Ian Hunter, “Defiance Part 2: Fiction.” Artwork by Johnny Depp. Almost exactly one year ago, Ian Hunter showed us what he’d been up to during the COVID-driven quarantine, enlisting other notable musician peers to help put meat on the bones of demo tracks he’d already worked up. The resulting…

Mark Knopfler, “One Deep River.” Mark Knopfler’s musical voice isn’t only that of the guitar lines recognizable to anyone who’s ever heard “Sultans of Swing,” but also the stories he tells. While his old band Dire Straits may be more famous for its radio and MTV singles like “Money…

The Black Crowes, “Happiness Bastards.” Brothers Chris and Rich Robinson have been busy over the past 15 years, with various bands, solo musical projects, producing other artists’ records and other extracurriculars. What they weren’t doing during that time is putting out any new Black Crowes music. That changes now,…

The Rolling Stones, “Live at the Wiltern.” In February 2023, the Rolling Stones released Grrr Live, an album they billed as their “definitive greatest hits live” collection. And that it was, with at least 18 of its 23 songs either huge hits or beloved favorites. The latest live Stones…

Neil Young, “Before and After.” Neil Young has never been afraid to confound, for better or worse, and his latest project presents a novel way of presenting material that, to varying degrees, hasn’t been heard much, if at all, over the years. Before and After Neil Young Reprise, Dec.…

Jimmy Buffett, “Equal Strain On All Parts.” If indeed Equal Strain on All Parts is a final album by Jimmy Buffett – you never know; the Beatles are just now releasing their “last song” – it would be a worthy statement, in keeping with his modus operandi and leaving…

Willie Nelson, “Bluegrass.” It’s been said the mark of a good popular song is one that can be performed with only an acoustic guitar and a voice and still resonate. Bluegrass Willie Nelson Legacy Recordings, Sept. 15 8/10 Get the album on Amazon Music. A similar theory posits that…

Pretenders, “Relentless.” More than 40 years after an amazing debut album, Chrissie Hynde is still baring her emotions for all to see and hear. After all this time, even if she feels bad, she still feels. Relentless Pretenders Rhino Records, Sept. 1 7/10 Get the album on Amazon Music.…

Yusuf / Cat Stevens, “King of a Land.” Cat Stevens, a significant presence on the ‘70s radio landscape with hits like “Peace Train,” “Moonshadow,” “Wild World” and “The First Cut is the Deepest,” has lived what seem like several lifetimes since the late those days. He converted to Islam,…

John Mellencamp, “Orpheus Descending.” You can’t really call Orpheus Descending, the new album by John Mellencamp, significantly cheerier than his last, Strictly a One-Eyed Jack. But even if most of the 11 new songs here are attacking something or someone, they’re preoccupied with bigger matters. The now 71-year-old Mellencamp…