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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
James Burton and Ralph Mooney – Corn Pickin’ And Slick Slidin’
The first domestic CD release of this pickin’ fest from 1968 is cause for celebration. This all-instrumental outing featuring two of country’s greatest stylists – Tele maestro James Burton in his post-Ricky Nelson/pre-Elvis…
GA-20
Live in Loveland
Visceral, raw – and without bass – this live album captures 11 oldies and originals from Plaid Room Records in Loveland, Ohio. Guitarists Pat Faherty and Matthew Stubbs, with drummer Tim Carman, take…
Last In Line
This album reunites Mark 1 of the late Ronnie James Dio’s solo band, including Vinny Appice, the late Jimmy Bain, and Vivian Campbell. With the group’s name taken from Dio’s second album released…
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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,
Duke Robillard – Stretchin’ Out Live
What can you say about the Duke that hasn’t already been said? Having achieved a lofty level of constant and worthy acclaim, he probably wonders when the financial rewards of his art will…
Buddy Guy
Silvertone
As he did on Guy’s Skin Deep, drummer/producer Tom Hambridge co-wrote all but one song, with Guy or Gary Nicholson; he penned the title track by himself. But whereas the 2008 effort called…
Ryan Adams
Sometimes, it’s good to take a break. Sometimes you must. Such was the case with prolific singer-songwriter Ryan Adams. After being diagnosed three years ago with Ménière’s disease, an inner-ear disorder, he put…
Phil Upchurch – Tell the Truth
Tell the Truth
Phil Upchurch is no stranger. He’s been around a long time, playing sessions with everyone from Jimmy Reed to Cannonball Adderly to Sheena Easton. And he was the rhythm guitarist for George Benson’s…
Tommy Castro – Hard Believer
Top Contender
Tommy Castro makes the move to Chicago’s Alligator Records, and fittingly serves up one of the most focused and toughest records of his considerable career. Contributing no doubt to the great guitar sounds,…
Jeff Richman
Nefer Records
Jazz guitarist Jeff Richman’s latest is full of great songs that leave ample room for chops, and he enlists A-list help (including drummer Vinnie Colaiuta and bassists Neil Stubenhaus and Dean Taba) to…
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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
Black Joe Lewis
Fuzzy guitars, Stax horn arrangements, and a raw garage sound permeate Black Joe Lewis’ third studio album, serving up a provocative juxtaposition of garage-punk, along with the ’60s R&B and blues that brought…
Iggy and the Stooges and Special Guests
The Stooges’ influence on ’80s and early ’90s indie scenesters is unimpeachable. For more than a quarter-century, cognoscenti have clamored to comprehend the quartet’s long shadow, more often than not dubbing frontman Iggy…
Jack Jezzro – Jazz Elegance
Jack is a unique figure. He plays bass with the Nashville String Machine, a group of studio musicians who have played with everyone from Donna Summer to Deana Carter to the Beach Boys.…
Undone: A MusicFest Tribute to Robert Earl Keen
Texas-born singer/songwriter Robert Earl Keen has influenced a passel of younger performers during his 30-year career. On Undone, we have an opportunity to hear how these young’uns interpret his material. Recorded live, the…
R.L. Burnside – Well… Well… Well
Well… Well… Well
If you’ve ever heard R.L. Burnside play, you’ll know the significance of this album’s title; “Well… well… well” is one of his pet phrases, a constant punctuation to his conversation. Burnside is a…
Shane Lamb
Shane Lamb Music
On his first solo release, Shane Lamb delivers an even dozen bitter-sweet country/rock bon-bons. Though his music shares a genre populated by last-name folk-rock icons such as Dylan and Petty, Lamb’s music vibrates…
The Subdudes
4 On The Floor
At its core, the Subdudes’ character sound is Tommy Malone’s sophisticated acoustic guitar blended with John Magnie’s keyboards, their soulful vocalizing, and Steve Amadee’s stripped-to-the-bone percussion. At times Malone’s playing is so impressive…
Eric Clapton
Six-String Stories
Mr. Clapton has a vast guitar collection – okay, shocker. But within this book, you can drool over Eric’s greatest axes, many auctioned to support his Crossroads Centre for recovering addicts. Some instruments…
CCR
Bayou Country Green River Willy And The Poor Boys Cosmo’s Factory Pendulum It’s hard to imagine that anyone isn’t intimately familiar with Creedence’s catalog of seven albums, but that string began with their…
Terry Robb
The Oregon Blues Trail
Portland-based Terry Robb has managed to keep a fairly low profile despite being one of the best players, on acoustic and electric, embracing a range of blues styles and then some. He is,…
The Atomic Bitchwax – II
Ed Mundell – my choice for Guitar God 2001. Although Mundell, lead guitarist for Monster Magnet (his day gig) and the Atomic Bitchwax (his side gig), might lack name recognition, he certainly doesn’t…
Cherryholmes – Black and White
Skaggs Family Records
From mandolin playing mom, Sandy, and bass player pop, Jere, to 14-year-old Molly, the six-person Cherryholmes family band picks and sings like they were born to it. Was it the air or water…
Roger Miller
Roger and Out/A Trip in the Country, et al
Hank Williams
I’m Gonna Sing: The Mother’s Best Gospel Radio Recordings
Los Carnales – Los Carnales
Los Carnales is a St. Louis-based blues band, and numerous cuts here – including the opener, “East St. Louis” – feature blistering guitar from Texas native Elliot Sowell. Fans may also know bassist…
Johnny “Guitar” Watson – The Essential
A lot of folks first ran into Johnny “Guitar” Watson with a batch of very hip, funky records that came out in the ’70s that had very odd covers with scantily clad women…
John Prine
Oh Boy
John Prine almost single-handedly defined the term “Americana,” but he’s really a country-music artist – a bastard son of Merle Haggard in a genre so often wrongfully and automatically dismissed as simplistic that…
Jimi Hendrix
Experience Hendrix is the gatekeeper to the legacy of Jimi Hendrix, and thankfully so. In addition to protecting the music of the greatest rock guitarist of the ’60s from unscrupulous opportunists, they’ve released…
Johnny Nicholas
Central Texas folks might think of Johnny Nicholas as restaurateur; others know him as one of the most experienced, authentic, and versatile blues performers. Growing up in Connecticut, he migrated to Ann Arbor…
J.D. Simo
Mind Control
The topic is psychedelic blues, and J.D. Simo is the man with the brown acid. Hypnotic wah, talking hollowbody guitars, and trippy drum patterns permeate an album that will change the equilibrium of…
Peter Blake and Commentary Derek Taylor – 24 Nights
Perhaps you were let down by the high prices for the Eric Clapton guitars at the recent Christies auction. But don’t despair! You can still get a limited edition book, music, and memorabilia…
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…
Rod Piazza & The Mighty Flyers – Beyond The Source
There is no group more dedicated to the blues idiom then Rod Piazza and the Mighty Flyers. And they are a group. You can rest assured this it not some off-the-cuff aggregation. These…
Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver – Hard Game of Love
Hard Game of Love
Burnin’ Mike Vernon’s 3 Balls Of Fire
Burnin’ & Churnin’ and Live! (featuring Nokie Edwards, George Tomsco, and Jerry Cole)
