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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
Louise Kirchen
The Waiting Game
Fans who saw Louise sing harmony to husband Bill Kirchen on gigs or their charming “Cabin Fever Reliever” streams might have had an inkling. More-attentive listeners could have noticed her songwriting credits on…
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…
Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals
Magnificent Criminals
The difference between Ben Harper and other contemporary blues-based artists is that Harper’s blues reflects the reality of his surroundings. If one chooses to use the blues as a canvas for personal…
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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,
The Halibuts/Jon and the Nightriders – Life on the Bottom/Fiberglass Rocket
If you haven’t noticed, there’s a Surfin’ comeback goin’ on. We get tons of CDs from bands that play it; some good, some not-so-good, and some in-between. Here are two excellent ones. The…
John Monteleone
The Chisels Are Calling
Captured in this documentary, John Monteleone’s hand-crafted fretted instruments draw inspiration from the past. His chief inspirations are legendary guitar craftsmen John D’Angelico and Jimmy D’Aquisto, and he incorporates untraditional design ideas such…
Tonechaser – Understanding Edward: My 26-Year Journey with Edward Van Halen
Steve Rosen
Imagine having Edward Van Halen at your house, playing new Van Halen songs or listening to no-vocals cassettes of in-progress albums in EVH’s cigarette-smoke-filled car. How about jamming with the guitar icon? It…
Bill Monroe – Father of Bluegrass
First released on VHS in the mid ’90s, this documentary deifies Bill Monroe as the founder of bluegrass music and as an all-around swell guy. Whether the film crosses the line between documentary…
Lukas Nelson & the Promise of the Real
A Few Stars Apart
Lukas Nelson established his identity long ago. Yes, he’s Willie’s son; bits of his dad’s vocal phrasing occasionally surface, but he and this quintet also serve as Neil Young’s band, and their musical…
Jules Shear – More
Jules Mark Shear is living proof that talented pop musicians who prefer to remain on the fringes can maintain a successful career without cowtowing to the winds of fad and fashion. On his…
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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
Drive-By Truckers
The DBT tell great stories. That continues to be true on their latest album as well. From the workingman’s stomp of “Sh*t Shots Count” that opens the record to the melancholy but majestic…
Ian Hunter – Shrunken Heads
Ian Hunter’s latest is straightforward, nuts-and-bolts rock and roll. The writing is fueled by personal and real politics, and the sound of the band and Ian’s voice are perfect. Some credit must go…
Sonny Landreth – From the Reach
Self-Distributed
Sonny Landreth records are typically gems, and this one is no exception. This time out, he has written songs for folks he admires, then invited them to play them with him; Eric Clapton,…
Nick Russo +11 – Ro
Nick Russo’s Ro is not an easy listen, but it sure is rewarding once you’re able to digest it. It’s somewhat indescribable; one could point out how it’s got hard-swinging post-bop, some free…
The Jimi Hendrix Experience/Jimi Hendrix
Despite the ongoing effort to strap the name Jimi Hendrix to everything from vodka to golf balls, his story remains a great American saga. Like Robert Johnson and Charlie Christian before him, he…
Check This Action: Remembering Denny Freeman
As music-conscious as Austin is, not every musician who dies elicits the outpouring given to Denny Freeman. The Paramount Theater quickly changed its marquee to read, “Farewell Denny Freeman: Elegant Wildman and Founder…
The Jayhawks – Sound of Lies
Everyone assumed with the departure of Mark Olson the Jayhawks would fold up their tent and go their own ways. Well, this terrific CD takes care of any such rumor. The band carries…
Don Rich
Don Rich’s recording career lasted only 13 years, beginning as the fiddle player on Buck Owens’ 1961 debut. But Owens released as many as four albums a year, and like Merle Haggard’s Strangers…
Kelly Mulhollan
Divine Inspiration
Arkansas farmer Ed Stilley was plowing his fields in 1979 when he was struck down by a heart attack; lying in the dirt, he had a vision that God wanted him to build…
Moving Pictures: How Rush Created Progressive Hard Rock’s Greatest Record
Will Romano
Rush’s Moving Pictures is often regarded as the band’s masterpiece, and this book unpacks the creative efforts of frontman/bassist Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson, and drummer/lyricist Neil Peart. Examining the 1981 album’s “filmic…
LA LOM
The Los Angeles League of Musicians
It’s Latin, it’s surfy, it’s twangy – okay, what the heck is it? LA LOM is an instrumental trio that mines a vein of electric South and Central American music known as “chicha.”…
Jethro Tull
Happy Anniversary
Released in 1977, this album was crafted to get Jethro Tell as far as possible from Britain’s punk and New Wave explosion. The result was an enchanting folk-prog outing featuring acoustic guitar, mandolin,…
Greg Koch Trio
ZYX Music
Milwaukee’s finest serves up another batch of songs showcasing his monster guitar chops and huge sense of humor. On this new disc, Koch is once again a tour de force of the six-string,…
Willie Nelson
For The Good Times: A Tribute To Ray Price
Soon after arriving in Nashville in 1960, Willie Nelson signed a songwriting contract with Pamper Music, co-owned by Ray Price, one of the era’s biggest stars. It launched a friendship that endured until…
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,…
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…
Sarah Harmer – You Were Here
Canadian musicians have long found it necessary to come south to the US of A if they want to make it big. Sarah Harmer is one of a long line of Canadians lured…
Joe Ely
Joe Ely’s latest is a little more laid back than past efforts, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t showcase his usual great songwriting and storytelling. A who’s who of guitarists are featured on…
Rene Mailhes Trio – Chtildo
René Mailhes is a holdout. On any night in Paris, you can hear young Gypsy tyros tearing up the fretboards playing hot Gypsy jazz in emulation of Django Reinhardt’s early classics. Mailhes, on…
Annie Ross
Although she has released 20 solo albums, Ross is best known for her tenure in the vocal trio of Lambert, Hendricks & Ross, from ’57 to ’62. But she’s also been a nightclub…
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…
The Band – Rock of Ages and Islands
Rock of Ages and Islands
Various Artists – Concert For George
Concert For George