-
Music
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,
Taj Mahal
Taj Mahal plays all sorts of folk, keyboard, and percussion instruments – and just about anything with strings. His deceptively easygoing approach to music – a trot rather than a frenzied gallop –…
Kenny Burrell – The Best Of Kenny Burrell
The good thing about compiling a Kenny Burrell “best of” is, since his 1956 solo debut, it’s hard to find any clinkers; the hard part is knowing where to begin and when to…
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…
-
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
-
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,
-
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
Steve Trovato – About Time
Yikes! Talk about your chops, Steve Trovato’s got ’em. Known best on the West Coast as an instructor (Studio Jazz Guitar at USC) and for his work on movie and TV themes, Trovato…
Merle Travis & Deke Dickerson
Sixteen Tons: The Merle Travis Story
Deke Dickerson does things right. He doesn’t skimp in his books, recordings, or various other productions, knowing that true “guitar geeks” (as he justly refers to himself and the rest of us) revel…
The Beatles – Rare and Unseen
Most unauthorized retrospectives of pop music are overly academic and usually a bit cynical – consisting of revisionist perspectives from people who weren’t there “at the time.” With the exception of a couple…
The Grascals – Keep On Walkin’
From the kick-off of the opening song, “Feeling Blue,” the Grascals demonstrate that traditional bluegrass doesn’t have to sound old-fashioned. Even on moderate-tempo songs they maintain a driving rhythm that would make any…
Lyle Workman
Uncommon Measures
Both guitar wizard and Hollywood soundtrack composer (Superbad, The 40-Year-Old Virgin), Workman brings those worlds together on this bold, visionary project. His accessible style blends progressive, fusion, and film tunes into music unlike…
Elvin Bishop – The Blues Rolls On
Best known to classic radio listeners for ’70s Southern rock hits like “Struttin’ My Stuff” and “Fooled Around And Fell In Love,” Elvin Bishop had already earned a reputation in the guitar community…
-
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,
-
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
-
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
-
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
Nancy Wright
Play Date!
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…
Electromagnets (featuring Eric Johnson) – Electromagnets II
Electromagnets (featuring Eric Johnson) – Electromagnets II Electromagnets (featuring Eric Johnson) Electromagnets II Vortexman Music As many know, Eric Johnson started his career not in the mid 1980s, but 10 years earlier in…
Seks Bomba – Somewhere In This Town
This is one of the most fun, most clever, and downright best CDs I’ve heard in a long time. I can’t even begin to describe what this Boston band does. Let’s say you…
Mississippi John Hurt – Live
It still surprises me, but every once in a while I run into a neophyte who thinks the blues (all blues) is, by definition, depressing – as if there’s but one emotion conveyed…
Def Leppard
Definitely: The Official Story of Def Leppard
When Def Leppard released its 1980 debut, On Through the Night, most members were barely out of their teens. Now among rock’s elder statesmen, they’re aiming for a Rolling Stones-like career. This autobiography…
Sly and the Family Stone
Groovalicious Glory
Long before short attention spans and the need to record an experience on your iPhone became more important than the experience itself, there was Sly and the Family Stone. It was a time…
Analog Man’s Guide to Vintage Effects Pedals – Tom Hughes
“Analog Mike” Piera was one of the first to recognize the power of the internet to disseminate information and as a tool for commerce. Peira’s background as a software engineer with a degree…
Johnny Winter – Pieces and Bits
The long-awaited authorized video from blues/rock guitar icon Johnny Winter has finally arrived. Compiled in part by Winter’s manager, Teddy Slatus, who asked fans to send video clips, the set includes TV clips…
Hot Tuna
Live at Sweetwater / Live in Japan
Jorma Kaukonen, who started as an acoustic folk-blues guitarist, returned to that style in 1969 when he and bassist Jack Casady formed Hot Tuna. Recordings from their early gigs at Bay Area clubs…
Kenny Wayne Shepherd
Dirt on My Diamonds, Vol. 1
It’s easy to summarize Kenny Wayne Shepherd’s raw-yet-modern blues approach. Joined by co-vocalist Noah Hunt, Shepherd delivers a lyric straight up. His remarkable guitar chops allow him to create riveting instrumental interludes that…
Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, Zuzu Bollin – Boogie Uproar: Texas Blues and R&B 1947-1954
The history of early Texas jump blues is often summed up in one name – T-Bone Walker. While Walker’s pioneering guitarwork, great original songs, and landmark recordings are justly famous, his star quality…
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…
Adrian Ingram – Jazz Guitar Greats
Jazz Guitar Greats
Iggy & the Stooges – Raw Power
Sony Legacy
Steve Cropper
Fire It Up
Brad Paisley
Hot-Picking Comfort Zone
Brad Paisley’s albums have followed a formula that began on his 2001 sophomore album Part II. Generously programmed with abundant cameos, they blend love songs with catchy numbers celebrating idealized small-town and rural…
Neil Barnes, Ron Thompson, and others and Bettye LaVette
This Blues Has Soul
Blues harpist Neil Barnes is one of the greater San Francisco area’s best-kept secrets. His 2007 CD, This Was Then, Now, is a compilation of a 45 and an EP he released in…
Blues Unseen But Thriving
This is a fascinating, albeit incomplete, documentary about a segment of the blues seldom seen by devotees, let alone lay people. Director Daniel Cross uses Bobby Rush as his focal point and ad…
Dave Davies – Unfinished Business
Yes, I know, Ray Davies usually gets all the credit, but Kinks fans have always known Dave was a very strong element. This very cool two-CD set compiles Kinks classics, songs from the…
Nora Jane Struthers
Blind Pig Music
Nora Jane Struthers knows how to twist a murder ballad. On the opening cut on her debut album she whisks us to the banks of the Ohio, where we experience the song from…
Electric Prunes – Release of an Oath
The ’60s produced some mighty weird bands, perhaps none odder than the Electric Prunes. The group is primarily known for its 1967 hit “I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night)” and the…
Peter Rowan
Carter Stanley’s Eyes
Peter Rowan spent 1963 through ’67 as lead singer/guitarist with Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys before his own solo albums, his work with progressive bluegrass bands like Jerry Garcia’s Old and…
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…
Various Artists – Stax anniversary
This two-disc set has 50 songs, many of which are classics of the soul genre that burst out of Memphis and the Stax label throughout the 1960s and ’70s. The guitar was an…
