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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
Dr. Dog – We All Belong
Dr. Dog is five guys from Philly who’ve listened to more than their share of Beatles and Beach Boys. It’s not a bad thing. In the context of the band, their names are…
John Hiatt with the Jerry Douglas Band
Leftover Feelings
Teaming veteran singer/composer John Hiatt with resophonic master Jerry Douglas and his band could have yielded yet another predictable Americana spin on modern bluegrass. Luckily, that didn’t happen. With Douglas producing, the collaboration…
The Beach Boys
Great Vibrations
It’s ironic – and tragic – that Brian Wilson leads off his long-awaited memoir explaining the voices he hears in his head. He’s referring to the mental illness that has troubled his life…
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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,
Toots and the Maytals – Light Your Light
News flash: Toots is sporting dreads! Since the dawn of his career in the mid 1960s, Frederick “Toots” Hibbert has sworn by a close-shaven head. And his music has remained close to its…
Robert Cray Band
On the heels of the live release from a 1987 concert, this is a fascinating study that shows how Robert Cray has grown as an artist, working up soul/pop tunes the likes of…
John Gorka – Gypsy Life
It was good news, hearing that audiophile record label AIX was releasing a deluxe John Gorka performance DVD/CD. But this disc is surprisingly somber given that Gorka is normally an animated, highly amusing…
Nick Lowe
Yep Roc Records
Time sometimes makes us forget how good certain artists truly are, and Nick Lowe is a prime example. After being out of print for some time, Yep Roc has reissued Lowe’s brilliant 1979…
Gov’t Mule – The Deepest End: Live In Concert
The Deepest End: Live In Concert
Everyone knows the story by now. Government Mule(and former Allman Brother) bassist Allen Woody passed away a couple years back, and the band paid tribute by releasing a couple of CDs that featured…
Ronnie Earl and the Broadcasters
On this latest album, Ronnie Earl and his band freely and unabashedly mourn and honor the late David Maxwell, the Broadcasters pianist who died in 2015 at age 71. While Earl and 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
Jim Lauderdale & The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys
The Long and Lones-ome Letting Go
Bluegrass became part of Lauderdale’s oeuvre decades ago through his collaborations with Ralph Stanley and Roland White. East Tennessee’s Grammy-nominated Po’ Ramblin’ Boys, admired for their fresh, energetic, and tradition-based sound, prove to…
John Abercrombie – Open Land
Guitarist John Abercrombie is one of the creators of the ECM Sound, and his new album is quintessential Abercrombie/ECM. If you arrived late, ECM Records was sparked by Manfred Eichner in Germany and…
Twang Dragons – Love Junkie
Twang Dragons Love Junkie Self-distributed It’s hard not to love a record that starts with guitars twangin’ and slidin’ and the line, “I’ve got an ass pocket full of whiskey.” Not only that,…
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…
Dave Mason
Dave Mason isn’t exactly a spring chicken anymore, but the 68-year-old shows the same skill and fire on his latest that has been present ever since he manned the guitar for Traffic way…
Larry Carlton – Sapphire Blue
In his interview with VG (October ’00), Larry Carlton said he wanted to record a blues album. With this import, he has fulfilled his wish. It’s not a straight blues album, but there…
Curtis Knight and the Squires (featuring Jimi Hendrix)
Sideman Blues
The music industry is full of tales of naive musicians and nightmarish record deals. Jimi Hendrix had more than his share. In 1965, Hendrix was an underemployed musician who didn’t have two nickels…
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
Déjà Vu 50th Anniversary
The essential tragedy of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young is that they never recorded a sequel to Déjà Vu. Instead, the quartet resorted to fractious live reunions and disappointing studio albums cut decades…
Neil Young
Chrome Dreams
After being shelved for more than 45 years, Neil Young’s long-lost 1977 album finally sees daylight. Nestled between an impressive run of comeback albums such as Comes a Time, Rust Never Sleeps, and…
Willie Nelson – Willie & The Wheel
Willie, The Wheel, and Wexler
Aside from Jerry Wexler’s standing as a titan of R&B, soul and rock, his musical range extended far beyond. A lifelong country fan, Wexler enjoyed Hank Williams and Bob Wills when they were…
Junior Wells – Keep On Steppin’: The Best of Junior Wells
The recent death of Junior Wells marked the end of an era, leaving behind his legacy and lots of great music. This “best of” CD draws from Wells’ four previous Telarc releases, all…
Mike Stern & Yellowjackets – Lifecycle
The Yellowjackets (Russell Ferrante, Jimmy Haslip, Bob Mintzer, and Marcus Baylor) are all great players in their own right, though they benefit from the occasional contributions of friends. On this disc, they’re joined…
Gruhn’s Guide to Vintage Guitars 2nd Edition
You may need a bigger pocket for this ex-panded second edition of Gruhn’s Guide, but you’ll want to have one. The larger-format softcover edition adds over 200 pages with new sections on post-war…
Muddy Waters & Big Bill Morganfield – Rollin’ Stone: The Golden Anniversary Collection &
These two CDs mark two generations of bluesmen covering the roots and the future of the blues. McKinley Morganfield, better known by his grandmother’s nickname for him as Muddy Waters, is the father…
Scott Gibson
Self-distributed
Gibson It’s hard to toss a quarter in Nashville without hitting a songwriter holding a tip jar, but few have Scott Gibson’s songwriting chops. On Just Keep Drivin’, Gibson delivers 12 reasons…
King Earl Boogie Band – Loaded & Live
England’s Dave Peabody, this quintet’s frontman, is usually found performing acoustic solo blues or in tandem with pianist Bob Hall, but is also an excellent photographer and music journalist. But there’s nothing academic…
Mike Campbell with Ari Surdoval
Heartbreaker: A Memoir
In his autobiography, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers guitarist Campbell admits he’s quiet and shy. Self-doubt plagued him his entire life, and when problems arose in the Heartbreakers, a lack of confidence had…
Ike & Tina Turner – Sing the Blues
The late Ike Turner, due to ex-wife Tina’s revelations of his various abuses, has been dismissed as a marginally talented manipulator who rode his wife’s coat-tails to success. Ike has only himself and…
Various Artists
Orchestral Maneuvers
Yes’ Chris Squire didn’t intend to make a masterpiece with 1975’s Fish Out of Water, but he inadvertently did – and knew it. For the ensuing 40 years, the late bassist never dared…
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…
Roy Jay
Roy Jay’s music flutters between swaggering suburban bar blues to California country/rock; sometimes within a single song, as on “Fatal Mistake.” But he’s a good player, with a fine acoustic sound (“John Brown”),…
