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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
Della Mae
Self-distributed
The women of Della Mae kick off their latest with a version of the traditional “Bowling Green” followed by Lester Flatt’s “Head Over Heels,” firmly establishing their commitment to bluegrass and eliminating any…
Jinx Jones – License to Twang
Alrighty, then. This is some fun stuff. Not sure of Jinx’ background, but he sure can play the heck out of a Gretsch. Elements of country, rock, blues, and everything in between make…
John Lee Hooker & the Coast to Coast Blues Band
Live at Montreux 1983 & 1990
The early ’80s weren’t a high point of John Lee Hooker’s career. Demand for all blues – including his Mississippi hill-country music – had eroded and record deals were scarce. None of that…
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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,
Carla Olson & Mick Taylor
Sway: The Best of Carla Olson & Mick Taylor
There’s a timelessness to the earthy, powerful rock and roll captured in this collection. The blend of Textones founder Olson’s tough-and-tender voice with the ex-Rolling Stone’s blues-soaked guitar – especially his legendary slide…
Rick Holmstrom
The late Cub Koda wrote that Rick Holmstrom’s “inventive ideas are topnotch,” comparing him to the great Earl Hooker. That was in reference to Holmstrom’s solo debut, released in ’96, when he was…
Various Artists
Homegrown Heroes
Subtitled “1950s & 1960s Oddball Labels,” these three boxed sets collect nuggets from dozens of independent record labels that popped up across post-Elvis America then faded away as the British Invasion and the…
Dave Stryker
The title of the latest record from jazzer Dave Stryker refers to the eight-track cartridges many of us grew up with in the ’70s. The concept might seem odd, but it ends up…
Deborah Coleman – Livin’ On Love
Groovy is the word for Deborah Coleman. She’s got the hip sensibility of Joan Armatrading blended with the blues groove of B.B. King. The result is music that moves you. When Coleman released…
Allen Hinds
The Good Fight
The latest from the Lord of Legato features compositions that blur the line between prog, fusion, and Americana. From the majestic to the bucolic, Allen Hinds leaves it all in the ring with…
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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
Duke Robillard – Stretchin’ Out Live
What can you say about the Duke that hasn’t already been said? Having achieved a lofty level of constant and worthy acclaim, he probably wonders when the financial rewards of his art will…
Jim Stringer And The AM Band
It’s a slight generalization, but if you’re going to make a living playing music for any length of time, you pretty much have to do one of two things: concentrate on one thing…
Johnny Nicholas
Fresh Air
Central Texas folks might think of Johnny Nicholas as restaurateur; others know him as one of the most experienced, authentic, and versatile blues performers. Growing up in Connecticut, he migrated to Ann Arbor…
Gene Clark – This Byrd Has Flown
Gene Clark was one of the Byrds’ original members, and the first to quit back in 1966. He died in 1991, right after the Byrds entered the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.…
Blues Magoos
Sundazed
Following British Invasion bands like the Yardbirds and Rolling Stones, but mostly fizzling before 1967’s Summer Of Love, bands that straddled the transition from garage rock to psychedelia don’t get much respect. These…
Preston Shannon – All In Time
I admit I’m a fool for soul music. Why? Because there is no such thing as a mediocre soul singer. They get weeded out immediately. There is lots of “half-steppin” in the blues…
Eric Ambel
Eric “Roscoe” Ambel is accomplished guitarist (Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Steve Earle) and go-to “roots rock” producer (Bottle Rockets, Nils Lofgren, Ryan Adams, and many more). In 2012, he added “erstwhile tavern…
Robert Bradley – Out of the Wilderness
While Robert Bradley’s Blackwater Surprise deals in styles of music done by many bands – R&B, rock, soul, and jazz – it always brings an edge most bands don’t offer. Out of the…
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…
Steve Miller – King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents
Before he was FM rock radio king, Steve Miller was known as Stevie “Guitar” Miller. This live release, recorded in 1973 and ’76, shows why. Culled from Washington, D.C. and New York City…
Kim Simmonds – Blues Like Midnight
Blues Like Midnight
While the press release promotes this CD as a departure for Kim Simmonds, to this writer it would seem one more facet of this veteran guitarist’s musical personality. On Blues Like Midnight, Simmonds…
Nashville Pussy
For heavy-rock fans complaining that nobody makes good music anymore, meet Nashville Pussy. This Atlanta-based band has been kicking ass since ’97. Creating a white-trash blend of AC/DC meets Lynyrd Skynyrd with a…
Montrose
I Got the Fire: Complete Recordings 1973-1976
Deep Purple
Turning to Crime
As songwriting royalties wither in the streaming age, artists increasingly record covers, often songs influential to their musical development. The pandemic further helped Deep Purple find time to cut this album of high-volume…
Tom Verlaine – Dreamtime
In some circles, Tom Verlaine is a legendary musician. As a member of Television in the late ’70s, he and Richard Lloyd cut a swath of influence far and wide. Collector’s Choice is…
Brad Paisley – Play
Brad Paisley’s albums have been admirably consistent, emphasizing vocals, of course, but usually spiced by a couple great Telecaster workouts. In the case of Play, five of the 16 tracks are vocals, the…
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.…
Raul Malo
From the opening trumpet notes, you know Sinners and Saints won’t be your ordinary country CD. The title cut sounds like the end result of a Ventures meeting with Nino Rota at a…
My Years With UFO
Michael Schenker
One of the most-underrated rock guitarists in history, it’s about time homage was paid to the master of the Flying V. My Years With UFO is a tribute to the cherry years of…
Moby Grape
Sundazed
Most bands that comprised San Francisco’s psychedelic scene circa 1967’s Summer Of Love consisted of folkies gone electric (the Grateful Dead, Country Joe & The Fish, Jefferson Airplane). Moby Grape was one very…
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…
Tab Benoit – Brother To The Blues
Tab Benoit – Brother To The Blues Benoit throws a bit of a curveball by adding country music to his always fun mix of blues, R&B, funk, rock, and Louisiana music. He even…
