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I’m Broken (Pantera ‘Far Beyond Driven’)

I remember being so excited about the release of Far Beyond Driven. I’m Broken was getting good airplay on MTV and was just an amazing track. Dime was the main man at the time and everyone was anxiously awaiting his next barrage of awesome solos and riffage. I thought what Dime came out with here was just awesome. He could have rested on the standards he’d set with Vulgar Display of Power but instead he took his guitar into a heavier, moodier, groovier and more creative arena. I was blown away by riffs like Becoming, Slaughtered and 5 Minutes Alone. Darrell is sorely missed by many and watching his awesome performance in the video above it’s easy to understand why. What an awe-inspiring talent he was and not just to metal heads.
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Low Levels, High Stakes (Allan Holdsworth ‘Hard Hat Area’)

Darn. I couldn’t find a video of Allan playing this absolute monster of a track. What a shame because it really is something special. I was fortunate enough to watch Allan live shortly after he released Hard Hat Area. Within minutes of the gig starting you could see he was furious with his playing. The whole room was just spellbound and simply drooling beer all over the place. Allan was furious… and there wasn’t a note that any of us could have played so well ourselves. And as you can imagine there were rather a lot of pretty awesome musicians in the crowd. I remember the highlight of the night being an improvised chord sequence which to be fair would be impossible for a man with four arms. Allan is truly something special.
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Vroom (King Crimson ‘Vroom’)

Well, musically this was the big deal for me in 94. Crimson were back!! And there wasn’t just one lineup, there was two. At the same time! The double trio was fascinating and sounded absolutely huge and majestically powerful. This is Crimson… two trios were never going to play big harmonies in unison. When the one half of the trio modulates to another tempo to create those massive cross rhythms it’s absolutely immense. There’s some amazing dual guitar wizadry here, as is expected from the incredble Fripp and Belew.

4th of July (Soundgarden ‘Superunknown’)

Back in 94 I played this album back to back over and over. I may have even got close to getting fired because I was driving my workmates nuts with this album. Of course everyone would sing along when Black Hole Sun came on the CD player but for me Black Hole Sun was the song on the new Soundgarden album I didn’t care for so much. To me I was fearful Soundgarden were going for a big hit and I’ve even skipped it when listening to Superunknown. Until recently. Recently I found an appreciation for the chord patterns and that rotary effect. There’s some really lovely sounds and changes in there.

However, 4th of July, Limo Wreck, Fell On Black Days, Like Suicide or Fresh Tendrils are just amazing tracks. And wobbly chords whilst pretty isn’t enough. 4th of July is moody as hell and I simply love it! This is a great album and at times arguably the best output from Soundgarden. There is way too much compression on Cornell’s vocals though!!

I Can See Your House From Here (John Scofield/Pat Metheny ‘I Can See Your House From Here’)

Well, how was this ever going to have anything other than awesome guitar?! You’ve got Scofield and Metheny. Together. Competing. Trying to play a lick tastier than the last lick. Doubling and at times almost bickering with absolute blinding brilliance. This is one amazing record with some of the finest guitar playing I’ve heard. It’s not for those that don’t like something which swings and has lots of outside notes!! The colour tones and phrasing in this are just sublime.

That’s a better 5 than 93! Phew… was worried for a moment that I wouldn’t recover.
Paul.

Auslander (Living Colour ‘Stain’)

Vernon Reid is awesome. He rarely gets involved in something that doesn’t leave me with a tremendous feeling of horrible envy in my gut. What a talented guy. Whilst I spent most of the year reciting the Leave It Alone riff it’s Auslander where I think he’s on another planet. It just seemed so original at the time. Dissonant and groovy.

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Sober (Tool ‘Undertow’)

Tool are definitely one of my fave metal bands, over the years they’ve become masters of intelligent and emotional music. That seems to suit me very nicely as I strive for that in my own music, unfortunately considerably less successfully than Tool! Adam Jones is incredible at layering up such brilliant guitar lines. And there’s always some kind of sound you’ve never heard before. I particularly like what he does with clean tones and his displaced rhythms. Such a very, very underrated guitar player!

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Creep (Radiohead ‘Pablo Honey’)

OK, this single was released in 92 but it didn’t really chart until 93. It’s impossible to have somehow avoided the very nice chord work here. And those crunch and fuzz tones are delicious.

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Ordinary World (Duran Duran ‘The Wedding Album’)

I can clearly remember people having a very sarcastic opinion of this track back in 93. I wonder if they’re so cynical now? Maybe I’ll be criticised for including it here but is there anyone anywhere that can’t sing those guitar lines? It’s not a question of technique, or attitude… it’s all about music and making people feel something. Personally for me, being a Zappa fan, I knew that Warren Cuccurullo was an awesome player of freakish ability. Not for a second would I ever question whether he’s an awesome guitar player. The message from Warren’s playing to me was very different to those cynical and rather unknowledgable guitar players interpretations. It may only be a handful of notes but there still isn’t a single note here that doesn’t drip with emotion. There’s been a few occassions in the studio where I’ve done something I thought was nice… only to realise that it wasn’t that far away from being this! And I bet I’m not the only one either. If I need further justification for including it here’s some pretty nice chord changes too.

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Heart Shaped Box (Nirvana ‘In Utero’)

This song is loaded with just about every single riff and sound that grunge was made of. For me, I think Nirvana, I think Heart Shaped Box. There’s some brilliant layers and double tracking here. And just listen to that fuzz. That’s some gorgeous fuzz!!

I’ve really struggled to get 5 this week. I think I was maybe playing too much Doom and Ultima Underworld 2 in 1993, so if you guys can enlighten me with some great guitar from that year I will be most grateful. So, to make up for my shortcomings 1994 will be online very shortly!

Paul.

Welcome to Bucketheadland (Buckethead ‘Welcome to Bucketheadland’)

Well, how do you introduce a guy with a KFC bucket on his head?! This guy was fairly underground back then. It was his work with Bill Laswell & Bootsy Collins, like Praxis, where I first heard about him. The Praxis album Transmutation (Mutatis Mutandis) was absolutely awesome!! There was so much talk about “this guy with a KFC bucket on his head that moves like a robot and plays guitar like he’s from another planet”. And no-one knew a thing about him. “It’s Paul Gilbert isn’t it?” someone would say. Nothing has been quite like it before or after!

5 to 10 (Allan Holdsworth ‘Wardenclyffe Tower’)

The opening notes to this are some of the most beautiful guitar notes I’ve ever heard. Holdsworth’s touch is just amazing. When I setup a lead sound this is what I always think of and aim for. The way the amp cleans up and chimes and yet has so much dark sustain is just gorgeous. Allan himself will admit that this album isn’t so good, the poor chap was always so frustrated by his own output at this time. That said, you seriously have to go hear it as there are some truly wonderful soloing moments. The man’s simply a magician.

Dam That River (Alice in Chains ‘Dirt’)

I had this album on constantly for about 2 years! And I can’t think about it without thinking about Beavis & Butthead!! Brilliant. There’s so many really cool riffs on this album but Dam That River has always been my fave off the record.

Walk (Pantera ‘Vulgar Display of Power’)

This album was awesome. We were saturated with “grunge” and crummy failing falling apart hair metal bands. Pantera slipped right in to the gap with their super aggressive sixth album! Sixth! I can hardly believe it was the sixth! I hadn’t really paid them any attention until Cowboys From Hell. I can remember playing the PC game Doom and hearing the Mouth for War riff all over the MIDI music in 93!! Actually, I think there were some other tracks in there too. Back from the world of gaming, Dimebag’s solos are fabulous throughout the whole album and it’s really cool to hear the whole song break down to just bass and drums for the solo sections. The groove always wins out and it was so nice to hear stuff that had some rhythm to it! Dime was criminally underrated and is sorely missed.

Leviathan (Yngwie Malmsteen ‘Fire and Ice’)

A version of Leviathan was put out on a Guitar for the Practicing Musician CD I think. That’s where I heard it first. And strictly that’s the version I tend to think of most. Yngwie is especially good on that version should you be able to find it. If not the album cut is pretty good too. I love the monstrousness of it all. It’s Yngwie squared! The awesome worming riffs, little classical sequences and screaming solos… everything you want from Yngwie. I really love the tonal change at around 2:30. It was around 1992 that Yngwie suddenly went from being perceived as a guitar genius to someone that everyone should ridicule. You can hear the frustration in every single note. Perpetual, which opens the album, is also a really, really nice instrumental, almost a Black Star Part 2. There’s an absolutely incredible volume swelling lick in there somewhere.

I can imagine one album in particular that Jon will likely suggest for 92!! Rage Against the Machine. I’ve grown to really like Tom Morello’s playing recently, particularly the awesome Street Sweeper Social Club debut album! Fabulous album that is. Also, Dream Theatre released Images and Words. Both Morello and Petrucci are awesome rock players so I’m keen to go find copies of those albums and revisit 92.

Right, I’m off to get some serious practice done! Have a nice weekend!

Paul.

Outshined (Soundgarden ‘Badmotorfinger’)

I absolutely love Badmotorfinger. The Soundgarden sound here was pretty much perfect for me, I loved it’s aggressive energy. Whilst they would go on to diversify it was a rare thing for them to recapture the hard hitting energy of this. There’s some truly awesome playing on tracks like Face Pollution and stunning riffing on Rusty Cage and of course this weeks pick, Outshined. One the great “how’s that go?!” riffs.

Acrobat (U2 ‘Achtung Baby’)

This and Nevermind were probably the two giant albums for the year. It was nice to see Edge and Daniel Lanois being super creative again. There’s some good stuff going on here that gets sometimes overlooked due to the scale of their success. There’s a wonderful solo on Love Is Blindness for example. Edge and Lanois are masters at building up layers and blending sounds together and arguably this is the best they have done to date. Acrobat to me was a throwback to the earlier material of U2 and my fave track off the record.

Smells Like Teen Spirit (Nirvana ‘Nevermind’)

It would be impossible not to include Nirvana for 91. I can clearly remember this record being released. If you wanted to hear it you had to be awake it around 3am in the morning and listen to some “alternative” radio show. I was a bad sleeper so that’s how I discovered it and it was immediately clear to me it was the way rock was going to progress. I was instantly struck by the sound of his voice and I really liked the blend with the heavy guitars. The song was ok but the overall sound was simply awesome.

Mama I’m Coming Home (Ozzy Osbourne ‘No More Tears’)

I loved the sound of this album, at the time it sounded huge. After the disappointing No Rest For the Wicked, which followed the disappointing The Ultimate Sin, which followed the slightly disappointing Bark At the Moon you can clearly understand the trend that peeps weren’t exactly expecting a great record. And it’s not a great record but it was a nice step into a fresher all new 90s Ozzy. The production was big and sounded expensive, the songs were melodic and catchy and Zakk continued to evolve into the Zakk we’ve come to know in recent years.

Poundcake (Van Halen ‘For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge’)

I remember the excitement building as Ed’s face started appearing on magazine covers… and he was smiling. So the new album had to be good right?! Ted Templeman was back and it was going to be Van Halen back to their roots of just good ol’ rock and roll. It turned out … erm … ok-ish. However, with transcriptions to Poundcake all over the press it was hard to avoid playing it. I admit I still find myself playing the Poundcake riff sometimes and there’s a few bends in the solo I still knock out every now and then. Ed was still the man… but it appeared he had passed into legend and whatever he did would not be enough.

So there we are. Why the 2 week delay?! Simply put… 1991 wasn’t a good year for me. 1991 is the year all my plans (and life in general!) got totally derailed due to a lengthy illness that continued through the first half of 1992. I have never recovered the same hunger and energy I had for guitar since. So we’re tip-toeing into my wilderness now!! Now more than ever I’m interested in finding what other people would suggest listening to!!

Have a really good weekend peeps!
Pauly.
:o)

Cliffs of Dover (Eric Johnson ‘Ah Via Musicom’)

I adore Eric Johnson. I love his guitar sounds and his playing. Truly awesome. I mean, just watch that video above!! It actually had me laughing and shouting at the end. Absolutely astonishing. I’d love to see what he could do in some other musical environments though. Imagine him on a Porcupine Tree album or something! I think that’s a bit of a pipe dream of mine…

For the Love of God (Steve Vai ‘Passion and Warfare’)

I remember all the press running billboards and full page ads for this. Everywhere you went you saw a giant Vai with a fairy in his hand. What was really nice about this album was Steve was quite happy and open about how it was made, the gear he used and sometimes even the settings. He really did open his box of tricks up to us all really. This album had us all wishing we had Eventide Harmonizers, that’s what I really remember about 1990! Everyone wanted an Eventide because in 1990 you couldn’t be a guitar player and not have one. However, the simple straight ahead ballad FTLOG seems to be the place where people get their most kicks from Vai. It’s interesting that he tried so hard to baffle us all with production and we all said “that track 7, the one with nothing fancy on it… I like that one”! Personally, I really liked Love Secrets, Blue Powder, Answers and The Riddle from this album and I wouldn’t really listen to FTLOG now (sick of it!) but at the time it was pretty much the yardstick for a rock guitarist.

Demon Driver (Yngwie Malmsteen ‘Eclipse’)

I thought Eclipse was a welcome change! I’d got a bit bored with the band and was happy to see it had been shaken up a bit and of course Goran Edman’s voice was just incredible. Well, it still is in actual fact! I bought everything I could of this record. 12” singles, tab books etc. I loved it! I picked out Driver because it’s got an awesome riff and those ridiculous turbo charged 3 string sweeped arps that are deceptively difficult.

Holy Wars (Megadeth ‘Rust in Peace’)

I loved this album! Up until Rust I hadn’t quite realised just how clever this band were. I liked Peace Sells but it never hit me like this album did. It was more the song writing that attracted me than the fact that Mustaine had hired the incredible Marty Friedman. However, there’s a lot of guitar on this record!! And it’s hard not to be in awe of how they intelligently weave amazing riffs and solos into every minute.

It’s Love (King’s X ‘Faith Hope Love’)

The third studio album from King’s X was a bit of a weird one. Gretchen was such an amazing album I had high expectations and Faith Hope Love certainly started well!! We Are Finding Who We Are is an absolutely blinding riff!! And it’s followed by It’s Love which has another screaming riff. Absolutely stunning stuff. How this band never took over the world I will never ever know!!

Have a good weekend guitar lovers!
Paul

:o)

Pleiades (King’s X ‘Gretchen Goes to Nebraska’)

This is one of my fave albums. I love the sound King’s X had on Gretchen. They were so unique, had awesome songs and could play a little too! Ty Tabor had one of those enigmatic guitar sounds and wouldn’t let anyone in on any of the secrets, although I believe recently he has actually talked through his gear lists for different points in his career. Anyway… there’s some lovely playing on Gretchen but my highlight and still one of my favourite tracks is the awesome Pleaides. So so true that less is more when you hear the solo section but there isn’t a solo. Raw genius. Just check out the video above!!

Peril Premonition (Allan Holdsworth ‘Secrets’)

“Helloooooo, is that the front desk?”. You sometimes hope that Allan gets enough sleep. And listening to this he surely doesn’t because every single hour of every day he must be practicing. His playing throughout Secrets is sublime and the match up with two of my fave drummers in (Vinnie Colaiuta and Chad Wackerman) is just awesome. Usually when I write these little comments I listen to the track and get excited… by the end I’m finished. I got zoned out with this and had to listen to Peril several times. There’s just so much in this that’s inspired me these last 20 years! I love how it gets more and more dissonant as the track grows. But his playing is incredibly expressive. That’s what always excited me about Al’s playing. Yes, he has incredible technique and an unusual sense of note choice (for example, the runs at 2:00 and 2:17 - simply the best legato runs I’ve ever heard in my life) but it was always his expressiveness that enticed me. I was so surprised to see just how physical his playing was when I saw him live! This guy is the master of all those supposed great guitar players. The Synth Axe solo on Spokes is something special too. If you’re still a Holdsworth virgin (shame on you) check out this very brief but sweet video about his guitar that Carvin make:

Riviera Paradise (Stevie Ray Vaughan ‘In Step’)

Shamefully I haven’t yet included and SRV. I know I know, trust me it’s not something I’m proud of. I love In Step, it’s just a no nonsense album with some really great songs and of course some cool Stevie. I love it in Riviera where he starts whacking his trem springs… that’s probably my fave bit!

The Mystical Potato Head Groove Thing (Joe Satriani ‘Flying in a Blue Dream’)

I love this album. Joe did so many different things on this that it was just brilliant. Shame peeps don’t really seem to like it that much then isn’t it? Consequently he resumed with a more straight-ahead melodic rock thing on The Extremist and I didn’t buy another Satch record until 98. As you’d expect there’s an awful lot of awesome guitar on the album and it’s hard to pick any individual moment as being one to go and pick up on. There’s the two handed stuff like Day at the Beach and then there’s the all out improv like The Forgotten Pt2. Needless to say Joe was at the peak of his powers and that’s all you need to know. Potato Head had those hard as hell hammer ons so it gets the pick!

Addicted To That Rush (Mr. Big ‘Mr. Big’)

It would be wrong to do 89 and not include Mr. Big. Featuring Paul Gilbert and Billy Sheehan this was the spiritual succession to the Dave Lee Roth Eat Em thing. Tales of Gilbert playing with drills and stuff (which of course he was doing with Racer X for years) and tearing out his hair still abound. Paul is one of the great rock players and just such an awesome dude that it’s hard not to be inspired by him.

1989 was a weird year. It was like “ok, ok enough!! we’ve heard enough 80s rock guitar”. One of my fave albums of the year was the Badlands album with Jake E. Lee. It was just an absolute monster of an album. Sadly it was a bit late in the day though; there were a lot of bands emerging (Nine Inch Nails, Faith No More, Primus, Stone Roses etc.) that were going very much against the grain! The saturation of 80s rock guitar meant the music scene needed some kind of big earthquake to shake it up a little and we certainly got to see that at this time. Not that I’m not grateful for the shake up!! I’m still a huge Trent Reznor fan. :o)

Anyway, I’m back from Menorca and back in the studio. My rig sounds better than it did when I left, my guitar stayed in tune, played beautifully (thank you Nexus strings) and I’m all fired up to get some awesome guitar down on disk!!

Enjoy the weekend, or what’s left of it!
:o)

Paul.