-
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
D.A.D. – No Fuel Left for the Pilgrims
Wounded Bird Records
On their first major label release, the band formerly known as Disneyland After Dark (changed after a threatened lawsuit by the Disney Co.) was poised for a breakthrough in the U.S. with backing…
Iggy and the Stooges and Special Guests
The Stooges’ influence on ’80s and early ’90s indie scenesters is unimpeachable. For more than a quarter-century, cognoscenti have clamored to comprehend the quartet’s long shadow, more often than not dubbing frontman Iggy…
John Mayall – Best: 64-69, Drivin’ On: ABC 75-82, Silver Tones: Deram, MCA, Silvertone
The flurry of greatest hits collections showcasing John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers is exciting – and confusing. Here’s a quick primer. The first Best of covers 1964-’69 and features many of the songs…
-
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,
Dave Hunter
The British Amp Invasion
American makers may have pioneered guitar amplifiers in the jazz age, but when the British builders jumped in during the late 1950s, they were primarily building amps for the whole new world of…
Murry Hammond – I Don’t Know Where I’m Going But I’m On My Way
As a solo artist, Murry Hammond is a blend of Leonard Cohen and Jimmie Rogers. The acoustic-based songs on this album aren’t as lively as his work with his former band, Old 97s,…
Hadden Sayers Band – 12 Bars and the Naked Truth
12 Bars and the Naked Truth
There’s no question what you’re going to get when you hear one of Hadden Sayers’ records. It’s rock and roll, plain and simple. No pretense, he just plugs in and plays, and brings…
Slim Harpo
Baby Scratch My Back
Good times are rarely so good as when James Moore – a.k.a. Slim Harpo – is leading the proceedings. And this vinyl reissue of his 1966 Excello LP comes timed perfectly to lift…
Larry Carlton – Deep Into It
I first listened to this disc in my car and thought it was nice, but nothing special. Well, the next listen was in the house, with my full attention, and while it’s what…
-
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
Sweet
Self-distributed
Sweet – the ’70s glam-pop act that’s almost as famous for its hairdos as its music – is today actually two bands touring under the name. The U.S. version that recorded this disc…
Carbe and Durand
The combo of two acoustic guitars and what could be considered modern-day standards seems on first blush like a recipe for a pretty common record. With a duo as talented and imaginative as…
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…
Ruth Moody
Red House Records
Founding member of the The Wailin’ Jennys, here, Ruth Moody asserts her musical individuality. Using a cast of 27 musicians, she embraces a breadth of musical genres – old timey, Celtic, and even…
Tony Gilkyson
Avenging Angel
You know an album is promising when its sidemen include Buck Owens pedal-steeler Jay Dee Maness and Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band drummer James Gadson. Tony Gilkyson delivers on that promise. Not surprisingly,…
Nick Lowe – Quiet Please
At Any Age
Like his longtime associate (as both producer and producee) Elvis Costello, Nick Lowe may have come onto the scene via punk rock, but soon proved he was much more. In hindsight, Costello’s…
Pierre Bensusan – Intuite
There are guitarists, and then there are guitarists’ guitarists. Pierre Benusan is the sort of musician who inspires awe among even other musical luminaries. Leo Kotke admits that, “Pierre’s music gives me the…
Grayson Capps – Wail and Ride
Down South, it seems, songwriters like Grayson Capps just fall from the trees. Born in Alabama, he spent the last 20 years in New Orleans before Hurricane Katrina kicked him out, and with…
Jimbo Mathus
None other than Jim Dickinson once christened Jimbo Mathus as “The singing voice of Huckleberry Finn.” Huck Finn with a hot-wired and hoppedup electric guitar in hand, that is. And now he’s back…
Rick Derringer – Guitars and Women
I was quite enamored in the ’70s with Derringer’s All-American Boy. It was a heady mixture of all the kinds of music I liked. For some reason, I thought most of the stuff…
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…
Michael Bloomfield
It’s difficult to critique compilations, especially those that include material from various labels: you never know what licensing restrictions were imposed, which cuts the A&R folks would’ve included but weren’t able to. It’s…
Sonic Youth – Goo (Deluxe Edition)
As we get older, reminders of the fact come fast and furious. The reissue of classic albums from our youth perhaps hits the hardest, as with this newly remastered deluxe edition of Sonic…
Song of the South
You’re always taking a chance with a DVD that concerns a band and yet none of the band members take part in the production. That’s the case here. While there are no Allman…
Anthony Gomes – Live
At 38, blues rocker Anthony Gomes makes music like a man in his prime, getting the best from himself while being neither too tired nor jaded to truly enjoy his life’s work. He’s…
The Bottle Rockets
The Bottle Rockets return with their first studio LP since 2009, and it’s yet another terrific gumbo of power-pop, burly rock, and alt-country – a collection of mostly sub-three-minute gems featuring lyrics liable…
Freddy Cole
HighNote
Asked what younger jazz guitarists stood out to him, in his March ’10 VG interview, George Benson listed Norman Brown, Mark Whitfield, Russell Malone, and “the guitar player who’s playing with Freddy Cole.”…
Taj Mahal and Keb’ Mo’
Bluesy and the Folksy
Meeting the demand for fans hankering for two titans of the blues to finally make an album together, Taj Mahal and Keb’ Mo’ have done just that. These two folksy song-oriented stylists are…
Bob Dylan – Bringing It All Back Home & Highway 61 Revisited
Here’s a couple of vinyl releases by Sundazed that I thought I could use to highlight their fabulous vinyl reissues. If you’re a vinyl freak, you’ll love these. Take these two, for instance.…
Bearfoot Bluegrass – Follow Me
Glacier Records
Bluegrass bands are often male-only affairs. But the women in Bearfoot Bluegrass are in a majority position. Annalisa Tornfelt plays fiddle, sings lead, and is responsible for seven of the songs. Kate Hamre…
Robert Plant & the Strange Sensation – Soundstage
Robert Plant & the Strange Sensation, Soundstage. Robert Plant and his band, The Strange Sensation, play 11 songs; covers, old Zep songs, and newer Plant tunes. The band is the perfect complement, anchored…
Mark Selby – More Storms Comin’
More Storms Comin'