-
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
Darcy Kuronen – Dangerous Curves: The Art of the Guitar
Dangerous Curves: The Art of the Guitar
The Museum of Fine Arts is mounting a retrospective outlining 400 years of guitar design and history (VG November ’00). Although the guitar has become the dominant instrument in popular music over the…
Boss Tweed – EP
Boss Tweed has taken rockabilly to the big city. The New York power trio was formed in 2004 with all the requisites: minimalistic drum kit, thumping bass, and a fire-engine-red Gretsch archtop. But…
Jim Lauderdale
Hope
Inspired by the pandemic, veteran singer/songwriter Lauderdale stresses resiliency and renewal on these 13 originals, enhanced along the way by several of Nashville’s finest guitarists. Chris Scruggs stands out on several tracks; his…
-
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,
-
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
-
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,
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…
Eric Gales – That’s What I Am
What happens when guitar prodigies grow up? They lapse into mediocrity, like everyone else. But not Eric Gales. After being signed by Elektra records at the tender age of 15, completing two LPs…
Kim Simmonds – Blues Like Midnight
Blues Like Midnight
While the press release promotes this CD as a departure for Kim Simmonds, to this writer it would seem one more facet of this veteran guitarist’s musical personality. On Blues Like Midnight, Simmonds…
Carbe and Durand
The combo of two acoustic guitars and what could be considered modern-day standards seems on first blush like a recipe for a pretty common record. With a duo as talented and imaginative as…
Nels Andrews – Off-Track Betting
Nels Andrews’ second release straddles the gap between singer/songwriter folk and roots rock. Andrews paints tableaus with broad strokes so listeners can fill in the details. Some recall this poetry. Whatever, Andrews’ music…
-
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,
-
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
-
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,
-
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
-
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,
-
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
Kenny Wayne Shepherd
Roadrunner Records
While we may wish he’d step further out of the shadows of his influences (especially Stevie Ray Vaughan), there’s no denying the guitar skills of one Kenny Wayne Shepherd. That said, his latest…
Willie Nelson
That’s Life
My Way, Willie’s 2018 Grammy-winning Frank Sinatra homage, clearly didn’t satiate his desire to explore songs by the vocalist whose style profoundly influenced his own. With the same co-producers (Buddy Cannon and keyboardist…
Little Charlie and the Nightcats – Nine Lives
Little Charlie and the Nightcats – Nine Lives What can you say about Charlie Baty and the boys? This is their ninth record for Alligator since the late ’80s, and the mix of…
Santana – Moonflower
Moonflower
I was never able to latch on to Carlos Santana’s excursions into jazz in the early/mid-’70s. Sure, there was always something to like in his playing, but I preferred when he mixed the…
Sue Foley
Pinky’s Blues
Sue Foley named her paisley Telecaster reissue “Pinky,” and her latest album celebrates the guitar she has played her whole career. Over the years, Foley moved from her native Canada to Austin, and…
Pete Anderson – Dogs in Heaven
Pete Anderson is no stranger to these pages, having been featured in an interview, performance review, and record review for his first release on Little Dog. This time around, Pete has come up…
Chicago
It’s simplistic to say, but as these two box-sets of 10 discs apiece show, Chicago’s history really consists of two bands: one with Terry Kath as lead guitarist, one of the vocalists, a…
Nils Lofgren
Wags might be forgiven for calling Nils Lofgren the Forrest Gump of rock. The dude’s not only played with everyone, it seems, but he’s been a key guitar (and accordion) foil for some…
Al Kooper – Black Coffee
Al Kooper – Black Coffee A passing glance at the resume Al Kooper has amassed over nearly a half-century is enough to make anyone ask, “What do you have to do to get…
Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs
Vagabonds, Virgins & Misfits
It’s no shock the late Tom Petty’s right-hand man and MVP on Don Henley hits like “The Boys of Summer” and “The Heart of the Matter” would continue his superlative work. His latest…
The Yardbirds – The Yardbirds: Ultimate
Two fallacies that invariably arise in discussions of the Yardbirds: 1) declaring them the fathers of psychedelic music and/or heavy metal; 2) focusing on their colossal lead guitar lineage at the expense of…
Dick Dale – Better Shred than Dead: The Dick Dale Anthology
Well, what needs to be said about this? The King of the Surf Guitar at his finest. This covers 1959 to 1996 and hits all the high points. All the tunes are here,…
Dan Bern – New American Language
New American Language
Kentucky Headhunters – Soul
Yes, it’s true, this one came out some time ago, but it has occupied space on my listening stack for a long time. The Headhunters have been “popular” for more than 15 years,…
Johnny Cash – Personal File and American V: A Hundred Highways
Johnny Cash – Personal File and American V: A Hundred Highways It’s deliciously ironic that, in promoting the newly discovered archives of Johnny Cash’s solo acoustic recordings, logged in tape boxes as Personal…
Groove Legacy
Groove Legacy is a group of L.A. musicians who have banded together to make an album in the soul/jazz/funk vein that harkens back to the ’70s, but still sounds vibrant and current. It…
The Replacements
For Sale: Live at Maxwell’s 1986
Love for the greatest band that “shoulda but didn’t” trundles onward. Replacements fans in the past few years having been treated to a critically acclaimed bio, a rollicking new LP from bassist Tommy…
The Love Dogs – New Tricks
New Tricks
Loveable? I guess. Dogs? Maybe. They’ve got all the musical tricks new and old, and they’re not jumping through hoops to get their rootsy message across. Elegant arrangements, diverse tunes, strong presentation, and…
Urge Overkill
Oui
Though Urge Overkill’s Saturation was one of the great major-label debuts of the ’90s, just as much ink was spilled on the group’s rock and roll lifestyle, matching velour jackets, and cover of…
Val Bonetti
Baraban Records
A first listen to guitarist Val Bonetti’s Wait makes one respect his playing. Subsequent listens make you appreciate his music, too. This is simply Bonetti and his acoustic, focusing on jazz but employing…
Eddy
Alligator Records
If you’re a blues fan and left-handed guitarist Eddy Clearwater’s name has remained unfamiliar over the course of his six-decade career, now’s the time to rectify that grievous error. If you’re looking for…
Simon And Garfunkel – Live from New York City, 1967
“Sherman, set the Way Back machine for New York City, 1967. I want to go to a concert.” This new release from Columbia Legacy beats Mr. Peabody’s infernal device by a mile. Recorded…
