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 The Radiators: Wild & Free
Above all else, The Radiators are a gig band. Blues, no doubt; Cajun, yes, Swamp-boogie, absolutely: a mix of guitar-driven Swamp vibe meets formula-driven, but distinctive, rock and roll. Whatever you want is all there—The Radiators' musical stew—as befits a true home grown New Orleans band. In some ways they are like their grander musical cousin, Credence Clearwater Revival; they excel at everything, and so don't stand out in any one area. As Springsteen said about Credence, "they weren't the coolest, just the best." 
 Sam Phillips: Don't Do Anything
Sam Phillips writes lyrics like a miser spends his money. Her literary equivalent would be, say, Amy Hempel, whose short stories possess the brutal concision of a guilty plea.
What makes Sam Phillips' music so rewarding—that she places demands on the listener to meet her at least half way—is precisely what makes it challenging for many other listeners: that she asks you to meet her half way. Those who are up to the challenge will discover an artist who has produced a consistently excellent, if not prolific, body of work—seven albums over nearly twenty years, plus, now, her latest, Don't Do Anything.
It's Phillips' first record (excluding gospel releases recorded as Leslie Phillips) not produced by her former husband, T Bone Burnett. Self produced, Don't Do Anything does not sound dramatically different from her previous work with Burnett. Where Burnett might tend to let Phillips' sound breathe here and there or become gauzy and relaxed, on Don't Do Anything Phillips wants the sound to exert itself, flex its muscles—and it does. Thus the music on Don't Do Anything comes across as slightly claustrophobic and grimly atmospheric, but it is clearly self-assured, and, yes, challenging.
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