-
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
Joe Satriani
Joe Satriani’s 15th studio record is a concept album that continues to advance the idea that virtuoso instrumental guitar music can be accessible to non-guitarists. Utilizing strategically placed grit and throaty attention to…
Marty Robbins – The Essential Mary Robbins
With a repertoire so extensive and wide-ranging, it would be impossible to track down, let alone list, all the session players backing this country icon on this two-disc retrospective. The Mottola/Caiola crew played…
Audioslave – Audioslave
The news that former Soundgarden singer Chris Cornell was joining the three musicians in Rage Against the Machine, the hard rock/hip hop group that lost rapper Zack de la Rocha, was a true…
-
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,
-
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
-
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,
Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals
Magnificent Criminals
The difference between Ben Harper and other contemporary blues-based artists is that Harper’s blues reflects the reality of his surroundings. If one chooses to use the blues as a canvas for personal…
Jimi Hendrix Experience
Hollywood Bowl: August 18, 1967
Imagine a Jimi Hendrix Experience concert where the audience actually disliked the band. That’s the scenario here, a secretly recorded gig opening for The Mamas & the Papas, a week before the U.S.…
Samuel James – Songs Famed for Sorrow and Joy
The hoodoo factor in Samuel James’ music is strong. He is very connected to the eerie, mythical nature of early 20th-century country blues, his music conjures up images of Ol’ Scratch in his…
Lee Roy Parnell- Midnight Believer
Remember the days when Lee Roy Parnell was seen as a country artist? His last album – 11 years ago! – was a blues-based affair. This latest puts him squarely in the corner…
James Burton, Albert Lee,Amos Garrett, David Wilcox
Recorded live in 2013, this album is exactly what you’d think given the players: an onslaught of guitar playing that would make even the most cynical music fan smile. All four players are…
Dolly Parton – Halos and Horns
Halos and Horns
Ralph Stanley prefers to call his “Mountain Music” rather than bluegrass or country. This moniker also aptly describes the material on Dolly Parton’s new album. Halos and Horns, her third release on Sugar…
-
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,
-
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
-
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,
-
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
-
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,
-
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
Hasse Fröberg & the Musical Companion
Do you like Queen, Boston, and other purveyors of ’70s rock anthems? If so, check out the debut from singer/ guitarist Hasse Fröberg, who’s best known as co-vocalist for Sweden’s Flower Kings. Hasse…
Steve Earle
The title, inspired by Robert Johnson’s immortal “Terraplane Blues,” says it all. Here’s Earle’s homage to the blues: 11 original, personal songs bathed in honest, authentic arrangements inspired by various vintage styles. “Baby…
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…
Check This Action: Real Gone for a Change
“Hold it, fellas.” After languidly singing the first line of “Milk Cow Blues,” Elvis Presley halted the proceedings. “That don’t move me,” he exhorted his sidemen. “Let’s get real, real gone for a…
Derek and the Dominos
Polydor
Many supergroups lack true superpowers, but Derek and the Dominos was the real deal. Burned out on the supergroup phenom after his troubled times in Cream and Blind Faith, Eric Clapton sought anonymity…
Stew Cutler
Cutler’s latest release perfectly navigates that land between jazz and blues that puts it firmly in both camps. It’s an organ-trio record for the most part, with Cutler’s lead and rhythm guitar parts…
Joshua Breakstone
Joshua Breakstone’s latest is another chance for the guitarist to use his cello quartet. Yes, it’s Breakstone on guitar, bassist Lisle Atkinson, drummer Andy Watson, and Mike Richmond on cello for four of…
The Routes
In This Perfect Hell
Think old-school Zombies crossed with new-thing Arctic Monkeys: the result may just be the Routes. The guitar-bass-drum trio is part classic Brit invasion rockers with period-perfect gear, part hypnotic proto psychedelia – yet…
Jimi Hendrix – Live at Monterey
Experience Hendrix/Geffen/Ume
Forty years after the fact, some people (people who weren’t around at the time) might say that Jimi Hendrix wasn’t all that revolutionary. These people would be wrong. There had been sonic experimentation…
Bob Dylan
Dylan Goes Electric!
Oh, the shock! The outrage! The betrayal! Truth is, no one should have been surprised when Bob Dylan and his electrified band took the stage on the evening of July 25, 1965 at…
The Meters – Trick Bag
Sundazed has done it again. This particular release is only one in a large series of CDs released by this fine band. And they did a great job with them all. Original liner…
Storyville – A Piece of Your Soul
A Piece of Your Soul
Storyville is an Austin, Texas, supergroup made up of SRV’s old Double Trouble pals Chris Layton (drums) and Tommy Shannon (bass), along with guitarslingers David Grissom and David Holt. The band is fronted…
Lukas Nelson & the Promise of the Real
A Few Stars Apart
Corb Lund
Songs my Friends Wrote
Dick 50 – Late Show
Self-distributed
Dick 50 is Delbert McClinton’s touring band. Guitarist Rob McNelley handles most of the lead vocals and brings the same soulful feel he did to his two solo albums. His guitar is the…
Muddy Wates Live at Chicagofest
Filmed in Chicago in 1981, this video captures Muddy with a band featuring Mojo Buford on harp, guitarists John Primer and Rick Kreher, pianist Lovie Lee, bassist Earnest Johnson, and drummer Ray Allison.…
Kirk Fletcher
Heartache by the Pound
Blues guitar master Kirk Fletcher returns with an album that mixes soul, R&B, blues, funk, and phenomenal guitar playing. Fletcher tricks the listener into thinking they’ll be hearing a pious ’60s soul record.…
Ronnie Baker Brooks
Second-generation bluesman Ronnie Baker Brooks’ first album in 10 years blends the soul of Chicago, hot guitar licks, and old-school Memphis R&B. Produced by Steve Jordan and recorded at Royal Studios in Memphis…
Various Artists – Anchored in Love: A Tribute to June Carter Cash
Tribute records are a mixed bag by nature, but Anchored in Love is a wonderful collection of songs dedicated to June Carter Cash, several of them written by the country icon as well.…
Joe Louis Walker – Pasa Tiempo
Pasa Tiempo
Joe Louis Walker has long been one of the best-kept secrets of the blues. That might be a fine thing for blues fans, but for a musician, being a secret is not where…
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…
Big Head Todd and the Monsters – Crimes of Passion
Big Head Todd and the Monsters have been around, and been a part of several music scenes. They were “the next big thing” in the early ’90s, with a hit record and a…
John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers and Rob Paparozzi and the Ed Palermo Big Band
Back to '67 Blues
Unreleased club recordings of John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers from 1967, featuring lead guitarist Peter Green? This is, indeed, a major find. Tasked with replacing “God” (as Eric Clapton was proclaimed in graffiti around London),…
