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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
Nick Lowe – Dig My Mood
It’s extremely tempting to start this review with something like…”I knew Nick Lowe when he used to rock and roll…,” but I won’t because it might make you think I don’t like this…
This Band Has No Past: How Cheap Trick Became Cheap Trick
Brian J. Kramp
Bearing an incredibly accurate subtitle, the story told here is presented mostly as an oral history, loaded with minutiae about the adventures of Rick Nielsen, Robin Zander, Tom Petersson, and Bun E. Carlos…
Gil Parris – Gil Parris and Friends Live
We’ve discussed Gil’s playing in these pages several times, and this DVD reinforces that use of ink. Shot at the Irvington Town Hall Theater in Irvington, New York, it’s obvious Parris is among…
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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,
Steve Hunter
Picking a highlight of Steve Hunter’s latest is a tough chore, as there’s many tracks to recommend. Top of the list may be his lovely interpretation of the Marvin Gaye classic “What’s Goin’…
Hellecasters – Live…Raw…In Germany On…The Filter
Yikes! Here’s a truly awe-inspiring display of guitar playing. Recorded live on German television, Jerry Donahue, John Jorgenson, and Will Ray take you on a roller-coaster ride that will leave you sitting on…
Miles Davis
Columbia/Legacy
Debates will forever rage regarding the dawn of jazz-rock fusion – its birth attributed to everyone from vibraphonist Gary Burton (and/or his guitarist, Larry Coryell) to Cream. There were definitely examples prior to…
Steve Lowenthal and James Cullingham
John Fahey’s Blues
John Fahey is to the solo acoustic guitar what Jimi Hendrix was to the electric. Endlessly inventive, pioneering, and genre-defining, he was the player whom all subsequent guitarists had to listen to. Many…
Happy Traum
Stefan Grossman’s Guitar Workshop
Resurrected from Stefan Grossman’s Kicking Mule label of the ’70s (1977, to be exact), Stranger was the followup to Traum’s solo debut, Relax Your Mind. In lieu of beefing up the 30-minute set…
Creedence Clearwater Revival – Boxed Set
This arrived just in time for me to program “Graveyard Train” to play over and over on Halloween, scaring (or at least bewildering) unsuspecting trick-or-treaters, wondering, “What’s with that old coot handing out…
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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
Ted Leo
The Hanged Man
Critically acclaimed East Coast songwriter Ted Leo’s press clippings are filled with references to the Canon of British Bands Whose Names Are Collective Nouns: The Who, The Jam, The Clash. Fair enough; after…
Toy Matinee – Toy Matinee Special Edition
I love this album. I’ve loved it since the original version came out around 1990. Toy Matinee was the work of Patrick Leonard on keyboards, Kevin Gilbert on vocals and various instruments, 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…
Joel Harrison String Choir
Sunnyside
Paul Motian is one of the most unusual figures in jazz – respected for his composing as much as his drumming. He was a member of Bill Evans’ famed trio, backed such greats…
John Mellencamp – Freedom’s Road
This release was surrounded by a scary amount of hype. And the Chevy commercials on TV that forced “Our Country” down our throats seemed a harbinger of bad things. Mellencamp, of course, can…
Joe Louis Walker
Joe Louis Walker’s latest covers a lot of ground and proves once again that he can’t be pigeonholed like some of the straight blues players of his generation. The title cut kicks things…
SimakDialog
Hailing from Indonesia, SimakDialog is one of the best jazz-rock bands on the planet and this two-CD live set proves it. This performance features virtuosic playing from lead guitarist Tohpati and electric-piano master…
Dolly Parton – Little Sparrow
Little Sparrow
When honky-tonk hero Merle Haggard found himself in the unlikely role of pop star, with the hits “Okie From Muskogee” and “The Fightin’ Side Of Me,” he wasted little time using his increased…
Los Carnales – Los Carnales
Los Carnales is a St. Louis-based blues band, and numerous cuts here – including the opener, “East St. Louis” – feature blistering guitar from Texas native Elliot Sowell. Fans may also know bassist…
David Ball – Freewheeler
David Ball has the talent to be a huge star, yet he seems content to fly underneath Nashville’s radar. His first song, “Don’t You Think I Feel It, Too,” was originally recorded by…
Laurence Juber, Tommy Emmanuel, and various artists
With a catalog that boasts such top-drawer acoustic pickers as Laurence Juber, Tommy Emmanuel, Ed Gerhard, and Pat Donahue, Solid Air hit on a format of having a dozen or so guitarists contributing…
Luther Allison- A Legend Never Dies: Essential Recordings 1976-1997
Soul-Fixin’ Man
Even among blues musicians, Luther Allison’s story was unique. Born into sharecropping in Arkansas, the 14th of 15 children, he learned to sing gospel and play guitar. After the family moved their roots…
Corb Lund
Songs my Friends Wrote
Lund, the Canadian singer/songwriter known for powerful, rocking originals, departs from form to honor eight of his favorite songwriters. He isn’t simply covering signature tunes, but lesser-known compositions he admires. The Hurtin’ Albertans,…
Spoon
Lucifer On The Sofa
Ten studio albums in, Spoon’s latest just may be its purest rock-and-roll record. What took so long? The band’s early albums verged on ragged-edge post-punk, while power-pop masterpieces like 2007’s Ga Ga Ga…
Los Straitjackets – Further Adventures
Surf music has often been all about the schtick. Whether it’s the melodies or the bands’ personas, surf is often part gimmick, part great music. Los Straitjackets just know how to turn it…
David Weigel
The Show That Never Ends: The Rise And Fall Of Prog Rock
This journalistic dive into the history of prog-rock follows the music from its Beatlesque origins through the explosion of the Moody Blues, the Nice, Genesis, Rush, and dozens more. It’s not all original…
Jim Lauderdale – Honey Songs
Yep Roc Records
When Gram Parsons, Mike Nesmith, and Gene Clark were making their best music, major country radio stations ignored them. It wasn’t much of a jump from Hank Williams Jr. and Charlie Daniels to…
The Rolling Stones
Amidst the late-’70s rise of punk and new wave, the Stones felt irrelevant; they were still a mammoth touring entity, but their brightest days seemed behind them. Released at last, these secret gigs…
Mary Chapin Carpenter – The Age of Miracles
Zoe/Rounder
Mary Chapin Carpenter’s music is like a security blanket – warm, familiar, and homey. On The Age of Miracles, she distills her music into an even more comforting package. The album was produced…
Sean Watkins – Let It Fall
Sean Watkins is one third of the young Grammy-nominated supergroup Nickel Creek. Along with his sister Sara and mando phenom Chris Thile, they’ve lit up the festival circuit with fresh musical energy. Let…
Kansas – Two for the Show: 30th Anniversary Edition
Sony/Legacy
One iconic artifact of the late-’70s rock scene was the ubiquitous “double live album,” a marketing ploy usually timed for the Christmas rush, but one that also yielded much good music. Following the…
