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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
The Meters – Trick Bag
Sundazed has done it again. This particular release is only one in a large series of CDs released by this fine band. And they did a great job with them all. Original liner…
Raul Malo
Say Less
Raul Malo’s passionate, searing vocals helped define the Mavericks from the early ’90s on. Malo blended his Cuban-American roots into the band’s rich, varied sound, as they embraced rockabilly, classic country, pop ballads,…
John McCutcheon
Appalsongs
John McCutcheon is one of a small minority – an unabashed folk singer. On Passage, he performs 14 new original tunes that demonstrate his mastery of the idiom known as “folk music.” McCutcheon’s…
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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,
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…
Dex Romweber Duo
Dex Romweber and his trusty Silvertone have been kicking over the gnarly dustbins of American music since he was a teenager. (The uninitiated are advised to seek out a mini-documentary that aired on…
Tom Jones
A Tom Jones gospel album? The image that first comes to mind is probably something like Elvis’ How Great Thou Art – big production, choirs – and Jones certainly has the lungs to…
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…
SRV Behind The Scenes
Four Years In Pictures: Offstage With Stevie Ray Vaughan, 1986-1990
The life of blues-rock icon Stevie Ray Vaughan was under a microscope even before his tragic death in a helicopter accident in 1990. Four years prior, a breakdown put him in a hospital…
Jerry Reed – Pickin’
This album was released last year, but I like it a lot and haven’t seen much written about it, so we’ll tell you a bit about it. It’s a pretty much what you’d…
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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
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…
The Jim Campilongo Trio
Jazz Hoedown
Jim Campilongo’s records have always shown his country and jazz influences while offering his own twist. On this latest live record he and his trio, with a couple of guest shots from like-minded…
Corey Christiansen – Essential Jazz Lines: The Style of Charlie Parker
Looking for a key to unlock your jazz solos or comping? Essential Jazz Lines: The Style of Charlie Parker offers fine entries to the playing of a great jazzer. Essential Jazz Lines: The…
Seth Walker
Seth Walker has issued a string of fine records that come together in his latest. Walker and Dave Gross man the six-strings on a collection of strong cuts, and while the approach offers…
Jimbo Mathus
None other than Jim Dickinson once christened Jimbo Mathus as “The singing voice of Huckleberry Finn.” Huck Finn with a hot-wired and hoppedup electric guitar in hand, that is. And now he’s back…
Brian Ray – Mondo Magneto
Brian Ray – Mondo Magneto Brian Ray may not exactly be a household name, but the guy is no stranger to the music field. He’s spent the past few years in the band…
Jo’ Buddy
To celebrate 30 years on the road, this Finnish bluesman gathered up the various aggregations he’s toured and recorded with, along with some special guests, to deliver a dozen originals – each screaming…
Bruce Molsky – Soon Be Time
Bruce Molsky proves that you can be scholarly about American roots music without being boring. On Soon Be Time he entertains his listeners on fiddle, banjo, and finger-picked guitar. All solo, no overdubbing,…
Alex Woodard – Alex Woodard
When Alex Woodard was a kid, his sister spoonfed him the music of her favorite rocker, Tom Petty. Five albums later, the effect still holds. Woodard’s arrangements, phrasing, and even the timbre of…
Jerry Miller – Life is Like That
Let me preface this review with a personal note; Jerry Miller is one of the finest guitarists on the planet. A rough-hewn gem from the Pacific Northwest, Jerry was the fire behind the…
“Rockabill-Lee”
England’s Albert Lee provided one of Woodstock’s highpoints, with his band Ten Years After’s frenetic version of “I’m Going Home,” and Lee got caught up in the faster-is-better era. But as his sophisticated…
Frank Frost with Sam Carr and Frank Frost – Keep Yourself Together and Jelly Roll Blues
X Frank Frost’s two recent CDs are time machines, transporting you to a hot, sweaty night in a Mississippi Delta juke joint. Frost is a true Mississippi Delta bluesman. Throughout his career playing…
The Country Gentlemen – The Complete Vanguard Recordings
The Complete Vanguard Recordings
Larry Carlton/Steve Lukather – No Substitutions
No Substitutions
The Jayhawks
Power Pop With Twang And Thunder
Those with only a casual ear to the pavement will likely file the Jayhawks under murky signifiers such as “Americana” and “Alt Country.” While those tags were once perfectly apt, the truth is…
Halford and the Healers – Broken Chord
Building on his last two records, Halford proves to be one of the strongest of a group of songwriters in the Bob Dylan mold. He doesn’t sound like Dylan, but his mix rock,…
Link Wray and The Wraymen – Slinky: The Epic Sessions ’58-’61
It’s true, Link Wray isn’t exactly a household name. Hit-wise, his biggest charter was “Rumble,” which was a hit before he signed on with Epic. Of the 46 songs (including alternate cuts and…
Steve Cropper
Fire It Up
Steve Cropper is an unlikely guitar hero. He swears he’s just a rhythm player, purely in service to the groove. But oh, what rhythm and oh, what grooves. So, when Cropper releases a…
Bo Diddley – A Man Amongst Men
A Man Amongst Men
Okay, it seems kind of weird to write a review of a guy who’s in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but this is such a good album that I had to.…
Steve Smith – Hard Road
Not all great pickers and songwriters live in Nashville, L.A., or New York. Some reside in far off places such as Las Cruses, New Mexico. Steven Smith is a case in point. His…
Pat Metheny
Road To The Sun
Jazz guitar visionary Metheny is so admired he gets other people to perform his music. Road To The Sun features works performed by Grammy-winning classical guitarist Jason Vieaux and the Los Angeles Guitar…
Official Keith Emerson Tribute Concert
Various artists
Five years ago, keyboardist Keith Emerson sadly ended his life, but a half-decade later, his work still resonates through the music of Emerson, Lake & Palmer, the Nice, and other collaborations. Keith also…
“Rockabill-Lee”
England’s Albert Lee provided one of Woodstock’s highpoints, with his band Ten Years After’s frenetic version of “I’m Going Home,” and Lee got caught up in the faster-is-better era. But as his sophisticated…
