-
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
Tom Waits, Lucinda Williams, Luther Dickinson, and others
Falling Out And Hollerin’
Blind Willie Johnson – the Texas preacher, slide guitarist, and gospel singer – may seem a tough artist to pay homage to in a tribute album. His music is so singular, so extraordinary…
Wilco
Roger That
Tough to believe it’s been two decades since Jeff Tweedy reluctantly took the remains of the critically adored but ultimately doomed alt-country standard-bearers Uncle Tupelo and laid down roots for a Chicago-based band…
Frank Meyers
Impossibly Cool Guitars
Frank Meyers’ first axe was a ’63 Fujigen EJ2 – a cheap-o, two-pickup solidbody like so many Japanese electrics used by beginner guitarists the world over. Though unremarkable, it spurred in him a…
-
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
-
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
-
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
Gary Clark Jr.
Postmodern Soul
If listeners haven’t figured out that Gary Clark Jr. is more than a blues revivalist, his second full-length studio album should provide a cold hard slap of reality. This disc shows fans –…
Rick Derringer – Guitars and Women
I was quite enamored in the ’70s with Derringer’s All-American Boy. It was a heady mixture of all the kinds of music I liked. For some reason, I thought most of the stuff…
Sir Clive and the Raging Cartographers – Guitar Safari
An aptly titled collection of songs, if any guitarist was indeed hunting guitar sounds and styles, finding something like this would indeed make for a successful safari. Composed, played, and recorded by VG…
Kirk Fletcher
Heartache by the Pound
Blues guitar master Kirk Fletcher returns with an album that mixes soul, R&B, blues, funk, and phenomenal guitar playing. Fletcher tricks the listener into thinking they’ll be hearing a pious ’60s soul record.…
Julian Lage
Squint
Julian Lage walks an intriguing line between jazz and rock-and-roll. On his latest – and first release on the stellar jazz label, Blue Note – he continues that tradition, and the result may…
Them Vibes
Electric Fever
Nashville band Them Vibes latest recalls rock’s past without sounding dated or cliché. Much of the reason for that is the guitar work of Alex Haddad and Kyle Lewis. There’s no in-your-face playing,…
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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,
The Routes
In This Perfect Hell
Think old-school Zombies crossed with new-thing Arctic Monkeys: the result may just be the Routes. The guitar-bass-drum trio is part classic Brit invasion rockers with period-perfect gear, part hypnotic proto psychedelia – yet…
Tomas Janzon
Changes Music
Tomas Janzon is a traditional-jazz guitarist influenced by Wes Montgomery, with hints of Metheny and Scofield. It’s also obvious he has one of the best jazz-guitar tones you’ll hear. Most of the songs…
Pat Metheny
Road To The Sun
Jazz guitar visionary Metheny is so admired he gets other people to perform his music. Road To The Sun features works performed by Grammy-winning classical guitarist Jason Vieaux and the Los Angeles Guitar…
Dave Biller – LeRoy’s Swing
LeRoy’s Swing is a stylish collection of Djangocentric music played with a Texas twist. Biller’s backing band is modeled after Django’s wartime Nouveau Quintette, with clarinet (played here by Ben Saffer) replacing the…
George Harrison
All Things Must Pass 50th Anniversary Edition
Is the world big enough for two distinct renderings of All Things Must Pass, Harrison’s iconic masterpiece? This anniversary set features a dramatic new mix (overseen by George’s son, Dhani), offering a sweeping…
John Lee Hooker, Jr.
It’s one thing to be the offspring of a famous performer, but quite another to share his name and still be able to forge your own identity. After a number of years in…
Bob DeVos – Playing for Keeps
He may be relatively obscure, but Devos can navigate traditional pieces and write fresh material that holds up. This is an organ trio with saxophone, and the players are very comfortable with each…
Chris Robinson Brotherhood
If you’ve lost touch with Chris Robinson since the Black Crowes’ slow down, his latest effort with the CRB is an opportune time to catch up on what’s become a most satisfying second…
Carl Bradychok and Don Leady
Roots Rock Generations
Those once considered the young guns of roots rock (Deke Dickerson, Dave Biller, Joel Paterson) are now “middle-aged.” So it’s encouraging to know that there’s a new generation of roots revivalists coming up…
The Yardbirds – Birdland
Birdland
It’s hard not to be skeptical over every “reunion” that comes along when you’ve got Toad The Wet Sprocket reuniting after all these years – five to be exact. If that’s a reunion,…
Art Farmer/Jim Hall – Jazz Casual
Jazz Casual
Jim Hall’s solo albums are consistently top-drawer – always eloquent and interesting, never samey or complacent. In fact, I’d be hard-pressed to name a jazz guitarist with a uniformly higher-caliber recorded output who…
Jeff Lynne’s ELO- Wembley or Bust
After several decades on hiatus, the Electric Light Orchestra – now known as Jeff Lynne’s ELO – is revving up again and will tour the U.S. this year. The 13-piece lineup also found…
Shooter Jennings, Ryan Bingham, and Various Artists
Outlaw: Celebrating The Music Of Waylon Jennings
Waylon Jennings, who died in 2002, would have turned 80 in 2017. He and compadre Willie Nelson still personify country’s early-’70s Outlaw movement, focused on gaining creative control of their records after years…
Hank Williams – Alone with His Guitar
Alone with His Guitar
Ever since Hank Williams died on December 31, 1952, his fans have had to make do with commercial recordings, which have been almost continuously re-mixed, re-mastered, and repackaged by MGM and Mercury. But…
Lonnie Mack
Strike Like Lightning
Lonnie Mack hadn’t released an album in eight years when this comeback effort arrived in January of 1985. His first of three for Alligator Records, it brought Mack out of obscurity and marked…
Pee Wee Crayton – Pee Wee’s Blues: The Complete Aladdin and Imperial
Pee Wee Crayton learned his lessons well. Moving from Texas to California during the Depression, he slaved away in Navy shipyards until some buddies dragged him along to a T-Bone Walker show. Pee…
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…
Bill Thomas – Ain’t Halfsteppin’
Don’t know where Bill came from, but I hope he sticks around. A short bio I received with the disc indicates he’s been around playing since the ’70s, mostly as a sideman who’s…
Pat Martino – Remember: A Tribute to Wes Montgomery
Pat Martino – Remember: A Tribute to Wes Montgomery This is not the first time legendary guitarist Martino has paid tribute to the man credited with driving jazz guitar to its current heights.…
Diana Krall
Fans familiar with Krall’s records featuring swinging tunes and gentle ballads might be more than a little surprised when they hear Glad Rag Doll. It wouldn’t be fair to say she’s left the…
John Leventhal
Rumble Strip
After 45 years as a roots music sideman and record producer, winning six Grammys, Leventhal’s first solo effort is an expansive 16-track collection. Released on the label he owns with wife and frequent…
