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Music
Smith/Kotzen
Black Light/White Noise
This is the third album from rock veterans Adrian Smith (Iron Maiden) and Richie Kotzen (The Winery Dogs). The busy axeslingers – especially Kotzen, who is always involved in solo and band projects – released their full-length debut and an EP in 2021. Smith-Kotzen has happily blossomed into a going concern. What’s interesting about Smith/Kotzen’s
Mathew Ryan – Concussion
I’m a big fan of un-slick, direct acoustic music. Mathew Ryan’s Concussion is just that – country music in the mold of Steve Earle, not Garth Brooks. Ryan’s music has the grit of…
Peter Green – Man Of The World: The Anthology, 1968-1988
It’s difficult to write about Peter Green without accidentally lapsing into past tense, as though the founder of the original Fleetwood Mac were no longer here. He is, of course, very much in…
Chris Duarte – Romp
Chris Duarte is a unique voice in a batch of blues-rock guitarists who hail from down Texas way. His playing, while rooted in many of the same influences the other fellas have, is…
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Chris Walz
All I Got and Gone
This traditional folk singer/guitarist’s solo debut is impressive. He’s been an educator at Chicago’s Old Town School of Folk Music for three decades, but his approach is by no means academic. He not only reveals the influence of folk and blues legends such as Doc and Merle Watson, Elizabeth Cotten, Etta Baker, Dave Van Ronk,
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Nels Cline
Consentrik Quartet
ls Cline long ago established a parallel career as an eclectic instrumentalist and contemporary jazz virtuoso. His fourth Blue Note album is an extended set that unveils Consentrik Quartet, his new band with acoustic bassist Chris Lightcap, drummer Tom Rainey, and tenor/soprano saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock. Their concepts are ambitious and their sound is free, Cline
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Charlie Musselwhite
Lookout Highway
John Mayall is invariably cited for the succession of guitar greats who passed through his band. But Charlie Musselwhite just might be the American equivalent. In a 60-year career, his six-stringers have included Harvey Mandel, Luther Tucker, Louis Myers, Tim Kaihatsu, Robben Ford, Fenton Robinson, Johnny Heartsman, Junior Watson, Andrew “Jr. Boy” Jones, John Wedemeyer,
Davie Allan & the Arrows – Moving Along
Davie Allan came along when, by all rights, instrumental rock should have been long past rigor mortis and decomposing, after the British Invasion nailed instro surf’s coffin shut. But, against all odds, as…
Eric Lindell
Eric Lindell’s past efforts have showcased his multiple skills, and this latest is no different. His songwriting is strong as ever, his interpretive skills are impeccable, he handles various instruments with ease, and…
Brian May
Back to the Light
After frontman Freddie Mercury’s death in 1991, Queen seemed done and gone. But the following year, their resident guitar hero bounced back with this solo U.K. hit, now expanded into a two-CD set.…
Cesar Rosas – Soul Disguise
I’ve been of the opinion for a couple of years now that Los Lobos is one of the finest rock bands around. Rosas is one of the singer/guitarists in that band. This is…
Eric Gales
Schrapnel Records
Eric Gales has been cutting blues-rock records for 20 years, and here, he’s playing as well as ever. Lyrically, Transformation appears to address his effort at staying on the straight and narrow. But,…
John Scofield
John Scofield
In a lengthy career marked by collaborations with other jazz icons, Scofield’s first solo-guitar album (using only a looper) is no minor departure. He covers a swath of material, combining standards and originals…
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Popa Chubby
I Love Freddie King
The latest from blues dynamo Popa Chubby is a star-studded tribute to the late great Freddie King. Produced by Mr. Chubby and Mike Zito, I Love Freddie King is a blues guitar love-fest covering some of King’s most potent and popular songs. With Popa fronting the band on guitar and vocals, guests include Eric Gales,
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Rush
Rush 50
The goal of any anthology is to capture the broad scope of an artist’s career. Rush 50 is a strong attempt, starting with their first singles (previously unreleased) all the way to their final live recordings in 2015. In between are reams of epic studio and stage recordings, summing up the band’s career in one
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Rik Emmett
Ten Telecaster Tales
At the risk of starting a brawl, Rik Emmett’s guitar work was arguably too good for Triumph. As evidence, his latest project centers on a custom-built Loucin that inspired both a book and accompanying music. “Magic Power” this is not. On Ten Telecaster Tunes, Emmett delivers 10 solo performances on the instrument he calls Babs,
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Check This Action: Up Jumped Elmore
When someone recently asked me to recommend the most essential Elmore James album, I answered, “Any and all.” I’ve never heard a bad Elmore cut, and I’ve heard nearly everything he recorded. Everybody knows that he set the standard for slide guitar in electric blues, but he was also a fantastic singer and wrote some
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Greg Koch
Blues
The Gristle Master returns with scintillating blues and the influences that made him the six-string slayer he is today. On this live recording, Koch uses an array of guitars including his signature Reverend, a Deluxe Tele, Custom Shop Les Paul, and a Custom Shop Strat while sharing stages with Larry McCray, Jimmy Hall, Malford Milligan,
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2025 December Issue on Spotify
This month, we feature Rick Derringer, Kid Ramos, Booker T and The M.G.’s, Steve Stevens, Phil Manzanera, Doug Aldrich, Kenny Burrell, Eric Johanson, Gary Moore, and more! Spotify is free or available without ads via a paid subscription. Go to www.spotify.com and search “Vintage Guitar magazine,” or if you already have an account Listen to
Claude Hay
Australian Claude Hay is an intensely spirited one-man band. He works himself into such a frenzy performing his multi-layered songs (“How Can You Live Without Yourself”) they become improvisation-like outpourings of a man…
Peter Frampton Band
Frampton Forgets the Words
Frampton is in a race against time. In 2019 he announced having a muscle disorder called inclusion body myositis and was recording as much music as he could. 2019’s All Blues was blues…
Tennesee Ernie Ford – 6000 Sunset Boulevard
As if his comedic talents weren’t enough (from his early days as a disc-jockey to hosting his own TV show to guesting on “I Love Lucy”), Tennessee Ernie Ford was one of the…
Dion – Son of Skip James
James offers his own tunes (including a wonderful title cut) as well as classic covers of songs by Sleepy John Estes, Robert Johnson, and Willie Dixon, among others. He even manages to slip…
Various artists
Eagle Rock
Dubbed “The Best British Rock Concert of All Time,” the June, 1990, event featured most of the superstar U.K. acts of the day – Genesis, Pink Floyd, Eric Clapton, Phil Collins, Dire Straits,…
Chuck Berry – The Millennium Collection
MCA has released a treasure trove of “millennium collection” greatest hits discs just in time for the new century. This guitar hero gets his due recognition with single-CD package that do justice in…
Grateful Dead
Road Trips, Vol. 1 No.4: From Egypt With Love
In 1978, the Dead played a series of shows at a venue many Deadheads swear was just built for the band – The Great Pyramid of Giza. Still high from the shows, the…
Brian Wright
Sugar Hill Records
Off kilter, warped, but addictive, Brian Wright’s music grabs your attention. He describes it as, “…situated somewhere between Woody Guthrie and The Velvet Underground.” Where exactly, depends on the song. Beyond writing the…
Hiromi’s Sonicbloom – Time Control
Ignore the silly cover photo – this ain’t no pop-diva record. Instead, it could be the jazz-rock CD of the year. Hiromi Uehara is a monster jazz pianist who’s been making a name…
Molly Maher and Her Band of Disbelievers
Molly Maher is blessed. She writes songs that ring true. Her singing is a fine balance of deep and soulful, somewhere between Lucinda Williams and Emmylou Harris. And to top it all, she…
Black Label Society
Doom Crew Inc.
BLS’ 11th album has Zakk Wylde sharing duties with guitarist Dario Lorina. Huge tones, harmonized lines, and blistering solos dwell in the realm of metal-infested stomp and fretboard intensity. Dedicated to their roadcrew…
Peter Ostroushko
Red House Records
Peter Ostroushko channels a mixture of Stephen Foster, Carter Stanley, and Doc Boggs to create unique music that sounds much older than it is. Here, he further expands his library of heartbreakingly beautiful…
Blind Pig Records – 20th Anniversary Collection
It’s been 20 years since Blind Pig Records got its start in the humble Blind Pig Café in a basement in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Over the years, the label has released records by…
Frank Zappa
Zappa Records
When I had occasion to visit Lancaster, California, in 1996, I was shocked to discover that there wasn’t a single thing in the town to acknowledge the fact that Frank Zappa had spent…
John Mayall and Friends – Along For the Ride
Along For the Ride
John Mayall (VG, July ’98, and look for a new talk next month) has been doing it for so long it seems he’s always been there. And he has. In a career that…
Jim Croce
You Don’t Mess Around with Jim 50th Anniversary
Jim Croce was a pop artist with laser-guided instincts for writing hits. In an impossibly short run of fame – barely two years – he wrote singles that remain staples of ’70s AM…
Circle Jerks
Wild In The Streets 40th Anniversary Deluxe Edition
Early L.A. punk was a many-headed monster, birthing everything from the glammy Runaways to the more prototypical Germs, as well as rootsy outfits like X and the Blasters. Even the Go-Go’s broke in…
Slash featuring Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators
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Slash is among the last of the old-school guitar heroes; there’s a line from ’60s and ’70s gods straight to him. Though permanently in the giant shadow of Guns N‘ Roses, Slash’s work…
Grateful Dead – Live at Cow Palace
The Grateful Dead was an electric jug band with more in common musically with Jim Kweskin than Jimi Hendrix. On this new three-CD set, you can hear this ultimate jam band at its…
The Sadies – New Season
If you’re at all into guitar tones and cool songs, it’s hard not to love The Sadies, with brothers Dallas and Travis Good, whose feet are firmly in the country and country-rock of…
Anthony Gomes – Live
At 38, blues rocker Anthony Gomes makes music like a man in his prime, getting the best from himself while being neither too tired nor jaded to truly enjoy his life’s work. He’s…
