• 2025 December Issue on Spotify

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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

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Various Artists

Bill Frisell and Thomas Morgan and Dominic Miller

Bill Frisell is a living jazz icon, famed for his ethereal tone and snaking post-bop lines. Here, he partners with Thomas Morgan for a live set – just guitar and standup bass –…

Dwight Yoakam

Brighter Days

Nearly 40 years ago, as audiences wearied of frothy ’80s country-pop, Dwight Yoakam was in the vanguard of country’s New Traditional movement. His stripped-down spin on the twang-driven Bakersfield sound of the ’60s…

Ron Dziubla

Wabi-Sabi

Lately, Dziubla (pronounced JOObluh) has become the saxophonist of choice for everyone from Ricky Martin to Duane Eddy – with sessions with Deke Dickerson, Elmore James, Jr. and the soundtrack to Burlesque along…

John Pizzarelli – With A Song In My Heart

Not every artist could get away with releasing a series of tribute albums. John Pizzarelli can. This one features 12 tunes by Richard Rodgers and all seem very heartfelt; for example, the title/opening…

The Allman Brothers Band

Live at the Atlanta International Pop Festival

The Allman Brothers Band is one of those groups guitarists identify after just a handful of notes.  First released in 2003, this reissue was recorded during ABB’s two performances at the 1970 festival,…

Dave Hill

New World finds West Coast guitarist Dave Hill at the top of his game as a player and composer. Produced by bassist Jimmy Haslip, the music veers where you’d expect, and Hill’s playing…

Black River Delta

Swedish disciples of pre-World War II blues Erik Jacobs, Erik Nilsson, and Pontus Ohlsson, hauled a bunch of gear up to a remote cabin and got down to business. The result is an…

The Gladiators – Studio One Singles

In the years before Bob Marley became the star of reggae and eclipsed most others, a galaxy of lesser luminaries shone bright. The Gladiators were one such band, and a luminescent one at…

Gary Burton and Friends – Departure

Departure

Geez, I’m not really sure what to say about this CD. It’s a wonderful batch of music played by the likes of Peter Erskine on drums, Fred Hersch on piano, John Patitucci on…

John Mayall – Best: 64-69, Drivin’ On: ABC 75-82, Silver Tones: Deram, MCA, Silvertone

The flurry of greatest hits collections showcasing John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers is exciting – and confusing. Here’s a quick primer. The first Best of covers 1964-’69 and features many of the songs…

Tom Wheeler

No, this is not quite an entrée into the Vatican’s secret library, the hush-hush files of the KGB, or the locked vaults of the Pentagon. But for vintage guitar and amp fans, it’s…

The Meters – Trick Bag

Sundazed has done it again. This particular release is only one in a large series of CDs released by this fine band. And they did a great job with them all. Original liner…

Steve Vai

Inviolate

After decades of technical shred-dom, Vai returns to his musical mindset prior to David Lee Roth, composing soundtrack-scaled material that is powerful and dramatic. “Teeth of the Hydra” is a showpiece for a…

American Folk Blues Festival – Various Artists

This is the British TV counterpart to the German broadcasts that were unearthed on three stunning volumes of The American Folk Blues Festival, in 2003. If you saw those, you’ve probably already stopped…

Richie Kotzen

Soul Survivor

Richie Kotzen may not be a household name, but with nearly 20 albums and countless group projects on his resumé, he’s on the verge. Coming to prominence in ’89 after being signed to…

The Anderson Ponty Band

It took 30 years but Jon Anderson of Yes and violinist Jean-Luc Ponty have finally cleared their schedules long enough to work on an album together. This collection fuses Anderson’s vocal style with…

Judas Priest

50 Heavy Metal Years of Music

With 42 CDs containing every studio and live album by the British colossus – including 13 discs of unreleased material – this is the metal motherlode. The opener, 1974’s “One for the Road,”…

John Mayall and Friends – Along For the Ride

John Mayall (VG, July ’98) has been doing it for so long it seems he has always been there. And he has. In a career that has lasted nearly 40 years and produced…

Biréli Lagr

Biréli Lagr

Ana Popovic

Power

Blues-rock barnstormer Ana Popovic’s latest is about love, perseverance, strength, and survival. After rising victoriously from 14 cancer treatments in 2020, Popovic continues to push the envelope of her artistry by dropping her…

Don Rich and the Buckeroos – Country Pickin’: The Don Rich Anthology

The Don Rich collection is a 24-song retrospective featuring songs recorded when the late guitarist/fiddler was the instrumental hero of Buck Owens’ band. There’s lots of stuff here you’d expect. Killer instrumentals like…

The Wailin’ Jennys

Red House Records

Jeff Beck

Portait of the Guitarist As A(n Older) Man

Birthright: A Black Roots Music Compendium

Various artists

This double-CD’s 40 tracks represent a wide swath of black roots music, from zydeco to gospel, from a Mississippi fife-and-drum crew to one-man band Jesse Fuller. If some of the cuts are familiar,…

Pokey LaFarge

Hamfats-Styled Hot Stuff

Pokey LaFarge’s Rounder Records debut continues his rich, well-established sound. Primarily acoustic, he offers another amalgam of jazz, blues, jug band, and Western swing. At different times, LaFarge and his expanded band conjure…

Toulouse Engelhardt

Lost Grove Records

Acoustic-guitar pioneer John Fahey influenced a generation of fingerpickers, and none sound more like a genuine musical heir than Toulouse Engelhardt This is a solo guitar album, and its tunes, with titles such…

Lincoln Durham

Minimalist begins to describe Durham’s music and approach, but it doesn’t capture everything that is involved. All 11 of the songs here feature pretty much some form of guitar and percussion and not…

Willie Nelson – Naked Willie

The forced, intrusive background vocals on the “definitive” versions of “Funny How Time Slips Away” or “Crazy” (from The Essential Willie Nelson) are argument enough in favor of this project. The songs on…

Various Artists – Anchored in Love: A Tribute to June Carter Cash

Tribute records are a mixed bag by nature, but Anchored in Love is a wonderful collection of songs dedicated to June Carter Cash, several of them written by the country icon as well.…

Andreas öberg – Solo

Swedish guitarslinger Andreas öberg is a firebrand, playing mainstream jazz and Gypsy jazz with a fury. His style is ultra-modern – fast and driving, with a rock and roll-inspired intensity. Fronting the Hot…

Bryan Sutton – Not Too Far From The Tree

Imagine creating an album where you play duets with all of your guitar heroes. On Not Too Far From The Tree, Bryan Sutton does exactly that. Now, if you or I tried this…

Greg Howe – Sound Proof

Tone Center Records

Greg Howe’s incredible chops often override the musical aspect of songs. At least that’s the common wisdom. But that doesn’t happen on this collection of songs that show off his rock, jazz, and…