Dan Kening

Midnight Oil Redneck Wonderland (Columbia) Australia's premier musical voice of conscience rebounds from the rare misstep that was 1996's lackluster "Breathe" album with the searing "Redneck Wonderland." With a cover...

Larry McCray Born To Play the Blues (House of Blues) Forget about Jonny Lang, Kenny Wayne Shepherd and the rest of those flaxen-haired Steven Ray Vaughan wannabe's. Former Saginaw, Mich.,...

Otis Rush Any Place I'm Going (House of Blues) Rush sounds revitalized on this set recorded in Memphis with producer Willie Mitchell, one that matches his passionate guitar and vocals...

Sonia Dada My Secret Life (Capricorn) Sonia Dada may not be the city's best-known band, but its uplifting, gospel-drenched rock sound is as distinctive as its name. "My Secret Life,"...

Box Set: Thread (Capricorn) Unfortunate name aside, San Francisco's Box Set come up a winner with their major label debut, "Thread." Singer-songwriters Jim Brunberg and Jeff Pehrson formed the band...

Laurence Nugent Two For Two (Shanachie) (star) (star) (star) 1/2 Laurence Nugent builds a bridge spanning Chicago and Ireland with his lyrical, yet adventurous, second album. A Northern Ireland native...

Robbie Robertson Contact From the Underworld of Redboy (Capitol) (star) (star) (star) 1/2 Robbie Robertson has one foot in the past and the other firmly in the present on this...

Fairport Convention Who Knows Where the Time Goes? (Green Linnet) (star) (star) (star) If there were an entry for "British folk-rock" in the dictionary, it would surely have a photo...

Even if the band is fabulous, a crummy venue can damage -- or even ruin -- the concert go-ing experience. You might not remember the set list the next day,...

Band Trouble Is ... (Revolution) (star) (star) Chris Duarte Group Tailspin Headwhack (Silvertone) (star) (star) (star) On 20-year-old guitar wunderkind Kenny Wayne Shepherd's sophomore effort, no amount of six-string flash...