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From St. Louis comes Beth Bombara, who’s been releasing her own music for about 15 years now. Her latest album, It All Goes Up, is her strongest to date, full of sonic textures and infectious melodies. In her own words, the new project is an attempt to bring in “more light, more hope.”

The songs range from the infectious "Everything I Wanted," to the heavy rocker "Give Me a Reason." The album was assembled with her longtime collaborator, Kit Hamon, and features frenetic guitar playing from Sam Golden, as well as a guest appearance by John Calvin Abney.

You may not know the name Raymond Scott, but you’ve probably heard his music. Many of his compositions have been used, over and over, in the Warner Brothers' Looney Tunes cartoons over the years. Raymond Scott Reimagined is a collaboration between the Quartet San Francisco, Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band, and the acapella group, Take Six.

Gordon Goodwin did new arrangements of Scott classics like “Powerhouse,” and “Toy Trumpet.” In addition, with the help of the Raymond Scott estate, an unfinished composition, “Cutey and the Dragon,” was completed by Goodwin, and included on this set.

Goodwin has won four Grammy’s, including Best Instrumental Arrangement for Disney’s The Incredibles.

He talks about how he went about retooling these great compositions for the modern age, working with all the great musicians. We also chat about a recent collaboration with Patti Austin on For Ella 2, and a forthcoming piano duets album where Goodwin plays both parts himself.

Bill Payne, along with Lowell George, formed Little Feat in the early 70’s, blending elements of rock, country, blues and New Orleans funk, into an immediately recognizable sound. The band’s second album, Sailin’ Shoes and their third, Dixie Chicken, have recently been given the deluxe treatment - expanding to triple album sets, including the remastered album, bonus tracks and outtakes, and revelatory live footage.

Payne is currently on the road with Little Feat, who later on in the fall will be doing The Albums Tour, choosing one of those two albums and playing them in their entirety each night. Bill has also played with the Doobie Brothers, members of the Grateful Dead and Leftover Salmon.

He also talks about writing his memoir, which he hopes to have completed by next year.

Written in Their Soul: The Stax Songwriting Demos (out now from Stax/Craft Recordings) is a treasure trove of lost soul & R&B recordings from the 60’s and early 70’s, many of which have never been heard before. Cheryl Pawelski personally had to comb through literally hundreds of hours of recordings in search of these hidden gems. It’s a project two decades in the making. The result is a 7-disc set full of surprises - you get nascent versions of songs we know, like “Respect Yourself” and “(If Loving You is Wrong) I Don’t Want to Be Right.”

But the real thrill is the set’s final three discs: 66 songs that were never released by anyone. Pawelski was working for Concord Music when she began this endeavor. That was 17 years ago. She now runs Omnivore Recordings.

We discuss the detective work that went into the project. How she managed to wade through the massive amount of random recordings in search of these soul nuggets. She also talks about attending the box set premiere in Memphis with many of the surviving artists on this collection. Pawelski also give us insight into upcoming releases from Omnivore.

Multi Platinum, Grammy-award winning producer-guitarist Pete Anderson is probably best known as Dwight Yoakam’s guitarist from 1986 to 2003. During that time, the duo helped reshape the face of country music. Anderson’s worked with a variety of artists, from Lucinda Williams and Michelle Shocked to the Meat Puppets and Roy Orbison.

He’s taken a lifetime of musical knowledge and experiences, and distilled it into a new book, How To Produce a Record: A Player’s Philosophy For Making a Great Recording - out now from Jessee Lee Music.

Anderson gives tips that can be applied whether you're in a large studio, or your bedroom.

Like a lot of us, Peter Case found himself with lots of time on his hands during the pandemic. A piano in his living room beckoned him and he started to write songs, a throwback to the rhythm & blues, and boogie woogie he heard as a kid. The result is Doctor Moan, 11-songs, stripped down, without drums, mostly led by his pounding piano.

Case was part of the seminal punk band the Nerves in the late 70’s, before forming the Plimsouls, who had an MTV hit with “A Million Miles Away,” and a spot in the 80’s teen classic, Valley Girl. Since the mid-80’s, Case has led an eclectic solo career that’s seen him garner three Grammy nominations and lots of accolades.

All of his past seeps into the pores of this new, sparse offering, available from Sunset Blvd Records.

We chat with Case about how playing the piano during lockdown took him back to his roots as a kid. He also talks about a new documentary about him that should see widespread release soon.

Savoy Brown was one of the longest-running bands of the British blues rock movement. Formed in 1965 by guitarist Kim Simmonds, the band enjoyed sold-out shows, and hit albums on the Billboard charts. The lineup changed, but Simmonds remained constant for 57 years, until his passing in December of 2022.

At the time of his death, he had just completed his 42nd album, called Blues All Around. Now, that final word from Savoy Brown is being released through Quarto Valley Records. We welcome in the two remaining members of Savoy Brown, Pat DeSalvo on bass and Garnet Grimm on drums.

They talk about working with Simmonds while he was undergoing treatment; he was still giving instructions on how he wanted things to sound from the hospital. They also talk about how he had to adapt his way of playing guitar to accommodate his declining health. Pat and Garnet also reveal possible plans for even more unreleased Savoy Brown material.

Robin McAuley’s career has spanned five decades - Grand Prix, Far Corporation, MSG, Survivor, solo records and more recently, the excellent supergroup Black Swan. In fact, the last few years have been some of his most productive to date. He’s back with a brand new solo album called appropriately, Alive.

He tells us why this album rocks a little harder than the last, and also why there’s push and pull between songs like “Alive” and “Dead as a Bone.” He also recently celebrated a big birthday, and reveals plans for the next Black Swan album.

Alive comes out Feburary 17 from Frontiers Music

Dar Williams first garnered attention with her song, “When I Was a Boy,” from her album, The Honesty Room, almost 30 years ago. Since then, she’s issued nine more studio albums, collaborated with many artists, and written several books. Her latest is How to Write a Song That Matters from Hachette Books, to which fellow songwriter Mary Chapin Carpenter says “The wisdom and the lessons she shares will illuminate not only the world of songwriters but anyone who seeks the sustenance of a creative life and practice.”

Williams tells us how she went from writing her own songs to teaching others how to write their songs. She reveals that, even if you don't play an instrument, you can still compose a song. She also discusses ways to positively critique other songs, and how to start an open mic.

Doug "Cosmo" Clifford was the drummer for legendary rockers Creedence Clearwater Revival. He and bassist Stu Cook formed Creedence Clearwater Revisited, and helped keep that great music alive on the concert circuit. Since recently retiring, he's continuing to go through his "Cosmos Vault," releasing tapes that he made over the years with his musical buddies.

His latest release is California Gold, a collaboration with Derek and the Dominoes' vocalist Bobby Whitlock. The tracks also feature the great Donald "Duck" Dunn on bass.

Clifford talks about how he and Whitlock came together, and how, unfortunately, the project never took off. He also give details on the newly released Live at the Royal Albert Hall concert movie from CCR, which is available now to stream on Netflix.