-
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 Allman Brothers Band
In the 40 years since Brothers and Sisters was released in 1973, we’ve lived roughly half our lives. And if you are a fan of classic rock, this album likely provided a soundtrack…
Strolling Scones – Instrospective
The Strolling Scones recreate a ’60s vibe while writing songs that are fresh and new. For instance, if the 12-string on “Any Time She Passes By” doesn’t bring to mind the Byrds, you’ve…
Check This Action: Bluegrass, Newgrass, Whograss
One night in 1976, I drove into San Francisco with no agenda other than to hear music. I passed by the always reliable Great American Music Hall, which was primarily a jazz club.…
-
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,
-
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
-
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,
The Band – Rock of Ages: The Band in Concert
Rock of Ages: The Band in Concert
This late album by The Band needs little introduction. By the time it was originally released – Rock of Ages in ’72 – The Band had made its mark both on its own…
The Jimmy Bruno Group – Midnight Blue
I dunno… sometimes it seems silly to review things like this. Everyone who follows jazz guitar knows Jimmy Bruno is a knock-down monster player with both chops and soul. In fact, technically, he’s…
Dion
Stomping Ground
Through more than six decades, Dion DiMucci has traversed doo-wop, folk, folk-rock, gospel and, in recent years, blues-flavored guitar music – a passion rooted in his discovering Robert Johnson in the mid ’60s.…
Jerry Douglas and Various Artists
E1 Entertainment
Tut Taylor is a self-taught virtuoso who plays his Model 27 square-neck Dobro with a flat pick. He first caught the public’s ear while playing with Vassar Clemens in the Dixie Gentleman, and…
Sahara Smith
Playing In Traffic
At 15, this Austinite placed second in a contest for young songwriters on “A Prairie Home Companion.” Now 21, her debut consists of 12 originals, as impressive as they are mature in terms…
Rodolphe Raffalli
Frémeaux
A hero of today’s Parisian jazz guitar scene, Rodolphe Raffalli is renowned for his virtuosity and glorious melodic sense. It’s a rare blend; he’s a true master who can still keep his music…
-
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,
-
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
-
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,
-
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
-
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,
-
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
Johnny A. – Sometime Tuesday Morning
I say it three or four times a year. Every so often, a CD arrives from an artist I’ve never heard of, and it blows me away. Here’s one of those. This is…
Subdudes – Street Symphony
It’s a good thing the Subdudes decided to “put the band back together” in ’02. In this set of music, their first since Hurricane Katrina devastated their hometown of New Orleans, they touch…
Paul Curreri
Tin Angel Records
Paul Curreri’s latest album follows a throat injury that forced him to stop performing for a couple years but didn’t stop him from producing numerous records, including Don’t Hurry for Heaven, by his…
Roy Orbison & Friends
Black & White Night 30
The year 1987 saw Roy Orbison in the midst of a triumphant resurgence. His ’60s recording “In Dreams” was featured in the hit film Blue Velvet. He joined Dylan, George Harrison, Tom Petty,…
Blues Traveler
With this new outing, Blues Traveler breaks from the familiarity of the band’s past work by collaborating with outside songwriters. JC Chasez, 3OH!3, Secondhand Serenade, Hanson, Plain White T’s, Jewel, Thompson Square, Bowling…
Peter Tuffrey
British Guitarists 1952-1972: Electric Pioneers
Peter Tuffrey is an author of general-interest books (several about English trains) who is adroit at compiling information. This one keys on 40 British guitarists – from the obvious (Clapton, Beck, Page) to…
Blues Icon John Mayall
Check This Action
Few living blues artists could merit a package of 35 CDs. But what makes John Mayall: The First Generation most remarkable is that it only documents the British blues legend’s career up to…
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…
Basily – Swing for the Gipsies
The Dutch Gypsy group Basily has been prolific in releasing recordings and playing concert dates on the Dutch scene, but remains virtually unknown in the rest of the world. This new album will…
Groove Legacy
Groove Legacy is a group of L.A. musicians who have banded together to make an album in the soul/jazz/funk vein that harkens back to the ’70s, but still sounds vibrant and current. It…
The Mystick Krewe of Clearlight – Self Titled
Black Sabbath’s jamming with Deep Purple, but Ian Gillian and Ozzy are nowhere in sight (probably getting smashed at the bar), it’s 1972 New Orleans and swampy voodoo’s going down. Captain America and…
Trevor McShane
By day, Neville Johnson is an attorney who was voted by Hollywood Reporter as one of the Top 100 Power Lawyers, seven years running. By night he assumes the alter ego of singer-songwriter…
Drive By Truckers – The Dirty South
The Dirty South
I confess, these good ol’ boys have become one of my favorite rock and roll bands. There double-disc opus, Southern Rock Opera, was one of my favorite records from the past couple of…
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Shout Factory
Coinciding with ELP’s recent reunion show is this quadruple-CD box set containing 40 years of unreleased live tracks. The anthology is nicely arranged and annotated with one distinct era per disc – early-’70s,…
Gilkyson, Gorka, Kaplansky
Red House Records
Eliza Gilkyson, John Gorka, and Lucy Kaplansky have played on each other’s albums and shared concert stages, but the idea for a group album surfaced when they played together during Red House Records…
Check This Action: Bluegrass, Newgrass, Whograss
One night in 1976, I drove into San Francisco with no agenda other than to hear music. I passed by the always reliable Great American Music Hall, which was primarily a jazz club.…
Elvis Presley
Back in Nashville
Buoyed by a triumphant return to the Las Vegas stage and a string of recent hits, Elvis Presley returned to RCA’s Nashville studios in the early ’70s with new lead guitarist James Burton…
Dan Hicks & The Hot Licks – Tangled Tales
Surfdog
The hype around Tangled Tales screams “Dan Hicks is back!” Which was the same line when he released Beatin’ The Heat in 2000 and no doubt Selected Shorts four years later. Granted, Heat…
Bill Frisell
Few jazz guitarists combine versatility, originality, and eclecticism like 59-yearold Bill Frisell. He’s such a unique guitar voice, “jazz” seems too confining a category. And thanks to his open-mindedness, he’s as likely to…
David Bromberg
Swearing On The Blues
David Bromberg likes to quote the great fiddler Johnny Gimble, who once famously said, “There’s only two kinds of music – ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ and the blues.” Suitably, Bromberg has devoted much of…
Slash featuring Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators
4
Slash is among the last of the old-school guitar heroes; there’s a line from ’60s and ’70s gods straight to him. Though permanently in the giant shadow of Guns N‘ Roses, Slash’s work…
