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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
Chris Thile – Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost
Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost
Even young prodigies eventually grow up. Mandolin whiz Chris Thile has reached the ripe old age of 20, and shows no signs of narrowing his ever-expanding musical horizons. His latest, Not All Those…
Drive By Truckers – The Dirty South
I confess, these good ol’ boys have become one of my favorite rock and roll bands. There double-disc opus, Southern Rock Opera , was one of my favorite records from the past couple…
Joe Negri
Noteworthy Jazz
A regional star, local TV luminary and jazz virtuoso even before beginning his 32-year tenure as Mister Rogers’ favorite handyman, Joe Negri (see feature in the September ’10 issue) was woefully under-recorded until…
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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,
Kim Lenz – It’s All True
Describing Kim Lenz as a “female Elvis” is narrow-sighted, as there are few musical similarities between the two, particularly in the fact Lenz writes a good chunk of her own material and, more…
Marillion
Misplaced Childhood
Progressive rock suffered an ignominious death in the ’80s, perhaps deservedly. That didn’t stop a few British bands from pushing onward, notably Marillion, which found a sweet spot on its third album, 1985’s…
Robben Ford – The Art of Blues Rhythm
Robben Ford has been a prolific artist since the early ’70s and is as much a teacher as a recording artist. His impeccable soloing techniques, phrasing, and tone have been the subject of…
Jimmy Hall
Ready Now
During the ’70s heyday of Southern rock, Jimmy Hall was frontman with Wet Willie. In subsequent years, the Alabama native provided vocals on Jeff Beck’s 1985 Flash album and played sax and harmonica…
Elizabeth Moen
Wherever You Aren’t
Moen is a Chicago-based singer/songwriter who does much of her own guitar work on songs that are often deeply personal. This, however, is no pompous, acoustic-driven collection of bland Americana fare; the sound…
Ty Tabor
Shades
King’s X guitarist Ty Tabor’s 11th solo album is the follow-up to 2018’s Alien Beans. Ten tracks and three bonus songs tell the sonic saga of life, death, and the loss of a…
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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 McRae- Guitarland
The retitled version of Johnny Gimble’s “Fiddlin’ Around” (“Pickin’ Around”) is a clue, but just going by the repertoire here – encompassing Jobim, Bonfa, Villa Lobos, Cole Porter, and Charlie Parker – one…
Blue Lunch
Bob Frank’s Band Blue Lunch prowls the musical alleys haunted by the spirits of Bill Doggett, Dave Bartholomew, and the Five Royals, whose “Monkey Hips and Rice” makes for some of the finest…
Humble Pie
The A&M CD Box Set (1970-1975)
Arena-rock pioneers Humble Pie launched some of the grittiest heavy rock of the ’70s, courtesy of vocalist/guitarist Steve Marriott, bassist Greg Ridley, and successive lead men Peter Frampton and David “Clem” Clempson. This…
Jimmy LaFave – Cimaron Manifesto
Jimmy La Fave joins other Texas singer/songwriters such as Guy Clark, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, and Townes Van Zandt in his ability to evoke the feelings and images of America hidden behind superhighways and…
Neil Young
In more ways than one, Journey Through The Past – the title of Neil Young’s 1972 directorial film debut – would have been a better title for A Letter Home, the latest from…
Jo’ Buddy & Down Home King III
Finnish singer/ guitarist/ composer Jussi “Jo’ Buddy” Raulamo has played with just about every bluesman to pass through Finland and more on his pilgrimages to the States. Howard Armstrong, Eddy Clearwater, Maceo Parker,…
Duke Robillard Band
They Called it Rhythm & Blues
Robillard, his guitar, and band preside over a celebration of classic R&B and blues made up of 18 familiar and obscure numbers aided by heavy-hitting guests. Instrumentally, he remains a model of brevity…
Sacred Steel Convention – Train Don’t Leave Me
Train Don't Leave Me
When Arhoolie Records’ Chris Strachwitz stumbled onto Mance Lipscomb, the amazing 65-year-old Texas bluesman and songster who had never recorded, in 1960, it was a bit like an anthropologist coming across a saber-toothed…
Tony Furtado
Funzalo Records
If you had picked up Golden without hearing one of Tony Furtado’s previous 14 albums, you’d never guess he was once a banjo prodigy. After winning the National Bluegrass Banjo competition at 19,…
Foghat
Road Fever: The Complete Bearsville Recordings 1972-1975
By the time British blues-and-boogie quartet Foghat struck gold in 1975, it already had a solid catalog under its belt. This box explores its first five studio albums. While many early-’70s LPs lacked…
Steve Hackett
Former Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett’s new album brings together musicians from all over the world in the spirit of unity, multiculturalism, and diversity. The project joins singers from Palestine and Israel, along with…
Mark Knopfler
When it comes to inspired songwriting and guitar playing, Mark Knopfler’s not in dire straights. On his new solo album, he had so much material, he chose not to leave good songs on…
Alan Jackson
Where Have You Gone
Check This Action: My Kind of Blues
The notion of blurring the boundaries of jazz is almost laughable, since the umbrella already covers so many variations. From the Dixieland of King Oliver to the swing of big-bands like Tommy Dorsey’s,…
John Pizzarelli – Knowing You
Pizzarelli is on a roll. His past few albums have been stone-cold killers, and his most recent, Knowing You, is a collection of songs by writers he loves, with guest musicians augmenting his…
Robben Ford – In Concert Revisited
The premise of the Autour Du Blues DVD was to stage a transatlantic blues summit for the 25th anniversary of Paris’ New Morning club in December ’06, teaming the group of France’s studio…
Kenny Burrell/Gil Evans – Guitar Forms
If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a million times. One of the great things about CDs is great albums have become available at a cost you can afford. Here is an…
Acoustic Alchemy
Heads Up
The knock against Acoustic Alchemy has always been that it’s background music, but the band has always created music that’s atmospheric in the best sense of the word. Granted, it’s not for guitarists…
Chris Antonik
Self-distributed
Blues guitarist Chris Antonik seems determined to prove the adage that every note counts. While his song structures are familiar, his playing keeps them from being cliche. The opener, “More To Give,” is…
Hans Theessink & Terry Evans with Ry Cooder
Despite the title’s implication of down-and-dirty blues, this is closer to what we think of as folk music. Of course, the blues is exactly that, but Theessink and Evans’ blues is more the…
George Van Eps and Marty Grosz Meets the Fat Babies
Great Acoustic Jazz
Marty Grosz is surely one of the last of a breed – a jazz guitarist who plays strictly rhythm and chord-style solos and strictly acoustic. He’s also a fine singer and scholar of…
Lawson Rollins – Infinita
Fusions of classical and flamenco guitar with rock and jazz have yielded interesting permutations for years – from Strunz & Farah to Ottmar Liebert to Rodrigo y Gabriela. Lawson Rollins’ first solo effort,…
