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Music
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
Gary Moore
Since Moore’s untimely death in 2011, fans have been bombarded with posthumous releases – arguably too many of them. But the releases have been routinely of high quality, and this one is no…
Steve Hillage
Steve Hillage is the greatest master of tape-echo guitar in rock history, and this 22-CD boxset (that’s not a typo) does a good job proving it. A pioneer of British psychedelia and quirky…
Stephane Wrembel
Django New Orleans
The concept is simple enough: a mashup of Django Reinhardt’s gypsy swing with the buoyant sounds of Louis Armstrong and New Orleans jazz. Could easily become marketing hokum, but in the trustworthy hands…
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Paul Johnson
The Hepcats Live at the Ajax Novelty Company
This isn’t live, there may not be an Ajax Novelty Company, and the three felines known as the Hepcats are actually the brainchild of Paul Johnson, whose Belairs were early-’60s pioneers of surf music. Suspend reality and dig how the “trio” expertly articulates layers of acoustic guitar. Across decades, Johnson has embraced folk-rock, psychedelia, and
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Yes
Close to the Edge: Super Deluxe Edition
Are you a high-fidelity audio geek? If the answer is, well, yes, this Rhino release brings together an HD experience of Close to the Edge in no fewer than four versions, plus rarities and a ’72 concert. For starters, the 2025 remaster sounds as close to the analog 1972 mix as you’re going to get
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Pink Floyd
Have You Got It Yet? – The Story of Syd Barrett and Pink Floyd
It’s understandable that fans warily approach the flood of pseudo-documentaries and biopics. Add the fact that the late Syd Barrett, Floyd’s original guitarist/leader, suffered from mental illness, and exploitation alarms are sure to go off. But this documentary handles the subject with dignity instead of sensationalism. Interviews by longtime Floyd cover artist Storm Thorgerson with
Check This Action: My Kind of Blues
The notion of blurring the boundaries of jazz is almost laughable, since the umbrella already covers so many variations. From the Dixieland of King Oliver to the swing of big-bands like Tommy Dorsey’s,…
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…
Tony Joe White – Uncovered
It was a happy day when the Swamp Fox, Tony Joe White, stopped listening to A&R men (who at one point, according to White, tried to exploit his deep voice and turn him…
Guy Davis – You Don’t Know My Mind
Guy Davis is the real thing. This young black bluesman plays his version of the downhome blues like he, too, has a hellhound on his trail. Davis has released two earlier collections of…
Carole King – Tapestry
Tapestry is one of those albums that pushes everyone’s nostalgia button. Released in 1971, it became such a monster hit (six million copies sold, four Grammys, and six years on the Billboard Pop…
Jimi Hendrix
Machine Gun: The Fillmore East First Show
POWER SOUL Jimi Hendrix learned the hard way that signing contracts for fast money can come back to haunt you. Hendrix’ naiveté forced him to settle a breach-of-contract dispute with Ed Chalpin of…
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The Wildhearts
In the raging ’90s, The Wildhearts blasted out of Newcastle upon Tyne like some unholy melding of Guns ’N Roses, Cheap Trick, and The Replacements. Hard rock, power pop, and punk still make up their secret sauce, heard on this latest effort with original singer/guitarist Ginger Wildheart. Ben Marsden plays lead, while Kavus Torabi adds
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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, and Peyton doesn’t hold back. With top-tier tutelage from the likes of David “Honeyboy” Edwards, T-Model Ford, and Robert Belfour, he masterfully
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Mike Campbell with Ari Surdoval
Heartbreaker: A Memoir
In his autobiography, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers guitarist Campbell admits he’s quiet and shy. Self-doubt plagued him his entire life, and when problems arose in the Heartbreakers, a lack of confidence had him blaming himself first, even when he wasn’t responsible. Perhaps his attitude was psychologically rooted in his impoverished childhood and coming from
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Alan Gogoll
Lioness Lullabies
Venture online and watch a few videos by Tasmanian guitarist Alan Gogoll and you’ll see he’s nothing short of a phenomenon. On acoustic, he conjures artificial harmonics in a manner that almost defies gravity. Better still, he never shows off these chops – everything on Lioness Lullabies is in the service of the song and
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Jimmy Vivino
Gonna Be 2 of Those Days
A veteran vocalist/guitarist/keyboardist and purveyor of blues, R&B, and rock’, Jimmy Vivino has an incredible résumé. A longtime fixture in Conan O’Brien’s house band, he has played on movie, radio, and Broadway projects and worked with Levon Helm, Hubert Sumlin, Al Kooper, Jimmie Vaughan, Donald Fagen, Warren Haynes, Laura Nyro, along with innumerable others. He’s
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Thin Lizzy
The Acoustic Sessions
Thin Lizzy’s first studio release in decades, this album reimagines tracks recorded 50+ years ago by the trio of vocalist/bassist Phil Lynott, guitarist Eric Bell, and drummer Brian Downey. The songs are from Lizzy’s first three albums – 1971’s Thin Lizzy, ’72’s Shades of a Blue Orphanage, and ’73’s Vagabonds of the Western World. Recently,
Taj Mahal and Keb’ Mo’
Bluesy and the Folksy
Meeting the demand for fans hankering for two titans of the blues to finally make an album together, Taj Mahal and Keb’ Mo’ have done just that. These two folksy song-oriented stylists are…
Frank Zappa
Apostrophe (’) 50th Anniversary
Great googly-moogly! Frank Zappa’s potty-mouth masterpiece is a half-century old and now fêted with a 75-track box set. The original LP has been expertly remastered to increase separation between tracks without sacrificing analog…
John5 – Requiem
Adrenaline Records
His resume includes names like Marilyn Manson and Rob Zombie, but John 5 is not your typical shock-metal guitarist. In fact, much of his new DVD shows him running down country licks… in…
Oz Noy – Fuzzy
Oz Noy’s brand of fusion rests in unique bends, sounds, and flurries. His leanings are definitely jazz, but there are plenty of rock influences in the Israeli-born guitarist’s music. Noy’s quirkiness shows up…
Allen Hinds, Tyler Reese, Brad Myers and Michael Sharfe
Instrumental Eclectic
In the hands of creative players, the guitar can do so many things. These three recent releases of mostly instrumental music illustrate this perfectly. Allen Hinds is a player with a liquid touch…
John Gorka – Gypsy Life
It was good news, hearing that audiophile record label AIX was releasing a deluxe John Gorka performance DVD/CD. But this disc is surprisingly somber given that Gorka is normally an animated, highly amusing…
Justin Golden
Hard Times and a Woman
The word “blues” pops up in Justin Golden’s bio, but “African-Americana” might be a more apt term. The Virginian’s 12 originals make for an extremely impressive debut, as comfortable leaning toward country on…
Chuck Berry – The Millennium Collection
MCA has released a treasure trove of “millennium collection” greatest hits discs just in time for the new century. This guitar hero gets his due recognition with single-CD package that do justice in…
Scott H. Biram
If you condensed Southern Culture on the Skids down to a one-man band, it would sound something like Scott Biram. Comparisons to C.C. Adcock, Rev. Freakchild, and Cub Koda’s rootsy solo albums also…
Big Dez – You Can Smile
For decades, France has welcomed expatriate American blues and jazz artists. It was inevitable that seeds would be sown; the results in jazz music going back at least as far as the 1930s,…
Rev. Gary Davis – Live At Newport
A truly unique figure in American folk music, the late Rev. Gary Davis was a blind Baptist preacher from South Carolina who sang on the streets of Harlem. He didn’t make his first…
Al Joseph
All Of Creation
Time marches on as the genre of progressive metal expands into fresh sonic vistas and expressive landscapes. Al Joseph continues that exploration with a sound that combines the best elements of heavy guitar,…
Wes Montgomery: His Life and His Music
Oliver Dunskus
You don’t have to be a bebopper thumbing a Gibson L-5 to appreciate the music of Wes Montgomery – arguably the greatest jazz guitarist of all time. While his fan base includes Carlos…
Patty Larkin – 25
Signature Sounds
When faced with the task of creating a retrospective album, Patty Larkin took a novel approach. Instead of creating a “best of” album, she re-recorded her favorite 25 love songs while enlisting 25…
Denny Jiosa – Dreams Like This
Sonic Canvas Records
Denny Jiosa is a player of immense chops and fire, and while jazz dominates this album, Jiosa is also at home with R&B and pop, and cuts like “Forward Motion” give him the…
Mississippi John Hurt
Live At Oberlin College 4-15-65
Trying to categorize John Hurt is almost impossible, as he worked in so many traditions: country blues, gospel, and within the larger fabric of American folk music. He was a Southern “songster” who…
Grant Green – His Majesty King Funk
It’s been awhile since we saw and heard any vinyl, but these welcome guitar releases come courtesy of the fine folks at Sundazed. The sound, as you’d expect is wonderful. Everything’s big and…
The Autumn Defense
Wilco’s bassist John Stirratt and multi-instrumentalist Pat Sansone steal some time from their day jobs and step out with their appropriately titled fifth long-player under the Autumn Defense moniker. Fifth captures ’70s AM-drenched,…
Biller & Horton – Texotica
Apparently, Dave Biller ran out of existing styles to master and had to start making up new ones. His work as leader and sideman – all of the highest order – has ranged…
Pink Floyd
All The Songs
At nearly 600 pages, this massive coffee-table book will send Floydians into paroxysms of pleasure. Authors Philippe Margotin and Jean-Michel Guesdon craft encyclopedic entries on every single Pink Floyd song, including personnel, tracking…
The Replacements – Reissues
They came, they saw, they conquered… sort of. Minneapolis’ Replacements were one of the great rock and roll bands that never quite was. And happily so. In the 1980s, after punk fizzled and…
Jack Bruce – Can You Follow
Esoteric Recordings
Kim Wilson – Lookin’ For Trouble
Lookin' For Trouble