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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 Spencer Davis Group – I’m A Man & Gimme Some Lovin’
I'm A Man & Gimme Some Lovin'
In its original incarnation, the Spencer Davis Group was one of the best R&B or pop bands of the British Invasion. Unfortunately, that incarnation only stayed together long enough to record two albums.…
Cheryl Wheeler – Defying Gravity
After 11 releases in 22 years, you might assume Cheryl Wheeler has written songs about nearly everything. But her latest release proves she still has plenty of fresh insight. In the last two…
John Lennon – Rock ‘N’ Roll
In 1975, ex-Beatle Lennon paid homage to his rock and roll roots – something Paul McCartney wouldn’t get around to until 1999’s Run Devil Run. Lennon’s early-rock credentials were beyond repute, as anyone…
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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,
Various Artists – Hittin’ On All Six
If you’re a fan of jazz guitar, especially that from 1920 to 1950, you need to check out Hittin’ On All Six (Proper Records CD Properbox 9), a four-CD set (with a 52-page…
Al Stewart
Year of the Cat 45th Anniversary
You couldn’t have planned a ’70s smash any better. For superior sonics, Stewart collaborated with producer Alan Parsons, famed for his work with the Beatles and Pink Floyd. The music also tapped into…
Jimmy Vivino
Gonna Be 2 of Those Days
A veteran vocalist/guitarist/keyboardist and purveyor of blues, R&B, and rock’, Jimmy Vivino has an incredible résumé. A longtime fixture in Conan O’Brien’s house band, he has played on movie, radio, and Broadway projects…
Ry Cooder and Manuel Galb
Ry Cooder is a guitarist with an ear tuned to a past no one else hears anymore. Inspired by the music of old-time Havana, he brought together a troupe of master Cuban musicians…
Carrie Elkin
Red House Records
How many versions of the song “If That Mocking Bird Don’t Sing” have you heard? I’ve listened to more than I can count on all my digits. So when I heard Carrie Elkin…
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…
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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
Metallica
72 Seasons
Metallica’s 11th album is a blast from the band’s hard-charging past, and does not disappoint. As the follow-up to 2016’s Hardwired… to Self-Destruct, drummer Lars Ulrich, guitarist Kirk Hammett, frontman/guitarist James Hetfield, and…
R.L. Burnside – Well… Well… Well
If you’ve ever heard R.L. Burnside play, you’ll know the significance of this album’s title; “Well… well… well” is one of his pet phrases, a constant punctuation to his conversation. Burnside is a…
Boom, Boom, Kuush!
Queen
Ready to set listeners flashing back to wide-leg corduroys and denim-covered Koss headphones, Hollywood Records’ News of The World 40th Anniversary Edition box set is a great excuse to revisit Queen’s 1977 landmark…
Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
Shout Factory
Jon Spencer formed his Blues Explosion ensemble in New York City in 1991. The band was instantly hated and beloved; purists saw them as treading on age-old blues traditions with no respect. Others…
Big Lazy
The guitar universe has been inundated with all things “retro” for the past decade, but the all-instrumental trio Big Lazy gives it a fresh spin. Old-school twang meets gritty Hollywood-soundtrack music here, with…
The George Benson Quartet – It’s Uptown, The George Benson Cookbook
George Benson was another of A&R legend John Hammond’s famous discoveries, alongside the likes of Count Basie, Charlie Christian, Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin, and Bruce Springsteen. This put Benson in a tough position…
Greg Koch Band
Due to his longtime residency in Milwaukee, Greg Koch may have not been discovered by the world at large. But that’s certainly not true among his fellow guitarists. On his latest, Koch is…
Mark Hummel – Golden State Blues
A great album by a harp virtuoso sums this one up. Mark Hummel is part of that West Coast batch of guys who just have their pulse on the jump-blues and shuffles of…
Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit
Live From the Ryman, Vol. 2
Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium is a special venue for Isbell & the 400 Unit. As their stature has grown beyond roots music, they’ve performed on that vaunted stage more than 50 times in the…
Jimi
Janie Hendrix and John McDermott
Jimi Hendrix would now be 80 years old and remains at the top of the “What if they’d lived?” list of musicians. This lavish book by Jimi’s stepsister, Janie, and McDermott (who oversee…
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…
Ana Popovic
Three Faces of Ana
Belgrade’s Ana Popovic has been barnstorming the globe for years, entertaining audiences with her own brand of blues-rock, while gathering a loyal fan base. She knows where her bread is buttered, and it’s…
U2 – How To Dismantle an Atomic Bomb
U2 has hit another home run. Try and think of another major rock and roll band this far into it and still making consistently good albums. Hell, at this point in their career,…
Blackberry Smoke
The Atlanta band walks the line between blues, alt country, and Southern rock on their fifth studio album, getting lower down and rocking harder all the way. The quintet lives to play, touring…
The Relatives
Original guitarist Charles Ray “Gypsy” Mitchell returns to the band from a decades-long break to open this new album with sweet, understated Pops Staples-like licks to underscore an eerie reading of Tim Maia’s…
Paul McCartney & Wings
Band on the Run 50th Anniversary
McCartney’s 1973 classic is a post-Beatles favorite for its title cut (a #1 U.S. single) and rockin’ singles “Jet” and “Helen Wheels.” The new mixes are a departure from that condensed analog sound…
Acoustic Alchemy
Heads Up
The knock against Acoustic Alchemy has always been that it’s background music, but the band has always created music that’s atmospheric in the best sense of the word. Granted, it’s not for guitarists…
Melissa Carper and Sad Daddy
With her bass making a dependable, rhythmic anchor, Melissa Carper sings like a bird soaring “where the wind blows high above the trees,” as Bob Dylan said. It’s tricky to wear both hats,…
Joshua Hedley
Neon Blue
Country tradition remains the center of Joshua Hedley’s universe. His 2018 debut, Mr. Jukebox, reflected his mastery of the ’50s and ’60s honky-tonk of Ray Price, George Jones, Merle Haggard, and Faron Young,…
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…
Dion
Stomping Ground
