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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
Led Zeppelin: The Biography
Bob Spitz
Zeppelin has been the subject of countless books, but Spitz delivers a fresh, insightful examination of their saga – both the rock and roll exceptionalism and wretched excesses. There’s an exploration of Jimmy…
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,…
Dio
Metal fans are pretty much in agreement that the late Ronnie James Dio was the greatest metal vocalist of his generation – or any other, for that matter. His majestic yet theatrically masculine…
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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,
Danielle Nicole
As bassist and vocalist of the sibling group, Trampled Under Foot, Danielle Nicole helped her brothers play stomping blues and R&B that was authentic and rollicking. On her solo debut she leans more…
Simon And Garfunkel – Live from New York City, 1967
“Sherman, set the Way Back machine for New York City, 1967. I want to go to a concert.” This new release from Columbia Legacy beats Mr. Peabody’s infernal device by a mile. Recorded…
Ten Years After – The Anthology (1967-1971)
If you’re lucky enough to catch Ten Years After on classic rock radio these days, it’s likely the 1971 hit “I’d Love to Change the World.” As strong as that tune is, it…
George Clinton
Let’s get it out of the way. That title… one of the best in recent memory. Then again, what else should we expect from the man who arrived in the Mothership to bestow…
Dr. Dog – We All Belong
Dr. Dog is five guys from Philly who’ve listened to more than their share of Beatles and Beach Boys. It’s not a bad thing. In the context of the band, their names are…
Bob Dylan
Triplicate
This new collection extends Dylan’s venture into the Great American Songbook, a journey he began with 2015’s Shadows In The Night, this time offering three discs of material beyond the Frank Sinatra catalog.…
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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
Jack White
Willie Wonka Rocks
Jack White was recently crowned the Willy Wonka of the rock and roll world by Rolling Stone, and a better description of the man, his music, and his Third Man Records enterprise would…
Spirit
It Shall Be, 1968-’72
Rock history is littered with truly gifted bands that inexplicably never broke big, from The Move to The Replacements. Spirit is another, an L.A. group dripping with talent and the ability to mix…
George Cotsirilos Trio
OA2 Records
Veteran jazz guitarist Cotsirilos’ latest record is a swinging set driven by his considerable chops and skill at composing and interpreting music. His bandmates, Robb Fisher (bass) and Ron Marabuto (drums), are the…
Yes
While Yes is still a working band, it’s mostly in name only. This three-CD set, taken from a 2004 Massachusetts concert, shows the classic mid-’70s lineup featuring guitarist Steve Howe, bassist Chris Squire,…
Alecia Nugent – Alecia Nugent
Don’t let the spelling of her first name lead you to believe Alecia Nugent is one of those overly affected country divas the labels trot out with lugubrious regularity. Instead, her debut album…
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…
Cecil Alexander
Various artists
By 1973, Yes, ELP, and Jethro Tull were scoring gold albums in the style we now call progressive rock. Overnight, dozens of U.K. bands got the message and shifted course – they dropped…
Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Sweetheart Of The Rodeo – Live!
Roger McGuinn & Chris Hillman with Marty Stuart
A premier folk-rock band morphing into psychedelia in the mid ’60s, the Byrds pioneered country-rock with 1968’s Sweetheart of the Rodeo. Personnel upheavals had seen David Crosby fired, Gene Clark going solo, and…
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…
Graham Dechter
It’s always a treat when a young player arrives on the scene with an understanding of what came before him. Dechter is a traditional jazz player who lets us know right off the…
Side Hustle
Thom Rotella
Rotella’s long-established fretboard brilliance has put him in some heady music, film, and TV sessions over the decades (including frequent contributions to “Family Guy”). A protégé of revered L.A. “Wrecking Crew” guitar giant…
Mark Knoll – High Time
High Time
Great guitar sounds and a musical mix of blues, rock, and pop highlight this disc. The opener, “Gotta Give It Up” hints at what’s in store – big, bold guitar with a great…
Bill Dixon – Guitar Collecting: How I Built a $65,000 Collection
Morris Publishing 2003
Kenny Burrell – The Best Of Kenny Burrell
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…
Alison Krauss and Union Station – Alison Krauss + Union Station Live
Although fine female bluegrass singers and songwriters like Hazel Dickens and Emmylou Harris have achieved success, Alison Krauss must be considered the first woman bluegrass superstar. Ever since her first release, Krauss’ CDs…
Samantha Fish
Faster
Samantha Fish’s latest continues an artful trajectory combining pop and gritty blues; Faster seduces the listener as it showcases empowerment, self-reflection, and taking control of one’s destiny. Under the watchful eye of producer…
Larkin Poe
Blood Harmony
The latest from the Nashville-based multi-instrumentalist Lovell sisters continues to fashion elements of Southern rock, blues, and wicked slide guitar into a creative juggernaut. Megan wields enviable feel and sensuous perfect pitch and…
Sean Watkins – Let It Fall
Let It Fall
Sean Watkins is one third of the young Grammy-nominated supergroup Nickel Creek. Along with his sister Sara and mando phenom Chris Thile, they’ve lit up the festival circuit with fresh musical energy. Let…
Skip James, Bukka White, R.L. Burnside, and Others
Worried Blues
The famed Fat Possum label strikes again! This series of separate CDs/LPs reissues 10 out-of-print albums and long-forgotten sessions of classic blues from 1963 through ’72, each offered under the title Worried Blues.…
Deke Dickerson and the Eco-Fonics – Number One Hit Record
Number One Hit Record
Walk the dog, son…walk the dog! I love this CD. Deke covers the roots bases, from rockabilly to country swing to surf and everything in between. And he looks the part with his…
Calvin Keys
To some, Calvin Keys is already a legend; to far too many, he’s an unsung hero or, worse, an unknown. In addition to being honored with Pat Metheny’s tribute “Calvin’s Keys,” on the…
John Mayer – Live in LA
Beyond the tabloids, “TMZ,” and his celebrity girlfriends, John Mayer is a songwriter, guitarist, and vocalist who ranks among the best in modern pop. And this disc shows all of his strengths. Kicking…
Frank Moriarty – Seventies Rock: A Decade of Creative Chaos
Seventies Rock: A Decade of Creative Chaos
