I thoroughly enjoyed the interview with Greg Kihn in your December ’18 issue. As a gifted songwriter and vocalist, he goes unnoticed in many music circles.
In the late ’70s, I had the pleasure of seeing the Greg Kihn Band perform in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. The show was fabulous; Kihn played his Vox Phantom and Dave Carpenter wailed on a Fender Jaguar. Aside from the hits, they played “Testify” and “In The Naked Eye” – solid rock tunes for the time. My favorite is the six-minute-plus “Remember,” from Next Of Kihn, which combines excellent vocals and guitar work over a haunting Latin feel.
I appreciate the variety of material covered by your staff.
Review byHenry Gibson from Sinking Spring, Pennsylvania
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Mass Appeal
As a college student in Philadelphia in the mid ’70s I had a part-time job at McLaren Music, in Havertown. My position involved sales, instrument setup, and minor repairs. One of our frequent customers was a very talented young guitarist named Joe Mass (VG, December ’18). At the time he was playing a ’52 Les Paul goldtop that had been transformed into a sunburst complete with original PAFs.
I was fortunate to string and set up this guitar many times and remember him to be very kind and appreciative. He had an incredible band that performed around Philly and the Jersey Shore; they did an amazing version of Stevie Wonder’s “Isn’t She Lovely.”
Review bySteve Craven from Paeonian Springs, Virginia
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Master Messrs
George Gruhn’s feature on the D’Aquisto Excel (December, ’18) brought back some very fond memories. Back in the early ’60s, I used to drive into New York City every week to buy strings at John D’Angelico’s little shop on Kenmare Street on the lower east side of Manhattan. On one occasion, Mr. D’Angelico – I never dreamed of calling him “John” – asked if I would help his assistant, Jimmy, bring some packages to the post office. Jimmy and I – he wasn’t “Mr. D’Aquisto” at the time – loaded up my VW with packages and took them to the post office, chatting about guitar making, Mr. D’Angelico and his shop, etc.
Little did I know then that my passenger would one day become a guitar-building icon in his own right. What wonderful memories!
Review byTom Kramer from Baiting Hollow, New York
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Best of Barre
Super article on Tull guitarist Martin Barre (December ’18). Pete Prown really nailed it when he described the new disk by Barre as sounding like “the best Jethro Tull album in decades.” Intelligent lyrics, sweet, textured guitar and other stringed instruments, evocative singing by vocalist Dan Crisp... What a treat. Maybe not the equal of Aqualung, but fantastically layered music that’s a joy to my ears.
Review byBill Nastali from Commerce, Michigan
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Requiem For Rick
Kudos to Dan Forte for his poignant piece on Rick Allen in the December issue. Rick was my friend – not always an easy one – for more than 30 years. Shortly after he arrived in Philly, we played together in The Living Brains. Our thing was reviving obscure garage favorites like “You're Gonna Miss Me,” “Kicks,” “Pushin’ Too Hard,” and “When You Walk In The Room.” His version of “Because” (by the DC5) was compelling. That man could sing! I miss him. Thanks for celebrating his life.
Review byStephen Johnson in Narberth, Pennsylvania
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If 3 Was 9
It’s one of the most interesting things to me when I pick up an issue like [December ’18, with a feature] not just about the guitar and some of the unique features, but where it came from, who owned it, the store it was residing in, and pictures. These are incredible stories. I’d suggest you feature more of Joe’s guitars, the stories behind them, and his travels.
There’s not an aspect to your magazine that doesn’t knock me out, and I especially like it when artists I haven’t heard of are featured, and some of the technical stuff in the exploration of repairs. While it’s above my skill level, it’s downright interesting.
Keep up the great magazine.
Review byHoward Elovitz from Chicago, Illinois
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If 3 Was 9
I picked up a copy of the December issue of VG at the Amigo International Guitar Show and read the fascinating story about Joe Bonamassa’s two ’58s Flying Vs. I love this kind of story – rich with history and intrigue about how these rare guitars turn up – especially to someone like Joe Bonamassa, who believes, “If I’m not playing a guitar, what good is it?”
Anyway, I noticed something in the story that struck me as a little strange – the part where The Trash Bag V’s serial number failed to show up in Gibson’s ledger. Along with the caption are pictures of the back of the headstocks – Amos has its serial number 8 2857, and The Trash Bag’s looks to be 8 4902! The story says it’s a 3. Is it possible that number appears in the Gibson ledger for a Flying V? If so, some of the history may be revealed after all. Anyway, you put out a great magazine full of interesting stories and wonderful photographs, keep up the good work!
(Ed. Note: A handful of sharp-eyed Texans at the show noticed that error in the piece. Much as it might add to the “mystery,” unfortunately, it was simply a typo in the caption and text.)