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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
Lexie Roth – One Long Blink
Roth was 17 when she started recording this project, 19 when she finished, and it’s testament to her talent and maturity that you can’t tell where the performances fell chronologically. Her six originals…
James McMurtry – Childish Things
James McMurtry – Childish Things McMurtry’s Too Long In the Wasteland, from 1989, was an auspicious debut in more ways than one. Among its 11 original tracks were a few that instantly sounded…
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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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,
Lucky Tomblin – Red Hot From Blue Rock
Another surefire batch of songs with great pickin’ by the amazing Redd Volkaert and John Reed, many of these songs fit into the honky-tonk heaven category. Mel Tillis’ “Honky Tonk Song” is prototypical.…
Heavy Trash
Heavy Trash is an on-again-off-again band headed by Jon Spencer and Matt Verta-Ray. They’ve released three superlative albums of their own trademark brand of rockabilly, all led by Verta-Ray’s incisive guitarwork – usually…
The Deslondes
Ways & Means
This New Orleans quintet, together since 2013, gained plaudits for its previous two albums, which reflected a raw and fetching goulash of roots influences and unforced vocals. After a hiatus from touring, they…
The Siegel-Schwall Band – The Complete Vanguard Recordings
The Complete Vanguard Recordings
I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for the Siegel-Schwall Band – although I can’t really figure out why. During the mid/late ’60s blues revival, harpist Corky Siegel and guitarist Jim…
Bleeding Hearts
Riches To Rags
In the pantheon of ’80s indie-rock guitar heroes, Bob Stinson has been largely forgotten, except among fans of The Replacements, the band he cofounded in 1978. It hasn’t helped that Stinson was booted…
Laurie Morvan – Cures What Ails Ya
Few standard blues records by non-major artists offer any surprises. But Laurie Morvan adds a bit to the blues genre. Her songs aren’t all that different, but the playing is unique enough to…
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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
Chris Robinson Brotherhood
If you’ve lost touch with Chris Robinson since the Black Crowes’ slow down, his latest effort with the CRB is an opportune time to catch up on what’s become a most satisfying second…
Dick 50 – Late Show
Self-distributed
Dick 50 is Delbert McClinton’s touring band. Guitarist Rob McNelley handles most of the lead vocals and brings the same soulful feel he did to his two solo albums. His guitar is the…
Geoff Muldaur – The Guitar Artistry Of
Vestapol/Rounder
When an 18-year-old Geoff Muldaur cut his first album – 1963’s Sleepy Man Blues for Prestige – you could practically count on your fingers the number of white performers recording blues – Koerner,…
Imelda May
Irish chanteuse Imelda May proved she could sing on her first discs of retro rockabilly originals. Her new album shows she can also rock. May is backed as usual by her husband, guitarman…
Dave Davies – Unfinished Business
Yes, I know, Ray Davies usually gets all the credit, but Kinks fans have always known Dave was a very strong element. This very cool two-CD set compiles Kinks classics, songs from the…
Dokken
Dokken is still going strong with their 11th studio album Broken Bones. With vocalist Don Dokken as producer, it’s an album that is shameless in its mission to reproduce the sound that made…
Captain Beefheart
Ahead of His – or Anyone’s – Time
“Lick My Decals Off, Baby,” “Woe-Is-Uh-Me-Bop,” “My Head Is My Only House Unless It Rains.” That’s right – we’re talking about Don Van Vliet, a.k.a. Captain Beefheart, and his Magic Band. Beefheart and…
Los Lonely Boys
Los Lonely Boys is a smart band that understands the business of the business. Avoiding the usual Texas blues clichés, the ensemble is radio friendly, with the charisma of Ritchie Valens and the…
Mahavishnu Orchestra – John McLaughlin and the 4th Dimension
At 73, Mahvishnu John McLaughlin remains fierce. He’s a time-traveling icon that has shared his talents with jazz legends, while he himself is worthy of the same title. His illustrious past meets the…
Richie Barron – Rather Have the Green Than the Blues
Leslie Ann Knight is the host of the “Monday Morning Blues” program on KKUP-FM, in Cupertino California, and as of late, she has been responsible for a number of west coast blues getting…
Muireann Bradley
I Kept These Old Blue
If you conveyed the soul of a 1930s bluesman into an Irish teenager, you might have Muireann Bradley, who is both a delight and a true phenomenon. Recorded over the past few years,…
Larry Coryell – Tricycles
Anyone remember when Larry Coryell was one of the youngbloods of jazz guitar? Sheesh, I must be getting a bit “advanced” in age, eh? Through the years, there’s never been a doubt in…
John Scofield – This Meets That
It’s never good to expect anything from John Scofield because he likes to throw a curve. With his latest release, he mixes great originals with surprising covers on a trio record… sort of.…
Golden State-Lone Star Blues Revue
Welcome to a cross-country meeting of blues minds. The first release from this group of veteran California and Texas bluesmen features guitarists Little Charlie Baty, an Alabama-to-California transplant grounded originally in Chicago blues…
Check This Action: So Long, Charlie and Top
I was saddened to hear of the passing of ’50s rocker Charlie Gracie on December 16. The 86-year-old rocker sure led a full life. I interviewed Charlie for VG in 2006 and, at…
Art Tatum
Jewels In The Treasure Box: The 1953 Chicago Blue Note Jazz Club Recordings
It’s a wonder how never-released recordings continue to emerge – in this case, an engagement led by jazz piano virtuoso Art Tatum. Upon seeing the pianist enter a club he was playing, the…
Steel Master
Jerry Byrd
Before and even after pedal-steel guitars began showing up on country records, Jerry Byrd (1920-2005) and his lap steel remained a gold standard. Whether soloing or accompanying, his distinctive, easy-flowing, undulating lines, flawless…
The Hot Club of San Francisco
Original Gadjo
Django Reinhardt is inarguably near the top of the most-influential jazz artists, considering how many ensembles (speaking globally) strive to emulate his Quintette du Hot Club de France 70 years after his death.…
Wes Montgomery
Concord Music Group
The re-release of this brilliant album shows the man many consider the finest guitarist to ever live guiding Mel Rhyne (on Hammond B-3) and Jimmy Cobb (drums) through a set of tunes that…
Trigger Hippy
While the debut of Trigger Hippy features some musicians with familiar names, it’s not a “super group” in any sense of the word. That’s meant as a compliment, because the 11 songs here…
Check This Action: Dave Davies’ Kinky Journey
I first saw The Kinks live in April, 1973, at Winterland in San Francisco, where they played a flawless set with stops on almost every album. When Dave Davies delivered the power-chord F-G-G-F-G…
Ronnie James Dio, with Mick Wall & Wendy Dio
Rainbow in the Dark