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Music
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,
At The Louisiana Hayride Tonight
Hot Time Tonight
On Saturday, April 3, 1948, the “Louisiana Hayride,” America’s newest live country radio show, debuted over KWKH in Shreveport. Staged at the city’s Municipal Auditorium, it became a launching pad for artists who…
The Sadies – Stories Often Told
Stories Often Told
This quartet hails from Canada and (as often happens in rock and pop music) seems more American than most American bands (a la The Band and Neil Young). If you’ve been thinking about…
Stephane Grappelli & Bucky Pizzarelli – Duet: The Definitive Black & Blue Sessions
At the end of the ’60s, two French enthusiasts sought out the last living classic jazz musicians and urged them out of retirement to come to France to record. These sessions, along 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,
Dave Specter – Live In Chicago
For some time, Dave Specter has made great music that covers a broad spectrum of genres. Known as a blues guitarist, he has never shied from jazz or soul, and this live record…
Donna The Buffalo
Sugar Hill Records
Some still think Jethro Tull is the name of that band’s lead singer. So was it wise for a band, especially one with a female lead singer, to name itself Donna The Buffalo?…
Lucinda Williams
Don’t Tell Anybody The Secrets I Told You: A Memoir & Stories From A Rock N Roll Heart
Turning 70 is a time for reflection, and Lucinda Williams offers two takes. Her poetic autobiography recounts her troubled, peripatetic childhood and the tales behind the songs it inspired. Yet her new album…
Marty Stuart
The title of Marty Stuart’s two-disc album originates in a longstanding Southern paradox: the notion of raising hell, boozing, and partying on a Saturday night, usually in a barroom or dancehall – then…
Janis Ian – Billie’s Bones
Billie's Bones
My fondness for Janis Ian comes as no surprise to longtime VG readers. My monthly column is named after one of her songs, and I have followed her career since I bought my…
Mark Lettieri
Can I Tell You Something?
The Snarky Puppy virtuoso delivers a set of crisp funk-fusion, touching on everything from Steely Dan jazzisms to an ’80s dance party. Part of Lettieri’s charm is that he’s an absolute beast on…
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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
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Paul Johnson
The Hepcats Live at the Ajax Novelty Company
This isn’t live, there may not be an Ajax Novelty Company, and the three felines known as the Hepcats are actually the brainchild of Paul Johnson, whose Belairs were early-’60s pioneers of surf music. Suspend reality and dig how the “trio” expertly articulates layers of acoustic guitar. Across decades, Johnson has embraced folk-rock, psychedelia, and
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Yes
Close to the Edge: Super Deluxe Edition
Are you a high-fidelity audio geek? If the answer is, well, yes, this Rhino release brings together an HD experience of Close to the Edge in no fewer than four versions, plus rarities and a ’72 concert. For starters, the 2025 remaster sounds as close to the analog 1972 mix as you’re going to get
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Pink Floyd
Have You Got It Yet? – The Story of Syd Barrett and Pink Floyd
It’s understandable that fans warily approach the flood of pseudo-documentaries and biopics. Add the fact that the late Syd Barrett, Floyd’s original guitarist/leader, suffered from mental illness, and exploitation alarms are sure to go off. But this documentary handles the subject with dignity instead of sensationalism. Interviews by longtime Floyd cover artist Storm Thorgerson with
Phil Lynott
Songs For While I’m Away
A rock-doc of Thin Lizzy’s fabled frontman, this film traces the singer/bassist’s life through interviews from bandmates, family, and friends. A half-black child in 1950s and ’60s Dublin, Lynott grew into a tough,…
Connie Smith
The Cry of the Heart
Connie Smith was an unknown in 1964 when her debut single “Once a Day” flew to the top of the country charts. In an era when slicker, less twangy Nashville Sound recordings were…
The Byrds – The Byrds Play Bob Dylan
If it wasn’t for the Byrds, Bob Dylan might never have become the musical icon he is. They were the earliest to re-cast his material into raucous rock and roll. From the opening…
Jeff Beck
Breaking the Rules
Jeff Beck’s high-end coffeetable book and autobiography is a tour along the many tributaries of rock and roll. It’s also about his passion for vintage hot rods, guitars, and music spanning more than…
North Mississippi Allstars
Blues Dance Music
Luther and Cody Dickinson’s latest pushes the boundaries of northern Mississippi blues music by integrating programmed loops and electronic dance beats. The four-song EP injects tinges of soul, gospel, blues, and The Blind…
John Mellencamp
John Mellencamp’s latest effort fits its title and is a perfect companion to the recent box set that showcases his songwriting. In fact, the songs here are some of the finest he’s ever…
Crowsong – Shelter
Crowsong offers a couple of atmospheric new records that feature founder Randy Clark’s guitar playing and interaction with bandmates Joshua Zucker (bass) and Vince Littleton (drums). Here, they use one disc to highlight…
Eric Bibb, Rory Block, & Maria Muldaur – Sisters and Brothers
I like this one for a couple of reasons. The first is it’s a perfect example of some vets getting together and just making good music. No ego involved, just three people who…
Johnny Hiland – Johnny Hiland
Johnny Hiland
A friend of mine asked what I knew about Johnny Hiland. I repeated things I’d read about Hiland. You know, the blind guitarist from Nashville who looks like he plays in your hometown…
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…
Steve Howe Trio
HoweSound Records
The idea of a straight jazz album from Steve Howe might bring out the skeptic in proggers and beboppers alike, but Travelling is a pleasant surprise. Certainly, Howe’s jazzflavored leads were prominent in…
Robert Cray – Twenty
Once every couple of years, Cray puts out a well-crafted record with fine writing, guitar solos that ooze soul, and vocals that rank with the best. No change here. Twenty should make plenty…
Tom Feldmann
“And the Oscar goes to…” If they gave out Academy Awards for the best guitar instructional film, Tom Feldmann’s latest on Robert Johnson would be a shoe-in. We rarely review instructional videos, but…
Jon Herington
Jon Herington, best known for his current work as Steely Dan’s lead guitarist, put out one of the decades’ great records with his last effort, Time On My Hands, back in 2012. This…
Big Bill Broonzy
Live In Amsterdam, 1953
Perhaps because he died just prior to the Folk Boom and a few years before the Blues Revival, Bill Broonzy doesn’t get proper credit. Besides being the first American bluesman to tour England,…
Sly and the Family Stone
Groovalicious Glory
Long before short attention spans and the need to record an experience on your iPhone became more important than the experience itself, there was Sly and the Family Stone. It was a time…
Jim Croce
You Don’t Mess Around with Jim 50th Anniversary
Jim Croce was a pop artist with laser-guided instincts for writing hits. In an impossibly short run of fame – barely two years – he wrote singles that remain staples of ’70s AM…
Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys
Self-distributed
You needn’t push Play to realize this is not your typical Cajun album. The cover photograph shows a bird encased in oily sludge. Inside, next to the date April 20, 2010 are the…
Leslie West – Big Fat Assed Guitar
Leslie West has been sort of a one-trick pony in his 30-plus years as a rocker. But when that trick is one of the smoothest, most fluid and violin-like vibratos around, when its…
Jim Byrnes
Black Hen
On the heels of 2009’s Walking Stick, Byrnes once again displays his expertise at all aspects of making blues and soul music. Byrnes is an excellent guitarist as he proves here, particularly on…
Guthrie Trapp
Life After Dark
Guthrie Trapp has spent the last couple decades in Nashville, supporting major acts in the studio and on the road. His second solo album shows he’s learned plenty of lessons, because while this…
Russell Malone – Heartstrings
Heartstrings
The Band
Stage Fright 50th Anniversary Edition
