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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
Omar & the Howlers – Big Delta
In his 22 years as a recording artist, Omar Dykes has churned out a steady stream of solid albums (more than a dozen to date), but lately seems to be on a creative…
Twang Dragons – Love Junkie
Twang Dragons Love Junkie Self-distributed It’s hard not to love a record that starts with guitars twangin’ and slidin’ and the line, “I’ve got an ass pocket full of whiskey.” Not only that,…
Darol Anger/Mike Marshall – The Duo
Darol Anger and Mike Marshall’s 1983 The Duo marks another acoustic-music first – a violin-mandolin duet. Joined by Rob Wasserman on acoustic bass for one cut, The Duo is just that – two…
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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,
Mark Knopfler
The Mellow Master
You have to hand it Mark Knopfler. Not only has he launched a successful solo career, but it’s one that’s wholly apart from his Dire Straits superstardom. As opposed to that band’s snappy…
Pat Martino – Remember: A Tribute to Wes Montgomery
Pat Martino – Remember: A Tribute to Wes Montgomery This is not the first time legendary guitarist Martino has paid tribute to the man credited with driving jazz guitar to its current heights.…
Michael Powers – Onyx Root
Even for the most hardcore blues fan, things can get a bit “samey” after a point, with so many artists dipping into the same 12-bar well. So as nice as it is to…
The Beatles – Rare and Unseen
Most unauthorized retrospectives of pop music are overly academic and usually a bit cynical – consisting of revisionist perspectives from people who weren’t there “at the time.” With the exception of a couple…
Marley’s Ghost
Sage Arts
Fans of the Chris Hillman/Gram Parsons version of the Flying Burrito Brothers will latch onto this. Though the Marley gang is a bit lighter, you hear Gibson Brothers influence on “Love And Happiness…
The Bottle Rockets
Brian Henneman should be a country super-star. For more than two decades, Festus, Missouri’s favorite son, has combined Tom T. Hall wit with Roy Nichols chops as front man of the criminally underappreciated…
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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
Shooter Jennings & the Werewolves of Los Angeles
Do Zevon
He may not have found a home in a certain institution in Cleveland, despite overwhelming “fan votes,” but the late Warren Zevon was highly respected among fellow artists. Linda Ronstadt, Dwight Yoakam, the…
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…
Craig Maki with Keith Cady
Craig Maki and Keith Cady provide a well-researched look at an overlooked part of Motor City’s rich musical history. They offer new or little-known information about the fertile Detroit scene that influenced people…
Experience Hendrix
Had fate and negligence not interfered, Jimi Hendrix would have turned 65 in 2008 – only five years older than Bruce Springsteen, four older than Carlos Santana, two older than John Fogerty, and…
Yes
Topographic/Drama Live
“Drama” is the perfect word to describe the 50-year history of Yes. They’ve had more personnel changes and internal strife than just about any band around. Yet as this live CD proves, they…
Dave Davies – Unfinished Business
Yes, I know, Ray Davies usually gets all the credit, but Kinks fans have always known Dave was a very strong element. This very cool two-CD set compiles Kinks classics, songs from the…
Mike Morgan & the Crawl – Stronger Every Day
Texas-born Mike Morgan returns with his 13th album of original songs, layering blues with a funky rhythm that captures the essence of Muscle Shoals and Beale Street all at once, and does a…
Kenny Neal – Let Life Flow
Kenny Neal’s new release is full of blues and soul music of the highest standard. In fact, “Fly Away” alone is worth the price of admission, with its soaring soul tune with beautiful…
The Yardbirds
Sundazed
The Yardbirds issued only three truly distinct albums – Five Live (with Eric Clapton), The Yardbirds (a.k.a. “Roger The Engineer,” with Jeff Beck), and Little Games (featuring their final lineup of Jimmy Page,…
The Gibson Brothers – Red Letter Day
Not a lot of bluegrass musicians hail from New York; there’s Dr. Banjo (Peter Wernick) and Mr. Mandolin (David Grisman), but after them the list gets short. The Gibson Brothers are New York…
Janiva Magness – Do I Move You?
Janiva Magness – Do I Move You? This Southern California-based singer has been building quite a buzz in the blues world, churning out six CDs in nine years, culminating in winning Contemporary Female…
Eric Clapton
Still Slowhand
There’s a lot of looking back going on here. For his 23rd solo album, Eric Clapton reunites with producer Glyn Johns, who not only worked with the Rolling Stones on Sticky Fingers and…
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…
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…
Pops Staples
Roebuck “Pops” Staples learned his chops at the elbows of Son House and Robert Johnson. When he passed away in 2000, American culture lost perhaps the last direct link to rock and roll’s…
Michael Burks – Iron Man
Michael “Iron Man” Burks isn’t the first or last talented musician to have to work a straight gig for most of his adult life, delaying the doing of what he was obviously born…
George Jones – The Hits…’Till Now
Unlike some country greats, George Jones is no au courant object of fashion, and he’s not part of today’s you-can-hardly-tell-it’s-country music. From his earliest hits, when he was basically imitating Hank Williams, until…
Corb Lund
Corb Lund may not be well-known to American audiences, but he’s been around 30 years in Canada. As a solo act, he developed a simple, in-your-face country and roots sound with his longtime…
Adrian Legg- Live
In a 2005 VG interview, Legg said of his aversion to live recordings, “It’s a moment in time. You’re capturing a social event, and you’re repeating it over and over again. If you…
Steve Earle – Jerusalem
Jerusalem
Here are a couple of records from one of America’s best songwriters. One is a batch of cuts made for movie soundtracks, or for some other reason didn’t fit on his albums. The…
LA LOM
The Los Angeles League of Musicians
It’s Latin, it’s surfy, it’s twangy – okay, what the heck is it? LA LOM is an instrumental trio that mines a vein of electric South and Central American music known as “chicha.”…
