• 2025 December Issue on Spotify

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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

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Mavis Staples

Faced with the formidable task of following her own recent successes, the queen of gospel music teamed with Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy and scored another artistic bull’s eye. Producer Tweedy wisely used the trio…

Alan Gogoll

Lioness Lullabies

Venture online and watch a few videos by Tasmanian guitarist Alan Gogoll and you’ll see he’s nothing short of a phenomenon. On acoustic, he conjures artificial harmonics in a manner that almost defies…

Kim Wilson – Smokin’ Joint

This CD, recorded over a two-year period, spotlights the world class work of the legendary T-Birds frontman, but of interest to the readers of this publication would be the four – count ’em,…

Anthony Wilson – Adult Themes

Here’s the third album from guitarist, arranger, and leader of his own big band, Anthony Wilson. He’s young, but he definitely can look backward to the likes of his father, Gerald, and other…

Guy Forsythe

Call this music “Americana,” if you have to put a label on it. The opener, “Red Dirt,” establishes straight away the muscular Midwestern quality that reflects Guy Forsythe’s musical coming of age in…

The Stryker/Slagle Band

Panorama Records

The Stryker/Slagle Band has been producing near-perfect quartet records for some time, and Keeper will not snap the string. While Dave Stryker (on guitar) and Steve Slagle (sax) supply memorable melodies and soulful…

Mimi Fox – Perpetually Hip

The first thing you notice about Mimi Fox when she begins the single-note original melody of the title track (the first cut of this double-CD) is her bell-like tone (more highs than the…

Jim Suhler and Monkey Beat – Tijuana Bible

Full of Skill and Soul

On his latest effort, Jim Suhler and his band serve up 16 cuts of boogie, blues, and other nasty forms of roadhouse music, and do it with skill and soul. Suhler’s a man…

Tommy Castro and the Painkillers

R&B stalwart Castro comes out with guns blazing on his latest, adding some raucous rock and roll to his usual helping of soul and blues. There’s an added edge to songs like the…

Various artists – Henry Mancini: Pink Guitar

Here’s a capital idea executed brilliantly: 13 inventive acoustic guitar arrangements of Mancini classics – 12 solo and one bonus duet – by a dozen top-flight pickers. Even though this already won the…

The No Ones

My Evil Best Friend

This latest in decades of collaborations between R.E.M. guitar man Peter Buck and Scott McCaughey is the pair’s third collection with Norwegians Arne Kjelsrud Mathisen and Frode Strømstad. Listeners familiar with Buck and…

Bob Dylan

The Complete Budokan 1978

The original double-live album culled from Bob Dylan’s 1978 Tokyo shows was a Japan-only release until Dylan-mania demanded a global offering the next year; reviews were lukewarm. After the fiercely inspired Rolling Thunder…

Jeff Lynne’s ELO- Wembley or Bust

After several decades on hiatus, the Electric Light Orchestra – now known as Jeff Lynne’s ELO – is revving up again and will tour the U.S. this year. The 13-piece lineup also found…

Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives

For decades, Stuart has been one of country music’s biggest champions, and may yet be its savior. His Fabulous Superlatives are one of the tightest, most authentic country bands and possibly the most…

Check This Action: Playing Guitar With The Ventures

Think of your favorite rock band, and imagine sitting in with them – or better yet, being a member. The Beatles? Sure. Subbing for Keith Richards? Go for it. Going toe-to-toe with Kirk…

Nancy Wright

The ubiquitous saxophonist of the San Francisco blues scene for 30 years, Nancy Wright finally stepped to the fore and released her solo debut in 2009 – a fine instrumental outing in a…

Ted Drozdowski’s Scissormen

Parts of Ted Drozdowski’s coal-mining family background are almost as hardscrabble and tragic as that of the people who created the blues music he champions so fiercely. That background is a factor in…

Laurie Lewis

Laurie Lewis is a bluegrass pioneer, and her latest release showcases the breadth of her musical talent – singing, songwriting, and playing guitar and fiddle. Lewis enlists the help of longtime musical partner…

Matteo Mancuso

The Journey

When guitarists as diverse as Al Di Meola and Joe Bonamassa are singing your praises, something’s up. Sicilian guitar prodigy Matteo Mancuso’s debut record displays effortless facility, charisma, and fresh ideas instead of…

Walter Trout and the Radicals – Relentless

Relentless

I’ve always put Walter Trout in with a batch of players who exist out there who just go out and play blazing blues-rock with great intensity, and have a small following that adores…

John Scofield

Uncle John’s Band

Cue up the title cut and admire John Scofield’s chord-melody approach to the Grateful Dead’s 1971 FM hit. While Sco’ has previously worked in the Dead universe (with bassist Phil Lesh), this is…

Nick Lowe

Yep Roc Records

Ian Moore

Sparkle & Shine

John Scofield

The history of jazz guitarists playing country tunes is long and distinguished, starting with Slim Bryant, Les Paul, and George Barnes in the 1930s. Joe Pass’s final recording, with Roy Clark, was an…

Blind Pig Records – 20th Anniversary Collection

It’s been 20 years since Blind Pig Records got its start in the humble Blind Pig Café in a basement in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Over the years, the label has released records by…

Little Charlie and the Organ Grinder Swing

Any fan of the original Little Charlie and the Nightcats knows Charlie Baty can swing; he always had one foot in the jazz world while playing the band’s brand of blues. Here, on…

Kenny “Blue” Ray – Git It!

I’ve lost count! I believe this is Kenny’s sixth self-produced CD. And, as have its predecessors, Git It, his most recent effort, again illustrates Blue Ray’s dedication to the blues craft. Rumor has…

Canned Heat – Live at Montreux

The story of Canned Heat has more twists and turns than Spinal Tap’s evolution from the Thamesmen to Spinal Tap, Mark II. Which is why some of the dramatic, lofty claims in the…

Jellyroll – Hep Cats Holiday

Jump blues are like licorice: if you like it, you can’t get enough. Jellyroll satisfies the craving with a cool selection of 12 classic tunes, from “Is You Is Or Is You Ain’t…

Son Volt – A Retrospective: 1995-2000

Spinning off from the roots-rock trailblazers Uncle Tupelo, Jay Farrar’s Son Volt is famed for its honest, no-nonsense, straight-to-the-heart songs. A Retrospective: 1995-2000 is a fine greatest hits celebration with six unreleased bonus…

Written In Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos

Various artists

You may think you know Stax, but this seven-CD set of 146 tracks (140 never before released) proves again how much creative genius was contained in that old Memphis theater turned recording studio.…

Black Joe Lewis

Fuzzy guitars, Stax horn arrangements, and a raw garage sound permeate Black Joe Lewis’ third studio album, serving up a provocative juxtaposition of garage-punk, along with the ’60s R&B and blues that brought…