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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
Electric Prunes – Release of an Oath
The ’60s produced some mighty weird bands, perhaps none odder than the Electric Prunes. The group is primarily known for its 1967 hit “I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night)” and the…
Gina Villalobos – Miles Away
Gina Villalobos proves that a contemporary artist of the female persuasion doesn’t have to possess an “American Idol” voice to create powerful music. Remember Kim Carnes or Bonnie Tyler? At times, Villalobos’ voice…
Greg Douglass and the Accomplices
For years, Greg Douglass was San Francisco’s best-kept guitar secret. At the dawn of psychedelia, his band, Country Weather, made a demo to get bookings, and it got substantial airplay on underground radio.…
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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,
Greg V – Tailgate Troubadour
Greg V has played and toured with acts like Double Trouble and Buddy Miles. But that won’t prepare you for this album of instrumentals that contains more tasty, atmospheric guitars than you’re likely…
Peter Case and Friends – Avalon Blues Tribute to Mississippi John Hurt
When the names of influential guitar players come up, Mississippi John Hurt is rarely in the top 10. That’s wrong. This new CD, the brainchild of Peter Case, makes a strong point for…
The Holmes Brothers – State of Grace
It’s tough to write great songs and perform them well. But it’s another thing altogether to covergreat songwriters, make their songs your own, and do them well. And it’s an incredible feat when…
Chet Atkins and Mel Cochran – Chet Atkins: Me and My Guitars
Chet Atkins: Me and My Guitars
Chet Atkins has a deserved reputation as a great guitar player and all-around nice guy. So it’s a pleasure to see a book that is part biography and part history of his personal…
Pine Mountain Railroad – Alone with Forever
In a world where everything is at our fingertips, anyone with access to the internet can instantly listen to original recordings by Bill Monroe, Flatt and Scruggs, Stanley Brothers, Osborne Brothers, Red Foley,…
Blood, Sweat & Tears
What the Hell Happened to Blood, Sweat & Tears?
In 1970, Blood, Sweat & Tears was one of the most popular bands on Earth. The Woodstock headliner’s second album was doing serious business with three hit singles in the top five, which…
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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
Doyle Bramhall II
Rich Man
In the 15 years since his debut album, Welcome, Doyle Bramhall, II has been in great demand. Along with a decade working with Eric Clapton in the studio and onstage, he’s has collaborated…
The Deadlies
Self-distributed
Though its song titles imply this is “surf music,” James Patrick Regan and the Deadlies boast plenty of other inf luences. Yes, there’s plenty of reverb-drenched guitar from Regan, and bassist Bob St.…
Kurt Rosenwinkel – The Enemies of Energy
Rosenwinkel is a jazz guitarist. That said, this CD proves he’s willing to go anywhere for his musical muse. There’s not much of a chance to pigeonhole him. From killer bop on the…
Larry McCray
Blues Without You
After 40 years of playing under the radar, Rust Belt bluesman Larry McCray finally gets his big break. On Blues Without You, McCray receives production magic from Joe Bonamassa and Josh Smith for…
Damn Straight We’ve Got the Blues
Various artists
This carefully curated 60-track, digital-only compilation draws deeply from the catalogs of New West and Antones Records as well as New West’s “Live from Austin” series. The focus? Blues numbers from a swath…
Garaj Mahal
Self-distributed
One of the best fusion bands around today, Garaj Mahal is rife with virtuoso players who care only about a loose, funky groove. Here, the playing of guitarist Fareed Haque is just sick…
Danny Gatton – Funhouse
Funhouse
This is incredible stuff. Hardly a scoop to guitar players. What surprises me is that there are tapes of Danny Gatton out there that sound this good, and we’ve never heard them. This…
Van Morrison
Wild Nights
In the history of live recordings, there are a handful widely considered to be all-time classics: B.B. King’s Live at the Regal is one, James Brown’s Live at the Apollo 1962 is another.…
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…
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…
Jim Fox – Natural Blonde
Talk about a guitar feast! Fox, a fixture in L.A.’s jazz and studio scenes, goes toe to toe with two giants of those same circles, a generation his senior (John Pisano and Bob…
Various Artists
It’s not unusual to see compilations defined by region or style; this one focuses on players who share the same brand of guitar: Hallmark. The Hallmark company was launched in 1966 by Joe…
Peter Bardens
Long Ago, Far Away: The Recordings (1968-1971)
Following a sort of carousel-calliope intro, with one unmistakable bend, Peter Green enters “The Answer” and quickly transforms the proceedings. Keyboardist Peter Bardens released an album of the same name in 1970, featuring…
Foghat
Foghat Records
Foghat guitarists “Lonesome” Dave Peverett and Rod Price have both passed on, but the band’s blues-boogie legacy is being carried forward by drummer (and co-founder) Roger Earl and singer/ guitarist Charlie Huhn, who…
Dwight Yoakam – Sings Buck
When Yoakam put the twang back into country music in the mid ’80s, his mere existence was a tribute to his chief influence, Buck Owens. And in 1988 he brought the then-retired Owens…
Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver
Life Is A Story
Bluegrass today follows countless musical variations, but through nearly 40 years, Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver have remained true to the classic sound. Lawson, a veteran Jimmy Martin and J.D. Crowe sideman, launched Quicksilver…
Nokie Edwards – Carvin’ It Out
I shouldn’t have to introduce you to Nokie. He was a member of the Ventures and is well-known in guitar circles. Knowing that and nothing else about him will leave you very surprised…
Barney Kessel with Shelly Manne & Ray Brown
The Poll Winners
Kessel, bassist Brown, and drummer Manne – pillars of West Coast jazz – had already topped reader polls in Playboy and two jazz publications before teaming for this 1957 collaboration. Using the rarely-employed…
Neil Young + Promise of the Real
Neil Young often does whatever he pleases. And now, at age 70, that’s truer than ever. This new album proves the point: It’s a thematic concert combining new takes on 13 previously released…
Not Done Yet
Eric Clapton
Nearly 60 years after “For Your Love” – the hit that prompted him to leave the Yardbirds – Clapton can pick the material he wants, documented on this eclectic, mostly-mellow release. Meanwhile combines…
Yates McKendree
Buchanan Lane
A Grammy-winning engineer, multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, songwriter, and already a veteran of some of Nashville’s most-storied stages, the release of 21-year-old Yates McKendree’s debut album mandates the addition of another accolade – top-shelf purveyor…
