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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
The Sadies – New Season
If you’re at all into guitar tones and cool songs, it’s hard not to love The Sadies, with brothers Dallas and Travis Good, whose feet are firmly in the country and country-rock of…
Cesar Rosas – Soul Disguise
I’ve been of the opinion for a couple of years now that Los Lobos is one of the finest rock bands around. Rosas is one of the singer/guitarists in that band. This is…
Father John Misty
Upping The Ante
In 2012, Josh Tillman, former drummer of the much-lauded Fleet Foxes, released his first album as Father John Misty. Presenting tales of Laurel Canyon excess, narcissism, and self-loathing, Fear Fun was itself a…
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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,
Tom Rush – How I Play My Favorite Songs
On this vid, Tom Rush demonstrates what makes his playing so special. His teaching style is perfect for beginning acoustic guitarists who haven’t had much experience with capos. He knows how to break…
Jeffrey Foucault & Lisa Olstein
Self-distributed
Cold Satellite is a concept album with songs co-written by Jeffrey Foucault and Lisa Olstein. Longtime friends, they began to collaborate in 2007, when Olstein sent Foucault a bunch of unpublished poems plus…
The Explosives – Ka-Boom!
The Explosives were possibly the best of the punk/new wave bands that sprang up in Austin (centered around haunts like Club Foot, Raul’s, and the Continental Club), on the heels of the city’s…
Robben Ford – Soul On Ten
Back to the Juice
Robben Ford’s last live album included only acoustic guitar. So, given that eight of the 10 cuts on this new disc feature Ford cutting loose on electric and his choice of material is…
Dwight Twilley – 47 Moons
Dwight Twilley is like that cousin who used to pop in once in a blue moon and was great fun to be with and around. The last run-in I had with him was…
Albert Lee
Some find it ironic that Albert Lee, an Englishman, ranks as one of the all-time greatest country guitarists. Which is odd, since it’s a given that the Beatles and Stones are two of…
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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 Vito – Complete Guide to Slide Guitar
The guy who played the slide part in Bob Seger’s “Like a Rock” and played in Fleetwood Mac lends insight on improving your slide playing. He covers a range of topics including setting…
Jake Andrews
Train Back Home
In his early 40s now, for some folks around Austin, he’ll always be “Guitar Jake.” When Andrews was eight years old, he sat in with an impressed Albert King at Antone’s blues club,…
Steve Khan – Got My Mental
Khan’s been around for awhile. He’s made some great albums as a solo artist, dating back to the ’70s. He also served in Billy Joel’s band in the late ’70s, and has done…
Todd Snider
Thirty Tigers
Todd Snider’s new two-disc set is as much about his stage presence as it is about his songs and stories. Snider can be funny, poignant, and sad all in the same song, as…
Planet X – Quantum
The genetically superior team of drummer Virgil Donati and keyboardist Derek Sherinian return to continue the next chapter in their metal-fusion saga. It’s been five Earth years since the release of Moon Babies,…
Ronnie Earl & the Broadcasters
Stony Plain Records
Starting like a number of instrumental albums Ronnie Earl has produced over the past 15 years, this one opens with a mid-tempo (Albert Collinspenned) track, then slows for some blues and a cool…
Miko Marks and the Resurrectorsd
Feel Like Going Home
Miko Marks can sing the hell out of country, blues, and soul. And with guitarist/songwriter/producer Steve Wyreman again at her side, this new studio album may be her best yet. The lead single…
Popa Chubby – Stealing the Devil’s Guitar
Good ol’ Popa Chubby – a.k.a. Ted Horowitz – keeps chuggin’ along and making solid records, especially when it comes to guitarslinging. A couple of tunes here seem like mere excuses to jam…
A Nod to Bob – An Artists Tribute to Bob Dylan on his 60th Bday
We are all getting older, except of course, for those of us who’ve already died. Bob Dylan is still among the living, although judging from the most recent Academy Awards broadcast, he’s threatening…
Mark Knopfler
The Studio Albums, 2009-2018
It’s not a sin to prefer Mark Knopfler’s solo albums to his mega-band, Dire Straits. While the latter grew into a stadium-filling phenomenon, Knopfler’s solo records are more-intimate affairs, blending Celtic folk,…
Justin Johnsoné
The Biscuit House
His online videos are hard to cruise past. There’s his wide stylistic range, but also the guitars he built out of cigar boxes, whiskey barrels, and shovels. It amounts to a cottage industry…
Keith Whitley – Sad Songs and Waltzes
The late Keith Whitley, who died at age 33 of acute alcohol poi-soning, was an example of why it isn’t always a good idea to try to live your lyrics if you’re country…
Clive Carroll – Life in Colour
The Guitar Label/P3 Music
Adrian Raso – Clean Up The Mess
Black Mamba Records
The Ultimate Book of Blues Guitar Legends
The Ultimate Book of Blues Guitar Legends
The blues is the foundation of nearly all American popular music, and this book by Vintage Guitar’s music editor covers the genre’s giants, from the founders to present-day practitioners. Its emphasis is…
Roy Orbison
The Ultimate Collection
Playing the role of a lonely, heartbroken teen, Roy Orbison was the Enrico Caruso of early ’60s pop, his voice gracing more than a few torchy hits. “Oh Pretty Woman” from 1964 remains…
Coco Schumann – 50 Years in Jazz
German jazz guitarist Coco Schumann came of age in the generation following the breakthrough jazz recordings of Django Reinhardt and much of his own guitar work is deeply influenced by the legendary Gypsy.…
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…
Phil Collins, Billy Cobham
Great Guitar Albums From Non-Guitarists
Sometimes non-guitarists make great guitar albums. These expanded reissues from drummers Billy Cobham and Phil Collins are cases in point. After a blistering career in the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Cobham went solo and released…
Jim Campilongo
Hillbilly Twang
Jim Campilongo plays the kind of grownup guitar that makes the rest of us want to put aside our childish noodlings and play something with substance. Drawing from the good stuff, Campilongo is…
Looking for the Magic: American Power Pop in the Seventies
Various artists
Power pop is a concoction of teen-themed vocals, a relentless beat, and wild, joyous guitars. With 74 tracks, this box has material from institutions like the Raspberries, Badfinger, the Knack, and the Cars…
Bob Dylan
Shadows In The Night, Dylan’s 2015 nod to Frank Sinatra, surprised those unaware of his love for the Great American Songbook. Using Sinatra’s original arrangements as a guide, he drew heavily from the…
Sean Costello – Sean Costello
This is Sean’s first work for Tone Cool/Artemis, and while his past work was very good, he has matured to become one of the major young talents in R&B. Sean’s past work also…
