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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
Omar And The Howlers – Swingland
I first ran across Omar Dykes in the mid ’80s when I heard a bluesy radio-ready rock album called Hard Times In The Land Of Plenty. I liked it, and some quick research…
Pete Anderson
The Burbank Moose Lodge doesn’t seem a likely place for electrifying guitar performances, but Pete Anderson and band spent three days in December 2014 dazzling the crowds that showed up there to see…
Bruce Brown
Self-distributed
Bruce Brown, whose day job is filling the guitar chair for Charlie Daniels, offers up an eclectic mix of music on his new solo disc, Off the Edge. Immediately impressive is the taste…
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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,
Jefferson Airplane – The Essential Jefferson Airplane
Jefferson Airplane released eight studio albums between 1966 and ’72, then culled a live curtain call from its final tour before morphing into Jefferson Starship. Since then, there have been at least twice…
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…
Sweet
Self-distributed
Sweet – the ’70s glam-pop act that’s almost as famous for its hairdos as its music – is today actually two bands touring under the name. The U.S. version that recorded this disc…
Jinx Jones
Whether navigating rockabilly, swing, or hardcore country, Jinx Jones puts on a fiery guitar display that leaves you breathless. The reverb-drenched twang of “Metalflake Sky” is a surf-music delight featuring blistering chromatic runs.…
Tonechaser – Understanding Edward: My 26-Year Journey with Edward Van Halen
Steve Rosen
Imagine having Edward Van Halen at your house, playing new Van Halen songs or listening to no-vocals cassettes of in-progress albums in EVH’s cigarette-smoke-filled car. How about jamming with the guitar icon? It…
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…
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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
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…
Lil’ Jimmy Reed with Ben Levin
Back To Baton Rouge
Leon Atkins got a cigar box guitar at six, after already playing harmonica. After subbing when blues legend Jimmy Reed was too inebriated to play a Louisiana juke joint in the ’50s, the…
Jellyroll – Hep Cats Holiday
Jump blues are like licorice: if you like it, you can’t get enough. Jellyroll satisfies the craving with a cool selection of 12 classic tunes, from “Is You Is Or Is You Ain’t…
Jorma Kaukonen – Blue Country Heart
The original lead guitarist with Jefferson Airplane and co-founder of Hot Tuna has come full circle in recent years, back to the acoustic folk-blues he was fingerpicking before the Summer of Love. Backed…
Dino Saluzzi – Responsorium
Responsorium
Argentine Dino Saluzzi is at the forefront of a new generation of bandonéonistas arriving on the scene since the overpowering force of Astor Piazzolla. Yet while many have remain trapped in the strands…
Jim Stringer And The AM Band
It’s a slight generalization, but if you’re going to make a living playing music for any length of time, you pretty much have to do one of two things: concentrate on one thing…
Jim Kweskin
Never Too Late: Duets with my Friends
The Jim Kweskin Jug Band was among the most-influential acts of the ’60s folk revival. Its free-spirited mix of retro jug band, jazz, blues, folk and ragtime inspired the Lovin’ Spoonful and Dan…
Sean Costello – Sean Costello
This is Sean’s first work for Tone Cool/Artemis, and while his past work was very good, he has matured to become one of the major young talents in R&B. Sean’s past work also…
Gurf Morlix – Cut ‘N Shoot
Is Gurf his real name? I don’t know. What I do know is he’s produced excellent records in the past few years for other artists, and in the past couple has started putting…
Groovy Eyes – High Flyin’ But No Foolin’
High Flyin' But No Foolin'
What the hell’s going on in Finland? It seems like every act I hear from there is amazing, regardless of genre – from the instrumental surf of Laika & The Cosmonauts to the…
Jinx Jones
Home Brand Records
Jinx Jones long ago proved himself a fine player, and his latest disc reinforces that he is a major talent in the rockabilly, jazz, and country field. On occasion, a strong Brian Setzer…
Jake Shimabukuro
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…
ZZ Top – Tres Hombres & Fandango
Amazingly, in its 36-year existence, ZZ Top has released only 14 albums. But what’s more amazing is how well all of them still hold up. No less than seven “best of” reconfigurations have…
Blood, Sweat & Tears
What the Hell Happened to Blood, Sweat & Tears?
In 1970, Blood, Sweat & Tears was one of the most popular bands on Earth. The Woodstock headliner’s second album was doing serious business with three hit singles in the top five, which…
Pokey LaFarge
Pokey LaFarge’s retro vision – rooted in bluegrass, blues, jazz, jug band, pre-World War II country (especially Jimmie Rodgers) and ’30s Western swing – was gaining attention before he played mandolin on Jack…
Tedeschi Trucks Band
I Am The Moon
Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi have released the first of a four-album set called I Am The Moon. Comprised of 24 tracks, the songs feature musical input from their 12-piece ensemble with Trucks…
Vince Gill & Paul Franklin
Sweet Memories: The Music of Ray Price and the Cherokee Cowboys
Ray Price (1926-2013) created a distinctive hard-country sound in the ’50s, combining his powerful vocals with the iconic Cherokee Cowboys, a fiddle/pedal-steel band echoing the honky-tonk and Western swing of Price’s native Texas.…
Mark Erelli
Signature Sounds
Fearing negative comparison, some singer/songwriters shy away from covering other writer’s material. Some, boring people by the dozens in coffeehouses across the country, feel it’s everyone else who comes up short. Mark Erelli…
Jessi Colter
Edge of Forever
After husband Waylon Jennings’ death 22 years ago, Jessi Colter resumed her recording and performing career with several albums that explored styles within and beyond the “outlaw” sound she shared with him. This…
T. Sameli Rajala
Electric Rajala
There’s eclecticism and there’s versatility. Having one doesn’t mean you have the other, but Finland’s Rajala has both – and more. A loose job description would be blues man, with homages to T-Bone…
King’s X
In the New Age: The Atlantic Recordings 1988-1995
Absurdly talented – and eternally misunderstood – King’s X was always on the cusp of stardom. This box set with bonus tracks deftly documents their blend of Beatlesque pop, Rush-like progressive, proto-grunge, and…
