• 2025 December Issue on Spotify

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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

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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…

NRBQ

New Rhythm And Blues

This five-disc retrospective captures the essence of what is one of America’s best, if not best-known, bands from the past half century. To describe NRBQ to someone who has never heard them is…

The Beatles

Revolver Special Edition

“All in all, not a bad album,” says Paul McCartney in the liner notes, launching this massive reevaluation of The Beatles’ 1966 masterwork. With extensive CD and vinyl configurations, the entire album has…

Ian Siegal

This is what happens when you throw a bunch of talented musicians in a studio with no planning. Ian Siegal, Alvin Youngblood Hart, Cody and Luther Dickinson, and Jimbo Mathus basically just sat…

The Allman Brothers Band

Live at the Atlanta International Pop Festival

The Allman Brothers Band is one of those groups guitarists identify after just a handful of notes.  First released in 2003, this reissue was recorded during ABB’s two performances at the 1970 festival,…

Kiss

Destroyer 45

Following their Alive! breakout, Kiss hired producer to the superstars Bob Ezrin and cut what became their first platinum album, expanded here into a four CD/Blu-Ray box. The 1976 LP also launched the…

The Boxcars

Mountain Home Music Company

Fresh from his double win at the 2010 International Bluegrass Musicians Association (IBMA) awards for “Mandolin Player of the Year” and “Instrumental of the Year,” Adam Steffey teams with The Boxcars on arrangements…

Wilco – Sky Blue Sky

The most guitar-heavy album yet from Wilco has Jeff Tweedy, Nels Cline, and Pat Sansone weaving parts like insane musical tailors. A perfect example is “Impossible Germany,” which starts with lovely guitar that…

Pierre Bensusan

In a career spanning four decades, acoustic virtuoso Pierre Bensusan has created some of the most enchanting guitar music ever heard, much of it in his beloved DADGAD tuning. Oddly enough, even with…

Dave Biller – LeRoy’s Swing

LeRoy’s Swing is a stylish collection of Djangocentric music played with a Texas twist. Biller’s backing band is modeled after Django’s wartime Nouveau Quintette, with clarinet (played here by Ben Saffer) replacing the…

John Pizzarelli – Bossa Nova

John Pizzarelli’s latest should come as a surprise to no one. The fact that he’s been influenced by Jobim and his many disciples is evident in his past work. And it should come…

Elizabeth Cook

31 Tigers Records

Elizabeth Cook’s songwriting jumps to the forefront on this disc, whether the song is steeped in rock, carried by a funny lyric, or is a serious countrytinged ballad. On first listen, the lyrically…

Blackberry Smoke

You Hear Georgia

For 20 years, Georgia’s Blackberry Smoke has carried on Southern rock’s rich tradition. You Hear Georgia, the band’s seventh studio album, is soaked in those roots. Recorded live in 10 days at Nashville’s…

Leslie West – Big Fat Assed Guitar

Leslie West has been sort of a one-trick pony in his 30-plus years as a rocker. But when that trick is one of the smoothest, most fluid and violin-like vibratos around, when its…

The Steepwater Band – Revelation Sunday

The Steepwater Band’s 2004 release, Dharmakaya, was a very strong effort, and this is an equally strong followup. The band is a modern version of the classic rock trio many grew up loving.…

Frank Zappa

Zappa ’88: The Last U.S. Show

This high-energy gig took place on Long Island; sadly, it turned out to be Frank Zappa’s final American performance. Despite incredible musicianship, personality clashes doomed this lineup and Zappa ended the tour early…

The Anthony Wilson Trio – Our Gang

This is a little different thing for Anthony. His past few albums have been him leading a big band, doing marvelous arrangements and playing guitar to die for. Here, it’s just him, Joe…

Willie Holcomb and Danny Barnes

Prior to 1961, Roscoe Holcomb had never “performed,” as such. John Cohen of the New Lost City Rambler found him in Daisy, Kentucky, and drove him to his first concert, in Chicago that…

Luther Allison – Luther’s Blues

Originally released by Motown in 1973, Luther’s Blues was not a big seller. Not that it’s not a great album. It is. But maybe Motown at that time wasn’t the best place to…

Nick Knirk

As soon as this Louisiana native finished high school, he relocated to Denton, Texas, near Dallas, where he got a degree in Jazz Studies from the University of North Texas. He lists Django…

Eric Johnson

When Eric Johnson came to prominence, he sounded like nothing anyone had ever heard before. He made a Strat sound like a violin, and transformed the Fuzz Face into an instrument of highbrow…

Merlefest Live – The 15th Anniversary Jam CD/DVD

Doc Watson. If you aren’t familiar with him you can’t consider yourself any kind of expert on American music. He’s simply the most influential acoustic guitarist this side of the Fertile Crescent. Blind…

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…

Greg “Freddy” Camalier

To the rest of the world, the Swampers are best known from the cryptic verse in Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama.” And while they might have picked up Mr. Van Zant when he…

Teleslinger Laur “L’il Joe” Joamets with Sturgill Simpson. Photo: Andy Sapp.

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…

Dave Alvin – West of the West

The Great American Music Galaxy

Dave Alvin is one of America’s best songwriters, and as such runs the risk of alienating casual fans when he does an album of covers. But then again, maybe not… The idea with…

Electric Prunes – Release of an Oath

The ’60s produced some mighty weird bands, perhaps none odder than the Electric Prunes. The group is primarily known for its 1967 hit “I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night)” and the…

Dumpstaphunk

The New Orleans funk ensemble known as Dumpstaphunk has been at it for a decade now. Led by Ivan Neville on keys, the band consists of Nikki Glaspie on drums and vocals, guitarist…

Alison Brown Quartet – Replay

Replay

Acoustic jazz is one of those “difficult” musical categories that doesn’t get much attention. Most jazz fans won’t take seriously anything that lacks a horn, while folkies are intimidated by music where they…

Richard Leo Johnson – The Legend Of Vernon McAllister

Richard Leo Johnson – The Legend Of Vernon McAllister A fascinating, unexpected concept album of acoustic steel-string instrumentals. Johnson has been compared to Michael Hedges, and, like that late innovator, his music is…