d never actually sat down and listened to it. A good rock critic doesn’t have to actually listen to an LP before passing judgment on it. He simply knows, based on gut instinct and certain arcane and occult clues, whether an album is a dud or not. In the case of Live at Leeds, there are three clues to the album being rated far greater than deserved.

The first is the LP’s inclusion of “Summertime Blues,” a song that has always given me hives and put me off my dinner of Hormel’s Chili on hot dogs, which is the impoverished rock critic’s version of pan-fried foie gras with spiced citrus purée. The second is that Live at Leeds suffers—if only in one notable case—from that early seventies affliction, song bloat.

You know what I’m talking about: live albums where the bands stretch their songs to extraordinary lengths, in some cases obscene two-sided lengths, forcing the stoned listener to stand up, stagger to the stereo in a Tuinal haze, and turn the damned record over to hear the second side. Finally, there was the issue of song selection: six tunes, three of them covers, with none of the covers being particular favorites of mine. And I’ve never been a big fan of one of the originals, “Magic Bus,” either.

Which has always left me to wonder, “What’s in it for me?” And I’m not alone; in particular, Live at Leeds failed to impress those twin pillars of rock criticism, the generally unintelligible Greil Marcus, who called the music dated and uneventful and the ever-crotchety Robert Christgau, who singled out “Magic Bus” for special abuse, calling it “uncool-at-any-length.”

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Drummer William Hooker is a constant traveler on the elevated plains of consciousness, and on Convergence: Live in China, he’s joined for some rich dialogues of blistering potency by guitarist John King. Recorded at the B10 Festival in Shenzhen, China, the hour-long performance is being released by ORG Music, with seven selections on the LP and three more on the CD, and completing the digital download. In totality, it is a whirlwind of powerhouse interaction.

Across the last half-century, drummer, bandleader, and composer William Hooker has risen and maintained his stature as one of the major figures in the fertile and diverse landscape of avant-jazz. A Connecticut-born West Coaster who migrated back East to emerge as part of the New York loft scene, he debuted on record with … Is Eternal Life, a 2LP set released in 1977 on Hooker’s own Reality Unit Concepts label.

Largely a live performance document that includes contributions from saxophonists David S. Ware and David Murray, … Is Eternal Life endures as a crucial document of undiluted exploratory jazz. It took Hooker a while to get another record out, Brighter Lights, released in 1984, also on Reality Unit Concepts, but once he hooked up with the terribly undersung Silkheart label, issuing Lifeline in 1988 and The Firmament Fury the following year, his release schedule picked up considerable momentum.

As it was for many persevering beacons of musical freedom, the 1990s were a discographical boom time for Hooker as he had a slew of stuff in the store racks courtesy of Homestead, Knitting Factory Works, Silkheart, and a bunch of one-shots on various labels, a remarkable stretch that continued deep into our current century.

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | With a run of very special arena dates across Dublin, London, and Glasgow this summer, The Waterboys have announced Atlantic Rain-The Lost Fisherman’s Blues Recordings, previously unheard music from the classic Fisherman’s Blues era. Released by Chrysalis Records on July 17 and available in 3CD/3LP and digital versions, Atlantic Rain may be pre-ordered HERE.

Consisting of 25 tracks, Atlantic Rain contains long-lost music recorded during the prodigious sessions for Fisherman’s Blues (1986–88). During this period the Waterboys recorded almost 400 multi-track reels of music, many running at half-speed in order to pack more music on without having to change tapes. Around a fifth of these reels had no song titles on them, only notes like “instrumental,” “unknown,” “soundcheck,” or “jam.”

Band leader Mike Scott finally went through these mysterious tapes in 2024–25 and found many long-forgotten release-worthy performances, including never before heard songs such as “Come Back To Galway,” “Light Shine On Me,” and “Endless Store,” the epic “Man With The Wind At His Heels,” and gorgeous covers of numbers by Dylan, Hank Williams, Woody Guthrie, and Willie Nelson.

These and many other lost treasures have been collected to create this stunning set which stands proudly in addition to the now legendary 6-disc Fisherman’s Box, released in 2013, thought at the time to be the last word on the Fisherman’s Blues sessions.

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Celebrating George Alexander, born on this day in 1946. —Ed.

Of the three records the Flamin’ Groovies made upon regrouping in the second half of the 1970s, Flamin’ Groovies Now isn’t the most celebrated, but it does deliver a covers-heavy good time from start to finish. Released in 1977 and produced by Dave Edmunds, the disc’s 14 songs offer sturdy, inspired guitar-pop classicism that still sounds fresh 45 years later. 

These days the Flamin’ Groovies’ best-known album is probably Shake Some Action, the band’s first record without founding member Roy Loney, with guitarist Cyril Jordan stepping up as leader after a hiatus. As Flamin’ Groovies Now’s immediate predecessor, Shake Some Action attained its stature in no small part due to its opening title track, the song sitting amongst the band’s most beloved, alongside “Teenage Head” (the title cut to their 1971 album) and “Slow Death” (a non-LP 45 from ’72).

There is classicism and there is the revivalist impulse, and even at their best, the Flamin’ Groovies walked the fine line in between. This is in fact part of their appeal, a state of being consistently out-of-step with what was contemporarily popular that solidified them as one of the foundational bands of cult fandom and an enduring proto-punk act.

Cover songs are a constant in the Groovies discography but really entered the equation during the Cyril Jordan-era, alternately called their Sire Records period, as Shake Some Action, Flamin’ Groovies Now, and 1979’s Jumpin’ in the Night were all issued by Seymore Stein’s punk-affiliated label prior to another longer run of inactivity (there wasn’t another “new” Groovies album until 1987’s One Night Stand, which is a dive into covers and previously recorded originals cut live in the studio).

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PHOTOS: TODD JUDD | There are artists who make songs—and then there are artists who build worlds you can step into, drop a needle upon, and live inside for a while. Protoje has always been firmly in that second category.

Catching up with him ahead of a show, the conversation moved easily between craft, intention, and the constant push to evolve—something that’s been a defining thread throughout his catalog. But what stood out most in this moment wasn’t just where the music is going—it was how deliberately he’s thinking about how it’s experienced.

This latest chapter feels different. More controlled. More intentional. And when you talk to him about it, you start to understand why. For Protoje, it’s not just about making records—it’s about building something cohesive from start to finish. Something that invites you to listen to the way albums were meant to be heard. So naturally, that led us to vinyl.

Because for an artist whose music lives in the details—the basslines, the space, the message—there’s something fitting about hearing it all come back through a needle, pressed into wax, exactly as intended.

You’ve always carried a strong sense of purpose in your music. When you look at where you are right now creatively, what’s driving you the most?

I’m just trying to make things—just the art. Trying to get better at the art of making music and making songs and seeing if I can get things to sound exactly how they sound in my head. Bringing the vision to its closest point. As long as I’m making music, I want to reach my highest ability as an artist. That’s the main driving force.

There’s a consistency in your work, but also evolution. What feels different about this current chapter?

Just the science of the music—understanding reggae, the way we’re able to make live music now. It’s always been a challenge to recreate live drums the way we want without sampling. The songwriting—where I’m at, what I’m talking about—feels more controlled, more direct, more purposeful.

I love the new album. I actually waited to listen until my vinyl came in so I could hear it front to back, and it feels very intentional. Were you building it as a full listening experience?

Definitely. Thinking about how it flows, which song fits where, giving each song its best chance to be heard. I like when people just turn it on and listen straight through.

There’s a certain cohesion to the project—was that something you mapped out early, or did it reveal itself as the music came together?

It reveals itself. The key is finding the intro and the outro. Once you have that, everything builds. For me, there are always identity tracks—the intro, the outro, and track two. Once I find those, they get easier.

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Memo to: Jon Meyers, Publisher, The Vinyl District
From: Michael H. Little, Staff Writer
Subject: The Electric Knickers, “You’ve Got Electric Knickers!”

As you well know, I am no band promoter/cheerleader. Frankly, I hope they all fail out of sheer spite. I am, however, a ruthless opportunist. I’ve got scruples, but I don’t let them get in my way. Which is why I want to write a short but gushingly laudatory piece about The Electric Knickers’ “You’ve Got Electric Knickers!”

Here’s the pitch: No one, and I mean literally no one, knows about this brilliant contribution to second-tier Glam. Which gives us the chance to get in on the ground floor. To become known as the best print tastemakers in the music biz by singlehandedly propelling “You’ve Got Electric Knickers!” to the Top of the Pops! Which is where it should currently be sitting! And the band claims it is!

I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking, “I received the exact same memo regarding Black Oak Arkansas a while back, and your ‘gushingly laudatory’ review made us the laughingstock of the online universe. The worldwide mockery and humiliation almost put us out of business.”

To which I can only say, “Is it my fault most sentient beings are totally incapable of recognizing musical genius when they hear it? Your average sentient being can’t stomach Killdozer either!”

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