• Fretprints: Cream’s Disraeli Gears

    Artists

    Fretprints: Cream’s Disraeli Gears

    Supergroup Alpha

    Jack Bruce claimed Cream was two bands – live trio and studio group. Live, bassist Bruce, guitarist Eric Clapton, and drummer Ginger Baker were renowned for their highly improvisatory, powerful performance that was unprecedented in rock. Moreover, they were actually a jazz group (“…we just didn’t tell Eric,” Bruce said), as exemplified by their excursions

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Joe Negri

Royal Handyman, Jazz Legend

Long before becoming Handyman Negri on “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood,” he had already been a teen guitar prodigy, first-generation bopper, and a peer of the giants of jazz guitar. Though New…

Elvin Bishop

Gettin' his groove back

Most blues fans are aware of the good-time party side of Elvin Bishop. And there’s plenty of that on his latest record, Gettin’ My Groove Back (Blind Pig). But on…

Ted Newman Jones’ West-Texas Guitars

Melodious Coterie

Boxcars Among the vast papers, drawings, photographs, and tapes at Texas Tech’s Crossroads of Music Archive is a guitar beloved by the late Jesse “Guitar” Taylor. Known as “Dice,” it…

Jimmy Vivino – Canned Heat Shuffle

Solo on a Rare Martin Jimmy Vivino and his Martin Paul Simon PS 2 OM prototype (which was gifted to him by Paul!) share an unplugged take on Canned Heat’s…

Dave Stewart

Six-Strings, Studios, and Songs

Guitarists often cite instruments as sources of inspiration. For musician, songwriter, and producer Dave Stewart, it wasn’t a ’57 Strat or a ’Burst that recently caused a creative flurry, but…

Have Guitar Will Travel 074 – Molly Moore with her guitarist Ariel Bellvalaire and MUNA’s Josette Maskin

Episode 74 of “Have Guitar Will Travel” opens with host James Patrick Regan speaking with Molly Moore and her guitarist, Ariel Bellvalaire. Ariel grew up in the Connecticut and moved…

Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks

Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks

Minds Made Up

Collaborations have rendered some of the greatest tunes in the history of music. Whittle the subject to “just” guitarists, and the truth remains – two are often better than one.…

Elliot Easton

Different Directions

Lefty guitarist Elliot Easton has chosen a different route for his most recent musical venture, but its sonic direction should come as no surprise to any fan who has followed…

Pop ’N Hiss: Grand Funk Railroad’s Live Album

Pulverizing Performance

Brutish power chords and shrieking guitar lines abetted by pounding percussion, overdriven bass riffs, and wailing vocals – at the advent of the ’70s, the “Detroit Sound” was a precursor…

Van Wilks

Stormin’ out of Austin

Texas-born guitarist/vocalist Van Wilks’ first new album in a decade, 21st Century Blues, is full of loud Texas tones. Born in Galveston, he grew up in Lubbock and Brownwood, “…and…

Pop ’N Hiss: King’s X’s Gretchen Goes To Nebraska

Faith, Hope & Pain

By the final year of the ’80s, King’s X was a powerhouse of curiosity cleaving its way through the harmonic torso of a changing rockscene propelled by drummer Jerry Gaskill’s…

Duke Levine, solo guitar on a ’70s country stalwart!

Classic licks on a ’60s Teisco and blackface Princeton Reverb” Boston native Duke Levine’s impressive career has included stints with Otis Rush, Del Fuegos, Mary Chapin Carpenter, and others. Now…

Kenny Lovelace

The Killer’s Axe Man

Playing behind the Killer, you wouldn’t want to hit a wrong note. Kenny Lovelace has picked his guitar with Jerry Lee Lewis for 47 years and counting, so he must…

Tommy Allsup

1931-2017 From Buddy Holly to Bob Wills

No article on the late Tommy Allsup would be complete without the story of an unsuccessful coin flip saving his life – and that goes for this one, too. But…

Neal Schon

Spacesaver Sale

Eyebrows raise with news that a superstar guitar collector is preparing to sell iconic instruments. Alarms might trigger, even. But don’t dial 9-1-1 for Neal Schon. Holder of 800 instruments…

Aldo Nova’s 2022 “Paradise”

Rock legend’s thunderous return Forty years after “Fantasy,” Canadian rock legend Aldo Nova has returned with two new projects. One is a semi-autobiographical rock opera called “The Life and Times…

Jeff Berlin

Flashback to Jack

Fusion bassist Jeff Berlin’s new album, Jack Songs, is an all-star tribute to Jack Bruce, the trailblazing virtuoso and frontman of Cream. For the project, Berlin enlisted aces like Geddy…

Oz Noy & Andrew Synowiec

Musical Combustion

New from Oz Noy and Andrew Synowiec is a guitar team-up highlighting hot licks, high energy, and strong songwriting. The album is Recreational Substance, and post-bop note density is the…

Saucerful of Strats

Pink Floyd Catalog Gets a Massive Reissue

By any standard, Pink Floyd has one of the mightiest catalogs in rock and roll – a 14-album pantheon dating from 1967 to ’94 that has few rivals. Every so…

“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guest Nate Westgor

“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guest Nate Westgor Season 01 Episode 01 In Episode 1 of “Buy That Guitar,” presented by Vintage Guitar magazine, host Ram Tuli talks with…

Vinnie Moore

Perpetually Exceptional

Shred architect Vinnie Moore’s latest solo record, Double Exposure, holds the distinction of being both an instrumental solo album and a vocal-rock record. The glue that holds it together is…

Eric Gales

Stand Up

In a recording career that spans 30 years and includes 18 albums of his own and 28 more tributes and compilations, Eric Gales has earned a reputation for blindingly fast…

The Manakooras

Tiki Twang

Call it exotica or tiki twang, but the Manakooras play tropical instro that evokes visions of dreamy Pacific islands. Led by steel guitarist Kane Manakoora, the act features Tiki Mo…

Dave Edmunds

Dave Edmunds

Full Solo Circle

The career of Welsh guitarist Dave Edmunds has included hits and collaborations with other notable musicians, including Rockpile, with bassist Nick Lowe. First, though, he drew notice in his home…

Albert Cummings’ creative milestone album

Guitarist Shines on “Ten” Albert Cummings jams like a boss on a Custom Shop Strat through a ’67 Super Reverb. Hold on tight! Read our review of his new album,…

George Lynch

New Roads

A lynch pin is a narrow shaft of metal that keeps a wheel from falling off – without it, the whole thing collapses. Same holds true for George Lynch, the…

Nancy Wilson

Beautifully Unbroken

Responsible for guitar-laden classics such as “Crazy On You,” “Love Alive,” and “Devil Delight,” Nancy Wilson has been inspiring musicians for decades. Nancy and her sister, Ann, have churned out…

Tom Guerra

Tom Guerra

Rock and Roll Swagger

After 15 years and four albums with Connecticut trio Mambo Sons, Tom Guerra just released his first solo album, All of the Above. The CD is a collection of hook-laden…

Mr. Smith goes to Rudy’s

“Upstairs” at a famed NYC guitar boutique

Nashville has Music Row and London has Soho, but if your heart starts palpitating at the mere mention of carved wood, PAFs, and steel strings, it’s hard to beat New…

J.D. Simo

Psychedelia and Satan

Psychedelic bluesman J.D. Simo deploys impressive wah skill, blistering fuzz tones, and hypnotic grooves that will expand your consciousness. His latest album, Mind Control, is the perfect retro, echo-drenched, escapist…