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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
Buddy and Julie Miller
The family that sings together swings together. If that family is the Millers, they do more than just swing; they rock, shimmy, shake, frug, gyrate, and quiver. For readers unfamiliar with this dynamic…
Forrest Lee, Jr. and Friends
Forrest Lee, Sr. was a country music legend most folks have likely never heard tell of. So why should they care about a tribute to the man and his gospel music? Because his…
Red Allen, Frank Wakefield, and the Kentuckians
Washington, D.C. and vicinity, known for forward-thinking bluegrass bands like the Country Gentlemen and the Seldom Scene, also had staunch traditionalists, among them the team of mandolin virtuoso Frank Wakefield (a one-time Stanley…
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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,
Simon Phillips
Protocol 4
Simon Phillips is a tremendous drummer who has paid his dues with Frank Zappa, The Who, Jeff Beck, Toto, and even Judas Priest. He’s also a talented engineer, producer, and composer who’s been…
Cathy Lemons and Johnny Ace
Vizztone
On this new release, bassist Johnny Ace gives ample evidence why he earned his nickname. Partnered with singer Cathy Lemons, Ace is the locomotive for the Ike and Tina Turner cum Delaney and…
The Pretty Things
England’s Snapper Records recently released the ultimate retrospective of the Pretty Things, purveyors of “thrash R&B” (to quote lead singer Phil May) and psychedelia. Featured in July ’15’s “Check This Action,” it weighs…
Dave Hunter
Les Paul Praises
Here is a coffeetable book and then some! It’s a 224-page hardcover, with 400-plus exquisite photographs chronicling the rise and fall – and rise again – of the Gibson Les Paul. All its…
Dr. Dog – We All Belong
Dr. Dog is five guys from Philly who’ve listened to more than their share of Beatles and Beach Boys. It’s not a bad thing. In the context of the band, their names are…
Jim Ed Brown
Jim Ed Brown was one third of the vocal trio The Browns with sisters Bonnie and Maxine, a popular act whose ’59 hit recording of “The Three Bells,” topped both country and pop…
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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
Rick Berlin and the Nickel and Dime Band
It’s not glam rock, although “(I’m A) Slut” sparkles with a certain Bowie/ Roxy Music sexual ambiguity. It’s not Captain Beefheart’s industrial-strength experimental rock, though “Karaoke,” with a West Coast cool sax solo…
Shawn Camp – Live at the Station Inn
Perhaps you’ve never heard of Shawn Camp, but chances are you’ve heard his songs. He penned number one hits for Garth Brooks and Brooks and Dunn, and wrote songs for George Strait, Kenny…
Urge Overkill
Oui
Though Urge Overkill’s Saturation was one of the great major-label debuts of the ’90s, just as much ink was spilled on the group’s rock and roll lifestyle, matching velour jackets, and cover of…
La Pingo’s Orquesta/Todd Clouser
Midwest/Bajío
While terms like “uncategorizable” are overused and cliche to the point of being meaningless, this soundtrack in search of a movie is altogether original and fresh. Clouser, an American living in Mexico, keeps…
Eric Johnson and Alien Love Child – Live and Beyond
This fifth effort from the Austin guitar legend imparts more of Johnson’s uncompromising, daring eclectic odysseys. His three-decade career never ceases to amaze, showcasing an informed ability to evolve, divining fiery passionate rock,…
Sturgill Simpson
Breaking Out Of The Lines
Parental advisory: this ain’t no country album. Rather, Sturgill Simpson – hailed far and wide as the (latest) savior of that good ol’ Nashville sound – is back with his third disc, and…
Pat Conte – Gravest Hits
Long Island’s Pat Conte is a rarity among record and instrument collectors in that he can really play. Actually, that’s an understatement. One of the foremost experts on “world music,” Conte compiled and…
Bernard Allison – Higher Power
Writing songs about redemption, from personal experience, can be tricky. But in much the same way that Stevie Ray Vaughan exorcised his demons on In Step – in songs like “Wall Of Denial”…
Burnin’ Mike Vernon’s 3 Balls Of Fire
Burnin’ & Churnin’ and Live! (featuring Nokie Edwards, George Tomsco, and Jerry Cole)
Of all the surf-instrumental revivalists, Vernon is one of the most prolific. Since forming Balls Of Fire in 1987, he has also dipped his toe into “crime jazz” and Hollywood soundtrack covers –…
Jack Bruce and the hr-Bigband
A Bass Legend And Much More
Jack Bruce was one of the most fascinating figures in rock and roll – although he preferred to be known as a jazz musician. As one-third of Cream (with Eric Clapton and Ginger…
Gonzalo Bergara – Portena Soledad
For years, friends and fans have begged Gonzalo Bergara to record. Finally, he has a debut CD – and it’s been worth the wait. Bergara hails from Argentina but is based in California.…
The Space Age Travelers
Satellite Shuffle
Though their name tosses them into the surf/space pond, this instrumental trio defies pigeonholing. It’s an eclectic set – no wonder, considering guitarist/composer/producer B.J. Baartmans’ influences; he lists a few as Cliff Gallup,…
The Derek Trucks Band
Live recordings really are the way to show what the Derek Trucks Band does best. Onstage, its members play off each other as well as any band today, and few jam bands know…
Motorhead – Hammered
In these uncertain times, thank goodness for reassuring constants: mom’s home-cooked meals warming the belly, the Red Sox not winning a World Series… and Motorhead frying eardrums. Like the Ramones, Motorhead does one…
Lucinda Williams
Ghost Stories
From Bobby Troup’s “(Get Your Kicks On) Route 66” to Bob Dylan’s “Highway 61 Revisited” and more, the roads we’ve traveled have inspired our music. Enter U.S. Highway 20, stretching 1,500 miles across…
BR5-49
Honky Tonkin’
In the mid ’80s, bands like Jason and the Scorchers, Webb Wilder and (originally) the Beatnecks, and – well, not many others – chose Nashville to make their mark on roots rock. And…
Tedeschi Trucks Band
I Am The Moon
Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi have released the first of a four-album set called I Am The Moon. Comprised of 24 tracks, the songs feature musical input from their 12-piece ensemble with Trucks…
The Band, Robbie Robertson
The Waltz Goes On
By now the story of the Band’s epic Thanksgiving 1976 swan song is as well-known as the music itself – how the final show by the group formerly known as the Hawks snowballed…
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…
Grant Dermody
Self-distributed
Harmonica whiz Dermody is the honcho on this tribute to the real roots of modern blues and popular music, and he employs a host of fine guitarists to help. Dermody is smart enough…
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…
