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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
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…
Beauty and the Bastards
This album is a set of songs beautifully assembled by guitarist Danny Mangold. He recruits various friends, including his former Minneapolis–St. Paul buddy Charlie Bingham on guitar. Bingham was the lead guitarist in…
Andy Babiuk and Greg Prevost
The rest of the world may be titillated by what the Stones smoked, shot, snorted, or ingested. But some of us have our priorities straight; we’re more concerned with what the band strummed…
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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
Imelda May
Irish chanteuse Imelda May proved she could sing on her first discs of retro rockabilly originals. Her new album shows she can also rock. May is backed as usual by her husband, guitarman…
Pretty Things, Procol Harum, David Bowie, and Various Artists
For all the British psych bands you do know – such as the Move and Small Faces – you’ve probably never heard of dozens more. This three-CD set brings together more than 75…
Ronnie Wood
Eagle Records
This is Wood’s first solo album since 2001, which isn’t surprising, seeing as it’s only his seventh studio album in 36 years – his solo output usually dictated by his schedule with his…
Kilborn Alley – Tear Chicago Down
There may not have been a blues bandleader since at least the mid ’60s who has not turned to his rhythm section and asked, accusingly; “Do you guys even know how to play…
Check This Action: Everybody Gone Surfing?
My favorite quote about the demise of surf music is not the oft-repeated Hendrix line in “Third Stone From The Sun” (“And you’ll never hear surf music again”); it came at the 2018…
UFO
Lights Out 2024 Remaster
UFO was a ferocious live band, but had trouble translating that hard-rock excitement to the studio. They got close on 1977’s Lights Out, and this remaster is proof, delivering chunky, restored bass tracks…
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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,
New Orleans Suspects
When you combine some of the finest musicians from the Louisiana area in one band, there will be extreme funkiness. So it’s no surprise that the New Orleans Suspects’ third full-length album is…
Jake Shimabukuro – Dragon
Jake Shimabukuro – Dragon The ukulele is where many a guitarist got his or her start, but for Jake Shimabukuro, it was the destination. The lowly four-string has always been capable of more…
Michael Lee Firkens
In 1990, Michael Lee Firkins’ first album made a monstrous splash in the guitar community. His soulful use of the tremolo bar showcased a signature style that has morphed to encompass more traditional…
Toby Keith
Toby Keith’s previous two albums – Bullets in the Gun (2010) and Clancy’s Tavern (2011) – were two of his finest, enhanced by first-rate original material, powerful vocals, and restrained, hard-edged production. His…
Lee Rocker – Black Cat Bone
On his second record for Alligator, former Stray Cats bassist Lee Rocker continues to show just how vital he was to that band’s sound, and that he can write and interpret songs as…
Murry Hammond – I Don’t Know Where I’m Going But I’m On My Way
As a solo artist, Murry Hammond is a blend of Leonard Cohen and Jimmie Rogers. The acoustic-based songs on this album aren’t as lively as his work with his former band, Old 97s,…
Canned Heat – Live At Montreux
The story of Canned Heat has more twists and turns than Spinal Tap’s evolution from the Thamesmen to Spinal Tap, Mark II. Which is why some of the dramatic, lofty claims in the…
Nashville Pussy
For heavy-rock fans complaining that nobody makes good music anymore, meet Nashville Pussy. This Atlanta-based band has been kicking ass since ’97. Creating a white-trash blend of AC/DC meets Lynyrd Skynyrd with a…
Kim Wilson – Lookin’ For Trouble
Lookin' For Trouble
What can you add to the legacy of one of the greatest harmonica players of all time? Perhaps a second legacy of developing a generation of great unknown guitarists within the confines of…
Dave Edmunds
Dave Edmunds isn’t always thought of as a guitarist first and foremost, yet his latest record is a tour de force of playing not just the six-string, but plenty of other instruments. Edmunds…
Eliza Gilkyson – Land of Milk and Honey
Ever since my freshman college film class, when I was forced to sit through Leni Reifenstal’s Triumph of the Will , the cinematic licking of Hitler’s jackboots, I’ve been painfully aware that art…
The Misunderstood, Fat Mattress, and others
The 1972 Lenny Kaye-compiled Elektra double-LP Nuggets: Original Artyfacts From The First Psychedelic Era, 1965-1968 spawned the Pebbles series, Rhino’s various regional Nuggets volumes, and eventually 2001’s Nuggets, Vol. 2: Original Artyfacts From…
The Subdudes – Miracle Mule
Miracle Mule
Steve Howe – Elements
Elements
Jake Shimabukuro
Nashville Sessions
The Hendrix of the ukulele proves he’s worthy of his title, jamming here with a power trio made up of bassist Nolan Verner and drummer Evan Hutchings. Jake Shimabukuro says he went into…
The Rolling Stones
It’s become hip lately to make fun of the Rolling Stones. You’ve heard all the jokes about how bad they look, how grandpa should stay home – everything that goes with their advanced…
Dick Dale – Surfer’s Choice
If you can get past the erroneous claim on the shrinkwrap’s sticker, not to mention Dick Dale’s enormous ego (in evidence in various ways), you’ll be glad you did. Because if you’re not…
Chuck Berry – You Never Can Tell
A Bushel of Berry
There was no single architect or originator of rock and roll; there were several. Any serious discussion would have to include Fats Domino, Little Richard, Ike Turner, Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Bill…
Life in the Fast Lane
Mick Wall
Despite personality conflicts and substances galore, The Eagles created impeccably crafted music. Mick Wall’s book explains how Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Bernie Leadon, Randy Meisner, Don Felder, Joe Walsh, and Timothy B. Schmit…
Terry Dolan
44 Years Later
The market is flooded with previously unreleased albums and reissue CDs containing alternate takes. It must be simple to get something like that released, right? Guess again. It’s hard to imagine, but a…
Janis Ian – Hunger
An album just short of brilliant from a name I had’t heard in awhile. Killer songs, great delivery, and amazing use of an acoustic guitar. Highly recommended. This review originally appeared in VG‘s…
Asleep At The Wheel – Live at Billy Bob’s Texas
Live at Billy Bob's Texas
Asleep at the Wheel has carved a niche almost as big as Texas by playing western swing. Begun in 1969, Asleep at the Wheel has stayed true to leader Ray Benson’s vision of…
Big Star
Supernova
Big Star’s Third was alternately hailed as one of the darkest albums ever made, a shambling wreck, and an LP that simply should never have been released. Now, four-plus decades after its 1974…
