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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
Dave Alvin – Public Domain
Dave Alvin is one of those guys you have to love. He continuously makes great albums that encompass most of the genres that make up “American” music, and he does it without much…
Roy Orbison
Roy Orbison’s Monument Records labelmate Tony Joe White says Orbison gave his all at every live performance; nothing on this disc will disprove that claim. Yes, there are a couple of small hitches…
Johnny Adams – There Is Always One More Time
From the “there really can’t be a better singer around” catagory comes this set from the latter part of Adams career. It encompasses his work with Rounder from 1982 until his death in…
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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,
Otis Redding and Aretha Franklin
First off, neither of these excellent four-CD sets includes personnel listings in their skimpy liner booklets. This is simply unpardonable – especially considering how stylish, how influential, how downright phenomenal the backlines are…
Doyle Bramhall II
Rich Man
In the 15 years since his debut album, Welcome, Doyle Bramhall, II has been in great demand. Along with a decade working with Eric Clapton in the studio and onstage, he’s has collaborated…
The Mike Eldred Trio
The Mike Eldred Trio’s latest was recorded at Memphis’ hallowed Sun Studios, but the deep blues are straight outta the Delta. Eldred needs little introduction here. The former Fender Custom Shop manager, he’s…
Check This Action: The Swinging Steel of Bobby Black
Few instruments are as synonymous with a genre as pedal steel and country music. But for a seemingly conservative style as country, steel guitarists are some of the most-sophisticated, adventurous musicians on the…
California Breed
Big rock crooner/bassist Glenn Hughes has seen it all. From Trapeze and Deep Purple to Black Sabbath, his life is a compelling rock escapade filled with good drugs, great music, and over-the-top excesses.…
Paul Revere & The Raiders – Mojo Workout!
If it’s a given that rock revisionists (er, historians) haven’t given Paul Revere & The Raiders the respect they deserve, then where does that leave Drake Levin? “Drake who?” you ask? My point…
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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
Review: “Gimme All Your Lovin’: The Blues, Boogie, and Beard of ZZ Top’s Billy F. Gibbons”
In his prologue, author Christopher McKittrick acknowledges the difficulty of condensing Gibbons’ six-decade career into one book, partially due to the enigmatic vocalist/guitarist’s own “admitted tall tales.” In short, Gibbons is both an…
Johnny A.
As the liner notes state, Johnny A.’s musical mantra is “melody is king.” And oh, how he proves it here – even when he dusts off his EBow for a side trip into…
Tim Mahoney
Self-distributed
Tim Mahoney’s latest work combines elements of heavy-metal power pop with ethereal folk ballads, and his mix of guitar raunch and lyricism makes for an addictive musical cocktail. Musically, Mahoney is something of…
Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, Zuzu Bollin – Boogie Uproar: Texas Blues and R&B 1947-1954
The history of early Texas jump blues is often summed up in one name – T-Bone Walker. While Walker’s pioneering guitarwork, great original songs, and landmark recordings are justly famous, his star quality…
Alan Jackson
When Alan Jackson announced a bluegrass album produced by Alison Krauss in 2006, the result was Like Red On A Rose. On it, Jackson sang not straight-ahead bluegrass, but the sorts of dark…
Tony Rice – Night Flyer
The title is a bit misleading. Tony Rice has penned music and lyrics for a few songs (including the one that leads off this album), but the title refers to his interpretations of…
The Kentucky Colonels – Legendary Live Recordings
The Kentucky Colonels Living in the Past: Legendary Live Recordings is made up of tapes from seven different shows in 1961, ’63, ’64, and ’65. Material is from performances at venues in California…
Mike Baggetta/Jim Keltner/Mike Watt
Everywhen We Go
Guitarist Mike Baggetta teams up with renowned rock drummer Jim Keltner (Harrison, Dylan, Frisell) and equally legendary punk bassman Mike Watt (Minutemen, Stooges) for the trio’s second album. As one might expect given…
Donald Fagen – Morph the Cat
Donald Fagen – Morph the Cat Of all the records associated with Steely Dan, Walter Becker, and Donald Fagen, this may be the best since “the comeback.” And that’s something coming from someone…
Robert Trujillo and Others
Bassman
A brave and powerful film, Jaco documents the life of fusion bass virtuoso Jaco Pastorius. Yet by its end, you will realize that Pastorius transcended such simple terms as “jazz-rock” and “electric bass.”…
Martin Taylor – In Concert
In Concert
After finishing Gershwin’s “I Got Rhythm” – following his tongue-in-cheek, herky jerky, impossible-to-snap-your-fingers-to intro with a laughably fast walking bass figure, over which he somehow threads both melody and comping chords (simultaneously) –…
Little Richard
Some 14 years after blasting out of AM radios with hits like “Long Tall Sally,” “Tutti-Fruiti,” and “Slippin’ And Slidin’,” the wildest of rock and roll’s architects enjoyed a resurgence in visibility, when…
Tim O’Brien – Two Journeys
Two Journeys
The Del McCoury Band – Del and the Boys
Anyone who thinks bluegrass music is just about doing songs performed by dead guys – but doing 'em faster, hasn't heard the Del McCoury band. Their latest album on Ricky Skaggs' Celli Music…
Brian Setzer ’68 Comeback Special – Ignition
Ignition
Okay, I confess. Somehow this one slid in under the radar. Released in late summer, it features Setzer back in a trio setting, basically just cutting loose, guitar-wise and vocally. And let’s face…
Justin Golden
Hard Times and a Woman
The word “blues” pops up in Justin Golden’s bio, but “African-Americana” might be a more apt term. The Virginian’s 12 originals make for an extremely impressive debut, as comfortable leaning toward country on…
Shadowy Men On A Shadowy Planet & Mike Neer
Savvy Show Stoppers Dim The Lights, Chill The Ham Sport Fishin’: The Lure Of The Bait, The Luck Of The Hook Steelonious
When the Kids In The Hall, an irreverent sketch comedy troupe from Toronto, got their own TV show in ’89, they chose “Having An Average Day,” an instrumental by a local trio, Shadowy…
Steve Miller – King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents
Before he was FM rock radio king, Steve Miller was known as Stevie “Guitar” Miller. This live release, recorded in 1973 and ’76, shows why. Culled from Washington, D.C. and New York City…
Los Lobos
Native Sons
The venerable Los Angeles band (guitarists Cesar Rosas, David Hidalgo and Louie Pérez, Jr., bassist Conrad Lozano and sax man Steve Berlin) pays homage to its musical roots and hometown, delving into a…
The Cowsills
Rhythm Of The World
The Cowsills were pop-rock’s first family band and, yes, the model for the Partridge Family. During a two-year period beginning in 1967, they scored four Top 40 hits, with “The Rain, The Park…
Duke Levine – Beneath the Blue
As a player, Duke Levine is unclassifiable. He calls his style “country-soul” guitar, and that’s fair. But what do you call a guy who opens his latest record with a twangy version of…
Kansas – Two for the Show: 30th Anniversary Edition
Sony/Legacy
One iconic artifact of the late-’70s rock scene was the ubiquitous “double live album,” a marketing ploy usually timed for the Christmas rush, but one that also yielded much good music. Following the…
