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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
Joshua Hedley
Neon Blue
Country tradition remains the center of Joshua Hedley’s universe. His 2018 debut, Mr. Jukebox, reflected his mastery of the ’50s and ’60s honky-tonk of Ray Price, George Jones, Merle Haggard, and Faron Young,…
Rosie Flores
The first of Flores’ 11 solo albums came out in ’87, but by then she’d run the gamut from singer/songwriter (in sort of an L.A./Ronstadt mold) to punk (including a 1984 LP by…
Bob Dylan
Judas!
Breaking out of the box and kicking down barriers seems the first item on the daily to-do list for many Nobel laureates, but it’s probably fair to say only Bob Dylan was booed…
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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,
Dr. Dog – Shame, Shame
Anti
Hailing from Philadelphia, Dr. Dog plays progressive rock in the best sense of the word. Time was, a lot of pop music felt like the song “Stranger,” where punchy rhythm guitars and layered…
Andy Timmons
Electric Truth
Is there life after success in a glam-metal band? Many guitarists were asking themselves that question after the scene fizzled in the ’90s. Most blamed grunge. Danger Danger’s Andy Timmons never had to…
Keb’ Mo’ – Peace… Back By Popular Demand
Keb’ Mo’ is swimming upstream, issuing a new CD with a picture of peace sign prominently displayed on the cover. Not that the disc largely consists of ’60s protest songs, but it comes…
Coal Men – Beauty of the Moment
With the addition of Chris Frame (Sun Volt) on guitar and Jen Gunderman (The Jayhawks) on keyboards, the Coal Men have gone from trio to quintet and their second full-length release, Beauty Is…
Alfred Wertheimer
The Man W ho Would Be King
In early 1956, soon after RCA Victor purchased the contract for a fledgling singer named Elvis Presley, a publicist hired photographer Alfred Wertheimer to follow the Mississippi boy on the road for a…
Merle Haggard – Roots, Vol. 1
Norm Stephens isn’t a household name, even to country music fans who have no doubt heard his guitar playing. But to Merle Haggard, Stephens – the original guitarist behind Hag’s biggest influence, Lefty…
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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
Mimi Fox – Perpetually Hip
The first thing you notice about Mimi Fox when she begins the single-note original melody of the title track (the first cut of this double-CD) is her bell-like tone (more highs than the…
SVT
Always Comes Back
Whether named for supraventricular tachycardia (meaning rapid heart rhythm) or the Ampeg bass amplifier, SVT was one of the more-interesting bands to emerge from San Francisco’s new wave scene of the late ’70s.…
The Derailers – Genuine
Genuine
With the new year comes a look at this album, a fine record deserving of notice. The influences here are wide and varied, and the Derailers manage to mix them to put together…
David Michael Miller
This makes it two in a row for David Michael Miller. His Poisons Sipped was one of last year’s surprise albums, introducing us to a songwriter, guitarist, and singer who is the whole…
Rob Halford
Confess: The Autobiography
“Confess” is the right word: this Metal God’s life certainly warrants an autobiography. Halford recalls the gradual climb of Judas Priest – and his struggle to remain in the closet. If the vocalist’s…
Jake Shimabukuro – Live
In his introduction to “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” Shimabukuro explains how a video of him playing the George Harrison classic in Central Park, for New York’s Midnight Ukulele Disco, “changed my life.”…
Drew Emmitt – Long Road
Drew Emmitt has been making music for more than 25 years. His first band, Leftover Salmon, developed a cult following and though it still plays gigs during festival season, its members have moved…
John Mayer – Live in LA
Beyond the tabloids, “TMZ,” and his celebrity girlfriends, John Mayer is a songwriter, guitarist, and vocalist who ranks among the best in modern pop. And this disc shows all of his strengths. Kicking…
Mojo Thunder
The Infinite Hope
The rockin’ Kentucky outfit is back with stomping tunes, passionate lyrics, and a charismatic double-guitar assault. Drummer Zac Shoopman, bassist Andrew Brockman, lead guitarist Bryson Willoughby, and rhythm guitarist/vocalist Sean Sullivan, share sonic…
Dokken
The Elektra Albums 1983-1987
A quintessential L.A. hair band, Dokken’s first four albums have been remastered and boxed. Let’s state the obvious… ’80s metal sounds dated thanks to its high-gain crunch, chorused chords, and trite bad-boy lyrics.…
Roy Orbison
Unequivocally Essential
When Roy Orbison walked onstage, the black Gibson ES-335 around his neck wasn’t just for show. Orbison was a pretty good picker, and he holds down a good portion of the guitar on…
The Immediate Family
The Immediate Family
The Immediate Family consists of bassist Leland Sklar, drummer Russ Kunkel, guitarists Steve Postell, Waddy Wachtel, and Danny “Kootch” Kortchmar. In the ’70s, these iconic sidemen were called the Section and their resumes…
Jeff Golub – Temptation
Lots of folks think Golub’s playing has grown a little too slick and “smooth” for its own good. You might agree, but to me, his playing has such a groove it’s impossible to…
Peter Frampton
Perhaps no rocker in history was ever punished as severely as Peter Frampton. In 1976, he was the celebrated king of pop-rock thanks to Frampton Comes Alive, but after a weak followup and…
Rockabilly Rarities – Volume Two
Rockabilly Rarities Volume Two picks up where Volume One (“Spotlight,” June ’99) left off and features 30 tracks of rockin’, shakin’, foot-stompin’ music. Great/obscure labels like Bakers-field, Sure, Rebel, Cherry, Jan, Fox, Testa,…
Santana
Blessings and Miracles
While many of Carlos Santana’s peers coast on their catalog of hits, the guitar legend follows his muse and actually creates new music. Blessings and Miracles, like most of his albums since 1999’s…
Adrian Raso – Clean Up The Mess
Black Mamba Records
Adrian Raso understands that, just as a guitar solo is not just a place-holder between lyric lines, an instrumental is not just a bunch of notes that sound good together. Guitarists may have…
The Everly Brothers
If you’re weary of rock concert DVDs with critical commentary, typically unauthorized and of varying quality, this Everly Brothers retrospective is highly recommended. Authorized, with participation of Don Everly and a 2010 interview…
King Crimson and Toby Amies
In the Court of the Crimson King
This film asks the musical question, “Is Robert Fripp a virtuoso guitarist, sensitive tone-poet – or brutal taskmaster?” The answer is, resoundingly, yes. Throughout this rock doc, Fripp’s acerbic comments intermingle with a…
John Mellencamp
John Mellencamp’s latest effort fits its title and is a perfect companion to the recent box set that showcases his songwriting. In fact, the songs here are some of the finest he’s ever…
Carrie Rodriguez – Seven Angels on A Bicycle
Carrie Rodriguez has blossomed from a reluctant background singer to a confident lead vocalist in just four albums. Her first solo release demonstrates that she has the chops to lead her own band.…
