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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
Rodney Jones – Soul Manifesto
Okay, it’s not like Rodney Jones doesn’t have the pedigree. He spent lots of time on the road with Maceo Parker, so it’s not like funk would be foreign to him. But on…
Various Artists – Concerts for a Landmine-Free World
Ever since the first Farm Aid concert, musical extravaganzas for worthy causes have become standard fare. Concerts for a Landmine-Free World is different from the usual star-studded gangbang because it features roots-oriented artists.…
Scott Lindsey
Grey Trailer Music
From the first raucous notes of “You Only Call Me (When You’re Drunk)” it’s obvious Scott Lindsey is invoking the spirit (and spirits!) of the late Gary Stewart. There are certainly worse musical…
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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,
Jackson County Line
Self-distributed
Led by acoustic guitarist/singer/ songwriter Kevin Jackson, Jackson County Line has a California countrysoul with elements of War and Santana and plenty of Buffalo Springfield with an emphasis on Neil Young. “Easy To…
Pieta Brown – One and All
Red House Records
Following last year’s stripped-down Shimmer, with her new album, Pieta Brown returns to a more familiar sound with longtime guitarist and producer, Bo Ramsey. Brown is a wonderful songwriter. Mixing folk, country, rock,…
The Clutter Family
(Self-distributed)
Whatever else happens to The Clutters, they will never be invited to Sarah Palin’s house for Thanksgiving dinner – the name of their song about her can’t even be printed. But they are…
Jeff Golub with Brian Auger
Two years back, touring pro and studio ace Jeff Golub’s optic nerves collapsed, leaving him permanently blind. Now he’s back, with a twelfth solo album, getting a little help from jazz-rock keyboard pioneer…
Hellecasters – Live…Raw…In Germany On…The Filter
Yikes! Here’s a truly awe-inspiring display of guitar playing. Recorded live on German television, Jerry Donahue, John Jorgenson, and Will Ray take you on a roller-coaster ride that will leave you sitting on…
Omar & the Howlers – Big Delta
In his 22 years as a recording artist, Omar Dykes has churned out a steady stream of solid albums (more than a dozen to date), but lately seems to be on a creative…
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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
Roy Roberts – Deeper Shade of Blue
North Carolina bluesman Roy Roberts is an original, and there’s no other blues singer or guitarist who can equal his blend of minor-key, soul-laced shuffles. Like the great Otis Rush, much of Roberts’…
Nancy Wright
The ubiquitous saxophonist of the San Francisco blues scene for 30 years, Nancy Wright finally stepped to the fore and released her solo debut in 2009 – a fine instrumental outing in a…
D.A.D. – No Fuel Left for the Pilgrims
Wounded Bird Records
On their first major label release, the band formerly known as Disneyland After Dark (changed after a threatened lawsuit by the Disney Co.) was poised for a breakthrough in the U.S. with backing…
Jean-Luc Katchoura with Michele Hyk-Farlow
A Bebop Guitar Masterpiece
Maybe it’s sour grapes, but it sometimes seems jazz guitarists – in comparison with pianists and horn players – never get the recognition they’re due among the music’s diehard cognoscenti. On the other…
Eddy
If you’re a blues fan and left-handed guitarist Eddie Clearwater’s name has remained unfamiliar over the course of his six-decade career, now’s the time to rectify that grievous error. If you’re looking for…
Eric Clapton and Friends
After Midnight
Eric Clapton has worn many a hat during his career. English bluesman, psychedelic guitar god, downhome roots rocker, even ’80s big-suited popmeister. In recent decades, he’s added another chapeau to the curious collection:…
The Clash
In the far distant past – 1979, to be exact – the Clash were crowned “The Only Band That Matters.” The mantra originally appeared on a promo sticker stuck to their double LP…
Paul Johnson – Liquid Blues
Having played a pivotal role in the development of instrumental surf music in the early ’60s with his band, the Belairs (best-remembered for the Johnson-penned classic “Mr. Moto”), and having presaged any notion…
The Aristocrats
The rock-fusion trio known as the Aristocrats are back with a second album fortified with artistic maturity from gigging around the world. With a stronger, more-cohesive musical vision, bassist Bryan Beller, drummer Marco…
Dwight Yoakam – Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc.Etc.: Deluxe Edition
When this album was released in 1986, country music had become stale. But its no-holds-barred step back to the great Bakersfield sound, wonderfully original songs, killer covers, and Yoakam’s wholly original style had…
Paul Priest – The Keeley Effect
The title references the “impact” of the guitar effects pedals made by Robert Keeley in making the album. That’s all fine and good, but more important is the fine music, propelled by the…
Robert Cray – Twenty
Once every couple of years, Cray puts out a well-crafted record with fine writing, guitar solos that ooze soul, and vocals that rank with the best. No change here. Twenty should make plenty…
A Tribute to Eric Clapton
Various artists
Chuck Mead – Journeyman’s Wager
The BR549 co-founder’s new disc is loaded with great stuff, including his guitar work. In the band, Mead split lead duties with Chris Scruggs and Gary Bennett, but was more than capable of…
Monte Montgomery
That guitar players will ever stop reinterpreting Jimi Hendrix’ “Little Wing” is neither likely nor necessary. The song is so rich and inviting, so mesmerizing to play, its beautiful chord structure and melody…
Various Artists – All My Loving
“All My Loving” was a 1967 TV special on the BBC that scared some people – and it’s easy to see why. For older folks tuned in, video of musical acts and other…
James Brown – I Got the Feellin’
While a generation may remember James Brown as a soul star who fell on hard times, or as a man whose death has led to a tabloid-ready story of a fight for his…
Jorge Garcia
Crossover
Jazz covers of FM rock can be cringeworthy unless you do it right – and Jorge Garcia does it right. His take on Jimi Hendrix’s “Purple Haze” recalls the groove of ’70s releases…
Rosie Flores
The first of Flores’ 11 solo albums came out in ’87, but by then she’d run the gamut from singer/songwriter (in sort of an L.A./Ronstadt mold) to punk (including a 1984 LP by…
Sue Foley
Pinky’s Blues
Sue Foley named her paisley Telecaster reissue “Pinky,” and her latest album celebrates the guitar she has played her whole career. Over the years, Foley moved from her native Canada to Austin, and…
John Hiatt
New West
Hiatt is nothing if not prolific – not only releasing approximately 20 albums in 36 years, but writing virtually every song they included. There’ve been some twists and turns and ups and downs…
Kombo – Cookin’ Out
Kombo is Ron Pedley on keyboards, and Jon Pondel on guitars. They’ve got lots of great help too, with guys like Steve Ferrone, Matt Bissonette, and Sharon Hendrix. The music is the same…
The Blasters – Live: Going Home
Live: Going Home
J.J. Cale
Just One