Joe Satriani - The Elephants of Mars (2022)

 

It moves, it swings, it rocks!

Satriani and his touring band, who all recorded remotely in separate areas of the world during lockdown, deliver an album-length journey that never dulls. The Elephants of Mars crackles with an exciting new energy, briskly traveling through stylistic roads that feel freshly updated, viewed through new eyes.

The guitarist had an aim to create a “new standard” when it came to crafting an instrumental guitar record. He strove to openly challenge himself to move away from what he describes as “the classic rock” tone of the past few albums he’s put out, replacing that with a new platform of his own design. “I do want to show people that the instrumental guitar album can contain far more complexity of creative elements than I think people are using right now.”

From the gripping, sci-fi madness of “Through A Mother’s Day Darkly,” to the isolation felt in a decaying urban landscape, as depicted in “Sahara”, to the general endorphin levels that peak as the elephants finally roar in the title track, The Elephants of Mars will stampede across your mind, leaving a sonic imprint that doesn’t fade.

Thanks to the pandemic removing all time constraints, The Elephants of Mars truly represents the album that Satriani himself hoped he could deliver with his band. And ultimately, The Elephants of Mars stands as one of the most intriguing and interesting albums of Satriani’s career.

“We did everything. We tried the craziest ideas. And we entertained every notion we had about turning something backwards, upside down, seeing what could happen.”

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Dom Martin - A Savage Life (2022)

 Award-winning Irish blues guitarist and vocalist Dom Martin comes across like a legend in the making on his new sophomore album A Savage Life. Scheduled for lift-off on April 8th, 2022, the record is an outstanding effort that explores the intersection of blues, rock, and singer-songwriter styles and shows how much creative power resides there.

Martin is a standout guitarist on both electric and acoustic and can craft a pretty mean set of lyrics, too, which makes A Savage Life compelling and inspiring from end to end. The set was produced by the Grammy-nominated Chris O’Brien and was tracked in Belfast and Dublin in the latter part of last year. Many fans consider Martin to be the finest Irish blues player since Rory Gallagher, which is high praise, indeed, and the might of the tracks on this new release will do little to dissuade them.

Martin has been building a solid reputation for himself since his first four-song EP Easy Way Out emerged in 2018. He’s maintained a steady upwards trajectory that has already seen him win the prestigious Acoustic Blues Act of The Year at the UK Blues Awards twice and be nominated for Blues Instrumentalist of The Year and Emerging Artist of The Year. Not surprisingly, Dom has five nominations for 2022.

He made an immediate splash in the UK blues scene and with BBC Radio Presenter Cerys Matthews, who played his music on BBC Radio 6’s Big Weekend Show and invited him for a live BBC Radio 2 Blues Show session in London. Martin has toured the UK, Russia, and Europe and will be the UK’s representative at The International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tennessee in May of this year. His future is looking so bright that we may all need to wear shades.

Martin starts A Savage Life with slow, heavy, and fuzzed-out bliss of “Unsatisfied.” His guitar tone sings and his vocals grind heartbreak into gravel just as the best blues singers have always done. Martin’s rhythm section of Dave Thompson (bass) and

Laurence McKeown (drums) backs him in a way that keeps the musical conversation between guitar and groove going without ever losing focus. You’ll snap your neck turning around when this one roars out of your speakers. Believe.

Martin gets quiet on the next cut “Here Comes The River.” He sings the blues of despair with the emotion of one who knows the feeling well and does it with nothing but his guitar, voice, and a Boss RC300 looper pedal. The entire song is delivered at the level of a whisper and that softness adds much to the depth of it. It hits like a friend telling you hard truths at 4 AM and all you can do is listen.

“The Man From Nowhere” is an old-time solo fingerstyle blues tune done with a resonator tone and the appropriate background noise that completes the 78 RPM experience. Martin’s chops and feel are beyond reproach. He plays it fast, loose, and razor-sharp at the same time and takes us directly back to the early days of blues music. If you live for the old ways, this one’s got your name on it.

The strutting “12 Gauge” is a super-sized blast of classic power trio blues/rock that kicks like a young Billy Gibbons. Bold and brash, it has that wonderfully-underproduced live sound we all love and Martin digs into it with everything he and his band have got. His playing is ripping, captivating, and raw like sushi. A lot of players struggle to fill out the trio format but Martin rises to it and makes it fly. Other impressive moments on A Savage Life include “Addict” and “The Parting Glass,” a traditional Scottish lament that closes the album. One spin of this new set and it’s obvious that Dom Martin is the next rising star in the global roots scene. Jump aboard now before he passes you by.

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Josh Smith - Bird of Passage (2022)

 

The blues ace’s upcoming effort – which features Lemar Carter, Calvin Turner and Larry Goldings

It will be Smith’s first studio album since 2018’s ‘Burn to Grow,’ which was followed by 2020’s ‘Live at the Spud.’

Accompanying the announcement is the effort’s lead single, Brand New, which employs an oversized horn section that sounds cherry-picked from a ‘50s concert hall, and a smorgasbord of Smith’s silky six-string tones.

Ever the master of harking back to old-school blues while decorating his playing with his own unique style, Smith supplies fans of the genre with just about everything they’d hope for in Brand New. There’s a bit of BB King in there, what with the sublime bends on show, as well as a boatload of tasty interlude licks.

The solo is Smith all over, though, and flexes his spellbinding navigation skills around the pentatonic scale and its neighboring areas, gliding from box to box with classy blues turnarounds and clever string-hopping motifs.

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Doug MacLeod - A Soul to Claim (2022)

 

Reference Recordings is proud to present our fifth album with the prolific singer, songwriter, engaging storyteller, and masterful guitarist, Doug MacLeod. For ‘A Soul To Claim,’ Doug teamed with legendary producer and engineer Jim Gaines (Santana, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Luther Allison, Steve Miller Band) in Gaines’ Tennessee studio, not far from Doug’s new home on the Mississippi River in Memphis.

Like the old masters who taught him, MacLeod’s music expresses life and times through an elusive quality that may simply be a keen sense of what matters most. “There’s humor in my songs, but also messages on how to make it through this life. That’s what I learned from the old guys.”

Through twelve new MacLeod originals, Doug and his trusty Waterloo guitar P­-nut are joined by Memphis studio veterans Rick Steff/keyboards, Dave Smith/bass, and Steve Potts/drums for five tracks, six tracks feature Doug alone and one is a solo instrumental. Liner notes from Doug MacLeod and Deems Taylor award­-winning journalist Dan Forte (Vintage Guitar), provide liner notes for the release.

The way Doug sees it, “Blues is about the journey, it’s about speaking honestly from your heart. It’s a music of hope. No matter what cards you have been dealt—either the cards you started out with in this life, or the cards you’re holding now—if it’s not a good hand, you can overcome it.”

A perennial Blues Music Award nominee and multiple Blues Music Award winner including Acoustic Artist of The Year and Acoustic Album of the Year, ‘A Soul To Claim’ is Doug’s 22nd album.

“Hopefully I will make you laugh, cry, think. Most importantly, I hope I make you feel, because that’s what this music is about.”

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Jack White - Fear Of The Dawn (2022)

John Anthony "Jack" White is an American rock musician, singer, guitarist, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is best known as a member of The White Stripes.

In 2003, Rolling Stone ranked Jack White number 17 on their list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time". In the 2011 list, he is in 70th place.


The musician's debut album, Blunderbuss, was released on April 24, 2012. The second studio album, Lazaretto, was released on June 10, 2014. Both albums received high praise from music critics and found wide commercial success.


During informal collaborations with various Detroit underground rock bands, Jack White founded The White Stripes with his companion Megan White in 1997. The group's third studio album, White Blood Cells, released on July 3, 2001, brought the musicians international fame, accompanied by the popularity of the single "Fell in Love with a Girl" and its video clip. Widespread recognition gave Jack the opportunity to collaborate with many prominent musicians such as Loretta Lynn and Bob Dylan.

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Albert Cummings - TEN (2022)

There are few albums today that are grounded in the blues but can still instantly jump off into a whole new sense of expression.

On his new studio album TEN, Albert Cummings ventures into rock, country, soul, and Americana, while his songs range from wall-ratting tunes to soft ballads, with Cummings’ rugged, world-wise vocals hitting all the right moods.

Musically diverse and emotionally cohesive, TEN’s 13 original tracks stand as a compelling statement about who he is now and where he may be headed. TEN will be released on April 8 via Ivy Music Company.

The first single, scorching rocker “Need Somebody,” premiered earlier via Guitar Player Magazine, who stated about Cummings, “With over two decades’ worth of solo releases under his belt, his recorded body of work catalogs a guitarist that has gone from strength to strength. Renowned for his raw, off-the-cuff stage performances, what you see really is what you get with this maestro.”

TEN was recorded in Nashville at Peter Frampton’s Phenix Studios. Helping Cummings craft his vision for this album was Grammy-winning producer Chuck Ainlay (Mark Knopfler, Dire Straits, George Strait, Peter Frampton, Miranda Lambert, Emmylou Harris, among others) and a dream team of musicians including drummer Greg Morrow, bassist Glenn Worf, keyboardist Michael Rojas, and guitarist Rob McNelley. “The music that started to be played in the studio sounded like it was being created on a whole new level,” Cummings raves. “I knew in a flash we were onto something. “

“Need Somebody” also represents another crucial element of TEN – the emotional depth Cummings reaches with his evocative lyrics. TEN is the first record where Cummings, as he explains it, “let the listener into my personal space.” The music is more songwriting-focused, with the guitar being used as a tool to drive the songs home. “Meet the Man” and “Too Old to Grow Up” provide vivid portraits of people living their lives, alongside a passionate ode of love on “She’s The One.” A song especially close to Cummings’ heart is “Beautiful Bride.” It’s the first song he ever sang in public –and he sang it at his own wedding.

A particular thrill for Cummings was working with Country Music Hall of Famer Vince Gill, who lends his vocal talent on the boisterous roadhouse tune “Last Call.”

Throughout his career, Cummings has strived not to place boundaries on his music and with TEN,he has raised the bar to a place where anything seems possible. “I have been playing for a lot of years and still find new ways of expressing myself,” Cummings says. “That’s what this album is all about to me. It supports my belief that I can accomplish whatever I set my mind to.” TEN is available for pre-order on February 18.

Cummings kicks off his 2022 tour tonight in San Juan Capistrano, CA with additional stops including Los Angeles, Oakland, Seattle, New York and Nashville. List of tour dates below.

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Sleepwellers - Nothin' but a Number (2022)

Sleepwellers are a rhythm and blues/blues band from southern Finland. The founder of The Sleepwellers, Pasi Siltakorpi, had several bands playing different music, but he always dreamed of a band that played straight rhythm and blues and rock and roll. Pasi worked in Zambia in 2002-2003, and when he returned from Africa to Finland, he felt that if he wanted to fulfill one of his dreams, then it was time to do something about it.

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