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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
Lynwood Slim and the Igor Prado Band
Delta Groove Music
Despite its title, this is a batch of West Coast jazz-inflected blues – not some form of South American music. The title comes from Lynwood Slim’s band, which hails from Brazil; guitarist Igor…
Jim Lauderdale
My Favorite Place
Since his 1991 debut, Planet of Love, Jim Lauderdale has produced a body of award-winning work few modern country or Americana acts can match. His albums reflect a level of consistency in creating…
Black Crowes
When it comes to meat-and-potatoes rock and roll, the Black Crowes are as good as it gets. The band’s latest release finds it playing a live version of the studio album, Warpaint, along…
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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,
Samuel James – Songs Famed for Sorrow and Joy
The hoodoo factor in Samuel James’ music is strong. He is very connected to the eerie, mythical nature of early 20th-century country blues, his music conjures up images of Ol’ Scratch in his…
Martin Taylor – In Concert
In Concert
After finishing Gershwin’s “I Got Rhythm” – following his tongue-in-cheek, herky jerky, impossible-to-snap-your-fingers-to intro with a laughably fast walking bass figure, over which he somehow threads both melody and comping chords (simultaneously) –…
Tom Principato – Anniversary DVD: Celebrating 40 Years
Anniversary DVD: Celebrating 40 Years
Tom Principato is one of those guitarists who has been around for a long time. He’s on the fringe of lots of stuff, has played with tons of great guitarists, and makes pretty…
Gov’t Mule
Heavy Load Blues
When a successful band of fine musicians is struck by the compulsion to revisit the muses of their youth by recording blues covers, it can go horribly wrong. Fortunately, Gov’t Mule’s first blues…
Cody Canada and the Departed
Cody Canada and company have delivered a record that adds to his work with his former band, Cross Canadian Ragweed, mixing country and rock with lyrics that deal with real life. Seth James,…
Lucinda Williams
Ghost Stories
From Bobby Troup’s “(Get Your Kicks On) Route 66” to Bob Dylan’s “Highway 61 Revisited” and more, the roads we’ve traveled have inspired our music. Enter U.S. Highway 20, stretching 1,500 miles across…
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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
Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band
Honeysuckle
Resonator-slide specialist Reverend Peyton returns to his primary influences – early 20th-century African-American music – compelling him to shout from the hollers and the hills. Rootsy, acoustic, inter-war blues is the specific genre,…
Mark Cook – An Evening With The Blues
An Evening With The Blues
It’s obvious this Terre Haute-based guitarist is a talented individual. He’s got the chops and did all the writing and arranging on this disc. Not only the instrumental portions, but the vocal melodies,…
Joe Pass
As Concord Music continues its Original Jazz Classics Remasters, we get three records recorded for Pablo Records from the ’70s that feature Joe Pass on guitar. He’s normally remembered for the solo work…
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall Hendrix is undoubtedly the greatest rock guitarist who ever lived, and Experience Hendrix LLC is now releasing a vinyl version of this original 2000 collection. The original release consisted of studio…
Gary Clark Jr.
Bright Lights, Big Fuzz
When Gary Clark, Jr. appeared on the national scene, music fans on the Internet suddenly became blues experts. Opinions burst like flak guns on D-Day with everything from shortsighted Jimi Hendrix comparisons to…
Nick Knirk
As soon as this Louisiana native finished high school, he relocated to Denton, Texas, near Dallas, where he got a degree in Jazz Studies from the University of North Texas. He lists Django…
Howard and the White Boys – Made In Chicago
The Howard who hangs here with the White Boys is Howard McCullum, bassist and vocalist extraordinaire. The White Boys are a fine bunch of players that include Rocco Calipari and Pete Galanis on…
Check This Action: Unearthing Blues Treasures
Steve Buscemi’s depiction of a socially challenged record collector in the movie Ghost World is not inaccurate – at least in a lot of cases. Let’s face it, record collectors can be nerds. But…
Bill Frisell – Blues Dream
Blues Dream
In some ways, Blues Dream is a bit of an odd title for this new release by guitar soundpainter Bill Frisell. Like several of his recent releases, the music is definitely dreamlike, with…
Gene Bertoncini – Concerti
Bertoncini hits the jackpot; the nylon-string guitar whiz is joined by a string quartet for a set of music that is both challenging and exquisite to hear. Familiar tunes like “East of the…
Larry Coryell
He’s the godfather of fusion guitar, and don’t you forget it. Chico Hamilton, Gary Burton, the Eleventh House, Alphonse Mouzon, the Guitar Trio – Larry Coryell was melding jazz, rock, and Indian music…
Hot Club of Cowtown
Proper Records
Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys and Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grapelli’s Hot Club both blended early 20th century blues and jazz with the folk music of their culture. Both featured hot-shot fiddlers…
Larry Coryell – Tricycles
Tricycles
Roomful of Blues – The Blues’ll Make You Happy, Too
The Blues'll Make You Happy, Too
Sir Clive and the Raging Cartographers – Guitar Safari
An aptly titled collection of songs, if any guitarist was indeed hunting guitar sounds and styles, finding something like this would indeed make for a successful safari. Composed, played, and recorded by VG…
Gene Clark – Silverado ’75
In a band that at various times included Roger McGuinn, Clarence White, Gram Parsons, Chris Hillman and David Crosby, Gene Clark wasn’t overshadowed. He wrote some of the group’s most recognized songs, including…
Lexie Roth – One Long Blink
Roth was 17 when she started recording this project, 19 when she finished, and it’s testament to her talent and maturity that you can’t tell where the performances fell chronologically. Her six originals…
Hilary Gardner
On The Trail with The Lonesome Pines
Vocalist Gardner explores the association between jazz and country, the Great American Songbook, and cowboy movie stars. Similar territory was mined by Asleep At The Wheel and Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks,…
The Hellecasters – Essential Listening Volume 1
Essential Listening Volume 1
I’m sure it’s the same for everyone. You have certain players and bands that just can do no wrong. It’s that way for me with the Hellecasters. I just don’t know how you…
Suzi Quatro
The Devil In Me
Why didn’t Suzi Quatro become a star in America? The ahead-of-her-time Detroit native, now 71, had a distinctive voice, catchy glam/hard-rock songs, media attention, and played bass. TV appearances on “Happy Days” and…
James Burton, Albert Lee,Amos Garrett, David Wilcox
Recorded live in 2013, this album is exactly what you’d think given the players: an onslaught of guitar playing that would make even the most cynical music fan smile. All four players are…
Amy Black
If Will Kimbrough’s name does not come up the next time you’re discussing great guitar players, then you ain’t saying nothin’. Kimbrough is always on the money whether putting a delicately strong acoustic…
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…
