-
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
Ronnie Earl and the Broadcasters
On this latest album, Ronnie Earl and his band freely and unabashedly mourn and honor the late David Maxwell, the Broadcasters pianist who died in 2015 at age 71. While Earl and his…
Britt Gully
Blue Yodelin' All Over Again
No less than the Smithsonian Institution has applauded Britt Gully for his interpretations of Jimmie Rodgers’ pioneering country music. So when Gully gets a chance to borrow the Singing Brakeman’s original Martin to…
Rick Vito – Rattlesnake Shake
Covering the Peter Green title track may be a subliminal (or subconscious) way of reminding listeners of his early-’90s stint with Fleetwood Mac, but Vito was a Green devotee well before Green had…
-
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,
-
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
-
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,
Cody Canada and the Departed
Cody Canada and company have delivered a record that adds to his work with his former band, Cross Canadian Ragweed, mixing country and rock with lyrics that deal with real life. Seth James,…
Phil Upchurch – Tell the Truth
Tell the Truth
Phil Upchurch is no stranger. He’s been around a long time, playing sessions with everyone from Jimmy Reed to Cannonball Adderly to Sheena Easton. And he was the rhythm guitarist for George Benson’s…
Tim Sparks – One String Leads to Another and Neshamah
Tim Sparks is not a mere guitarist; he’s a musician. In fact, at times on these two new releases, he seems to transcend mere music to become a magician. Sparks began playing guitar…
Eddy
Alligator Records
If you’re a blues fan and left-handed guitarist Eddy Clearwater’s name has remained unfamiliar over the course of his six-decade career, now’s the time to rectify that grievous error. If you’re looking for…
Def Leppard
Diamond Star Halos
Def Leppard has always emphasized loving ’70s glam rock and protested being labeled a heavy metal band. Okay – but ’81’s raw High ‘n’ Dry, ’83’s Pyromania, and ’87’s Hysteria proved their hard-rock…
Eric Gales
Eric Gales is a disciple of Jimi Hendrix, Frank Marino, Robin Trower, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Eric Johnson. Yet this new CD is a soul album, filled with hot licks. Finally breaking away…
-
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,
-
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
-
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
Tim O’Brien – Two Journeys
Two Journeys
In his recent VG interview, Tim O’Brien mentioned that his next release would be more of a “songwriter” CD. Instead, his latest, Two Journeys, is an extension of his album, The Crossing, which…
Gretchen Menn
Magnum Opus
Gretchen Menn stands alone. One might argue that she’s the female counterpart to Steve Morse. Both are aviators, both play ungodly guitar, and both are ersed in the European traditions of the Classical…
Santana – Santana: Legacy Edition
Watching Santana’s incendiary performance in the concert film of Woodstock, it’s almost beyond comprehension to realize that this was a band that had yet to release its debut album. That wouldn’t happen until…
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…
Mavis Staples
Faced with the formidable task of following her own recent successes, the queen of gospel music teamed with Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy and scored another artistic bull’s eye. Producer Tweedy wisely used the trio…
Link Wray and The Wraymen – Slinky: The Epic Sessions ’58-’61
It’s true, Link Wray isn’t exactly a household name. Hit-wise, his biggest charter was “Rumble,” which was a hit before he signed on with Epic. Of the 46 songs (including alternate cuts and…
Greg Trooper – Floating
Floating
Singer/songwriters are a lot like fleas during the summer; they’re everywhere, but you don’t notice them until they bite you someplace sensitive. Greg Trooper writes songs that can penetrate even the thickest skin…
Donna The Buffalo
Sugar Hill Records
Some still think Jethro Tull is the name of that band’s lead singer. So was it wise for a band, especially one with a female lead singer, to name itself Donna The Buffalo?…
Hank Williams: The Legend Begins
Time-Life
Just when you thought you had heard everything that Hank Williams ever committed to tape or shellac, Time-Life and the Williams estate comes up with something new. On their latest deluxe three-CD box…
David Lindley w/Wally Ingram – Live In Europe
The logical followup to the Lindley/Ingram Twango Bango studio CDs, this live counterpart features even better sound quality – with more definition, hotter drums, and fuller bass without sounding muddy. As for the…
Eric Bibb – An Evening with Eric Bibb
Eric Bibb plays blues and folk with his own touch, and is one of t he most underrated acoustic artists making the rounds. On this disc, an appreciative audience hears 14 songs delivered…
Michael Bloomfield – If You Love These Blues, Play ‘Em As You Please
I’ve had more than one conversation with a colleague when The Paul Butterfield Blues Band album came up, and we said in unison, “That album changed my life.” A big reason for the…
Paul Curreri
Tin Angel Records
Paul Curreri’s latest album follows a throat injury that forced him to stop performing for a couple years but didn’t stop him from producing numerous records, including Don’t Hurry for Heaven, by his…
Jorge Garcia
Crossover
Jazz covers of FM rock can be cringeworthy unless you do it right – and Jorge Garcia does it right. His take on Jimi Hendrix’s “Purple Haze” recalls the groove of ’70s releases…
Nili Brosh
Nili Brosh takes the phrase “playing like a girl” and turns it on its ear. This new album weaves the kind of muscular soloing, graceful melodies, and strenuous time signatures that would send…
Brian F. Wright
The Bastard Instrument: A Cultural History of the Electric Bass
There isn’t enough serious literature about the electric bass, but this book is a worthy contribution. The author takes us from the moment Leo Fender created the mass-produced Precision Bass in 1951, but…
Bob Dylan
Columbia/Legacy
Bob Dylan’s stylistic periods are not firmly defined; folk-singer Dylan (who never really went away) blended into rock and roll Dylan as Another Side Of Bob Dylan led to Bringing It All Back…
Pink Floyd in North America 1966-1983
Glenn Povey
David Gilmour playing a rare Stratocaster doubleneck? You’ll see that 1972 photo and others in this reference book documenting Floyd’s many North American tours (FYI, one Strat neck was set up for slide).…
NRBQ
New Rhythm And Blues
This five-disc retrospective captures the essence of what is one of America’s best, if not best-known, bands from the past half century. To describe NRBQ to someone who has never heard them is…
Jimi Hendrix – Live at Berkeley
Experience Hendrix has settled into a regular schedule of new Jimi releases. This latest is taken from a live performance in May, 1970, and shows Hendrix in good form with a now well-indoctrinated…
Spoon
Lucifer On The Sofa
Ten studio albums in, Spoon’s latest just may be its purest rock-and-roll record. What took so long? The band’s early albums verged on ragged-edge post-punk, while power-pop masterpieces like 2007’s Ga Ga Ga…
Justin Golden
Hard Times and a Woman
Ana Popovic
Three Faces of Ana