• Smith/Kotzen

    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

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Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble

Epic/Legacy

It’s hard to understate how important Stevie Ray Vaughan was to the guitar. He emerged when the guitar had all but ceased to exist on pop/rock radio. Even hitmakers who played guitar, i.e.…

The Yardbirds – Birdland

Birdland

It’s hard not to be skeptical over every “reunion” that comes along when you’ve got Toad The Wet Sprocket reuniting after all these years – five to be exact. If that’s a reunion,…

Michael Brecker – Pilgramage

Jazz lost a major figure this past winter with the death of tenor-sax giant Michael Brecker, who died of a blood-marrow disorder. Yet as his health deteriorated last year, he still found the…

Neil Young + Promise of the Real

Neil Young often does whatever he pleases. And now, at age 70, that’s truer than ever. This new album proves the point: It’s a thematic concert combining new takes on 13 previously released…

Britt Gully

Blue Yodelin' All Over Again

No less than the Smithsonian Institution has applauded Britt Gully for his interpretations of Jimmie Rodgers’ pioneering country music. So when Gully gets a chance to borrow the Singing Brakeman’s original Martin to…

Andy Cohen

Earwig

In his liner notes, William Lee Ellis (a formidable folk-blues performer in his own right) calls Cohen “the bestkept secret in folk music.” Indeed, two or three songs into this collection should be…

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…

Rock Candy Funk Party

Funk means many things to many people, and while religious funkaholics place Sly and the Family Stone, the Ohio Players, and Parliament Funkadelic high on the alter, heretics differ. Rock Candy Funk Party’s…

Jethro Tull

Released in the summer of 1969, Stand Up was Tull’s first album with guitarist Martin Barre and showed them honing their blend of proto-hard rock and heavy blues, psychedelic, and folk-rock ideas, the…

The Howlin’ Brothers

Like a long-lost radio show from the ’50s suddenly coming to life on your radio in the late nighttime hours, this hard-driving string trio summons forth the sounds of old-time bluegrass, vintage country,…

John Mayall

The Sun Is Shining Down

British blues icon John Mayall – now 88 years old and in his twilight – announced his retirement from touring late last year. His exit from the road, however, doesn’t necessarily mean his…

Janiva Magness – Do I Move You?

Janiva Magness – Do I Move You? This Southern California-based singer has been building quite a buzz in the blues world, churning out six CDs in nine years, culminating in winning Contemporary Female…

Neil Young

Harvest 50th Anniversary Edition

Young’s 1972 smash delivered on the promise of CSNY, offering California rock rife with acoustic guitars, piercing lyrics, and cozy West Coast production. “Heart of Gold” was the blockbuster, yet only one of…

Long Train Runnin’: Our Story of the Doobie Brothers

Tom Johnston, Pat Simmons, Chris Epting

For 50 years, the Doobie Brothers’ feel-good hits have been radio staples. In these pages, vocalists/guitarists Tom Johnston and Pat Simmons share memories and insights such as how the much-hyped psychedelic band Moby…

Laurie Morvan – Cures What Ails Ya

Few standard blues records by non-major artists offer any surprises. But Laurie Morvan adds a bit to the blues genre. Her songs aren’t all that different, but the playing is unique enough to…

Frank Frost with Sam Carr and Frank Frost – Keep Yourself Together and Jelly Roll Blues

X Frank Frost’s two recent CDs are time machines, transporting you to a hot, sweaty night in a Mississippi Delta juke joint. Frost is a true Mississippi Delta bluesman. Throughout his career playing…

Tommy “CGP” Emmanuel and David “Dawg” Grisman

Certifiable Pickin’

Tommy Emmanuel is one of just five pickers hailed by his mentor Chet Atkins as a “certified guitar player,” or CGP. On two new albums, Emmanuel provides proof with every passage. Australia-born Emmanuel…

Jethro Tull

Released in the summer of 1969, Stand Up was Tull’s first album with guitarist Martin Barre and showed them honing their blend of proto-hard rock and heavy blues, psychedelic, and folk-rock ideas, the…

David Clayton and Todd K. Smith – Free: Heavy Load

This epic chronicles the story of the seminal British blues/rock band Free. Leaving no stone unturned, and with the help of more than 400 photos, authors David Clayton and Todd K. Smith have…

Jonathan Kreisberg

New For Now Music

There’s a whole new generation of jazz guitarists very conversant in the traditional language of the form, but with their own other influences. Jonathan Kreisberg is at the top of that list. On…

Mary Osborne

This isn’t just a reissue; the first CD appearance of Mary Osborne’s only solo album is an event. Osborne was not just the first major female jazz guitarist, she was arguably the best…

Albert Lee

Some find it ironic that Albert Lee, an Englishman, ranks as one of the all-time greatest country guitarists. Which is odd, since it’s a given that the Beatles and Stones are two of…

Josh Smith

Josh Smith takes the soul stylings that marked his earlier work and puts it on the back burner here. In its place is a return to his first love – high-octane, supercharged blues-rock.…

Andy Brown Quartet and Brian Bromberg

Two of the Best in Jazz

Not every jazz guitarist who plays solo can also blow in a group context, and vice versa. Some adept at both include Tuck Andress, Joe Pass, Johnny Smith, George Van Eps, and Earl…

Charlie Musselwhite – Sanctuary

With his debut album in 1966, harmonica vanguard Charlie Musselwhite met and set the standard for authenticity and adventurism in blues. But in the past few years,

The Aristocrats

Duck

Featuring Guthrie Govan on guitar and Bryan Beller on bass plus über-drummer Marco Minnemann, this terrifying trio blows minds every other bar. Like a modern-day Dixie Dregs or fusiony Satch/Vai project, they attack…

Churchwood

Hex City

It’s not every band that has a lead singer who has published three books of poetry and whose literary criticism has appeared in The Encyclopedia of American Poetry: The Twentieth Century. In addition,…

  • Yes

    Yes

    Close to the Edge: Super Deluxe Edition

Kansas – Two For the Show

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…

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,…

Jim Kweskin

Never Too Late: Duets with my Friends

The Jim Kweskin Jug Band was among the most-influential acts of the ’60s folk revival. Its free-spirited mix of retro jug band, jazz, blues, folk and ragtime inspired the Lovin’ Spoonful and Dan…


Steve Howe

A Virtuoso Career

Jack White

Willie Wonka Rocks

Vintage Guitar magazine presents greg Martin's Head shop Pet sounds Home Feature image

Pet Sounds and the Birth of Psychedelic Sunshine

Vintage Guitar magazine Presents Greg Martin's Head Shop