Mark Bone

Lucinda Williams has never had a comfortable relationship with the commercial side of the recording industry – her battles with various major labels in the '90s are the stuff of legend – and even though she had a reasonably stress-free partnership with Lost Highway Records from 2001's Essence to 2011's Blessed, it seems fitting that she would eventually decide to strike out on her own. 2014's Down Where the Spirit Meets the Bone is Williams' first album for her own label, Highway 20 Records, giving her complete control over the creative process, and though this doesn't always sound like an album where Williams is challenging herself musically, for a musician who has long believed in the power of nuance, this is an album that feels unerringly right for her, full of sweet and sour blues, acoustic pondering, and simple, bare bones rock & roll that slips into the groove with Williams' literate but unpretentious songs…

At the time of his death earlier this year, Phil May was hugely excited about the impending release of the first-ever, all-acoustic Pretty Things album, which had recently been completed.

Blues rock guitarist and singer. Based in Houston, Texas for 20 years, May has now relocated to his hometown of Columbus, Ohio. Mark has clearly grown as a player, singer and writer, and although I love all of his recordings, this is the best so far! It has elements of blues, blues-rock, southern rock (a big nod to the Allmans and especially Dickie, on "Place Your Betts", an awesome instrumental in the "Jessica" vein) and even Santana's influence is showcased. Despite the obvious nods to familiar influences, Mark retains his own sound and can burn with the best of them - the guitar work here would do Carlos and Dickie proud anytime. Dickie Betts guests on a track as well, and is in top form. If you like blues-rock, with some funk, Southern and Latin influences thrown in, you can't do any better than this!