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Music
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
Check This Action: Jimmie’s Blues Box
Don’t think music can be life-changing? Try moving 1,700 miles. In 1987, I moved from Northern California to Austin, Texas, and music was the reason. Bands like the LeRoi Brothers, Tail Gators, and…
Cousin Harley
Blue Smoke: The Music Of Merle Travis
Canadian guitarslinger Paul Pigat has recorded under his own name (Boxcar Campfire) and with his wild, infectious rockabilly trio, Cousin Harley. The latter’s tribute to Merle Travis may be the group’s best effort…
Rene Mailhes Trio – Chtildo
René Mailhes is a holdout. On any night in Paris, you can hear young Gypsy tyros tearing up the fretboards playing hot Gypsy jazz in emulation of Django Reinhardt’s early classics. Mailhes, on…
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Paul Johnson
The Hepcats Live at the Ajax Novelty Company
This isn’t live, there may not be an Ajax Novelty Company, and the three felines known as the Hepcats are actually the brainchild of Paul Johnson, whose Belairs were early-’60s pioneers of surf music. Suspend reality and dig how the “trio” expertly articulates layers of acoustic guitar. Across decades, Johnson has embraced folk-rock, psychedelia, and
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Yes
Close to the Edge: Super Deluxe Edition
Are you a high-fidelity audio geek? If the answer is, well, yes, this Rhino release brings together an HD experience of Close to the Edge in no fewer than four versions, plus rarities and a ’72 concert. For starters, the 2025 remaster sounds as close to the analog 1972 mix as you’re going to get
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Pink Floyd
Have You Got It Yet? – The Story of Syd Barrett and Pink Floyd
It’s understandable that fans warily approach the flood of pseudo-documentaries and biopics. Add the fact that the late Syd Barrett, Floyd’s original guitarist/leader, suffered from mental illness, and exploitation alarms are sure to go off. But this documentary handles the subject with dignity instead of sensationalism. Interviews by longtime Floyd cover artist Storm Thorgerson with
Pine Mountain Railroad – Alone with Forever
In a world where everything is at our fingertips, anyone with access to the internet can instantly listen to original recordings by Bill Monroe, Flatt and Scruggs, Stanley Brothers, Osborne Brothers, Red Foley,…
Tal Farlow – The Complete Verve Tal Farlow Sessions
The Complete Verve Tal Farlow Sessions
If Mosaic’s compilations haven’t yet appeared on your radar screen, let me enlighten you. Mosaic issues stunningly beautiful and often sprawling tributes to legendary jazz performers like Charlie Parker, Sonny Stitt, Hank Mobley,…
Emmylou Harris – All I Intended To Be
In a career spanning 30-plus years, Harris’ constants have been her high standard of quality (in her material, in her bandmates, in herself) and her unpredictability. That she has managed to remain popular…
Steve Hillage Band
VoicePrint
An icon of Britain’s famed “Canterbury Scene” of the late ’60s and ’70s, Steve Hillage made his mark mixing psychedelia, pop, and Hendrix-fueled guitar solos with thrilling abandon. Thirty years after his heyday,…
Cailyn
Cailyn Lloyd’s former life as a blues rocker of the Peter Green school gave her the stuff to put blood into the New Age music she has been making for the last few…
Dennis Jones
Soft Hard & Loud
On Soft Hard & Loud, Dennis Jones continues to push the boundaries of blues-rock guitar. With lyrics saturated by the cold, hard slap of reality and a love of black musical repertoire, Jones…
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The Wildhearts
In the raging ’90s, The Wildhearts blasted out of Newcastle upon Tyne like some unholy melding of Guns ’N Roses, Cheap Trick, and The Replacements. Hard rock, power pop, and punk still make up their secret sauce, heard on this latest effort with original singer/guitarist Ginger Wildheart. Ben Marsden plays lead, while Kavus Torabi adds
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Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band
Honeysuckle
Resonator-slide specialist Reverend Peyton returns to his primary influences – early 20th-century African-American music – compelling him to shout from the hollers and the hills. Rootsy, acoustic, inter-war blues is the specific genre, and Peyton doesn’t hold back. With top-tier tutelage from the likes of David “Honeyboy” Edwards, T-Model Ford, and Robert Belfour, he masterfully
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Mike Campbell with Ari Surdoval
Heartbreaker: A Memoir
In his autobiography, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers guitarist Campbell admits he’s quiet and shy. Self-doubt plagued him his entire life, and when problems arose in the Heartbreakers, a lack of confidence had him blaming himself first, even when he wasn’t responsible. Perhaps his attitude was psychologically rooted in his impoverished childhood and coming from
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Alan Gogoll
Lioness Lullabies
Venture online and watch a few videos by Tasmanian guitarist Alan Gogoll and you’ll see he’s nothing short of a phenomenon. On acoustic, he conjures artificial harmonics in a manner that almost defies gravity. Better still, he never shows off these chops – everything on Lioness Lullabies is in the service of the song and
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Jimmy Vivino
Gonna Be 2 of Those Days
A veteran vocalist/guitarist/keyboardist and purveyor of blues, R&B, and rock’, Jimmy Vivino has an incredible résumé. A longtime fixture in Conan O’Brien’s house band, he has played on movie, radio, and Broadway projects and worked with Levon Helm, Hubert Sumlin, Al Kooper, Jimmie Vaughan, Donald Fagen, Warren Haynes, Laura Nyro, along with innumerable others. He’s
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Thin Lizzy
The Acoustic Sessions
Thin Lizzy’s first studio release in decades, this album reimagines tracks recorded 50+ years ago by the trio of vocalist/bassist Phil Lynott, guitarist Eric Bell, and drummer Brian Downey. The songs are from Lizzy’s first three albums – 1971’s Thin Lizzy, ’72’s Shades of a Blue Orphanage, and ’73’s Vagabonds of the Western World. Recently,
The Ford Brothers – Center Stage
Center Stage
The Ford Brothers are Robben on guitar and vocals, Patrick on drums, and Mark on harp and vocals. Robben, of course, has a solo career, but on occasion gets together with his brothers…
Nineteen Hand Horse
Revel
This Northern California unit, led by vocalist/songwriter Nathalie Archangel and husband, singer/guitarist Mark Montijo, both former pop-rockers, focus on twang-filled country with obvious pop overtones. Behind her smoky, aggressive voice and Montijo’s more-relaxed…
Black Sabbath
Heaven and Hell & Mob Rules Deluxe Editions
One of the most shocking events in metal history wasn’t Black Sabbath firing Ozzy Osbourne, but that it found a new front man who built his own legend. Ronnie James Dio’s two ’80s…
Flying Burrito Brothers – Sin City: The Best of the Flying Burrito Brothers
Sin City: The Best of the Flying Burrito Brothers
I confess. Sometimes I find it hard to separate the myth of Gram Parsons from the actual musician. I don’t think there’s any denying the talent of the man. A gifted songwriter to…
Stéphane Grappelli
Frémeaux
Monsieur Grappelli had a knack for being in the right place at the right time in terms of finding the perfect guitarist foils. This two-CD collection showcases the best of those duets. It…
Volto!
Guitarist extraordinaire John Ziegler has been laying down the law every Monday night at California’s San Fernando Valley Baked Potato jazz club for what seems like forever. Hosting a weekly jam playing everything…
West, Bruce, & Laing – Why Dontcha
When one third Cream and two thirds of Mountain joined to form West, Bruce & Laing in 1972, expectations were not exactly high. This, their first album, was a decent effort and enough…
Eric Clapton
Not Done Yet
This new DVD featuring the highlights of Clapton’s tour through the Mid and Far East in ’14 offers some great music. But more importantly, it gives a glimpse into facets of the…
Tony Bacon – 50 Years of Fender
In 1950, Leo Fender began production of the first solidbody electric guitar, and music hasn’t been the same since. Celebrating the anniversary of the event, this book provides a year-by-year chronicle of the…
Planet X – Quantum
The genetically superior team of drummer Virgil Donati and keyboardist Derek Sherinian return to continue the next chapter in their metal-fusion saga. It’s been five Earth years since the release of Moon Babies,…
Frank Frost with Sam Carr and Frank Frost – Keep Yourself Together and Jelly Roll Blues
X Frank Frost’s two recent CDs are time machines, transporting you to a hot, sweaty night in a Mississippi Delta juke joint. Frost is a true Mississippi Delta bluesman. Throughout his career playing…
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…
Nels Cline
Blues Notes and So Much More
Nels Cline has quite the musical resumé, and yet has always been hard to pin down. Whether doing some form of fusion, manning the lead-guitar chair in Wilco, or serving up dissonance and…
Alex Woodard – Alex Woodard
When Alex Woodard was a kid, his sister spoonfed him the music of her favorite rocker, Tom Petty. Five albums later, the effect still holds. Woodard’s arrangements, phrasing, and even the timbre of…
A Tribute to Leslie West
Various artists
Here’s a much-deserved tribute to the Mountain guitarist who died in 2020, getting his due thanks to a procession of axe heroes. Zakk Wylde storms “Blood of the Sun,” letting every note ring…
The Move, Santana, Derringer
Under the Radar
Sometimes great bands and albums don’t bubble to the surface of fame, depriving fans of brilliant music. The Move is one of those acts and its wondrous pop is compiled in the 2-disc…
The Who – BBC Sessions
Let’s face it; The Who deserves to be mentioned in the same breath with the Beatles and the Stones. Yes, you’ll like one more than the other, but Pete Townshend and company were…
Los Lobos
Shout! Factory
It’s been a few years since Los Lobos released original material, but Tin Can Trust is worth the wait. Its music is a mix of rock, R&B, soul, folk, and various Latin styles…
Richard Thompson
When you realize that Thompson’s I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight (with then-wife Linda and classics like “Calvary Cross”) was 40 years ago, you have to wonder if he’ll ever slump.…
Matt Rae – Twang!
Twang!
I’ve never been a Tele guy. I just have never found one I loved to play. However, every now and then a record comes along by a guy who just scorches the earth…
Eliza Gilkyson – Land of Milk and Honey
Ever since my freshman college film class, when I was forced to sit through Leni Reifenstal’s Triumph of the Will , the cinematic licking of Hitler’s jackboots, I’ve been painfully aware that art…
Jay Jay French and Steve Farber
Twisted Business: Lessons from My Life in Rock ’N Roll
