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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
Willie J. Campbell
Be Cool
In the months before his passing in December ’22, blues bassist Willie Campbell (James Harman Band, Fabulous Thunderbirds, Mannish Boys) recorded his only album as leader – aware that amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)…
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…
Ace Frehley
10,000 Volts
Kiss’ original guitarist didn’t appear at the band’s final concert, crushing the rock-and-roll dreams of diehard fans. But, his latest album will have them once again pumping their fists. After releasing two Origins…
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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,
Pentangle
The Albums
Take Five When one thinks of bands with two (or more) lead guitarists, groups like the Eagles, Buffalo Springfield, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Wishbone Ash, the edition of Fleetwood Mac featuring Peter Green and…
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…
Teeny Tucker
TeBo Records
The daughter of Tommy Tucker (of “Hi-Heel Sneakers” fame) has been playing the blues circuit for years. As a vocalist, she has made a name for herself with her brassy delivery and original…
Gov’t Mule
Revolution Come… Revolution Go
Gov’t Mule’s 10th studio album treads the similar hard rock meets southern blues territory of past albums, but with the added dimension of the polarized social and political climate of the United States.…
The Ultimate Book of Blues Guitar Legends
The Ultimate Book of Blues Guitar Legends
The blues is the foundation of nearly all American popular music, and this book by Vintage Guitar’s music editor covers the genre’s giants, from the founders to present-day practitioners. Its emphasis is…
Merle Haggard
Vanguard Records
Haggard’s first album for Vanguard recalls the folk music featured on that label in the 1950s and ’60s. Marked by minimal percussion, resonator guitar, acoustic (or subdued electric) leads, Haggard’s unmatched sense of…
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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
Foghat
Sonic Mojo
Few things in life are guaranteed – but one is that drummer Roger Earl will keep Foghat truckin’. For 50-plus years, he’s been weathering lineup changes and members passing, bringing its people-pleasing blues-rock…
Evan Johns and The Hillbilly Soul Surfers – Moontan
Moontan
Roots rock wild man Evan Johns returns with a taut but tasty trick bag that should fire the faithful, and make a few new friends, too. The sensibility that infused “Ugly Man” is…
Omar And The Howlers – Swingland
I first ran across Omar Dykes in the mid ’80s when I heard a bluesy radio-ready rock album called Hard Times In The Land Of Plenty. I liked it, and some quick research…
Megadeth
The Sick, the Dying … and the Dead!
During the protracted recording of Megadeth’s 16th album, founding bassist Dave Ellefson was canned, his parts erased and re-recorded by Testament bassist Steve Di Giorgio. Surprisingly, The Sick remains a strong, cohesive statement,…
Judas Priest
After a supposed farewell tour a few years back, Judas Priest has replaced longtime guitarist K.K. Downing with young guitarman Richie Faulkner and developed a completely re-energized sound. As a result, Redeemer Of…
Snarky Puppy
Empire Central
The latest from the Texas-based 19-piece jazz-funk orchestra pays homage to the city of Dallas. Recorded live in front of a studio audience, Empire Central was captured over eight days and delivers 16…
The Grateful Dead
The hubbub over the Dead’s final runs of shows has finally quieted down, only to be replaced by the expected array of video and sound recordings of the events. And the various packages…
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…
Sam Phillips – Fan Dance
Fan Dance
Sam Phillips has reinvented herself. Her big star pop persona is gone, replaced by a starkly gothic singer/songwriter with an album that screams to be heard. Phillips has moved from Virgin Records and…
Z.Z. Top – Chrome, Smoke, and B. B. Q.
Chrome, Smoke, and B. B. Q.
Well, Z.Z. Top’s music has been released in a lot of forms on CD. I confess, I didn’t scarf up the other releases, even though I grew up on this stuff and love…
Big Joe and the Dynaflows
Severn Records
Big Joe Maher’s latest showcases his bluesy, swinging vocal style and rocksolid drumming on a dozen tracks split evenly between originals and covers, including B.B. King’s “Bad Case of Love” to Billy Wright’s…
Guy King
Joy Is Coming
On his fifth solo album, King offers 10 originals – cool soul grooves peppered with tasty blues guitar. Israeli-born and Chicago-based, the 43-year-old earned his blues stripes during his six-year stint with the…
Marah – If You Didn’t Laugh… You’d Cry
Marah – If You Didn’t Laugh… You’d Cry The kids from Philly – Marah brothers Dave and Serge Bielanko – have left home for the big town, New York. And their new city…
Delbert McClinton – Rocking the Boat: A Musical Conversation & Journey
Depicting several of the acts on Delbert McClinton’s Sandy Beaches Cruise from ’06, this film was recognized at a host of film festivals. Both the conversation and music throughout are thoroughly engaging; McClinton…
Arlo Guthrie, Jerry Jeff Walker, and others
When one thinks of the Folk Boom of the late ’50s and early ’60s, the place that first comes to mind is New York City. Sure, Los Angeles had the Ash Grove, Chicago…
Zac Harmon – From the Root
Northern Blues Music
When he’s got his groove going, Zac Harmon sings a little like Chuck Jackson and his guitar technique is straight from the Albert King College Of Musical Knowledge; “Keep The Blues Alive” is…
The Subdudes
4 On The Floor
At its core, the Subdudes’ character sound is Tommy Malone’s sophisticated acoustic guitar blended with John Magnie’s keyboards, their soulful vocalizing, and Steve Amadee’s stripped-to-the-bone percussion. At times Malone’s playing is so impressive…
Amos Garrett – Get Way Back: A Tribute To Percy Mayfield
Stony Plain
Garrett is, of course, best known as a guitarist (his tasteful solo on Maria Muldaur’s “Midnight At The Oasis” should have topped Rolling Stone’s recent “100 Greatest Guitar Songs”). Percy Mayfield (a big…
Larry Sparks – 40
After doing one thing for 40 years, you either get really good or you die. Larry Sparks refers to himself as “The youngest of the old-timers,” and on his latest, he delivers bluegrass…
Eric Clapton
With Eric Clapton’s 2014 announcement that he would no longer tour, his tribute album to J.J. Cale the same year, and subsequent revelation that he’d been suffering from peripheral neuropathy, the double-CD release…
Bucky Pizzarelli & Scott Hamilton – The Red Door & Bucky Pizzarelli Nirvana
The Red Door, Bucky Pizzarelli and Scott Hamilton’s tribute to sax god Zoot Sims, is an amazingly sublime album. Sims was a true sultan of swing, a classic golden-age jazzer of the ’30s…
Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton Anniversary Deluxe Edition
