65u dyj by darielsoreale

N O I ZE |

FROM THE EDITOR

Vol. 55 No. 11

NOVEMBER 2021

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TIME STAND STILL IT HA D B EEN months since any of us had been able to speak with Alex Lifeson, and we all knew why. At a time when most musicians had been sidelined by the pandemic and were happily available to discuss their current endeavors and future plans, Lifeson spent much of the past year and a half privately mourning his longtime friend and bandmate Neil Peart. The former Rush drummer passed away on January 7, 2020, shortly before the global shutdown, having lost his long battle with brain cancer. So it was a welcome relief when we were told Alex was back in action and eager to talk about his latest projects, including his group, Envy of None, and his new Epiphone Alex Lifeson Les Paul Axcess Standard, a beautifully crafted and budget-friendly take on his earlier Gibson custom model. As one of rock’s most inventive, dynamic and emotionally melodic guitarists, Alex UHPDLQV D FRPSHOOLQJ ÀJXUH ORQJ DIWHU 5XVK KDYH FDOOHG LW D GD\ ,Q DQ engaging and wide-ranging interview with contributing writer Joe Bosso, Alex reveals that, after a year away from the guitar, he’s back in full force and ready to drop some new tunes on the world as he pursues the next chapter of his life after Rush. But our interview with Alex is just one of many great entries in this issue, which also includes an excerpt from Eruption: Conversations with Eddie Van Halen %UDG 7ROLQVNL DQG &KULV *,OO·V HSLF QHZ (9+ ELR %UDG DQG &KULV VKHG QHZ OLJKW RQ HYHU\ FRUQHU RI 9DQ +DOHQ·V OLIH DQG SURGLJLRXV DUWLVWU\ delivering a long-awaited and vital read about the most important and LQÁXHQWLDO JXLWDULVW RI WKH PRGHUQ¬DJH ¬ The bonanza continues as we sit down for new interviews with Robben Ford, Yngwie Malmsteen, Phil Collen and Earl Slick. There’s no shortage of JUHDW UHDGLQJ LQ WKLV LVVXH , KRSH \RX HQMR\ LW

CONTENT Christopher Scapelliti,

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

chris.scapelliti@futurenet.com SENIOR EDITOR

Art Thompson,

arthur.thompson@futurenet.com ART EDITOR

Rosie Webber,

rosie.webber@futurenet.com PRODUCTION EDITOR

Jem Roberts,

jem.roberts@futurenet.com LOS ANGELES EDITOR

Jude Gold,

judegold@gmail.com FRETS SECTION EDITOR

Jimmy Leslie,

j@jimmyleslie.com LESSONS EDITOR

Jimmy Brown,

jimmy.brown@futurenet.com CONSULTING EDITORS Matt Blackett, Jim Campilongo, Dave Hunter, Michael Ross MUSIC COPYISTS

Jeff Perrin, Matt Scharfglass

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2021

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G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M

CONTENTS NOVEMBER

2021

VOLUME

NUMBER

PLAYERS 30

Alex Lifeson + Epiphone Alex Lifeson Les Paul Axcess Standard

Eddie Van Halen

Robben Ford

Yngwie Malmsteen

Earl Slick

FRETS 68

L AR RY M ARA NO/GETT Y IM AGES (E VH ); W I LL I R EL AN D ( FOR D); S I MO N E C ECCH ET T I ( Mc K EE ); JAD EN D. ( L I F ESO N)

Andy McKee

NEW & COOL 17

Rock N Roll Relics Starﬁghter

ALBUM 20

Greg Koch

FIVE SONGS 22

Def Leppard’s Phil Collen

ON THE COVER Alex Lifeson with his new signature Epiphone Les Paul Axcess Standard Photo by Jaden D.

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Guitar Player (ISSN 0017-5463) is published monthly with an extra issue in December by Future, 11 West 42nd St., 15th Floor, New York, NY 10036. Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY, and at additional mailing ofﬁces. Canada Post: Publications Mail Agreement #40612608. Canada Returns to be sent to Bleuchip International, P.O. Box 25542, London, ON N6C 6B2. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Guitar Player, P.O. Box 2029, Langhorne, PA 19047-9957.

NOV E M BE R

2021

G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M

CONTENTS NOVEMBER

2021

VOLUME

NUMBER

COLUMNS 26

Dave Hunter’s Classic Gear 1963 Ampeg Reverberocket 2

Jim Campilongo’s Vinyl Treasures Thumbs Carllile — On His Own

88 92

LESSONS 74

How to play Hendrix chords

Mastering the altered scale

GEAR 86

ESP LTD MH-1000 Deluxe EverTune

Victory The Duchess V4 Guitar Amp

Eminence DV-77 Speaker and Kristian Kohle Metal IR Pack

HOW I WROTE...

D. Kowalski Dark Gene Micro Ampliﬁer

I AN D I C KSO N / R EDF E RN S /G ETTY I M AGES

How to choose a blues box and strings

“Do You Feel Like We Do”

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NOV E M BE R

2021

G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M

N EW

CNOE O WL |&ROCK C O ON L |ROLL ’71 TRELLA RELICS

BOULEVARD OF BROKENIN DREAMS Billy Rowe’s Rock N Roll Relics look, play and sound like much-loved and well-traveled treasures. B Y

R I C H A R D

B I E N S T O C K

ASK BIL LY ROW E when his love for

explosion, alongside up-and-coming peers

myself, and then, you know, the internet

building guitars began and he’ll take you all

like Poison, Faster Pussycat and, most

started,” he says. “I sold a guitar on eBay. I

the way back to his San Francisco high

signiﬁcantly, Guns N’ Roses. Over-the-top

thought, Maybe I’ll start a website. It just

school in 1980. “I was a big Van Halen fan,”

looks and attitude were the calling cards of

happened kind of organically.”

Rowe explains. “And Eddie was the guy of my

the day, and that extended to guitars as well.

generation who took guitars and reconﬁgured

“I painted my Strat hot pink during the band’s

today is one of the more prominent boutique

them to what he wanted or what he thought

super-early glam era, put a mirrored

builders of high-end, stylish and, as the name

was cool. So I was always into tinkering with

pickguard on it and scratched it up,” Rowe

obviously implies, age-ﬁnished electric

guitars, ever since I started playing.

recalls. “It looked like Paul Stanley’s

guitars. And in keeping with the other part of

cracked-glass Ibanez.”

the company’s moniker, the guitars are

“Then, in woodshop class, I decided to make one. I bought a block of wood at a

Jetboy eventually signed a major-label

Thus was born Rock N Roll Relics, which

undeniably rock and roll in sound, look and

hardwood shop in the East Bay, cut it, did the

deal and released a well-received, if not

vibe. They include a Tele-like model named

whole nine yards. I built a star guitar out of

exactly chart-conquering, 1988 debut, Feel

the Richards (as in Keith) and an LP

swamp ash. And that’s where it started.”

the Shake. One more record, Damned Nation,

Junior-style design christened the Thunders

followed in 1990 before the band called it

(that would be Johnny).

Still, it took many years before Rowe

“I’ve always loved classic rock and roll and

became a guitar builder. First he had to

quits. “After the second record, we toured for

become a rock star. In the early ’80s, he

a little bit, got dropped by our label, and then

late ’70s and early ’80s punk,” Rowe says.

co-founded Jetboy, who relocated from the

we all ended up moving back home and kind

“The dirtiness of it. It’s the same way that I’ve

Bay Area to L.A. and quickly established

of went our own ways,” Rowe says. He worked

always liked beat-up Converse instead of

themselves as one of the leading acts of the

a day job but ultimately found his way back to

squeaky-clean white ones. The aging just

Sunset Strip’s mid-decade glam-rock

his ﬁrst love. “I built a couple guitars for

gives it more character.”

G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M

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2021

N E W

CO OL |

ROCK N ROLL RELICS

Rowe began building guitars out of the garage of a family home in San Francisco that had once belonged to his great-grandmother. Initially, he was working entirely on his own. “I was doing bolt-on stuff, mainly Teles,” he says. “I was basically going after the Keith Richards/Joe Strummer type of thing, and then taking the classic Fender colors and just kind of aging them. There were tools on the wall, and it was something I was into. And there were only a handful of guys doing the relic thing then. Bill Nash was one. He was just selling stuff on eBay. It goes that far back.” Rowe ofﬁcially launched Rock N Roll Relics in 2005 and began to build a loyal and inﬂuential customer base through word of mouth as well as connections from his Jetboy days. Glen Campbell commissioned a

“I JUST WANT TO MAKE IT LOOK COOL AND ARTSY AND GIVE IT A VIBE” blue-ﬁnished Strat-style model, while Cheap Trick’s Rick Nielsen picked out a double-cut, set-neck Thunders. Other customers have included former Kiss and current Grand Funk Railroad guitarist Bruce Kulick, Metallica producer Bob Rock and former Guns N’ Roses guitarist Gilby Clarke. But the musician perhaps most responsible for helping to put Rock N Roll Relics on the map is Green Day’s Billie Joe

Rowe works on a Paisleyﬁnished Starﬁghter.

Armstrong, who gave a Thunders model

as the co-guitarist in Buckcherry. “I’m pimp

equipped with a single dog-earred P-90

daddying them all,” he says with a laugh.

pickup and a Black Flag ﬁnish pride of place on his band’s 2016–2017 Revolution Radio tour. “That’s where things really turned a

the majority of the aging work himself. As for

corner for me, because Billie used that guitar

his approach, “There are so many different

for almost the whole set for those shows,”

processes when it comes to aging,” he says. “A

Rowe says. “And the Green Day fans are rabid

lot of it is just little tricks of the trade that you

and follow every crumb that they drop. So it

learn through trial and error. And a lot of

deﬁnitely took the company to another level.”

those mistakes become cool stuff.”

As the company’s reputation has grown,

Over the years, he continues, “the aging

so have its offerings. These days, Rowe is

thing has gone to such a different level. I tell

focusing on three newer shapes: the offset

people that I don’t even really try to make

Revenge, the semi-hollow Lightning and the

something look like it’s old. I just want to

The Paisley ﬁnish extends

carved-top Starﬁghter. He’s been using all

make it look cool and artsy and give it a vibe.”

to the headstock’s back.

three, as well as a Rock N Roll Relics Blackheart model, onstage in his current gig

Rowe has also added to his in-house staff at Rock N Roll Relics, though he still handles

NOV E M BE R

2021

To be sure, the Rock N Roll Relics model we spent some time with — a light-to-

G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M

medium-aged, Paisley-finished Starfighter — has vibe for days. The inspiration for the body shape, Rowe says, was the double-cut Gretsch Jet closely associated with one of his favorite players, AC/DC’s Malcolm Young — “the god of rhythm guitar,” he says. But while Malcolm’s no-nonsense axe and famed “clean-dirty sound,” as Rowe characterizes it, served as something of a template, the Starfighter is its own six-string beast. The African mahogany body boasts an elegant carve and is accented by single-ply binding,

The double-cut

and the ’60s-proﬁle African mahogany set

Gretsch Jet inspired

neck is topped with a fast-playing Macassar

the Starﬁghter’s body.

ebony ﬁngerboard outﬁtted with Jescar medium-jumbo frets, pearl block inlays and cream binding. Pickups, meanwhile, are a pair

things a step further tonally, evincing an open

of Mojo Tone Mojo’Tron Filter’Trons (Rowe

and airy midrange spread on chords and

says he became a fan of the original

some pleasant warmth and softness around

Filter’Tron sound back in the Jetboy days)

the edges of single-note lines.

controlled by two volume knobs, one tone

That “clean-dirty” ideal could be extended

knob and a three-way toggle. Appointments

to the Starﬁghter’s impressive looks as well,

are rounded out by an Advanced Plating

with the grit of the lightly checked ﬁnish,

locking ABR bridge, Kluson tuners and a

back-of-the-body buckle wear and oxidized

ﬂoating pickguard.

hardware pitted against the gentle swirl of

With its chambered body, the Starﬁghter

the pink Paisley pattern and cloud-like Aged

was remarkably resonant, even when

White colorway. The result is, true to Rowe’s

strummed unplugged. Hooked into a Fender

intentions, a guitar that is cool, artsy and

Deluxe Reverb and cranked to barely

vibey — and 100 percent rock and roll.

acceptable residential-street volumes, it unleashed that classic Malcolm “clean-dirty”

CONTACT rocknrollrelics.net

roar without sacriﬁcing articulation, fullness

PRICES Starting at $3,800, with up-charge

or dynamics. If anything, the Starﬁghter took

for Paisley ﬁnish and other options

G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M

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2021

AL BU M |

GREG KOCH

CROWD SOURCING In monetizing the art of making music, Greg Koch ﬁnds the freedom to make the music he wants. B Y

A R T

T H O M P S O N

FO R A GU Y who has become a household

“My stuff is all over the map, which has

sound check, we’re playing new stuff. New

name on the guitar scene for his mind-

probably hindered me from commercial

grooves are just coming in at will, and a lot of

boggling chops and zany humor, Greg Koch is

accessibility, but I don’t give a shit,” Koch says.

times stuff gels from that. “The Tussel” was a

also a badass in the guitar-video business,

“I’ve been able to make a living with these

sound-check tune. “Funky Klaus” was

having made more than 4,000 online reviews

other little spigots of things — clinics and

something where Toby had this groove, and I

for Wildwood Guitars alone. And that’s just a

videos and all the other stuff that allows me

kind of added a riff here and there and a little

part of it. Peruse his website and you’ll ﬁnd a

to pretty much do whatever I want on the

melody thing. A lot of times Toby will have

merchandise line that includes instructional

musical frontier. I’m 54, and I remember,

grooves and chord progressions, and I’ll go,

books and DVDs, Skype lessons, his Gristle

when I was in my 20s, I looked up to people

“That’s cool, what’s that?” And then I’ll add a

King and Triple Gristle pedals and signature

that were older as role models of what to do

melody to it and make an arrangement out of

Fishman Fluence pickups, and, obviously,

and what not to do. But at the same time I’d

it. That was the case with “Funky Klaus,”

albums, the latest of his 15 releases being

be thinking, Man, they’re in their 50s; why do

“Brushes” and “The Tussle.”

From the Up’Nuh (Koch Marshall

they even get out of bed in the morning?”

on Hammond B3 and Greg’s son Dylan on

I’m just getting started! We’ve got a lot of

drums. They comprise the Koch Marshall Trio,

interesting music to play, and I certainly love

I assume your new signature Reverend Gristle 90 saw action on the album, but what else did you play?

a scary-good group that forges rock, blues and

playing it, and I’m very much enthused by the

I didn’t have the ﬁnished Fluence pickups for

funk into hybridized originals with titles like

fact that there are all these ways now to

the duration of the recording, but I did use

“Funky Klaus,” “A Real Mother for Ya,” “Daddy

reach a crowd of people that are interested in

that guitar with the original Reverend P-90s

Long Legs” and “Nubby the Hoarder Man.”

what we do in a very organic way. You don’t

on “Daddy Long Legs” “Nubby the Hoarder

need to have everybody into your stuff. You

Man” and “A Real Mother for Ya.” On “Luna

just need enough.”

Girl,” the main guitar part is a ’63 50th

Productions), which features Toby Marshall

He laughs. “But my dad lived to be 95, so

Anniversary Gibson Memphis ES-335. I have

You’re constantly coming up with new material for all the videos you make. How did that overlap into the songwriting for the new record?

Fishman Fluence humbuckers in it, and it sounds like God. Then I used the Reverend

the entire time I’m doing those

and there’s Strat sprinkled in for

videos for Wildwood. [laughs]

some rhythm stuff and also a

So I’ve got these little scraps all

Fender Custom Shop Wildwood

over the place that either are

10 ’57 Strat, also with Fluence

congealed into a tune that’s

pickups.

RECOMMENDED LISTENING

morning perambulation one of those tunes might come out

pickups is they sound like the epitome of what that guitar is supposed to sound like. The

It’s in my iTunes library, so I’ll be going for a little stroll, and in my

What’s great about these

From the Up’Nuh

Strat was my main stage guitar

“Luna Girl,” “A Real

for a good dozen years, but

Mother for Ya,” “Nubby

you’ve got be MacGyver to keep

and I’ll go, “Shit, I forgot about

the Hoarder Man,”

them in tune, and there are

that one.” So the next time I’m

“Daddy Long Legs,”

always compromises, sonically.

with Dylan and Toby, we’ll try it

“Quarantonne”

out. And anytime we’re at a

It’s like the second position sounds good, but the bridge is a

G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M

J I M WI E L AN D

while sitting at my computer.

2021

thing at the end. On “The Tussle,” that’s the 335 again,

might make a demo out of

NOV E M BE R

parts on that call-and-response

I’m basically ﬂeshing out tunes

ready to go, or something that I

Gristlemaster to do the Tele

little weak. But with the Fluence pickups, all

So I was at Musikmesse doing stuff for

Besides a clean channel that would grind a

ﬁve positions sound good.

Fishman some years ago, and right across

little more, I wanted a more vivid reverb. Their

from their booth were the Koch ampliﬁer

reverb was good, but it wasn’t like a Fender

“Funky Klaus” sounds like a composite of different guitars. What slide tunings did you use?

people. I ended up checking out this

reverb, where you could get lost in it if you

TwinTone III amp, and what I remember liking

wanted to. So they did a three-control reverb,

about it was that one of my favorite Fender

like on a Vibro-King or an old Fender reverb

The main guitar part is the Gristlemaster, and

amps was the Super-Sonic. I liked that the

tank. I also wanted a harmonic vibrato, which

I also used a Reverend Airwave 12-string. The

clean channel had two voices, and then there

was kind of a hard one for them to do, but

baritone parts are a Reverend Pete Anderson

was the lead channel. But there was also an

they ﬁgured out a way and also gave it a

Baritone, which sounds amazing. I’m in open

effects-loop button on the foot switch, and

volume control. Basically, they took the

E on the slide part. I used my 335 in standard

you could take an instrument cable and go

TwinTone voicing and gave me a clean sound

tuning for the “Soul Stroll” slide part, and for

from the send and return jacks on the back of

and a lead sound and a lead boost. So that’s

“Nubby the Hoarder Man” it’s in open G. The

the amp and goose it a little bit, so it became

on the front panel of the amp, and then on

335 is also used for the slide stuff on “Succulent” and “Allore.”

It’s hilarious that you have a signature ampliﬁer from Koch called Greg. What’s the story on that?

“YOU DON’ T NEED TO HAVE EVERYBODY INTO YOUR STUFF. YOU JUST NEED ENOUGH”

Yes it’s on the entire album, either the 2x10

like another boost level

top there’s a volume and a gain for this OTS

for both channels. The

feature, which is output tube saturation — it’s

TwinTone III functioned

a half of a power-amp tube that you can

kind of like the Super-

overdrive and add to either channel. I can be

Sonic. It didn’t have the

on the clean channel and hit that circuit, and

same effects-loop

it sounds like a dimed blackface amp. Then I

scenario, but it had a

go to the lead channel, and it sounds like the

rhythm master and a lead

end of the world!

master for the both channels, and a lead boost on top of that.

KI M YAR B ROUG H

no coincidence. We were trying to ﬁgure out what to call it, and I said, “Why not just call it Greg, since we’ve got the same last name?”

G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M

an amp, and when you ﬁnally get it, you’re like, “I hope I wasn’t insane when I requested

combo or the head and a 1x12 bottom. As far as the name goes, there’s no relation, but it’s

You know, you come up with an idea for

The Greg is so full featured that it has controls on the front and on top. Was that to accommodate your tone-control needs, and what speciﬁcally were they?

this thing.” [laughs] But never in the ﬁve years that I’ve been playing this amp has it made me think, Yeah, I’m going back to my Super Reverb.

NOVE MBE R

2021

T RAC KS|

PHIL COLLEN

MY CAREER IN FIVE SONGS

Phil Collen reveals the tales behind his greatest tracks, from the U.K. glam-metal scene to Def Leppard’s blockbuster hits. M A R K

D EF L EP PA R D D O M IN ATE D the

wrinkles in his arsenal, including the string

airwaves with “Photograph” in 1983,

gauges on his signature Jackson PC1s

“ H O L LYWO O D T EAS E ” G I RL , SH EE R G R EE D (1 97 9)

establishing the template for much of what

(.013–.054 ) and Fender Telecasters

“I was in Girl prior to Def Leppard. We were a

was to follow in hair metal: catchy riffs,

(.014–.056). Even allowing for his habit of

London-based post-punk, post-glam,

monumental choruses and short, to-the-

tuning down one half-step, that’s some

hard-rock band. We were trying to merge

point, shred-guitar solos. While many of the

seriously heavy metal. Collen also uses brass

everything together. We didn’t have anyone to

era’s bands could be blamed for the genre’s

picks, having abandoned steel picks due to

guide us, so we were kind of ﬂying blind. The

descent into mediocrity, Def Leppard were

their habit of breaking strings. “Now that I use

real tragedy for Girl is that we didn’t meet

constantly ﬁnding ways to reinvigorate the

brass picks, the string wins out and there is

someone like Mutt Lange, because he could

limitations of the four-minute rock song. Phil

brass dust everywhere,” he says. “I’m really

have brought a lot to what we did. I really

Collen joined the group as it was recording

lazy with strings, I don’t really change them

believe we could have been a lot bigger if that

Pyromania, the album from which

often because I don’t ever break a string.

had happened. My solo in this was really the

“Photograph” was lifted. Consisting of singer

Some of the guitars I have at home have had

ﬁrst recording I’d done that sounded like what

Joe Elliott, guitarists Steve Clark and Pete

the same strings on for four years.”

I was trying to achieve. It combined all of my

Willis, bassist Rick Savage and drummer Rick

Like most acts, Leppard are waiting for

rock inﬂuences and made it work in my own

Allen, Def Leppard had nearly ﬁnished the

the lifting of global restrictions so that they

context: a little bit of Blackmore, Schenker,

album when they let Willis go for excessive

can get back on the road, “As soon as we get

Ronson and some Al Di Meola thrown in, right

alcohol abuse. “I was initially brought in to

the word, we’ll be back out,” Collen says. In

down to the Les Paul with DiMarzios and the

play some solos Pete didn’t ﬁnish,” Collen

the meantime, he’s been busy on several

shred/burn lick on the neck pickup. I also

tells Guitar Player. “I thought I was just helping

fronts. “We’re always recording,” he says of

think I based the solo’s format on a Mick Box

out. I didn’t realize that I was actually in the

Def Leppard. “Me and Joe are writing a lot of

[Uriah Heep] solo from ’73. I used my Wine

band until after I’d done some recording and

songs together. I’m constantly busy. I have

Red ’76 Gibson Les Paul Custom with a

they told me they’d booked a major tour.”

everything here at home to record onto my

DiMarzio Super Distortion bridge pickup into a

laptop. I’ve been pulling out guitars that I

Marshall 100-watt master-volume head

Mutt Lange’s production. “We were really

haven’t played for a long time and enjoying

through an angled 4x12 cab.”

blessed when we hooked up with Mutt,”

them. It’s like ﬁnding old clothes you haven’t

Collen says. But the album paled in

worn for a while.”

A huge part of Pyromania’s success was

Platinum, giving Def Leppard its ﬁrst Diamond

piling on the pounds in lockdown, the

“ P HOTOG RA P H” D E F L EP PA R D, PY RO MA N IA (1 983 )

award, for record sales in excess of 10 million.

63-year-old Collen has achieved one of his

“Pyromania kick started the hair-metal thing

The album took more than three years to

personal ﬁtness goals. “I really worked on my

with the big choruses and killer guitar solos.

record, due to the loss of Allen’s left arm and

physical training and diet and achieved my

Ironically, I recorded this in the same room as

delays with Lange’s schedule, and it cost

target of weighing the same as Bruce Lee at

I’d recorded ‘Hollywood Tease’ three years

somewhere in the region of three million

the same height — 140 pounds at ﬁve seven,”

before. Def Leppard were actually very much

dollars. “But the results totally justiﬁed the

he reveals. “I think you have to keep yourself

a blend of the same inﬂuences as we had in

time and money,” Collen says. “The songs still

moving and look after yourself, particularly as

Girl: some Bowie and T.Rex, some AC/DC and

resonate now.”

you get older. I can’t wait to get back out on

the Sex Pistols, glam and Led Zeppelin.

tour, and I want to be sure I’m totally ready for

‘Photograph’ was the song that broke us into

whatever life on the road might throw at me.”

multi-Platinum status, with everything lining

comparison to Hysteria, which went 12 times

A fantastically inventive and devastatingly effective guitarist, Collen has a few unique

Collen (far right) onstage with Girl, January 1980

M c S T E A

NOV E M BE R

2021

At a time when many of us have been

G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M

F I N COST EL LO/ R ED F E RN S /GETT Y I M AGES

B Y

J OSE P H BRAN STO N

“YOU HAVE TO BE ABLE TO HUM THE SOLO. IF YOU HAVEN’ T GOT SOMETHING MEMORABLE, YOU’RE DOING THE SONG A DISSERVICE”

Phil Collen with his X-Stroyer, strung with heavy-gauge (.013–.054) strings

T RAC KS|

PHIL COLLEN Onstage with Def Leppard at the Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, New Jersey, March 27, 1983

up perfectly: We had MTV, we were a top-20 band that could still be a hard-rock band, and we knew how to get an eight-bar solo in a song without alienating our listeners. That’s why I usually work my solos out. Mutt always said you have to be able to hum the solo, because if you haven’t got something memorable there, then you’re just doing the song a disservice. “Musicianship is ﬁnding what works and supports the song, creates some kind of emotion and takes it somewhere else from the vocal melody. If you can double-track your solo, it shows that you know what you just played. [laughs] Mutt had me doubletrack my solo to give it a creamier sound. I

Roll Hall of Fame museum. All of this song,

mix things up — the freedom to take the song

used my ’80–’81 Ibanez Destroyer Custom

and in fact the album, was played through a

somewhere else. I did spend some time

with a DiMarzio Super Distortion in the bridge

Tom Scholtz Rockman. Ironically, given how

thinking about how it should go, and I tried a

position and a Kahler trem system. This guitar

long we spent recording Hysteria, this song

few different approaches.”

is on display at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

was cut in only 10 days, and it was the very

museum in Cleveland. I used my amazing

last thing we recorded. It was actually a

Marshall 50-watt head, that has since been

last-minute addition. Mutt heard Joe singing

stolen, into a Marshall 4x12.”

the chorus while playing an acoustic guitar

“ M I ST R EAT ED ” D E LTA D EE P, D E LTA D EE P (2 0 1 5 )

and spotted the potential. It added

“The ﬁrst concert I ever went to was Deep

something to the album that it really needed,

Purple at the Brixton Sundown, now the

with the power and the gaps between riffs to

Brixton Academy, in 1972. It’s the reason I

“This was from our biggest album. We had a

let the snare speak. Mutt was really

started playing guitar and the reason I play on

completely different approach to the songs,

instrumental in how we structured the

that side of the stage. And Blackmore is the

songwriting and sounds. I used my ’78 Fender

arrangement for the

reason I played a black

Stratocaster, named Felix, with a cream

dynamics — the light

Strat [Felix] with a

DiMarzio Super Distortion colored black with

and shade. Part of the

a Sharpie in the bridge position and a Kahler

Mutt Lange magic is

trem, later changed to a Floyd Rose. On the

that there are so many

intro I played my black crackle-ﬁnish Jackson

parts on Leppard

Dinky, which is also on display at the Rock &

songs, but there is still

“P OUR SO ME SUGA R O N ME ” D E F LEP PA R D, HYSTE R I A (1 987)

a lot of space.”

“I DIDN’ T REALIZE I WAS IN THE BAND UNTIL THEY’D BOOKED A MAJOR TOUR”

maple neck, so it’s kind of a full-circle appreciation thing. Delta Deep was a blues band that I put together. I played my

“ PAP ER SUN ” DEF LEPPARD, EUPHORIA (1999)

Onstage at the Birmingham LG Arena, December 6, 2011

NOV E M BE R

2021

[Redrum] with a DiMarzio Super 3 in the bridge position and a Floyd Rose trem with

“There is a different feel on this album, and

FU-Tone titanium block and saddles. I

this is one of my favorite solos from our

recorded straight into my laptop via a

catalog. It goes through a couple of key

Focusrite iTrack Solo and Native Instruments

changes and is longer than the usual eight

Guitar Rig 5, and, interestingly, I used a preset

bars. My solo is the end solo on the song. Viv

that was based on a Marshall head. I think

[Vivian Campbell, who replaced Steve Clark

part of what gives our version a heavier,

after his 1991 death] does the one in the

denser sound is the heavy strings that I use,

middle. I used my Jackson PC1 [Kermit] with a

and the brass pick. They really let you dig in. A

DiMarzio Super 3 on the bridge position and a

lot of players I love have a very light touch, but

Floyd Rose trem. I played it through a

I have a really heavy approach, which can be

Marshall JMP-1 rackmount [tube preamp]

tricky at times, but when you get it right, it

through a Palmer speaker simulator direct

really sings. There were so many great players

into the desk. I spent some time working on

that inﬂuenced me from the ’60s and ’70s.

the solo, because of the key changes. I

My all-time favorite is Hendrix, but there are

wanted to have a different theme for each

so many — Ronson, Akkerman, Di Meola,

part. There was a lot of scope on this one to

Beck, Page — and they all gave me a lot.”

G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M

J OSE P H BRAN STON (201 1 ); EBE T ROBE RTS /R ED F ER N S /G ETT Y I M AGES ( 19 8 3)

red Jackson PC1

CO LUM N|

CLASSIC GEAR

This 1963 Reverberocket 2 features two 7591 output tubes for more power than its 6V6based predecessor.

Rocket Science With the 1963 Reverberocket 2, Ampeg launched a new weapon in the war between jazz and rock.

In addition to the overall veracity of

(despite the several changes from tweed to

ranks of classic guitar amps, Ampeg has a

Ampeg’s onboard reverb, the Reverberocket is

brown-panel to black-panel amps). Ampeg’s

long and storied history, as well as a

also widely acknowledged as the ﬁrst

designs, however, continued to evolve,

reputation for original design and quality

production ampliﬁer from a major company

sometimes dramatically, often resulting in

construction. While many players point to

to feature the effect. Ampeg debuted the

amps that were radically different in sound

Fender’s amps of the mid ’60s as displaying

Reverberocket at the summer NAMM show in

and feel from their same-model predecessors

the epitome of the tube-driven spring reverb

July 1961, but had prototyped the circuit as an

of just a few months before.

sound, any discussion of that tone will

add-on to the existing Jet model the previous

inevitably encounter the dissenter who

April. The earliest schematics for the proper

The late-’61 and early ’62 models featured an

declares, “Well, have you played an Ampeg

Reverberocket model date to May 1961, a full

output stage common to most sub–20-watt

Reverberocket?” If the answer is “no,” you’ve

year and a half before Fender’s ﬁrst reverb-

amps of the era, generating around 15 watts

missed out on what many reverb-o-ﬁles

laden combo, the Vibroverb, hit the scene in

from a pair of 6V6GTs with a 5Y3 rectiﬁer, the

consider the lushest, most elegant sproing of

early 1963. Fender quickly standardized both

same complement you’d see in the late-’50s

them all.

its reverb circuit and its core amp circuits

tweed Fender Deluxe or early ’60s Princeton.

NOV E M BE R

2021

To that point, consider the Reverberocket.

G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M

I M AGED BY H ER I TAGE AUCTI O N S, H A.CO M

TO O EAS ILY FORGOTTEN amid the

B Y D AV E H U N T E R

The front end used a set of octal-based tubes of the types seen in even earlier amp designs from other makers, including a pair each of 6SL7s and 6SN7s. In late ’62 or early ’63, however, Ampeg changed up the model entirely, issuing the Reverberocket 2 with 12AX7, 6U10 and 7199 preamp tubes, 7591 output tubes and solid-state rectiﬁcation, along with a circuit that now included independent bass and treble controls, tremolo speed and intensity, and a single control for reverb depth, still labeled echo. Why the dramatic revamp, and why so soon? It all comes down to a battle between the archetypal tones of jazz and rock and roll.

“EVERETT HULL HATED ROCK AND ROLL. AMPS WERE NOT TO BE DISTORTED” The Ampeg Bassamp Company was founded in 1949 by jazz pianist and bassist Everette Hull, largely on the back of an effort to amplify bass guitars. To that end, Hull’s original design was a pickup fitted to the peg on which a double-bass stands, an invention dubbed the Amplified Peg, which was then shortened to Ampeg. As with any pickup, the Ampeg required an amplifier. As Hull’s efforts proliferated among the jazz crowd through

of the famed and highly prized Trainwreck

break up too early.’ So Everette Hull converted

the ’50s, his creations also caught the

amps, was an engineer at Ampeg in the ’60s,

them to 7591 [output tubes]. But if they had

attention of many guitarists, and he hired

providing him with an informed perspective

marketed them as a rock-and-roll amp, they

engineer and designer Jess Oliver in 1956 to

on the scene. “That R12-R Reverberocket that

probably would have been very successful.”

better ﬁll growing demand.

used 6V6 output tubes and all octals in the

Hull and Oliver released the early

Fischer’s take on the short-lived

preamp, that was Everette Hull’s one effort to

6V6-based Reverberocket has made this

Reverberocket with the more common output

make an amp that was a little more Fendery,”

relatively rare beast a favorite of rock and

stage, which allowed bitey, crunchy rock-and-

Fischer told me during our chats for my book

indie guitarists who seek an alternative ﬂavor

roll breakup. As a result, the revolutionary

The Guitar Amp Handbook. “You’ve got to

in the 15-watt, 1x12 combo arena. That said,

reverb-equipped combo failed to ﬂy with

keep in mind that Everett Hull hated rock and

the Reverberocket 2 that followed, as featured

some jazz cats. The late Ken Fischer, builder

roll. He hated distortion, even when the blues

here, is also a great-sounding amp when kept

guys would play with distortion. Amps were

in good condition. Its 7591s develop a little

ESSENTIAL INGREDIENTS

not to be distorted. So those R12-Rs had blue

more power — likely something in the 20-watt

> 20 watts from two 7591 output tubes

Jensens in them, 6SN7 and 6SL7 octals,

range — and its diode rectiﬁcation makes it

> 12AX7, 6U10 and 7199 preamp tubes

which are always nice, fat-sounding tubes.

slightly tighter and ﬁrmer, too, all of which

> Controls for volume, bass, treble,

That amp would be a great indie-rock

helps to lend a slightly bolder, fuller voice to

machine.

the famed Reverberocket. Either rendition is a

speed, intensity, echo (reverb depth) > Navy check covering > Single 12-inch CTS speaker

G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M

“Ampeg made it for a short while, and all

classic in its own right, and your choice

the jazz guys were complaining: ‘What’s

between the two really depends which ﬂavor

wrong with the new Reverberockets? They

of Ampeg-driven goodness you’re after.

NOVE MBE R

2021

COLU MN|

VINYL TREASURES

BY JIM CAMPILONGO

Rule of Thumb Thumbs Carllile showed his mastery of tone, touch and taste on 1973’s On His Own. K EN N ETH RAY CAR LL ILE was

refreshing take on the tune, making it

born in 1931 and grew up on a farm in

bluesy, uptown and sometimes

Harrisburg, Illinois. At age eight he

almost sneaky sounding.

began playing his sister’s resonator

Being a big Karen Carpenter fan, I

guitar, and when she hid the steel bar,

was pleased by his take on the

young Kenneth used his thumb in its

Carpenters’ classic “Close to You,”

place, resulting in his nickname,

presented here as well. It’s a real gem

Thumbs. This unorthodox technique

on which Thumbs displays a kind of

spawned unusual chord voicings.

Earl Klugh mastery, making a

Thumbs tuned his guitar down to Eb

commercial sound perfectly

and would sometimes incorporate a

palatable. On “Killing Me Softly,” he

capo à la Lonnie Mack, where open

plays the creamiest octaves I’ve ever

strings and guitaristic phrases could

be available in F#, Ab and so on. It was

heard. I didn’t appreciate this Roberta

one of the many aspects of his

the beauty of its progression and

musicality.

melody. But to me, the standout track

Flack hit until I heard Thumbs unleash

here is “Me & Memphis,” a jazz blues in

I have about ﬁve Thumbs Carllile records, and to be fair, some

F on which Thumbs plays double-

don’t achieve the raw musicality seen

stops that are absolutely lovely and

in his live performances available on

hot. I learned the top of this piece and

YouTube. Of the bunch, however,

was shocked to ﬁnd how difﬁcult it

1973’s On His Own, on Gemini Records,

was, because Thumbs made it sound

“Wounded Knee,” a piece that juggles

so easy. I didn’t try to touch his Gatton-like

and distinctive style.

atmospheric blues lines that segue into huge

shredding that followed.

Thumbs played with dozens of great

rock chording reminiscent of Deep Purple

Players like Thumbs, Chet Atkins, Wes

country stars, but his main gig for almost 10

organist Jon Lord (Thumbs had a cinematic

Montgomery, Phil Baugh, George Barnes and

years was with Roger Miller. Mundell Lowe, a

compositional side). This is followed by “Son,”

Howard Roberts, to name a few, come to

great guitar player and friend of his, once

another Thumbs original in a country-funk

mind as artists who can take any song and

proclaimed Thumbs “the most courageous

vein reminiscent of Jimmy Byrant and Speedy

bring it to life instrumentally. From their

guitar player for his unrehearsed swan dives

West’s 1990 cut “Boogie Man.” Thumbs’

example I’ve learned never to pre-judge a

into unfamiliar music.” Once while at Scotty’s

country-funk mastery is also displayed on

song as unworthy. If one can’t ﬁnd all the

Steel Guitar Convention in St. Louis, I met a

“Mystery Train” and “Getting Your Ship

nooks and crannies a song is offering, it’s not

musician who had played with Thumbs.

Together.” His guitar snaps, pops and grooves,

necessarily because of the song; more likely

While singing his praises, the man recalled a

while his double-stops and superimposed

it’s down to the shortcomings of one’s

big industry showcase they were booked to

jazz lines speak out. I suspect this twangy

imagination. If I were to nitpick, I’d say some of On His

play. Evidently there

country-funk style is a

had been a long

lost art to another

Own’s songs are short and almost

generation of

prematurely abbreviated. I suppose Thumbs

guitarists, but maybe I

left me wanting a little more. Likely he’ll do

don’t get out enough.

the same for you. If you’re unfamiliar with

layover before the show, during which Thumbs relaxed, hung out by the pool and didn’t practice a single lick. A week or more

PLAYERS LIKE THUMBS CAN TAKE ANY SONG AND BRING IT TO LIFE INSTRUMENTALLY

later, Thumbs showed

On His Own opens with the Carllile original

is my favorite, as it showcases his versatility

The Hank Williams

Thumbs Carllile, On His Own is a good place

song “Lost Highway” is

to start. It’s an album where you can enjoy a

another personal

masterful guitarist as he tutors us with his

favorite on which

unique musicality.

up to the gig and played brilliantly, if not

Thumbs shows us how to play a melody. He

better than ever. Ah, to be a natural! Certainly,

also covers the Ventures’ hit “Raunchy,” itself

to play like Thumbs would involve thousands

a reworking of the classic by Bill Justis, who is

instrumental records available on vinyl, CD

of hours of practice, but I loved that story.

On His Own’s credited arranger. Thumbs has a

and digital download at jimcampilongo.com.

NOV E M BE R

2021

Jim Campilongo has 14 critically acclaimed

G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M

P LAY ERS|

ALEX LIFESON

NOV E M BE R

2021

G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M

NEW WORLD MAN With a just-released signature guitar and an active band project, Alex Lifeson is ﬁnding life after Rush is full of surprises. B Y

G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M

J O E

B O S S O

NOVE MBE R

2021

ALEX LIFESON

SIMPLE CONVERSATION STARTER like “How are you?” usually elicits a response along the lines of “I’m good.” So it’s comforting — and not a little surprising — when Alex Lifeson, sounding cheery and robust, and maybe a little bit relieved, says, “I’m excellent.” Understandably, this isn’t the reaction one might H[SHFW WR KHDU IURP WKH JXLWDULVW JLYHQ WKH GLűFXOW circumstances of the past year and a half. &RPSRXQGLQJ WKH &RYLG SDQGHPLF WKDW KDV DŲHFWHG the world as a whole (forcing musicians, like everyone, to become virtual recluses), Lifeson was dealt a much harsher and more “ I F O U N D T H AT devastatingly personal blow in January 2020, when his dear friend I N S P I R AT I O N and Rush bandmate Neil Peart passed A G A I N . S I N C E away from glioblastoma. Five years before, Rush had called it quits as a J A N U A R Y, I touring band after the drummer insisted he didn’t want to perform R E A L LY G O T any longer if he couldn’t play at peak B A C K I N T O I T level. Peart’s tragic death brought I N A B I G W A Y ” ZLWK LW D GHÀQLWLYH HQG WR WKH JURXS·V 40-year career. Since that time, Lifeson hasn’t talked to the press that much. “I feel like it’s been a while since I spoke to anybody,” he says, noting that he spent the majority of 2020 grieving Peart’s loss and processing his thoughts. Playing the guitar — always his VDOYDWLRQ LQ JRRG WLPHV DQG EDG DQG KLV ÀHUFHVW pursuit since he took up the instrument at the age of 12 — held no interest for him. “I just didn’t feel Rush perform inspired,” he says. at Nashville’s %XW VKRUWO\ DIWHU WKH ÀUVW DQQLYHUVDU\ RI 3HDUW·V Bridgestone death, he picked it up again. “And very quickly, it all Arena, FDPH ÁRRGLQJ EDFN µ KH VD\V ´, IRXQG WKDW LQVSLUDWLRQ May 1, 2013

NOV E M BE R

2021

again. Since January, I really got back into it in a big way, which is great, because I love playing. It was GLűFXOW WR MXVW SXW LW GRZQ DQG QRW EH LQWHUHVWHG LQ playing, so it’s nice that it’s returned.” He has other reasons to feel upbeat: There was the recent release of the Epiphone Alex Lifeson Les Paul Axcess Standard, a beautifully crafted (and moderately priced) remake of his earlier custom model for Gibson. And he even has a new band project, Envy of None, which also includes his longtime friend Andy Curran (former bassist for the Canadian band Coney Hatch) and a 24-year-old Portland, Oregon–based singer named Maiah Wynne. 7KH JURXS VWDUWHG RXW LQIRUPDOO\ ÀYH \HDUV DJR QRW long after Rush quit touring. As Lifeson recalls, it wasn’t supposed to be a band at all. “Andy called me up and said he had a track, and he asked if I could add some guitar parts,” he says. “I said, ‘Sure. Send whatever you have over.’ This carried on for a while, and eventually Andy came across Maiah Wynne. The second I heard her voice on some of our material, it really opened my eyes. I thought, Wow, there is something really cool that we can do here.” The guitarist recently posted two of their cuts on his website — “Kabul Blues,” a haunting, Easternsounding piece highlighted by Lifeson’s badass soloing, and “Spy House,” a tangy slice of DWPRVSKHULF IXQN GULYHQ E\ D NQRFNRXW FRVPLF ULŲ — ahead of what he hopes will be an album release ODWHU WKLV \HDU ´+HUH ZH DUH IRXU RU ÀYH \HDUV ODWHU and we have 10 songs that are all sounding really good,” he says. “We’re looking to come up with a vehicle for a release, but you know, the industry is so GLŲHUHQW QRZDGD\V <RX FDQ·W MXVW JHW D UHFRUG GHDO OLNH \RX XVHG WR ,W·V PXFK PRUH GLűFXOW $QG ZKDW does that even mean anymore? It’s been challenging, but we’re working hard on it.” For years, Lifeson studiously avoided social media. “I was never interested in tweeting some comment I KDG LQ P\ PLQG RU DQ\ RI WKDW VWXŲ DQG , OLNHG WKH idea that I was protecting my private world,” he says. 5HFHQWO\ KRZHYHU KH ÀQDOO\ EURNH GRZQ DQG launched an Instagram account, and the experience hasn’t been all that bad. “The response to my Instagram page — it’s kind of cuckoo, actually,” he laughs. “So I’m going to share music and material on WKH VLWH ³ ,·YH JRW WRQV RI VWXŲ UHFRUGHG ³ DQG , FDQ talk about where I was as a musician and on a SHUVRQDO OHYHO DW GLŲHUHQW SRLQWV ,·P ORRNLQJ IRUZDUG to having that outlet now.” How much personal detail he shares with his audience can sometimes be a tricky matter, and Lifeson recognizes that Rush fans are a particularly fervent lot. When asked if such intense interest, particularly in the wake of Peart’s passing, ever feels G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M

F R ED ER I C K BR EED O N /G ET TY I M AG ES (L I V E) ; JAD EN D. (O P POS IT E)

P LAY ERS|

Posing with his new Epiphone Alex Lifeson Les Paul Axcess Standard

P LAY ERS|

ALEX LIFESON

like an intrusion, he answers, “I think it just comes with the territory. After 40 years of touring and being on that stage, people have their own preconceptions about who you are as a person. To me, I’m just Al, and I have my interests and my family and my life. “But yes, with Rush fans, there was always quite an intense closeness between us, and it was a really important connection among the fans themselves. The activity level “ W E H AV E 1 0 between Rush fans is still very S O N G S T H AT strong, and the interest is certainly there, too.” ARE ALL His relationship with childhood SOUNDING friend Geddy Lee remains as tight as R E A L LY G O O D . ever. He and the Rush bassist-singer speak frequently, but Lifeson says W E ’ R E L O O K I N G WKHUH DUH QR ÀUP SODQV WKH WZR ZLOO work together any time soon. “Right TO CO M E U P I’m just happy to be playing W I T H A V E H I C L E now, guitar and making music again,” he F O R A R E L E A S E ” says. “It’s sort of strange to be so busy after a very quiet period. It’s QLFH µ *UDWLÀHG E\ WKH LQLWLDO UHVSRQVH WR (QY\ RI 1RQH·V ÀUVW WZR RŲHULQJV KH LQGLFDWHV WKDW OLVWHQHUV might be in for some surprises. “The album will even include a country-and-western tune that I wrote,” he Lifeson adjusts FKXFNOHV ´,W·V SUHWW\ FRRO DQG GLŲHUHQW IRU PH , levels during DOZD\V ÀQG LW IXQ WR FKDOOHQJH P\VHOI HVSHFLDOO\ QRZ a soundcheck ,W·V GLŲHUHQW IURP WKH 5XVK H[SHULHQFH RI UHFRUGLQJ at the De EXW , ORYH GRLQJ WKLV NLQG RI VWXŲ ,W·V LQWHUHVWLQJ IRU Montfort Hall, me to do other things and just follow what my heart Leicester, June says. I love it.” 21, 1980

’m curious about something. When you were a teenager, you had a certain relationship with the guitar — it was a tool with which you would achieve your rock dreams. Knowing that, how do you feel about the guitar now?

,W·V LQWHUHVWLQJ , IHHO GLŲHUHQWO\ DERXW LW DQG , IHHO the same. When I was young, I couldn’t stop playing JXLWDU , FDPH KRPH IURP VFKRRO DQG WKH ÀUVW WKLQJ I did was go to my room and play till dinner. After dinner, I would play until I went to bed. I sat with records for hours and hours, lifting up the arm on my turntable and dropping the needle on a particular solo. I did this over and over and over. Clapton’s solo on “Spoonful” — I spent hours WU\LQJ WR ÀJXUH RXW KRZ KH SOD\HG LW )LQDOO\ , SOD\HG it on guitar for a friend of mine. We sat around my sister’s record player, and I played along to it. My friend was freaked out that I was actually able to learn LW ³ PD\EH QRW DV ÁXLGO\ DV &ODSWRQ FRXOG SOD\ EXW LW was all encompassing. Nowadays, I think I have a much more mature relationship with the guitar, and I love playing. I have GLűFXOW\ SOD\LQJ LQ VWDQGDUG WXQLQJ VR ,·P MXVW DOZD\V ÀQGLQJ VRPH NLQG RI DOW WXQLQJ ,W·V D OLWWOH more challenging, but it’s immediately satisfying. All those harmonics and those beautiful tones, and the ZD\ \RXU ÀQJHUV JR WR QHZ SODFHV ,W·V D JUHDW challenge. Plus, I’m playing banjo and mandolin and mandola. I have a violin that I’m screwing around ZLWK 7KH JXLWDUV DUH FRPLQJ RŲ WKH ZDOOV FRQVWDQWO\ and I’m really having kind of a renaissance with my SOD\LQJ DIWHU WDNLQJ WKDW \HDU RŲ WR JULHYH 1HLO·V memory.

I don’t think about it that much. It is what it is, and I play through it and it’s not so bad. I’m on really good medication, so I’ve kept it at bay. I used to require a lot of practice, but now I can just pick up and guitar and play without feeling rusty. Maybe that’s because of the 30,000 hours I’ve put into it. [laughs] , DOZD\V JR WR GLŲHUHQW DUHDV DQG SOD\ GLŲHUHQW things, and so long as I can do that, I’ll be happy with it. Eventually, your physicality does preclude you from playing the way you used to, or playing at all, and I’m sure that day will come. But until then, I’m planning on playing as much as I can. And I do think that SOD\LQJ KHOSV WR NHHS P\ ÀQJHUV OLPEHU DQG SUHWW\ pain free. Rush never sounded overtly inﬂuenced by other bands — maybe Zeppelin a bit in the beginning. However, starting with Permanent Waves, there was

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F I N COSTE L LO/R ED F ER N S /GE TTY I M AGES

It’s no secret that you’ve suffered from arthritis. Has that affected your playing in a way that maybe you know but we might not?

a noticeable Police vibe creeping in. Who in the band got turned on to the Police ﬁrst?

I’m not sure. I think we all got into the Police around the same time in the late ’70s. I always thought Andy Summers was a fabulous guitar player. I loved his discipline in the context of a three-piece band. I kind of fell in love with the chorus pedal at the same time DV KLP VR , GRQ·W NQRZ LI KH ZDV DQ LQÁXHQFH LQ WKDW way. We just both happened to come across this cool HŲHFW WKDW LQÁXHQFHG RXU SOD\LQJ %XW , GR WKLQN WKHLU approach to reggae — the way they Westernized it, I suppose — was really interesting to us. The Police took that music to a really cool place.

F I N COSTE L LO/R ED F ER N S /GE TTY I M AGES

Did you and Andy ever get together? I know Neil became very good friends with Stewart Copeland.

1R , QHYHU GLG XQIRUWXQDWHO\ EXW , KDYH GRQH VWXŲ with Stewart at his place. We had one great session. We went out to dinner, the three of us — Neil, Stewart and me — and afterward we went to his place. He’s got this really cool setup, just tons of instruments everywhere. I paraded through there and played everything I could. So we played and he recorded it. I remember Stewart telling me afterward, ´:KDW D QLJKW , JRW JUHDW VWXŲ DQG FDQ·W ZDLW WR SXW it all together.” But something happened. His drive crashed and he lost the whole session. It was really heartbreaking. It seems that most of your guitar inﬂuences were in trios — sometimes with a singer out in front — but

G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M

you never leaned toward two-guitar bands.

TOP: On the All

That’s true. I don’t know if that was just coincidence or why that is, but you’re right. Cream, Hendrix, the Who — they were all essentially three-piece bands.

the World’s a

And, of course, the Police were a three-piece. What about U2 and The Edge? He had his own thing going on with effects. Did he get on your radar in a big way?

ABOVE: At

<HDK , WKRXJKW KLV VW\OH ZDV VR XQLTXH IRU WKH WLPH We did meet once. U2 were playing in Toronto and Primus was opening for them. I went to the show and sat down with Edge for a little bit after they’d played. It can always feel uncomfortable being in somebody

Staffordshire,

Stage tour, May 1, 1977

soundcheck, Bingley Hall, England, September 21, 1979

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Editors’ Pick

ROLL T H E TO N E S Epiphone Alex Lifeson Les Paul Axcess Standard TESTE D BY JI M M Y LESL IE

TH E I N TRODUCT I ON O F the Epiphone Alex Lifeson Les Paul Axcess Standard is big news for Rush fans because it makes their hero’s signature model much more accessible than its premium Gibson predecessor, introduced a decade ago. In the spirit of Epiphone and Gibson’s modern hand-in-glove coordination and the mother company’s longstanding relationship with one of rock’s premier players, this Epiphone represents a S P E C I F I C AT I O N S

Alex Lifeson Les Paul Axcess Standard CONTACT epiphone.com PRICE $899 street

NUT Floyd Rose R4 locking nut, 1 11/16” wide NECK Set mahogany, Axcess contour heel,

24.72” scale, Lifeson proﬁle FRETBOARD Bound Indian laurel, 12” radius,

large dot inlays, trapezoid inlays FRETS 22 medium-jumbo TUNERS Epiphone Deluxe with keystone

buttons BODY Solid mahogany back with comfort-

career’s worth of considerations and

platform. Incorporating the piezo pickup on

carve belly scarf plus carved maple top with

innovations. Primary among them is the

an electric guitar did that, as well as allow me

AAA ﬂame maple veneer

instrument’s tonal versatility. In addition to

to blend in the piezo, adding another

BRIDGE Graph Tech Ghost Tremolo

the coil-splitting capabilities of both

dimension to the live guitar character.”

magnetic pickups, it features a piezo bridge pickup that can either be accessed by means

maple veneer on its carved Viceroy Brown–

Ghost Piezo (bridge saddles)

of a dedicated second output jack or summed

ﬁnished maple top conjures the vibe of a

FACTORY STRINGS Epiphone .010–.046

with the magnetic pickups into the primary

vintage Gibson Les Paul, albeit not quite as

CONTROLS Three-way switch, neck and bridge

output.

fancy. Appointments include four golden

volume knobs each with push/pull coil split;

Visually, this guitar is a badass. The ﬂame

PICKUPS Epiphone Ceramic Pro (neck),

Epiphone ProBucker 3 (bridge) Graph Tech

As Lifeson explains to Guitar Player, this

top-hat control knobs, trapezoid fretboard

piezo volume knob with push/pull on/off;

unique pickup conﬁguration developed from

inlays, keystone tuners, cream binding all

master tone

his desire for an elegant solution to using an

around, a set-neck glued into a solid

WEIGHT 9 lbs

acoustic guitar onstage. “Switching from

mahogany body, and Lifeson’s signature

BUILT China

electric to acoustic was always cumbersome,

etched in the truss-rod cover. Beyond the

and an acoustic on a stand became a beacon

pickup conﬁguration, Lifeson-speciﬁc features

KUDOS Super tonal versatility. Wonderful

for uncontrollable feedback, particularly in

include a Floyd Rose locking vibrato system

playability. Exceptional value

acoustic parts repeated throughout the song,”

and a neck proﬁle built to his personal specs

CONCERNS Faulty pickup switch

he says. “I really needed to have a more stable

— “moderate, not too thick and not too thin.”

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G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M

tune while facilitating the deep dives and

both worlds. And the controls are easier to

sky-high lifts of Lifeson’s playing that can only

manage than one might suspect.

be achieved with such a serious system. All

The trickiest aspect of mastering the

that extra metal brings some brightness, sure,

Epiphone Alex Lifeson Axcess is working the

but that’s part of the signature sound too.

vibrato bar while having the piezo pickup

Speaking of which, the tonal diversity on

engaged. There’s a reason these features

tap is astounding. The Axcess Standard has

aren’t often offered together. Those piezos

Epiphone’s Ceramic Pro humbucker in the

are located right in the individual bridge

neck position and a ProBucker 3 near the

saddles, so they pick up every rattle of a

bridge, and both can be split into single-coil

shaking vibrato arm. On my Strat, I mitigate

mode with a lift of the corresponding push/

that by wrapping the arm threads in

pull volume knob. In humbucker mode, the

plumber’s tape. That didn’t work here

neck pickup is girthy and the lead pickup is

because the threads aren’t on the bar; they’re

edgy. In combination, they complement each

outside, where the system is secured with a

other to create a copacetic middle ground.

little threaded thimble-like apparatus. No

The coil splitting proved to be versatile.

matter how tight that is, there’s still plenty of

When playing in the lower register with the

wiggle room. The bridge piezos convey the

neck pickup, and using a bit of gain from a

rattle much more than the magnetic pickups

Blackstone Mosfet Overdrive into a 1966

in the body do, so the workaround is to be

Fender Super Pro, I found the sound a bit ﬁzzy,

judicious with the whammy when the

but splitting the coil cleared it up. Doing the

acoustic sound is prominent, and then dial

same with the lead pickup took the tone into

that back when you want to go wild.

funky treble territory. When combined, the

The Epiphone Alex Lifeson Axcess delivers

two pickups coil-tapped all the way to slinky

a whole lotta bang for the buck, with tons of

town. These units don’t sound as crystal clear

features packed into the Les Paul platform. I

and powerful as the Gibson Burstbuckers

can’t think of another guitar that delivers such

included on Epiphone’s Limited Edition 1959

a diverse tonal range, easy playability,

Les Paul Standard, but they do deliver a ﬁne

comfort, impressive looks and quality

PAF vibe and sound that’s similar to the

craftsmanship for under a grand. The main fault I have to report is that

Burstbuckers with the volume knobs dialed back a bit. The most unique feature is the piezo acoustic sound that comes courtesy of the Graph Tech Ghost Tremolo Bridge. Since this Sling it over your shoulder and, yeah, it’s

reviewer has an afﬁnity for

“ SW I TC H I N G FROM ELECTRIC TO ACO UST I C W A S A LW AY S CUMBERSOME. I R E A L LY N E E D E D TO H AV E A M O R E S TA B L E P L AT F O R M ”

the pin securing the pickup selector switch broke during routine use, requiring replacement. It came loose shortly after arrival, so could have been the result of a rocky ride in the UPS truck. As Frets Editor I’ve

heavy, but not particularly so for a Les Paul. A

dual systems, I was all in on

slight scarf cutaway on the top back makes it

going down that rabbit

feel cozy against one’s belly, while a sculpted

hole. The Ghost is engaged

cutaway at the base of the neck allows for

or disengaged by pulling or

more comfortable playing in the upper

pushing what would have

registers. The neck is full without being too

been the second tone knob.

plump, and the fretboard feels nice and

Here it acts as a blend control for bringing in

Lifeson clearly found himself so far down the

smooth all the way up and down. The factory

or out the desired amount of acoustic sound.

acoustic trail that he was inspired to make his

setup was spot-on as well, and while the

Isolating the signal via the second output jack

electric signature instruments in a hybrid

action seemed almost too easy at ﬁrst, there

and feeding it to an Orange Acoustic Pedal

style. For players like me who revel in the

was no buzz or splat to be found. Shred away

through an L.R.Baggs Synapse Personal P.A., I

balance and want to make the most of both

in the short rows and every note on each

found it delivered a decent acoustic rock tone

rigs onstage, this is a dream delivery. For the

string is actually usable. Power chords and

that sounded believable when I played the

average player, it’s a utilitarian Les Paul with

barre chords in the middle range come readily,

intro to “Closer to the Heart.” It possesses the

some cool features and awesome options.

and cowboy chords in open position have

full low end and top articulation that piezos

For anyone, it’s a steal of a deal on a modern

fantastic jangle. The Floyd Rose–style

do best. Blend that with the magnetics’

marvel of an instrument that easily earns an

double-locking vibrato keeps everything in

fantastic middle range, and it’s the best of

Editors’ Pick Award.

G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M

become more of an acoustic enthusiast than I ever imagined I’d be when I was growing up listening to hard-rock acts like Rush.

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else’s dressing room, especially after a show, so we never got a chance to talk a whole lot, which is unfortunate. I think we could have become pretty good friends, and I always wanted to play with him. I think that would be a really fun kind of evening.

how we approached music and how we applied our RZQ LGHDV DQG LQVSLUDWLRQ :H ZHUHQ·W RŲHQGHG E\ the term, but I think it’s a little inaccurate. As soon as you add some strange time signatures, you’re labeled a progressive-rock band.

Have any other guitarists from the past 30 or 40 years made a real impact on you? Maybe somebody we don’t recognize, but you’re sneaking in a bit of their style?

Some music trends kill bands, but Rush always seemed above the fray. Whether it was punk in the ’70s or grunge in the ’90s, you were never attacked by the new class coming in. It’s as if Rush were untouchable.

Oh, yeah. There’s certainly Allan Holdsworth and David Gilmour. Actually, I just did a thing with Tom Morello and Kirk Hammett. Tom sent me a track that he’d written and demoed, and he said, “Just play everything you can on this. I’m going to send it to Kirk, and he’s going to do the same thing.” I’ve always admired those “A S S O O N A S guys, and especially Tom. The energy Y O U A D D S O M E in his playing and his innovative style S T R A N G E T I M E is really exciting to listen to. This track is typical Tom Morello. I got my S I G N AT U R E S , mandola out and I started putting other kinds of things on it, and I YOU’RE think that really expanded what the LABELED A song ultimately became. He’s P R O G R E S S I V E working on that project, and I’m excited to hear how it turns out.

ROCK BAND”

The term progressive rock has been co-opted by bands that specialize in aerobic displays of musicianship and guitar-clinic solos. Did you ever mind being lumped in with that club? At a Gibson endorsement event, June 1980

Well, you know, we always kind of considered ourselves — and referred to ourselves — as just a hard-rock band. We weren’t progressive rock in the way you described it. We were always progressive in that we were trying to evolve and move forward in

I think that’s just because we did what we did and what we wanted at all times. We were fortunate in that way. I remember before we did the album 2112, there was a lot of pressure on us to kind of toe the line and be sort of — I don’t know — that baby Led =HSSHOLQ NLQG RI EDQG IURP WKH ÀUVW FRXSOH RI UHFRUGV 2112 bought us our independence from any kind of record company or management interference. It allowed us to do the things we thought we should do. Sometimes it was successful, and sometimes it wasn’t quite so successful, but they were our failures and we learned from them, and we always wanted to move forward. We never wanted to stay in the same place. A lot of the music that was going on around us was great to listen to, and it was inspiring. Like DQ\WKLQJ LW LQÁXHQFHV \RX HYHQ LQ VXEWOH ZD\V , KHDU WKRVH LQÁXHQFHV LQ RXU PXVLF GXULQJ WKRVH SHULRGV What was great was that we took advantage of it and then moved on to the next thing, and we always PDLQWDLQHG RXU RZQ VRUW RI ÁDYRU , WKLQN RXU IDQV came to expect that from us. Rush fans are incredibly supportive, but they’re also quite critical. We thrived on that criticism from them — not so much from music critics, but certainly from our fans. That was very important.

It started around 1976, when I did a tour of the Gibson factory in Kalamazoo. I was really excited about the tour but also the idea of ordering guitars at the factory. We were starting to make a little bit of PRQH\ DQG JHWWLQJ VRPH QRWRULHW\ VR , FRXOG DŲRUG LW I’ve always been an ES guy and came up with the 335, but I quickly fell in love with the white 355, which sort of seemed like the ultimate guitar for me. I loved the weight of it, the feel, the look, the sound. I could just play it. It became part of me. Everything about it was right. I loved the Dove, and the double-neck was a good utility guitar that we were planning on expanding. It 38

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F I N COSTE L LO/R ED F ER N S /GE TTY I M AGES

Let’s talk about guitars, speciﬁcally Gibsons. Your history with Gibson goes back a ways: the ES-355, the EDS-1275 double-neck, the Dove acoustic. But the white 355 became kind of a constant for you. What was special about that one?

gave me another platform. But that 355, we’ve been through a lot together. It’s been good to me.

F I N COSTE L LO/ R ED F ER N S /G ETT Y I M AG ES ( TO P); LY LE A . WA I SM A N/GE TTY I MAG ES

A few years ago, you and Gibson came out with the Custom Alex Lifeson Les Paul Axcess. I can only imagine what a thrill it was to create a guitar to your own speciﬁcations.

It was. I didn’t want to have a guitar just to see my name on it. That’s easy, and a lot of people do that just to sell more guitars. I wanted a guitar that I would want to buy for what it was, for its features, so that’s what we created. We spent a couple of years working on it, going back and forth on the pickups and the neck. I wanted the piezo pickup in it — to me, that was a given. I wanted it to become a great utility instrument. One of the most satisfying things for me was hearing that a number of session musicians in Nashville bought the guitar because it gave them so PXFK ÁH[LELOLW\ IRU WKHLU VHVVLRQV , WKRXJKW <HDK perfect. That’s exactly what it was meant to be — that kind of a guitar. It wasn’t just because they were Rush fans.

Right. The idea of “I can use this at work. This is a good tool for me.” I mean, I love guitars. They’re fabulous and gorgeous to look at, but at the end of WKH GD\ WKH\ KDYH WR VHUYH D SXUSRVH <RX QHHG WKH right tool for the job. What was the origin for the new version of the Axcess with Epiphone? What went into that?

G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M

It was a natural transition. Gibson owns Epiphone, and they wanted to re-release my signature Axcess in the Epiphone brand. I liked that idea, but one of my main concerns was about maintaining the quality at a much-reduced price from the Gibson. I talked to them, and they said, “Don’t worry. Leave it to us. We’re going to come up with something you’re going to be happy with.” I think we went through two prototypes. There were headstock changes between the two, but essentially that was it. I remember getting one of them and spending a couple of weeks at home playing LW ÀGGOLQJ DURXQG ZLWK LW WU\LQJ WR ZUHFN LW >laughs] It was sensational. I was really, really happy with the

TOP: With Neil Peart and Geddy Lee (top) making of Permanent Waves, October 1979 ABOVE: At Charter One Pavilion, Chicago, July 5, 2010

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quality of the workmanship and all of the features. Everything about it was very satisfying to me. We were going to release it a year ago, but things got weird with the pandemic. Guitar manufacturers were faced with no stock on anything because everybody was staying home learning how to play guitar. It’s been quite a tumultuous \HDU DQG D KDOI EXW ÀQDOO\ D FRXSOH “THE FIRST of weeks ago, we did get through the A N N I V E R S A R Y release, and my understanding is WKH\ VROG RXW WKH ÀUVW UXQ :H·UH WAS T H E quite happy and excited about T U R N I N G P O I N T getting the next batch built. That’s such a strange phenomenon. Live music stopped, but people bought more guitars than ever.

<HDK , NQRZ <RX ZRXOG QHYHU KDYH expected that. My perception was that music changed so much in the past few years — it’s all poppy and electronic. How many young kids were interested in learning how to play guitar? And apparently, a lot.

Speaking of live music, it has to be asked: Are you thinking of playing live again?

Onstage at KeyArena, in Seattle, for the R40 LIVE tour, July 19, 2015

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I’m not really thinking about that. It’s challenging HQRXJK WR WU\ WR JHW WKLV DOEXP RXW ÀUVW 7R EH KRQHVW with you, I don’t think I have it in me to go on the road. I mean, if it was a handful of shows, that might be kind of fun, but anything beyond that… After 40 years of sitting in hotel rooms, I’m not interested. I’ve had quite enough of that. I do love my home life. I thought I would miss being onstage a lot more, but I don’t really. I’ve done a couple of things here and there. Small things — usually it’s a charity event or something like that. It’s kind of fun getting up and

2021

playing with other people, but the whole production — the big, giant machine — it doesn’t really hold much appeal to me now. How’s your golf game?

It’s a roller coaster. [laughs] It goes up and down, and it’s terrifying most of the time. I think part of the problem is, because I’m a guitar player, I’m always trying to change something. I’m always trying to look at how I can make this little thing better, and I can’t seem to settle into a groove, and my hands are too active in my swing. But I do love it. I keep dreaming about eventually getting better, but it’s not in the cards for me, not at this age. What’s it like for you these days when you hear a Rush song on the radio? Given the fact that Neil has passed, I have to imagine that it’s a different experience for you now.

I guess it is. I mean, there are lots of ways that I’m reminded of Neil. When a Rush song comes up and I OLVWHQ WR LW P\ ÀUVW UHDFWLRQ LV ´2K , UHPHPEHU KRZ we did that. I really wanted to do that line over, but I didn’t.” Those sorts of things run through my head. 2U , VD\ ´<HDK WKLV KDV KHOG XS DIWHU \HDUV ,W·V QRW too bad. We did a good job on that one.” I seem to be more critical in that sense than nostalgic. I think I get more nostalgic when I see pictures of Neil and I’m reminded of that moment. There were so many. And I’m reminded of the rich relationship the three of us had and what a wonderful time we had together. I think that’s the thing with grieving — it takes time, obviously. It’s trite to say that, but it takes time. , IRXQG WKDW WKH ÀUVW DQQLYHUVDU\ ZDV WKH WXUQLQJ point from being sad about it to remembering all the JRRG VWXŲ 7KDW ZDV NLQG RI WKH EUHDNWKURXJK , KDG DIWHU WKH ÀUVW DQQLYHUVDU\ RI KLV SDVVLQJ , VWDUWHG WR focus more on his laughing face. We did have a lot of laughs together. G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M

M AT H AY WAR D/G ETT Y I M AG ES ( R4 0); K E VI N NI XON (TO P)

FROM BEING SA D TO REMEMBERING ALL THE GOOD STUFF”

P LAY ERS|

EDDIE VAN HALEN

Excerpted from the forthcoming book Eruption: Conversations with Eddie Van Halen (Hachette Books), by Brad Tolinski and Chris Gill

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UNCHAINED In this excerpt from Eruption: Conversations with Eddie Van Halen, Brad Tolinski and Chris Gill reveal how Ed’s recording studio and outside projects unleashed his creativity. The result was Van Halen’s masterpiece, 1984.

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PAU L N ATKI N /G ETT Y I M AGES

FTER COMPLETING WORK on 1982’s Diver Down, Ed Van Halen felt unusually restless. Although he and the band had worked almost nonstop IRU ÀYH \HDUV WKH JXLWDULVW ZDV LQ QR PRRG IRU UHVW DQG UHOD[DWLRQ 7KH DOEXP PD\ KDYH EHHQ DQ XQH[SHFWHG REOLJDWLRQ IRUFHG XSRQ 9DQ +DOHQ E\ :DUQHU %URV EXW LQVWHDG RI IHHOLQJ UHOLHYHG WKDW KH·G JRWWHQ LW RXW RI WKH ZD\ (G KDG WKH XQHDV\ VHQVDWLRQ WKDW KH FRXOG KDYH GRQH PRUH 9DQ +DOHQ KDG PRUH WKDQ IRXU PRQWKV RI WLPH RŲ EHIRUH WKHLU +LGH <RXU 6KHHS WRXU ZDV VFKHGXOHG WR EHJLQ LQ PLG -XO\ :LWK KLV EDQGPDWHV DZD\ RQ YDFDWLRQ DQG KLV ZLIH RFFXSLHG ZLWK VKRRWLQJ One Day at a Time DQG PDGH IRU WHOHYLVLRQ PRYLHV (G VSHQW PRVW RI KLV WLPH RŲ DORQH SOD\LQJ JXLWDU RU ZULWLQJ VRQJV RQ KLV SLDQR DQG V\QWKHVL]HUV 7KH PDQ\ DFFRODGHV KH·G UHFHLYHG IRU KLV SOD\LQJ QHYHU ZHQW WR KLV KHDG DQG LQ IDFW WKH\ PDGH KLP PRUH GHWHUPLQHG WR JURZ DV D PXVLFLDQ LQVWHDG RI UHVWLQJ RQ KLV ODXUHOV (G·V LPSDFW RQ WKH JXLWDU ZRUOG KDG E\ WKLV WLPH EHFRPH LQFDOFXODEOH %HVLGHV EHLQJ DUJXDEO\ WKH PRVW

G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M

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EDDIE VAN HALEN

OPENING PAGE: Eddie Van Halen onstage at the US Festival, Ontario, California, May 29, 1983 BELOW: Onstage at Madison Square Garden for the 1984 tour. The massive jaunt sold out all 99 shows.

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L AR RY M ARANO/GE TTY I MAGES (M SG) ; STE V E GRAN I TZ /G ET TY I M AG ES (O PE NI NG PAGE)

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FDOO DQG VODPPHG GRZQ WKH UHFHLYHU 7KLV VFHQDULR Ed at the 1983 NAMM Show UHSHDWHG LWVHOI VHYHUDO WLPHV EHIRUH (G VWD\HG RQ WKH in Chicago OLQH ORQJ HQRXJK WR UHDOL]H WKDW LW DFWXDOO\ ZDV WKH UHDO with Kramer 4XLQF\ -RQHV -DFNVRQ DQG -RQHV GURSSHG E\ WKH Guitars’ Dennis &ROGZDWHU &DQ\RQ KRXVH D IHZ GD\V ODWHU WR SOD\ D Berardi, who URXJK YHUVLRQ RI ´%HDW ,Wµ IRU KLP DQG OLNLQJ ZKDW KH sealed an heard, Ed agreed to record a solo. endorsement 6LQFH KLV EDQGPDWHV ZHUH DOO DZD\ RQ YDFDWLRQ (G deal with the ZDV XQDEOH WR DVN KRZ WKH\ IHOW DERXW KLV SOD\LQJ RQ guitarist. WKH UHFRUG 7UXWK EH WROG KH GLGQ·W WKLQN WRR PXFK DERXW LW +H ZDV ERUHG KDG WLPH RQ KLV KDQGV DQG LW VRXQGHG OLNH IXQ WR ZRUN ZLWK -RQHV DQG -DFNVRQ %HVLGHV ZKR·G HYHU QRWLFH KLV FRQWULEXWLRQ WR DQ 5 % dance record? 7KH HQWLUH VHVVLRQ WRRN D PHUH WZR KRXUV DQG GXULQJ “I WASN’T GOING WKDW WLPH (G ZRXOG ZULWH D QHZ VHFWLRQ IRU WKH VRQJ DQG TO ALLOW THEM TO UHFRUG D VHFRQG VROR >see CONTROL ME ANYMORE” sidebar, page 46@ 7KH ZKROH WKLQJ KDSSHQHG VR TXLFNO\  EDDIE VAN HALEN Ed was too embarrassed to DVN IRU FRPSHQVDWLRQ EXW LQ DQ DWWHPSW WR KLGH KLV LQÀGHOLW\ IURP KLV EDQGPDWHV KH GLG UHTXHVW WKDW KH QRW EH FUHGLWHG RQ WKH DOEXP VOHHYH ,W GLGQ·W TXLWH ZRUN RXW WKDW ZD\ ´%HDW ,Wµ ZHQW RQ WR EHFRPH D FKDUW WRSSLQJ ZRUOGZLGH H[SORVLRQ RI D VRQJ ZLQQLQJ 5HFRUG RI WKH <HDU DW WKH *UDPP\ $ZDUGV (YHQ WKRXJK (G·V QDPH ZDV EXULHG DPRQJ WKH LQQHU VOHHYH FUHGLWV WKH GRRUEHOO NOVE MBE R

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CU T TO T HE CH ASE

Steve Lukather reveals how Eddie hijacked “Beat It.”

E DWARD VAN H ALEN rarely participated in musical projects outside of his namesake band, but when he did, it

“I NEVER KNEW ED TO LABOR OVER ANYTHING, SO I THINK HE WAS JUST GOOFING ON IT”

often involved his fellow guitarist and good friend Steve Lukather. The two both played on Michael Jackson’s mega-hit “Beat It” (although their parts were recorded separately); Ed appeared on two of Lukather’s solo albums; and he joined Lukather and George Harrison onstage on

tribute concert, which was broadcast on

That’s why he hired us to work on several

What’s the story behind that?

KLOS-FM and later released as a live album.

songs on his record. Michael had a very wide

We recorded a version of the song at

“We were friends for 40-plus years,” Lukather

musical palette. I knew Eddie, but I wasn’t

Westlake Recording Studios, which is where

says. “We went through life together — all the

going to just give them his number. They had

Michael recorded the entire album, and Ed

good times, bad times, ridiculous times, sad

to go through the right channels. I wasn’t

recorded his solo later at Sunset Sound.

times, the whole shit. We were much more

Ed’s agent or manager. Ed wasn’t all that up

Michael had already recorded ﬁve separate

than just guitar pals. I adored the man as a

on Quincy Jones and what he did. He was

vocal tracks. They spent a lot of time working

human being.”

asking me, “Who is this Quincy dude?” I told

on his vocals, because they wanted it to

him that he was a really heavy cat and that

sound as good as possible. Those ﬁnished

The ﬁrst record that the two of you ever did together was Michael Jackson’s “Beat It.” Was it your idea to get Eddie to play the solo on that song?

he should do it.

ﬁrst-generation vocals were on a 24-track

It was ironic that we both ended up

tape that we gave to Ed so he could record his

playing on the same record together. Ed later

solo. Either Ed or his engineer [Donn Landee]

called me up and said, “I just played on your

cut up that tape because Ed didn’t want to

No. That was entirely Michael’s idea. A lot of

record, ‘Beat It.’” And I was going, “I know. We

record his solo over the original backing part

people don’t know that Michael was also a

had to redo it because you cut up the tape!”

where Quincy and Michael wanted him to

rocker. He loved Van Halen and he loved Toto.

He just started laughing.

play. He just edited the tape to create an

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G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M

RO BE RT K NI GH T A RC H I V E/ R ED F ER N S /GETT Y I M AG ES ( LU K E & ED)

December 14, 1992, for the Jeff Pocaro

Performing with the Jacksons on their Victory tour in Dallas, July 13, 1983. This

LY N N GO L DS M I TH /COR BI S / VCG/GET TY I M AGES (V I CTORY TOU R )

was Ed’s only appearance with the group.

entirely new section with chord changes that

he could play his drum part. He did that and

What did you think of Ed’s solo?

he liked better.

nailed his drum track on the second take.

That solo was like a collection of everything

Then I had to cram my guitar tracks onto it,

that Eddie ever did before, crammed into 20

and I also played bass.

seconds — harmonics, tapping, whammy-bar

The problem is that back then we would record one track with SMPTE code [Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers

We sent the tapes back to Quincy and he

dives, superfast tremolo picking. I don’t think

timecode] for synchronizing one 24-track

said, “It’s too big sounding. It’s too rock.” I

that a whole lot of thought went into it. He

recorder with another 24-track recorder. That

thought that since Eddie was on the track, I’d

just played and was probably thinking,

allowed us to record more than just 24 tracks.

better crank up some Marshalls and record

I don’t even know what I’m doing this for.

When you cut the tape, the SMPTE code

quadruple rhythm tracks. Quincy explained

I never knew Ed to labor over anything, so

doesn’t lock up to the master tape any more.

that he wanted the song to get airplay on

I think he was just gooﬁng on it. But even

Quincy called me and [drummer] Jeff Pocaro

R&B radio as well as rock radio, so he asked

when he was gooﬁng, great things would

and told us to go to Sunset Sound and record

me to play through my small Fender amps. I

come out of him.

all of our parts all over again, because he

did it again like that, and that’s the version

didn’t want to lose Ed’s solo or Michael’s

that’s on the record. I’m honored to be playing

Excerpted from Eruption: Conversations with

ﬁrst-generation lead vocals. Jeff had to make

guitar and bass on “Beat It.” It’s one of the

Eddie Van Halen (Hachette Books), by Brad

an entirely new click track with drum sticks so

biggest records of all time.

Tolinski and Chris Gill.

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P LAY ERS|

EDDIE VAN HALEN

7KH EDQG·V +LGH <RXU 6KHHS WRXU FRPPHQFHG RQ -XO\ LQ $XJXVWD *HRUJLD DQG WKH\ UHPDLQHG IRFXVHG RQ SHUIRUPLQJ WKURXJK PLG )HEUXDU\ RI DV WKH GDWHV H[WHQGHG LQWR WKHLU ÀUVW HYHU FRQFHUWV LQ 6RXWK $PHULFD $IWHU WKH EDQG ZUDSSHG XS WKH WRXU LQ %XHQRV $LUHV 5RWK UHPDLQHG EHKLQG WR JR RQ DQ DGYHQWXUH XS WKH $PD]RQ 5LYHU JLYLQJ (G D IHZ ZHHNV RI IUHHGRP WR PDNH VRPH ÀQLVKLQJ WRXFKHV RQ KLV VWXGLR DQG JHW D KHDG VWDUW RQ 9DQ +DOHQ·V next album. :RUNLQJ PRVWO\ E\ KLPVHOI ZLWK 'RQQ /DQGHH EHKLQG WKH PL[LQJ ERDUG DQG $OH[ OD\LQJ GRZQ GUXP WUDFNV RQ D IHZ RFFDVLRQV (G IHOW IUHH WR H[SUHVV KLPVHOI DV KH QHYHU KDG EHIRUH 7KH ÀUVW WUDFNV KH UHFRUGHG ZHUH V\QWKHVL]HU SDUWV WKDW EHFDPH WKH JHQHVLV RI ´-XPS µ (G·V QHZ IDVFLQDWLRQ ZLWK keyboards would later become the source of much LQWUDEDQG WHQVLRQ GXULQJ WKH DOEXP·V UHFRUGLQJ EXW EHFDXVH (G RZQHG WKH VWXGLR WKH QD\VD\HUV FRXOGQ·W GR PXFK DERXW LW :KLOH 5RWK ZDV VWLOO VWUDQGHG XS WKH $PD]RQ SLFNLQJ ÀUH DQWV IURP KLV * VWULQJ QR ZRQGHU KH VHOHFWHG :HVWHUQ ([WHUPLQDWRU·V LQWLPLGDWLQJ

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G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M

ST EV E GRA N I TZ/GE TTY I M AGES (T H E FORU M ); L A RRY B USACCA / WI RE I M AGE /GET T Y I M AG ES (NASSAU COL I SE U M)

KDPPHU WRWLQJ ´0U /LWWOHµ FKDUDFWHU DV WKH 1984 WRXU·V PDVFRW (G PDGH \HW DQRWKHU H[WUDFXUULFXODU JXHVW DSSHDUDQFH ,Q $SULO KH MRLQHG 4XHHQ JXLWDULVW %ULDQ 0D\ DQG DQ HUVDW] EDQG RI +ROO\ZRRG VHVVLRQ SURV DW / $ ·V 5HFRUG 3ODQW 6WXGLRV WR UHFRUG WKUHH VRQJV LQFOXGLQJ D PLQXWH EOXHV MDP FDOOHG ´%OXHV %UHDNHU µ D WULEXWH WR (ULF &ODSWRQ DQ HDUO\ LQVSLUDWLRQ RI ERWK JXLWDULVWV ´$IWHU ZH SOD\HG >Brian May] called me up about IRXU PRQWKV ODWHU DQG DVNHG ZKDW , WKRXJKW DERXW SXWWLQJ WKH VWXŲ RXW µ (GGLH UHFDOOHG ´, VDLG ¶6HQG PH D WDSH OHW PH KHDU LW ÀUVW · EHFDXVH , GLGQ·W UHPHPEHU KRZ LW ZHQW +H GLG DQG , VDLG ¶6XUH ZKDW WKH KHOO" ,W UHHNV RI IXQ ·µ 0HDQZKLOH PDQDJHU 1RHO 0RQN DQQRXQFHG WKDW 9DQ +DOHQ ZRXOG EH SOD\LQJ DW WKH VHFRQG 86 )HVWLYDO VFKHGXOHG IRU 0HPRULDO 'D\ ZHHNHQG LQ QHDUE\ 'HYRUH &DOLIRUQLD 7KH EDQG·V KHDGOLQLQJ VHW ZDV ELOOHG DV ´7KH 0XVLFDO (YHQW RI WKH · Vµ DQG QHWWHG WKHP D UHFRUG PLOOLRQ 3OD\LQJ IRU MXVW WZR KRXUV Van Halen would gross more than they owed Warner %URV LQ H[SHQVHV IURP WKHLU ÀUVW \HDU ZLWK WKH ODEHO Work on the album came to a halt as Van Halen VKLIWHG JHDUV WR SXW WRJHWKHU LWV ELJJHVW VWDJH SURGXFWLRQ WR GDWH DQG UHKHDUVHG IRU WKH VKRZ 2Q 6XQGD\ 0D\ 9DQ +DOHQ WRRN WKH VWDJH DW 'HYRUH WR FORVH ´+HDY\ 0HWDO 'D\ µ WKH PLGGOH VORW RI WKH IHVWLYDO ERRNHQGHG E\ ´1HZ :DYH 'D\ µ KHDGOLQHG E\ WKH &ODVK DQG ´5RFN 'D\ µ KHDGOLQHG E\ 'DYLG %RZLH 7KH IHVWLYDO VWDJH FRYHUHG PRUH VTXDUH IRRWDJH WKDQ WKH IRRWSULQW RI HQWLUH FOXEV WKH EDQG KDG SOD\HG RQO\ VL[ \HDUV HDUOLHU DQG WKHLU SOXV EDFNVWDJH JXHVW OLVW ZDV ELJJHU WKDQ PRVW RI WKRVH FOXEV· DWWHQGDQFH FDSDFLWLHV 7KH FURZG WKDW VKRZHG XS HVWLPDWHG DW PRUH WKDQ SHRSOH ZDV WKH ODUJHVW WKH EDQG KDG HYHU VHHQ 8QIRUWXQDWHO\ PRVW RI WKH ZRUN WKDW ZHQW LQWR SUHSDULQJ IRU WKH VKRZ LQFOXGLQJ UHKHDUVDOV ZHQW GRZQ WKH WXEHV ZKHQ WKH EDQG PHPEHUV ³ SDUWLFXODUO\ 'DYLG /HH 5RWK ³ RYHULQGXOJHG GXULQJ WKH SUHFRQFHUW IHVWLYLWLHV 5RWK SHUIRUPHG OLNH WKH VHFRQG FRPLQJ RI -RKQQ\ 5RWWHQ VOXUULQJ KLV ZRUGV ZKHQ KH UHPHPEHUHG WKHP VFDWWLQJ JXWWXUDO QRLVHV ZKHQ KH GLGQ·W DQG EHUDWLQJ KHFNOHUV E\ WKUHDWHQLQJ WR IXFN WKHLU JLUOIULHQGV (YHQ KHDY\ SRVWSURGXFWLRQ HGLWLQJ FRXOGQ·W KLGH WKH XJOLQHVV FDSWXUHG E\ WHOHYLVLRQ FDPHUDV DQG ODWHU EURDGFDVW DV VHOHFW VHJPHQWV RQ 6KRZWLPH $OWKRXJK 9DQ +DOHQ·V 86 )HVWLYDO SHUIRUPDQFH ZDV IDU IURP WKHLU EHVW IDQV GLGQ·W VHHP WR FDUH 7KH FDPHUD ORYHG 5RWK HYHQ LQ KLV PRVW LQHEULDWHG VWDWH DQG WKH H[SRVXUH ³ SDUWLFXODUO\ WKH RYHUH[SRVXUH RI WKH VLQJHU·V EDUH DVV FKHHNV LQ FKDSV ³ PDGH 9DQ +DOHQ ELJJHU VWDUV WKDQ HYHU 079 PLJKW KDYH EDQQHG WKH ´3UHWW\ :RPDQµ YLGHR EXW WKH\ VWLOO ORYHG 9DQ G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M

+DOHQ 7KH PXVLF FKDQQHO ZHQW RQ WR SOD\ D FULWLFDO UROH LQ WKH VXFFHVV RI 9DQ +DOHQ·V QH[W DOEXP As work on the album that was to become 1984 SURJUHVVHG WKH EDQG ZDV VSOLQWHULQJ LQWR VHSDUDWH IDFWLRQV 7KH SDUWQHUVKLS EHWZHHQ (G DQG 'RQQ /DQGHH KDG EHFRPH SDUWLFXODUO\ WLJKW ZLWK WKH WZR ZRUNLQJ WRJHWKHU DIWHU KRXUV DOPRVW HYHU\ QLJKW $OH[ ZDV D SDUW RI WKLV JURXSLQJ DOPRVW E\ GHIDXOW ³ KH ZDV (G·V EURWKHU 2Q WKH RWKHU VLGH ZHUH 5RWK DQG SURGXFHU 7HG 7HPSOHPDQ ZKR ERWK IRXQG WKHLU LQSXW LQFUHDVLQJO\ RYHUUXOHG E\ WKH JXLWDULVW 5RWK PHDQZKLOH ERQGHG ZLWK WKH EDQG·V OLJKWLQJ DQG FUHDWLYH GLUHFWRU 3HWH $QJHOXV ³ D SDLULQJ WKDW blossomed later when the two became the producers RI 9DQ +DOHQ·V PXVLF YLGHRV $PLG DOO WKLV FUHDWLYH WHQVLRQ 9DQ +DOHQ VRPHKRZ PDQDJHG WR GHOLYHU LWV PDVWHUSLHFH 1984 7KH DOEXP PLVVHG LWV SODQQHG 1HZ <HDU·V (YH UHOHDVH GDWH E\ D OLWWOH PRUH WKDQ D ZHHN FRPLQJ RXW RQ -DQXDU\ EXW E\ WKHQ WKH DGYDQFH VLQJOH ´-XPSµ ZDV ZRUNLQJ LWV ZD\ XS WKH FKDUWV %\ WKH HQG RI )HEUXDU\ LW UHDFKHG QXPEHU RQH RQ WKH Billboard Hot 100, the RQO\ 9DQ +DOHQ VRQJ WR GR VR 7KH DOEXP LWVHOI SHDNHG DW QXPEHU WZR ZLWK RQO\ 0LFKDHO -DFNVRQ·V Thriller DKHDG RI LW 7KH LURQ\ WKDW (G·V FRQWULEXWLRQ WR ´%HDW ,Wµ SUREDEO\ NHSW WKHLU RZQ DOEXP IURP UHDFKLQJ number one was not lost on the band.

Performing at the Forum in Inglewood, May 1984

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ROBBEN FORD

“MY CHOPS WERE UP FOR THE INSTRUMENTAL THING, SO I THOUGHT I SHOULD GO WHERE THE ENERGY WAS” 50

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BROAD STROKES Robben Ford goes bold with Pure, the new instrumental outing he calls “the most complete expression of a musical life.” B Y

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Given the enthusiasm for Ford’s guitar playing, it’s remarkable that almost a quarter of a century has passed since he released an all-instrumental record under his own name. There have been vocal-less side projects with former Miles Davis group saxophonist Bill Evans, and a series of trio projects with drummer Vinnie Colaiuta and bassist Jimmy Haslip under the Jing Chi moniker, but Ford’s last instrumental solo record was 1997’s Tiger Walk. In the interim, the guitarist, known as a master of tone, taste and time, has been honing his skills as a singer and songwriter on two decade’s worth of releases. These have largely followed a tried-and-true process: Gather a fantastic rhythm section of bass, drums and keyboards, go into a world-class studio, and knock out the new

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HOUGH HE’S A talented singer and songwriter, Robben Ford has nevertheless become a legend primarily for his prodigious guitar prowess. In addition to the fabulous fretwork on his own records, he is known for turning in stunning, lyrical solos on recordings featuring Jimmy Witherspoon, Michael McDonald, Miles Davis, the Yellowjackets, the L.A. Express, and even Bruce Willis and Kiss. “From a very early age, I was drawn to beautiful melodies,” he says. “Eric Clapton is a melody player, as is Hendrix. They were not playing bebop. It was about feeling, sound and texture. Those were things I was attracted to: the sound of this note against that chord, as opposed to a lot of notes.”

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batch of tunes as live as possible. Occasional variations might include adding a trombonist (as on 2013’s Bringing It Back Home), bringing in former Black Crowe Audley Freed to play rhythm guitar so he could cut an entire record in 24 hours (2014’s A Day in Nashville) or even forsaking his sacred Dumble (2018’s Purple House). Still, fans could be pretty sure that, while each release might feature a new band and maybe some new gear, it would essentially be a snapshot of the latest batch of songs. “I’M DOING THE But with his new album, Pure (Ear BROAD STROKES. Music), Ford breaks from the recipe in a couple of ways. For starters, the IT’S MORE return to his instrumental roots. IMPORTANT TO ME “Writing songs with lyrics is really TO COMMUNICATE AS hard,” he says. “My strongest voice is my guitar playing. In my early 20s, A MUSICIAN THAT’S I had written a lot of instrumentals in PRESENT AND ALIVE” a jazz vein for the Yellow Jackets, as ZHOO DV IRU P\ ÀUVW VROR DOEXP , KDG also made two records recently with Bill Evans. My chops were up for the instrumental thing, and I was enjoying it, so I thought I should go where the energy was and let the music tell the story.” Telling a story with his music is one of the things that separates Ford’s playing from other guitarists and many other instrumentalists as well. This is evident on Pure in the compositions as well as the Ford solos. “I wanted to feel something,” he says, “to be performs with moved by a voice, to be talked to.” To that end, he Supersonic speaks to the listener in a number of tongues. Fans Blues from his days with Jimmy Witherspoon, the Charles Machine at Ford Band and Charlie Musselwhite will be thrilled the Notodden by the blues mastery of “White Rock Beer…8 Cents,” Blues Festival and “Blues for Lonnie Johnson.” The title track in Norway, translates the soul of the blues into a Middle Eastern August 6, 2016.

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dialect through the addition of exotic percussion and a virtuoso oud player. “Balafon” speaks in what today might be called a neo-soul vernacular, though Ford comes to the style more through O.G. practitioners OLNH &XUWLV 0D\ÀHOG &RUQHOO 'XSUHH HW DO In another departure from his usual modus operandi, the guitarist largely eschewed live recording for a more layered, painterly approach. Like Purple House, the new album was recorded by Ford and engineer/ co-producer Casey Wasner at Wasner’s studio (also called Purple House) in Leiper’s Fork, Tennessee. They began rehearsals with a rhythm section, imagining they would record the record live, in typical Ford fashion. It soon became evident that the guitarist had a new vision, one that needed to be realized exactly as he imagined it. “When you bring guys into the studio, you have to let them sound the way they SOD\ DQG LW LQÁXHQFHV WKH PXVLF µ )RUG VD\V ´, IHOW that this time I wanted to have it my way.” To that end, he and Wasner built the tracks from the ground up. “Other than bass and drums, it’s all Casey and me,” Ford explains. “I played all the guitars, keyboards and sometimes even synth bass. When I was orchestrating, I might want to hear something low. Normally, it would be the bass, but sometimes I didn’t want to hear bass guitar doing that low thing because it sounded too pedestrian, too predictable. I was able to make choices and go a GLŲHUHQW ZD\ :H·G JHW HYHU\WKLQJ ZH OLNHG XVLQJ D click track, except for one song where Casey played drums. If we did use a bass player, we’d get it to where we could say, ‘Here’s what we’re looking for.’” Once the rhythm ideas were set, Ford employed multiple drummers to realize them. “We sent tracks to Toss Panos in L.A. to play on one or two songs. I sent Keith Carlock one song, and Nate Smith is on the slow blues, along with Dave Rowe on bass. The VKXŰH KDV P\ EURWKHU 3DWULFN )RUG RQ GUXPV µ These days, it’s easy enough to layer parts in such a way as to give the illusion that the music was recorded in the same room by a group of musicians playing at the same time. This was not part of Ford’s plan, however. Instead, he and Wasner used the studio as a palette with which to mix in some sonic colors that might not normally be a part of a live performance documentation. The guitar sounds are often couched in their own ambience, either by DSSO\LQJ D URRP VRXQG GLŲHUHQW IURP WKH GUXP VSDFH adding slap echo or reverb, or by incorporating of all the above. The tune “White Rock Beer…8 Cents” features climbing reverb tails that appear at the end of some of the phrases. “On that tune, there are two bars open after the ODVW SKUDVH RQ WKH ÀYH FKRUG µ )RUG H[SODLQV ´7KHUH·V a lot of space there, but I didn’t want to play any more G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M

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melody, so we put a reverb tail on that last note and manipulated it, to make it go up. It cracks me up. I like humor in music. I felt it was in the tradition of Les Paul.” Ford’s guitar playing remains sui generis. Many have tried to sound like him, but no one has succeeded. And while his sound might be inimitable, any professional artist ignores the current landscape at his or her peril. It is essential to consider ZKHUH RQH·V RŲHULQJ VLWV LQ WKH pantheon of similar records being “I FIND THAT released, and Ford has his own way IF I DON’T TRY TO of approaching this. “Naturally, you COMPETE AND AM think of all the people who’ve been making guitar instrumental records JUST MY NATURAL their whole lives,” he says. “I don’t listen to those guys, but I’m aware of SELF, I HAVE NEW them and how brilliantly they can THINGS TO SAY” play. There’s an element of having to compete. It’s just natural. But I come back to who I am as a guitar player, what I have to RŲHU DQG JR ZLWK WKDW µ 2QH WKLQJ KH KDV WR RŲHU LV KLV XQLTXH DSSURDFK to the blues. He demonstrated his mastery of this American art form through recording the solos for “White Rock Beer…8 Cents” and “Blues for Lonnie Johnson” in unedited live takes. These performances were originally streamed, in real time, through his Instagram account. Though relatively new to social media, Ford simultaneously managed to challenge himself and build anticipation for the record. “My Ostage girlfriend talked me into it,” he reveals. “She said, at Stupinigi ¶<RX EHFRPH D GLŲHUHQW JX\ LQ IURQW RI DQ DXGLHQFH · Sonic Park, It was terrifying on some level, but it brings up this Turin, Italy, live performance energy.” July 14, 2021

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Ford has always had a special relationship with the saxophone. As proof, one need only listen to how his guitar tone melds with Bill Evans’ horn for some of the heads on Pure. “Bill and I have made two records now playing melodies together,” he says. “We have a very natural way of playing with each other, with a lot of listening. Saxophone has probably been the instrument I have listened to most in my life. I used WR SOD\ LW VR , NQRZ H[DFWO\ KRZ KH·V ÀQJHULQJ whatever I give him. I write with that awareness.” The guitarist likes saxophone so much that he uses two as WKH FRPSOHWH KRUQ VHFWLRQ RQ WKH UHFRUG ZLWK -HŲ &RűQ IURP WKH 'DYH 0DWWKHZV %DQG MRLQLQJ (YDQV 7KLV GLŲHUV IURP PRUH W\SLFDO KRUQ VHFWLRQV WKDW might include a trumpet. “Sax and trumpet speak of a certain time, more Stax or Muscle Shoals,” Ford says. “That’s one of the reasons why I don’t use the trumpet. It’s too dominant of a voice. Two saxophones create the texture I’m looking for, more like an organ.” On many current blues records, the horns are added after the solos are recorded, and thus there is little to no interaction between the guitarist and the section. Ford has had his own issues playing with horn arrangements in some big-band situations. “I’m SOD\LQJ DQG WKHQ VXGGHQO\ WKHUH·V WKLV KRUQ ULŲ µ KH explains. “I’m a call-and-response kind of guy, but I GRQ·W NQRZ ZKHQ WKRVH ULŲV DUH FRPLQJ ZKLFK PDNHV it really hard.” On Pure, however, the guitarist wrote the arrangements, so he knew exactly what was coming, which allowed a delightful guitar/horn section conversation during his solo on “Blues for Lonnie Johnson.” The last time Guitar Player spoke to Ford, for the release of Purple House, he was having an issue recording his famous Dumble, a problem he solved for Pure. “This time the live tracks were cut in bigger rooms,” he explains. “The Dumble needs to be cranked. We cut the blues songs at Sound Emporium, which has a large room. I used an overdrive pedal but no delays or reverbs. It’s just a guitar plugged into an amp. Everything else was put on in post-production.” Having used non-Dumble amps on the last record, )RUG FRQWLQXHV WR H[SHULPHQW ZLWK GLŲHUHQW FKRLFHV particularly Little Walter amps. “[Little Walter owner] 3KLO %UDGEXU\ PDGH PH D ZDWW DPSOLÀHU FDOOHG WKH King Arthur and a 50-watter called the 59,” he says. “He’s also made a hundred-watt head, but I just got that recently. For the melody on ‘Pure,’ I used the 15-watt with a single 12-inch speaker cranked all the way up. The solo for that song was cut at Casey’s using the 50-watt head and an overdrive pedal.” While he has been known to record entire albums with one guitar, à la Bringing It Back Home’s 1966 Epiphone Riviera, for Pure he luxuriated in being able G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M

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to pick the perfect instrument for the part. The Riviera makes an appearance for the melody of “Go,” while his 1960 Telecaster handles the rhythm. For the “Milam Palmo” melody he used a 1964 Gibson ES-355. “And then, for the solo, I moved to a ’52 Tele where nothing is original except the body and neck,” he recalls “I don’t even know what the pickups are.” Though you might think it is a Tele playing on “Blues for Lonnie Johnson,” it is, in fact, a custommade, black Paul Reed Smith McCarty model with the pickups split and the amp cranked up. “Pure” divides the guitar duties between a red PRS for the solo and Ford’s ’64 SG for the melody. “For ‘White Rock Beer,’ I used a practically brand-new Les Paul with incredible sounding ’50s PAFs in it,” he says. “I wanted to play a Les Paul for the traditional Eric Clapton English thing.” For another rocked-out solo, the guitarist again used the Epiphone. “I was sitting in a chair and used the Hermida Zendrive through the Dumble, once again cranked up loud in a big room,” he says. The occasional acoustic part is courtesy of Casey Wasner’s ’65 Gibson B-25. “He has one exactly like mine,” Ford reveals. “It was all about what texture we wanted” In recent years, Ford has been using an ElectroHarmonix POG both live and on recordings. The POG is an octave-generating pedal, which the guitarist felt LQVSLUHG KLP WR SOD\ PRUH MD]] LQÁHFWHG OLQHV %XW IRU Pure he has abandoned it. “It was just too POG,” he says with a laugh. $VNHG ZKHWKHU KH VWLOO SUDFWLFHV )RUG RŲHUV DQ answer that may frustrate those who spend hours in WKHLU URRPV DWWHPSWLQJ WR DFKLHYH KDOI KLV ÁXHQF\ DQG musicality. “I never practiced the guitar in a formal way, except for a brief period with the L.A. Express and Joni Mitchell,” he replies. “That’s when I got a book and started learning the fundamental scales: major, harmonic minor, melodic minor, et cetera. I started practicing them using back-and-forth picking technique for a period of about six months. That’s the only real practice I ever did. Otherwise, I have just played and listened. Everything I play is strictly by ear.” As to where he feels his playing is headed, the artist known as Robben Ford references another great artist, the painter Henri Matisse. “At the end of his career, he started painting big things that were really VLPSOH OLNH WKH \HOORZ PDQ ÀJXUH RQ D EOXH background with a red star, or a big green palm leaf on a blue background,” he says. “That’s where I’m at in my career as an artist. I’m doing the broad strokes. It’s more important to me to say something, to communicate as a musician that’s present and alive. There are so many guitarists who, as far as I am concerned, can play rings around me. I can’t compete G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M

with that. My chop [sic@ LV GLŲHUHQW , ORYH FRORUV sounds and melodies. I’m still growing as a musician. , ÀQG WKDW LI , GRQ·W WU\ WR FRPSHWH DQG DP MXVW P\ natural self, I have new things to say. I’m older. I don’t play as fast or aggressively as I once did. That comes with time. It’s like another painter, Renoir, who said, ‘When you get older, you realize you can always take the next train.’ What’s your hurry?” Pure seems more than just another record for Ford. It is a departure, but also a summing up. “More than anything I’ve ever done, this record is the most complete expression of a musical life,” he says. “Unlike most of my records, it’s not a simple recording of a place in time. This is the whole story in one album, with not a lyric on the whole thing. That works for me.” NOVE MBE R

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YNGWIE MALMSTEEN

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Yngwie Malmsteen takes his neoclassical shred to new extremes on Parabellum. B Y

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HEN YNGWIE MALMSTEEN spoke with Guitar Player earlier this year to reveal how he composed “Far Beyond the Sun,” his signature song, it was clear that his love for the 1984 track was practically eclipsed by his enthusiasm for his latest creation, Parabellum (Music Theories Recordings). “It is extremely neoclassical,” he said of the new album. “People will think I’ve lost my mind. It is like my Concerto” — 1998’s Concerto Suite for Electric *XLWDU DQG 2UFKHVWUD LQ ( )ODW 0LQRU 2S ¬³ ´EXW metal. I went totally over the top.” Malmsteen has often liked to joke that as far as he is concerned, “more is more,” and the new album H[HPSOLÀHV WKDW SKLORVRSK\ LQ VSDGHV ´:KDW LV exciting is when something comes to me, makes me WKLQN :RZ DQG WKHQ , JR VWUDLJKW WR UHFRUG LW µ KH says. “The new album is full of those moments.” Now that Parabellum has been released, it’s clear that his enthusiasm was not misplaced. For fans of the neoclassical metal style Malmsteen pioneered, if not downright invented, Parabellum is the album of their dreams, packed with the Swede’s trademark arpeggios, pedal tones and insanely fast scale runs, but without ever letting technique take precedence over musical content. The album will not convert non-believers, but Malmsteen is only concerned with the integrity of his music. The global shutdown of live music in 2020 allowed him to bring an intense focus to the recording process, and that has resulted in him delivering one of the strongest releases in his catalog.

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“I’M NOT PRETENDING TO BE SOMETHING THAT I’M NOT. THIS ALBUM IS EXACTLY WHO I AM, AND I’M EXTREMELY HAPPY WITH IT”

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Interviewing Yngwie for the release of Parabellum, LW ZDV FOHDU KH ZDV ÀOOHG ZLWK H[FLWHPHQW DERXW WKH album and how his hardcore fan base will respond to it. Malmsteen takes nothing for granted, and as far as he’s concerned, he’s making some of the best music of his career. Parabellum is possibly your most full-on neoclassical album. Was it a deliberate statement of intent, a way of embracing your style?

Although that’s what it turned out to “I WATCHED THIS be, I didn’t plan it like that. It was just a very natural thing for me to do. For JAPANESE GIRL so many years when I was young, I worked on arpeggios and scales in PLAYING ‘FAR much the same way that many BEYOND THE SUN’ guitarists work on blues scales or whatever. As a result, whenever I play ON THE VIOLIN. something, it automatically sounds IT SOUNDS OLNH PH :LWK &RYLG DQG WKH cancellation of tours, I had a lot of EXACTLY LIKE free time, and that gave me the IT WAS COMPOSED chance to bring a laser-like intensity to the recording process. My approach FOR THE VIOLIN” to the album became extremely focused, which can be both good and bad. There is always a danger of being overanalytical, which is VRPHWKLQJ , UHDOO\ VWULYH WR DYRLG :KDW \RX KHDU LV what you get, ultimately. This album is exactly who I am, and I’m extremely happy with it. It’s like I’ve gone full circle back to when I was 15 and had no Yngwie distractions to interfere with my playing. That was recording in what last year was like for me. the studio in his home. Just don’t call it a home studio.

Given how well it turned out, would you intentionally use the same method again?

,·P IXOO\ FRQÀGHQW WKDW , FDQ ZRUN DURXQG WRXULQJ commitments to deliver a great album in the future. Trilogy [from 1986] was the last time I recorded with so much time blocked out purely for the recording process, but I think the intervening albums have all been strong, even though I often had to record between tours or whatever. I think you just adapt to ZKDWHYHU FLUFXPVWDQFHV \RX ÀQG \RXUVHOI LQ ,·P SUHWW\ ÁH[LEOH , GRQ·W KDYH WR ORFN P\VHOI LQWR FHUWDLQ ways of doing things. What were some of the advantages of working so intensely on Parabellum?

, FRXOG SXW WKH VWXŲ RQ DQG OLVWHQ WR LW LQ WKH FDU DQG JHW LGHDV IRU GLŲHUHQW WHPSRV RU DSSURDFKHV , PLJKW have a track that I didn’t think was working, but then I’d listen to it again a couple of days later while I was driving, and I’d hear something that I really liked and that maybe I could change. I had the time to review what I’d done and live with the tracks — the luxury of time to let the music evolve and develop. Did you play everything on the album?

Everything except the drums. I played guitar, obviously, plus bass and keyboards, although a lot of parts that you might think are synthesizer were actually guitar parts. I did plan to have some guys come in to do backing vocals at the start, but I had such a great time recording the vocal lines that I didn’t feel the need to do that. Your vocals have gotten stronger from album to album. You must be very happy with the way that your voice has developed.

Thank you so much for saying that. I am very pleased. My mother sang jazz, and my family was full of great singers. I was always singing when I was younger, but not because I had to for my music. Over the past 10 years that I’ve been singing on my records, I’ve reached the point where I’m very happy with the vocals, and I don’t plan to take a singer out for live shows anymore. This time I really made sure I was comfortable with everything vocally.

I had such great fun doing those. I kept trying to add extra layers and ended up with about 40 voices on it. The song went through a lot of changes in the arrangement. It originally started with an acoustic guitar, but then I thought of using the a capella voices on the chorus for the opening. That is a deep lyric on there, but I really mean what I say. I thank God every day. I must be the luckiest guy in the world. I’m such a grateful person. I just walk around smiling. 58

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“Eternal Bliss” is the most radio-friendly song on the album. The harmonies are especially strong.

“Magic Bullet” has some blisteringly fast guitar harmonies. Did you hear the completed piece in your head, or was there a lot of experimentation with harmonizing lines and so on?

It’s funny how that one came about. I developed it on the road; I had it on an iPad with a number of tunes that I’d been working on, and I thought, I’m just going to mess around with this and see what comes out. So that came from just playing around with ideas. I came up with the cool bass line for it later on.

AUST I N H ARG RAV E

“Sea of Tranquillity” has a very different feel from the other tracks, with its acoustic opening. There are so many layers of guitar parts that it takes repeated listening before everything is revealed.

, OLNH WR EXLOG WH[WXUH ZLWK WKH JXLWDU SDUWV :KHQHYHU I solo, I improvise. I always make solos up; I never work them out. If it feels good, I leave it, but if not I might do one more take. I don’t like to do things over and over; I like it to capture the feel on the spur RI WKH PRPHQW :KHQ , OLVWHQHG WR LW LQ WKH FDU WKRXJK , VWDUWHG WR KHDU WKH GLŲHUHQW ZD\V WKDW LW could have gone. A lot of times I hear something later that makes me think, Shit, that part is really good, I’ll put some harmonies on that line. That’s how some of the textures will evolve, after repeated listening and getting new inspiration. G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M

So would you never punch in a part on a solo?

I have done it sometimes, if the solo feels very inspiring. If there’s a very small part — maybe a couple of notes — that I’d like to change, I’ll punch it in, because I wouldn’t want to listen to that for the rest of my life. [laughs] Really though, I generally record the whole solo in one pass. I will usually like what I do, warts and all. [laughs] You’ve previously said that if you slowed your solos down, they would still sound like music and not just a collection of licks. Presumably, musicality is always your primary consideration.

I think that is just the way that I approach the guitar. No matter how fast something is, I need it to be very musical. A lot of times I will play something really fast that is a fairly simple line if you slow it down, but it will be a strong melodic statement. I watched this young Japanese girl [Unlucky Morpheus] on YouTube recently playing “Far Beyond the Sun” on the violin, note for note, absolutely perfectly. It was really great, and what was so interesting is that it sounded like it was a piece of violin music, not just a string of guitar licks. It is so crazy that it sounds exactly like it was composed for the violin. I was amazed by that. It was like it had gone full circle from me being inspired by the violin to hearing it played by a great violinist. NOVE MBE R

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The source of Yngwie’s huge tone. (The Ferraris are full size.)

How much work does it take to maintain your level of ability?

I have a guitar in my hands whenever I’m watching 79 RU ZKDWHYHU :KHQ ,·P RQ WRXU LW·V D ORW RI playing, and when I’m in the studio there’s a lot of time spent playing. Everything I do is about improvisation though. I never play solos the same way, and I am always trying to capture a special moment. I don’t think playing a lot is important; it’s about playing the right thing. Where does inspiration come from for you?

, GRQ·W UHDOO\ NQRZ $Q\ RXWVLGH LQÁXHQFH FDQ KDYH D JRRG RU EDG LQÁXHQFH :KHQ , SOD\ ,·OO ÀQG VRPHWKLQJ WKDW VXUSULVHV PH and then I’ll work with it. If you told “ARPEGGIOS ALWAYS me to write a country song, I could do that, but it wouldn’t be something SOUND BETTER that excited and inspired me if I just ON THE NECK did it to order. Now and then, PICKUP. THEY ARE something happens though, and a spark of an idea appears, and that is MUCH SMOOTHER the moment that I try to capture and to develop. I never play the SOUNDING, MORE work songs the same way live. I often don’t LIKE A VIOLIN TONE” even follow the setlist. I’ll just change the order or throw something new in. Everything I do is spontaneous and improvised. I saw you playing a vintage Les Paul on a YouTube clip recently. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you play

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anything other than a Strat. Do you feel out of your comfort zone on such a different instrument, and does it change the way that you play?

7KDW ZDV D FOLS WKDW ZDV ÀOPHG LQ D PXVLF VWRUH ,W was a nice ’59 model that they had. I do have a couple of Les Pauls, but I don’t play them a lot. I can drive any car that I want, and I drive a Ferrari. In the same way, I can play any guitar that I want, and I choose to play a Strat. That’s who I am. My Strat with the scalloped neck and the Seymour Duncans is like a ÀQHO\ WXQHG PDFKLQH , FRXOG SOD\ HYHU\WKLQJ WKDW , play on the Strat on a Les Paul, but that doesn’t mean that I’d want to. I do like Gibsons though. I’ve always liked them. What would take you outside your comfort zone in terms of equipment?

:HOO PXVLF LV VWURQJHU WKDQ WKH JHDU \RX XVH WR PDNH it, but having said that, the Les Paul isn’t ideal, and of course if you were to play an electric guitar totally FOHDQ IRU H[DPSOH WKDW·V D YHU\ GLŲHUHQW SURSRVLWLRQ If I had to play something like a Tele through a Twin Reverb, I’d probably play in a more acoustic-like way. The sustain and the great sound of an overdriven guitar is something really special. I found what I like in terms of guitars and amps many years ago, and I don’t like to experiment with that. I guess for the new album, your gear choices were business as usual, with your signature Strat, Marshalls and overdrive pedals?

G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M

M AR K WE I SS

P LAY ERS|

Yeah, that was exactly what I used. [laughs] And my signature Ovation and my signature picks. When soloing, you often change rapidly from the front to back pickup as you move up the neck. Is that to maintain the consistency of your tone?

To a degree. I think arpeggios always sound better on the neck pickup. They are much smoother sounding, more like a violin tone. I do really like the neck pickup a lot, but I guess I mix and match. You rarely use positions two and four on the ﬁve-way switch.

On my last blues album [2019’s Blue Lightning], I did XVH WKRVH SRVLWLRQV IRU WKH +HQGUL[\ VWXŲ DQG , GR think it is a really great, cool sound. I think I prefer the clarity and volume of the front and back positions, though. Those Hendrix tones are the very distinctive essence of the Strat sound. Are there any styles of music that you’d like to explore that you haven’t previously recorded in?

No, because I’m very pleased with the music that I make. I have a natural way of writing and playing; I don’t pretend to do something that isn’t who I am. Everything that I write and perform is exactly what I am intending it to be, and if I wanted to play in a GLŲHUHQW VW\OH RU VRPHWKLQJ WKHQ , ZRXOG $OO WKH musical choices and decisions that I make are entirely mine, from the music that I make to who plays on my records. What do you work on in your own playing?

There’s always room for improvement and development in any musician. For so many years, particularly when I was a lot younger, I was such a fanatic about playing guitar. I wouldn’t accept any limitations. I wouldn’t stop playing or working on something until it was perfect. I’ve gotten to the point where I know that what really matters is the QRWH FKRLFH QRW WKH WHFKQLTXH RU WKH GLűFXOW\ LQ what I am doing. You need to know a lot to be able to be free to express yourself. You need to understand ZKDW QRWHV ZRUN ZLWK GLŲHUHQW NH\V DUSHJJLRV DQG so on. Once you understand how everything works, you are free from thinking about the details and you can play with complete expression.

M AR K WE I SS

Have you seen any “reaction” videos on YouTube? There are a ton of them that feature people who presumably have no idea who you are, and they’re blown away by your music.

, KDYH DFWXDOO\ DQG , ÀQG WKHP SUHWW\ IXQQ\ 7KH greatest thing it reveals is that music really is a universal language. The other thing is that if you are G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M

very passionate about your music, that is conveyed in what you do, and that passion is something that people will pick up on and respond to. Do you still get the same buzz from music that you did 40 years ago, when you sent Guitar Player the tape that led to your breakthrough?

I think that has remained the same. I always challenge myself by improvising, and obviously that can go both ways; it can make you very frustrated sometimes. I can be very unforgiving with myself and I won’t allow myself to fail. But as I said, I give thanks to God every day that I am so fortunate to be living this life. I don’t take anything for granted, that’s for sure. NOVE MBE R

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P LAY ERS|

EARL SLICK

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G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M

DEMON DRIVE LIKE A

As he returns with Fist Full of Devils, his ﬁrst solo album in 20 years, Earl Slick shares tales of his fast times with David Bowie and John Lennon. B Y

J O E

B O S S O

C H UC K L A NZA

ARL SLICK CAN remember the last He pauses. “Funny things come into your head, JLJ KH SOD\HG ³ ULJKW RŲ WKH WRS RI OLNH ¶'LG , MXVW IDNH P\ ZD\ WKURXJK LW DOO"·µ +H his head. “It was March 7th, 2020, laughs. “But then I go, ‘No, come on. That’s crazy.’ with [former Sex Pistols bassist] Glen 6RPH RI WKH VWXŲ , GLG \RX MXVW FDQ·W IDNH LW µ Matlock, in London,” he says. “Ever Fakers don’t get to play with rock royalty like since then, I’ve been mostly on my own, like 'DYLG %RZLH DQG -RKQ /HQQRQ WZR RI WKH PRUH everybody. And let me tell you, you tend to go a celebrated names on Slick’s star-studded resume. OLWWOH EDWW\ ZLWK VR PXFK IUHH WLPH RQ \RXU KDQGV µ Slick was just 22 years old in 1974 when he began The veteran guitarist hasn’t exactly done ZKDW ZRXOG EHFRPH D \HDU RQ DQG RŲ DVVRFLDWLRQ nothing during the past year, and ZLWK %RZLH $IWHU KHDULQJ WKH KH VD\V WKH SHULRG RI UHODWLYH “unschooled, street player” jam along isolation has been a blessing. “I KNEW DAVID WAS to unmixed and unreleased It’s given him time to work on a UHFRUGLQJV RI VRQJV VXFK DV ´5HEHO A MAJOR STAR, BUT memoir, which he says he’s close 5HEHO µ %RZLH KLUHG 6OLFN WR UHSODFH WR ÀQLVKLQJ ´<RX NHHS WKLQNLQJ I ONLY OWNED ONE 0LFN 5RQVRQ LQ KLV EDQG IRU WKH you’re close to being done, and Diamond Dogs tour. “I don’t know how BOWIE RECORD  PDQ\ SHRSOH ZHUH XS IRU WKH JLJ EXW then you go, Oh, wait, there’s that RWKHU WKLQJ µ DQG LW DŲRUGHG KLP , JRW LW µ 6OLFN VD\V ´$IWHU WKDW , ZDV ALADDIN SANE” D FOHDU FKXQN RI WLPH WR UHFRUG Fist RŲ DQG UXQQLQJ µ Full of Devils KLV ÀUVW VROR DOEXP LQ QHDUO\ \HDUV <HDUV HDUOLHU OLNH PLOOLRQV RI RWKHU WHHQV WKH Mostly, though, the extended lockdown has JXLWDULVW VDW PHVPHUL]HG LQ IURQW RI KLV 79 VHW DV WKH provided Slick with the opportunity to do Beatles were introduced to America on The Ed Sullivan something he rarely does. “I just sat around and Show 7KH QH[W GD\ KH SHVWHUHG KLV IDWKHU WR EX\ KLP thought a lot,” he says. “I’m always so busy doing a guitar — a $30 secondhand Danelectro. “Did I ever WKLV RU WKDW DQG LI ,·P QRW GRLQJ VRPHWKLQJ P\ think that one day I’d get good enough to play with mind is on whatever I’ve got to do next. For the -RKQ /HQQRQ"µ KH DVNV UKHWRULFDOO\ ´2I FRXUVH QRW SDVW \HDU DQG D KDOI WKLQJV NLQG RI VWRSSHG DQG The idea still blows my mind. Lennon was this huge ,·YH KDG D ORW RI WLPH WR MXVW WKLQN DERXW ZKR , DP JX\ KH ZDV D KHUR $ OLWWOH NLG IURP %URRNO\Q GRHVQ·W and what I’ve done.” get to be in a room with him.”

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EARL SLICK

6OLFN WRRN DOO RI WKUHH JXLWDU OHVVRQV EHIRUH HPEDUNLQJ RQ ZKDW KH FDOOV ´D GHGLFDWHG SHULRG RI PXVLFDO VHOI HGXFDWLRQ µ ,QVWHDG RI SOD\LQJ rudimentary exercises, he hunkered down with the radio and records. At ÀUVW KH SLFNHG DORQJ WR WKH SRS VRQJV RI WKH %ULWLVK ,QYDVLRQ EDQGV EXW VRRQ KH JUDYLWDWHG WR WKH 5ROOLQJ 6WRQHV DQG WKH $QLPDOV DQG IURP WKHP KH OHDUQHG about their roots — Willie Dixon, Muddy :DWHUV %XGG\ *X\ DQG &KXFN %HUU\ “I got really into the blues and became DV ZHOO DV WUDFNV IRU D IROORZ XS UHFRUG VRUW RI WKH RXWOLHU DW VFKRRO µ KH VD\V which was released in 1984 as Milk and ´0\ IULHQGV ZHUH VWLOO OHDUQLQJ WR SOD\ Honey KH ZRUNHG ZLWK <RNR 2QR RQ KHU pop songs, and I’m playing the blues.” 1981 album, Season of Glass. Along the 0RYLQJ WR 1HZ <RUN &LW\ LQ WKH HDUO\ ZD\ KH IRUPHG WKH EDQG 3KDQWRP V 6OLFN WULHG WR PDNH D JR RI LW LQ 5RFNHU 6OLFN ZLWK WKH 6WUD\ &DWV bands. There was an UK\WKP VHFWLRQ RI 6OLP RXWÀW FDOOHG 0DFN 7UXFN -LP 3KDQWRP DQG /HH DQG IRU D VKRUW WLPH KH 5RFNHU DV ZHOO DV WKH “PERSONALITY. IT’S short-lived band Dirty played in a duo called 6OLFN 'LDPRQG ZLWK White Boy. WHAT’S CARRIED Scottish singer“I did a lot,” he says ME THIS FAR, SO I’M with a laugh. “That’s songwriter Jim Diamond). Acing the RQH RI WKRVH WKLQJV WKDW STICKING WITH IT” Bowie audition changed has run through my HYHU\WKLQJ IRU 6OLFN DQG mind during this whole together they changed music. Their SDQGHPLF , GRQ·W VSHQG D ORW RI WLPH RQ daring experimentation on the title track social media, but I recently hired a guy to 1976’s Station to Station IXHOHG E\ to work my web page and all that, and Slick’s ragged, at times atonal leads, EHIRUH , NQHZ LW IDQV VWDUWHG SRSSLQJ XS FRPELQHG IXQN VRXO DQG DUW URFN IRU DQ DQG LW UHPLQGV \RX RI DOO WKH WKLQJV RYHUDOO HŲHFW WKDW EHFDPH UHYROXWLRQDU\ \RX·YH GRQH ,W·V VRUW RI PLQG ERJJOLQJ µ Between tours and sessions with Bowie, 6OLFN·V IDQV ZLOO ÀQG D ORW WR OLNH Slick collaborated with artists such as about Fist Full of Devils D GLYHUVH VHW RI ,DQ +XQWHU -RKQ :DLWH 7LP &XUU\ DQG instrumentals that spans smart-alecky 'DYLG &RYHUGDOH DPRQJ RWKHUV $IWHU blues, poignant torch songs, whiteplaying on John Lennon’s Double Fantasy NQXFNOHG URFNHUV DQG D KRVW RI WUDFNV that toss genres into a blender. At age 68, the guitarist still has SOHQW\ RI VSXQN LQ WKH trunk. He doesn’t so much strum an acoustic as dance with it, and his electric solos sing, swoon, sputter and roar. “The IXQQ\ WKLQJ LV SOD\LQJ solos is my least IDYRULWH WKLQJ WR GR µ he says. “I could play Slick (at right) in rehearsal for rhythm all day and be the Diamond Dogs tour, 1974 SHUIHFWO\ KDSS\ :KHQ 64

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Earl Slick and David Bowie onstage in Poughkeepsie, New York, August 19, 2003

I was cutting these songs, I didn’t FRQVWUXFW HYHU\ QRWH RI WKH VRORV ³ , never do that. But I hear things in the chord changes and that guides me through a melody.” He makes it clear that anybody H[SHFWLQJ D UHFRUG RI JXLWDU FOLQLF VKUHG can look elsewhere. “The world doesn’t need another wanking guitar album,” he VD\V ´%HVLGHV ,·P QRW SURÀFLHQW HQRXJK WR SXOO WKDW RŲ 0\ ZKROH WKLQJ LV IHHO 3HUVRQDOLW\ ,W·V ZKDW·V FDUULHG PH WKLV IDU VR ,·P VWLFNLQJ ZLWK LW µ What was it like in New York City for a young guitarist in the early ’70s? Was it a hotbed of players all competing for the same gigs?

At the beginning it was competitive, but not between players — it was FRPSHWLWLYH LQ WHUPV RI EDQGV 7KLV ZHQW RQ IRU D ZKLOH DQG WKHQ WKLQJV VWDUWHG WR change. As we started to play out more, WKDW·V ZKHQ SHRSOH ZHUH EHLQJ RŲHUHG gigs as guitarists. At that point, it started to become competitive. Did you have the mind-set of, “Well, if my band doesn’t make it, I could be a session guy”?

No, not at all. The only thought I ever had about anything — other than having P\ RZQ EDQG ³ ZDV WKDW LI WKH 5ROOLQJ Stones ever needed a guitar player, I was their guy. I don’t even think the word sideman was coined yet. My idea was to stick with my band, get a record contract and have a hit record. I didn’t consider DQ\ RWKHU NLQG RI FDUHHU Which guitars and amps were you using at the time?

I had one guitar and one amp: my ’65 SG G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M

KM AZU R/ WI R E I M AG E/GET TY I M AGES (200 3); TER RY O’ N E IL L / I CO N I C I M AGES/GETT Y I M AGES ( 1974)

P LAY ERS|

Playing a National resonator guitar

Junior and a 100-watt Marshall stack. And the cool thing was we had buddies who used to hang around, and the idea RI EHLQJ D URDGLH DSSHDOHG WR WKHP , ZDV D VPDUW OLWWOH IXFNHU DQG , OHDUQHG WKDW , GLGQ·W KDYH WR KDXO P\ RZQ VWXŲ DURXQG when I could get other people to do it. You were only 22 and hadn’t been around much when you auditioned for Bowie. How did you not get rattled by his fame?

C H UC K L A N ZA

7KH IXQQ\ WKLQJ ZDV , ZDVQ·W WRR nervous. I mean, I knew David was a major star, but I only owned one David Bowie record — Aladdin Sane — and the UHDVRQ ZK\ , ERXJKW WKDW ZDV EHFDXVH RI 0LFN 5RQVRQ , PHDQ ´-HDQ *HQLHµ LV ´0DQQLVK %R\ µ ´3DQLF LQ 'HWURLWµ LV %R Diddley. Mick’s guitar playing was a twist IURP WKH ZD\ LW ZRXOG QRUPDOO\ EH played, and I loved it. So I wasn’t nervous about the audition, but I didn’t tell anybody about it, in case I didn’t get it. When Bowie hired you, did he ever verbalize what he liked about your playing?

,Q KLV RZQ URXQGDERXW ´'DYLGµ VRUW RI way. Once I got the gig, I got a little UDWWOHG EHFDXVH , GLGQ·W NQRZ LI , KDG WR G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M

SOD\ DQG VRXQG OLNH 0LFN 5RQVRQ 'LG , KDYH WR SOD\ WKH VWXŲ QRWH IRU QRWH IURP WKH UHFRUGV" 4XLWH IUDQNO\ , ZDV WHUULÀHG VR , DVNHG 'DYLG LI WKDW·V ZKDW KH ZDQWHG 7KDQNIXOO\ KH VDLG ´1R I hired you because I like the way you play. I want you to do what you do.” 7KDW ZDV D ELJ UHOLHI How did your experience with Bowie expand your playing beyond the blues rock that you grew up on?

It opened me up, but not so much at the beginning. At the very start, I was just GRLQJ ZKDW , DOZD\V GLG <RX FDQ KHDU that on David Live IURP WKH 7RZHU Theater. I was just playing how I played at the time. When we hit Station to Station, that’s when things changed. You’re dovetailing into my next question.

<HDK Station to Station — everything changed because he changed. In his own way, he would push me into new areas WR JHW PH XQFRPIRUWDEOH (YHQ WKRXJK he still wanted me to do what I did, there were certain things he wanted me WR UHWKLQN ,W RSHQHG PH XS IRU VXUH What was nice was that these ideas he KDG IHOW YHU\ QDWXUDO WR PH

So even the title track to Station to Station — which now sounds so trendsetting and prescient — it didn’t seem avant-garde to you?

I don’t think you can tell what’s trendsetting at the time you’re making something. Whatever we recorded, my attitude was, This is what we’re doing. I didn’t really think about the impact it would have. The thing about that song — and the whole record, really — was WKDW 'DYLG GLGQ·W EULQJ LQ ÀQLVKHG pieces. Take the title track: That was WKUHH SLHFHV RI PXVLF WKDW KH EURXJKW LQ I thought they were going to be three VHSDUDWH VRQJV 6RPHKRZ LW JOXHG LWVHOI together to become the epic that it is. And that felt natural to you?

It just was what it was. The way we communicated was, “Here’s what we’re doing.” It didn’t seem weird. When you ZHUH DURXQG 'DYLG WKH SURFHVV RI recording wasn’t weird compared to the UHVW RI WKH VWXŲ JRLQJ RQ Did he play you music he was listening to, bands like Kraftwerk, just so you could get an idea of where he was at?

1R 1R KH GLGQ·W SOD\ PH WKDW VWXŲ +H ZRXOG WU\ WR IHHO PH RXW LQ FHUWDLQ ZD\V NOVE MBE R

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EARL SLICK

WKRXJK %HIRUH Station to Station, he took PH RXW WR VHH /RX 5HHG DQG 5R[\ 0XVLF He really liked what they were doing, DQG , WKLQN KH ZDV WU\LQJ WR IHHO PH RXW and get my reactions. What kinds of guitars were you playing on Station to Station?

, KDG DQ HDUO\ · V /HV 3DXO D 6WUDW IURP ’64 or ’65, and my SG. Oh, and my Gibson J-45. John Lennon tapped you to play on Double Fantasy. The two of you had already worked together on David’s Young Americans album.

<HDK LW ZDV DW -RKQ·V UHTXHVW WKDW , ZDV on Double Fantasy, and it was based on us ERWK GRLQJ ´)DPHµ WRJHWKHU 7KH IXQQ\ WKLQJ LV WKDW , KDG QR UHFROOHFWLRQ RI LW — none — which was a running joke the whole time. During our conversations, -RKQ ZRXOG WHOO PH WKH VWRU\ RI UHFRUGLQJ the track, and he knew that I was involved, but I couldn’t remember it at all. I was a little high back then, as we all were. But John remembered. I didn’t. That’s so funny. Most guitarists would remember recording with John Lennon.

<HDK ZHOO WKH\ ZHUH VWUDQJH WLPHV

It was way more head-spinning than Bowie because I was a real John Lennon IDQ ,W ZDV EHFDXVH RI WKH %HDWOHV WKDW I was exposed to rock and roll and decided I wanted to get involved with it. And John was the guy that I gravitated toward. So yeah, it was a trip. When John was in the studio with you, did he have ﬁrm ideas of what he wanted from you guitar-wise? Or did he just let you play to see where you were going?

He pretty much did the latter. What he ZRXOG GR ZLWK DOO RI XV DV D JURXS KH ZRXOG JR ´, ZDQW WKLV NLQG RI D IHHO µ +H would guide you, but he didn’t dictate parts. I was the only one on the sessions that didn’t read charts, and apparently -RKQ UHPHPEHUHG WKDW IURP Young 66

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Americans. He wanted one guy in the URRP ZKR ZDV PRUH RI D VWUHHW SOD\HU The other people were the best session guys on the planet. Did you ever play that crazy Sardonyx guitar that Lennon was using during those sessions?

<HDK , HYHQ ERXJKW RQH , ZLVK , VWLOO KDG WKH IUHDNLQJ WKLQJ , VROG LW WR somebody, and I know who he is. Because it’s very important to the guy, , QHYHU RŲHUHG WR EX\ LW EDFN IURP KLP What did it sound like? Is there a track on Double Fantasy you can point to as an example?

I can’t mention a particular track. John used it a lot. It was a stick body with WZR ZLQJV RQ LW DQG LW KDG D SDLU RI humbuckers. I don’t really remember what it sounded like. I don’t even know

why he bought it, because he still liked WR SOD\ KLV &DVLQRV A few years later, you stepped back into Bowie world after Stevie Ray Vaughan pulled out of David’s Serious Moonlight tour. How much time did you have to prepare before you hit the road?

I didn’t have any time at all. I mean, IURP WKH WLPH WKH\ FDOOHG PH , WKLQN , KDG PD\EH WKUHH RU IRXU UHKHDUVDOV with the band. I had to learn the whole show. Now granted, I’d either played or UHFRUGHG KDOI WKH VKRZ DQ\ZD\ EXW WKHUH ZDV QHZ VWXŲ , ZDVQ·W IDPLOLDU ZLWK DQG I had to learn it. I sat with a cassette deck in my hotel room in Brussels and GLG WKH EHVW , FRXOG WR GLJHVW DOO WKH VWXŲ Regarding the tunes he had recorded with Stevie, did David give you the same direction as he had when you ﬁrst

G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M

ROB M ON K

So you get a call to play on Lennon’s record, his return from retirement. That must have been pretty head-spinning.

started working together — to just be yourself?

All he told me was, “We’ve got a big IHVWLYDO FRPLQJ XS UHDOO\ VRRQ 'R \RX WKLQN \RX·OO EH UHDG\"µ $QG OLWWOH arrogant me said, “What, are you kidding PH" ,·OO EH UHDG\ IURP WKH ÀUVW JLJ µ What was your relationship like with Carlos Alomar? You guys ended up as bandmates on that tour.

It was good. We had a good working relationship because our roles as guitar SOD\HUV ZHUH YHU\ GHÀQHG :H GLGQ·W SOD\ alike at all. He covered his bases, and I covered mine. There was no competition. 0D\EH LI ZH SOD\HG WKH VDPH ZD\ LW could have gotten strange, but that was never the case. What’s the story with Mick Ronson showing up at a gig and trashing one of your guitars?

2K WKDW·V D IXQQ\ RQH +H VDW LQ ZLWK XV DW DQ RXWGRRU JLJ LQ &DQDGD , GRQ·W know what song we were playing, but he ERUURZHG RQH RI P\ JXLWDUV ³ LW ZDV D custom-made DiMarzio — and he started swinging the thing around over his head and put some dents in it. I wasn’t even SLVVHG RŲ RU DQ\WKLQJ EXW , ZDV D OLWWOH WHUULÀHG >laughs@ 1RZ SHRSOH SD\ D ORW RI money to get beat-up guitars.

K EV I N WI N TE R /G ET TY I M AG ES

You worked with Bowie on a series of his latter-day albums. Would you speak during those long times apart? Did you have to renew your relationship?

Funny thing about that was, it was seamless. When we started working together again back in the late ’90s or early 2000s, we hadn’t seen each other or had any contact in a long time. I was RQ WKH :HVW &RDVW DW WKH WLPH VR , ÁHZ WR 1HZ <RUN WR SOD\ ZLWK WKH EDQG KH KDG DQG WKH ÀUVW WKLQJ 'DYLG KDG PH play was “Stay.” David wasn’t even onstage with us — he was sitting on a lounge chair or something — but the second he heard me playing, this big-ass VPLOH FDPH DFURVV KLV IDFH ,W ZDV OLNH D minute hadn’t even gone by between us. Now, what’s interesting is, it became PRUH RI DQ RSHQ UHODWLRQVKLS :H UHDOO\ EHFDPH IULHQGV %DFN LQ WKH GD\ ZH G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M

weren’t really IULHQGV PD\EH because we were ERWK VR RXW RI LW :H weren’t enemies; we just weren’t buddies. But during the time we were apart, we both changed a lot, and our relationship grew tighter once we took up again. We talked a lot more about personal things, which ZH QHYHU GLG EHIRUH 6R WKDW ZDV QLFH

dreary, dark, echo-y thing into this really happy bridge. It was a great trick. What are your main guitars these days?

I’ve gravitated right back to where I started — to the Teles. There’s a lot Your new album is notable among RI 7HOHFDVWHU RQ WKH UHFRUG , XVHG P\ guitar instrumental records in that IDPRXV VLJQDWXUH PRGHO RQ LW 6RPH RI there’s a distinct lack of noodling. It’s the little Hendrix-y rhythm things that virtuosity without showboating. you hear, these little double-stops that <HDK ZHOO , GRQ·W GR WKH QRRGOH WKLQJ UHPLQG PH RI ´/LWWOH :LQJµ ³ WKDW·V ³ WKDW ZDV QHYHU P\ WKLQJ 6RPH RI WKH not a Strat, although it sounds like one. VRQJV DUH UHDOO\ EDVHG LQ WKH SLDQR DV IDU 7KDW·V P\ VLJQDWXUH PRGHO ZLWK 3 V as the writing. Al Morris, who played in it. I also used used my SG and an piano on the record, he would come up Eastwood Airline Tuxedo. The acoustics ZLWK UHDOO\ FRRO XQXVXDO VWXŲ DQG WKDW were mainly the two Gibsons and a SXVKHG PH LQWR DOO VRUWV RI DWPRVSKHUHV Tacoma 12-string. That’s — not so much RQH RI WKH EHVW melodies. “I COULD 12-strings I own. Some of the tracks, like “Vanishing Point” and “Black,” sound like they could be ﬁlm scores.

PLAY RHYTHM ALL DAY AND BE PERFECTLY HAPPY”

<HDK \HDK ´9DQLVKLQJ 3RLQWµ LV VRPHWKLQJ , VWDUWHG ZULWLQJ LQ the ’90s. Al helped me get it in shape. ´%ODFNµ LV SUHWW\ FRRO ,W VRUW RI FDPH IURP WKH IUDPH RI PLQG , ZDV LQ DW WKH time — a little tortured — but the LQVSLUDWLRQ IRU WKH RYHUDOO VRXQG FRPHV IURP $QJHOR %DGDODPHQWL 'DYLG /\QFK·V JX\ ,·P D PDMRU 'DYLG /\QFK IDQ DQG I love what Angelo does with him. In the movie Fire Walk With Me, there’s this really ominous bar scene. It’s shot with UHG EDFNJURXQGV DQG WKHUH·V DOO NLQGV RI weird shit going on. I purposely tried to ZULWH VRPHWKLQJ ZLWK WKDW VDPH IHHO What’s cool is, although it sounds like a score, parts of it also feel like a jam.

That was the idea. There was just HQRXJK VWUXFWXUH LQ LW DQG WKHQ RXW RI WKH EOXH $O VWDUWHG WR SOD\ WKLV VRUW RI ’50s piano thing, in a happy, major key. :H MXPSHG RQ WKDW ,W JRHV IURP WKLV

Last question, and it sort of goes back to what we started talking about. Do you ever stop and ask yourself, “Why me? Of all the guitar players in the world, how did I manage to play with all these people?”

Oh, God, all the time. I mean, I look at a guy like Steve Lukather, who is just amazing. In my mind, he’s like a modern-day Tommy Tedesco or Steve &URSSHU 6WHYH /XNDWKHU LV WKH RQO\ session guitar player I’ve ever heard who FDQ FRQYLQFLQJO\ SOD\ DQ\ VW\OH ,I KH·V doing a blues thing, he sounds like a EOXHV SOD\HU ,I KH·V GRLQJ MD]] KH sounds like a jazz player. He doesn’t VRXQG OLNH D VHVVLRQ JX\ IDNLQJ LW 6R WKLV JRHV EDFN WR ´:K\ PH"µ I mean, I’ve sat in with Steve, and I’m DIUDLG WR SOD\ DURXQG KLP ,W·V OLNH +RO\ shit. He’s embarrassing me. I can’t do what he does. Nobody can. I just do what I do, and people seem to like it. ,W·V DOZD\V ZRUNHG IRU PH VR , FDQ·W complain. NOVE MBE R

2021

Was interpreting a few tunes by your heroes essentially a creative way to get your mojo working again?

<HDK LW KRQHVWO\ ZDV D ELW , GR KDYH original tunes written, but some of them DUH MXVW VR GLŲHUHQW UDQJLQJ IURP UHWUR ’80s-inspired electric to very meditative, UHOD[HG PXVLF 0\ PDQDJHU DQG , ZHUH WDONLQJ DERXW GRLQJ D VHULHV RI (3V IRFXVHG RQ GLŲHUHQW VW\OHV DQG WKHQ , KDG WKH LGHD WR GR WKLV FRYHUV WKLQJ EHFDXVH , DOZD\V OLNH WR VKLQH D OLJKW RQ WKH SHRSOH WKDW LQVSLUHG PH )LQJHUVW\OH LQVWUXPHQWDO LV VXFK D QLFKH VW\OH 6RPH VHH LW RQ <RX7XEH RU ,QVWDJUDP IRU WKH ÀUVW WLPH DQG DUH XQDZDUH RI WKH KLVWRU\ G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M

, ÀJXUHG WKDW , VKRXOG GR D IHZ RI WKHLU WXQHV DV ZHOO DV VRPH RWKHUV WKDW ,·G GRQH live or online but hadn’t recorded and UHOHDVHG The Prince cover is not a huge surprise, because you toured with him, but it is crazy to ﬁnd out that you played “Purple Rain” on that tour as a solo opener and he would work you into his band later in his set. How did that happen?

3ULQFH ZDQWHG PH WR GR VRPHWKLQJ VSHFLDO WR RSHQ WKH VKRZ , IRXQG WKDW ´3XUSOH 5DLQµ ZRUNHG ZHOO RQ EDULWRQH VR , IRXQG WKH NH\ DQG ORZHUHG LW >from B, on the original, to A@ DV P\ *UHHQÀHOG LV D

baritone lowered a step from normal EDULWRQH SLWFK 7KH ORZHVW QRWH LV $ instead of B, and the tuning is like DADGAD with a suspended fourth, but dropped down so that from low to high WKH VWULQJV DUH $ ( $ ' ( $ , WULHG WR keep it simple, mostly just the melody ZLWK D ELW RI KDUPRQLF DFFRPSDQLPHQW With that stripped-down presentation, \RX FDQ KHDU WKH PHORG\ YHU\ GLUHFWO\ , VHQW 3ULQFH P\ YHUVLRQ RI ´3XUSOH 5DLQ µ DQG KH ORYHG LW 7R VWDUW WKH VKRZ he had an elevator lift me up through the VWDJH ,·G SOD\ ´3XUSOH 5DLQ µ DQG WKHQ LW ZRXOG JR EDFN GRZQ XQWLO ODWHU ,·G FRPH EDFN XS DQG GR D PHGOH\ ZLWK WKH EDQG NOVE MBE R

2021

F R E TS|

ANDY MCKEE

,W HQGHG ZLWK XV GRLQJ ´3XUSOH 5DLQµ WRJHWKHU DQG E\ WKDW SRLQW ,·G KDYH DQ HOHFWULF JXLWDU +H SOD\HG WKH VROR >laughs] His original idea for the stage presentation had me wearing a wild IRRW FDSH %XW , ZDVQ·W WRR LQWR WKDW How does a guy like you relate to a guy like Prince?

He brought up Joni Mitchell on more WKDQ RQH RFFDVLRQ DQG ,·P D KXJH IDQ DV ZHOO 7KHUH ZDV RQH SRLQW ZKHUH , WULHG WR UHODWH ZKDW , GR LQVWUXPHQWDOO\ , GR VRPH IDQF\ WHFKQLFDO VWXŲ EXW , GRQ·W ever want that to be the show — you NQRZ ´+H\ ORRN DW KRZ EDGDVV , DP RQ WKH JXLWDU µ , WU\ WR XVH WKDW VWXŲ WR ZULWH VRPHWKLQJ LQWHUHVWLQJ RU EHDXWLIXO /LNH -RQL 0LWFKHOO ,·P WU\LQJ WR SDLQW D picture or tell you a story, just with the JXLWDU ,W·V QRW QHFHVVDULO\ DERXW WKH WKHDWULFV DOWKRXJK VRPHWLPHV WKDW·V IXQ Did you hear Joni Mitchell just announced the release of a long-lost performance from 1968 recorded by Jimi Hendrix, who brought his reel-toreel machine to the club?

, GLG 7KDW·V FUD]\ XQEHOLHYDEO\ ZLOG Michael Hedges is a Hendrix-like icon to modern acoustic enthusiasts. What’s the story behind your version of “Ragamufﬁn”?

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2021

Onstage at Columbia Theater Berlin, Germany, May 21, 2018

VRPH WKLQJV VOLJKWO\ PRUH DJJUHVVLYHO\ :KHQ , GLVFRYHUHG +HGJHV , ZDV intrigued by his ability on the guitar, but his music seemed like it was from DQRWKHU GLPHQVLRQ ,W ZDV VR SRZHUIXO (YHU\WKLQJ KH ZDV VD\LQJ ZLWK WKH JXLWDU UHVRQDWHG ZLWK PH SHUFHQW 6DGO\ KH SDVVHG DZD\ LQ WKH FDU DFFLGHQW >on December 2, 1997] just a few months after , GLVFRYHUHG KLV PXVLF VR , QHYHU JRW WR VHH KLP SOD\ OLYH RU PHHW KLP %XW KH was transformational in my life, how , DSSURDFK PXVLF DQG ZKDW \RX FDQ GR ZLWK WKH JXLWDU +H·V D SURIRXQG LQÁXHQFH WR WKLV GD\ DQG , VWLOO OLVWHQ WR KLV DOEXPV DOO WKH WLPH

How does Preston Reed ﬁgure into your equation of acoustic inspirations?

, RULJLQDOO\ JRW LQWR ÀQJHUVW\OH JXLWDU WKURXJK 3UHVWRQ , ZDV DQG SOD\LQJ ZLWK KLJK VFKRRO IULHQGV GRLQJ VWXŲ OLNH 0HWDOOLFD ,URQ 0DLGHQ DQG 3DQWHUD 0\ cousin invited me to check out a :DVKEXUQ FOLQLF ZLWK 3UHVWRQ 5HHG DQG , ZDV EORZQ DZD\ WR VHH RQH JX\ GRLQJ so much by playing percussively on a VWHHO VWULQJ DFRXVWLF , ZDV LQWR WDSSLQJ EHFDXVH , ZDV WU\LQJ WR OHDUQ (GGLH 9DQ +DOHQ DQG -RH 6DWULDQL VRORV EXW 3UHVWRQ was using it to help cover all the bases WKURXJKRXW DQ HQWLUH SLHFH RI PXVLF ,·G QHYHU VHHQ DQ\WKLQJ OLNH LW +LV G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M

AND R EA F R I ED R I CH /R ED F ER NS /GETT Y I M AG ES ( LI V E) SI M O N E CECC HE T TI (I NS E T)

, WXQHG P\ VLJQDWXUH *UHHQÀHOG WR DADGAD, like it is on his original UHFRUGLQJ ,·G ZRUNHG RQ OHDUQLQJ WKDW WXQH E\ HDU VHYHUDO WLPHV RYHU WKH \HDUV :KHQ LW FDPH WLPH WR GR WKLV , WKRXJKW about getting into the transcription and GRLQJ LW SHUIHFWO\ FRUUHFW EXW , XOWLPDWHO\ decided to go with my own take and play

F R E TS|

ANDY McKEE

instructional video got me going on PRGHUQ DFRXVWLF JXLWDU , FKRVH ´&KDWWDQRRJDµ EHFDXVH LW·V TXLWH VRSKLVWLFDWHG IRU WKDW VW\OH 7KHUH DUH so many interesting things: a beautiful melody, cool key changes and a sense of IRUZDUG PRYHPHQW , SOD\HG LW RQ P\ VLJQDWXUH *UHHQÀHOG DQG WKH WXQLQJ IURP ORZ WR KLJK LV % * ' * $ '

At Teatro Colosseo, Torino, Italy, opening for Tommy Emmanuel’s ﬁrst Italian tour date, October 2, 2016

7KDW·V D TXLQWHVVHQWLDO %LOO\ 0F/DXJKOLQ NLQG RI WXQH +H KDV DQ DSSURDFK WR tapping on steel string in altered WXQLQJV XVLQJ OHJDWR SXOO RŲV ZLWK WKH IUHWWLQJ KDQG WR FUHDWH D ÁRZLQJ VRXQG WKDW·V XQPLVWDNDEO\ KLV 3OD\LQJ WKDW ZD\ doesn’t leave a lot of room for chordal work, so you’ve got to have a strong PHORG\ DQG VXSSRUW LW ZLWK WKH EDVV OLQH ,·YH LQFRUSRUDWHG WKDW DSSURDFK WR VROR guitar composition into my own songs, DQG P\ YHUVLRQ RI ´&ORFNVKRSµ LV SUHWW\ directly comparable to his with a few OLWWOH GLŲHUHQFHV , OHDUQHG ´&ORFNVKRSµ by ear, listening for open strings, and my version is in the same tuning as his: C G ' * $ & , UHFRUGHG LW ZLWK P\ VLJQDWXUH *UHHQÀHOG Can you share some insights on how you adapted the video game tune “Streets of Whiterun”?

,·P D ELJ YLGHR JDPH GRUN 7KDW·V P\ <RX7XEH , GHFLGHG WR UHFRUG LW DV D VRUW PDLQ KREE\ DQG HQWHUWDLQPHQW PHGLXP RI KRPDJH WR YLGHR JDPH PXVLF ,·YH EHHQ D ELJ IDQ RI The Elder Scrolls for PDQ\ \HDUV Skyrim >WKH JDPH·V ÀIWK Greenﬁeld Guitars introduced two installment@ FDPH RXW DERXW D GHFDGH DJR versions of your signature model in ,W·V D ELJ RSHQ ZRUOG IDQWDV\ ZLWK 2020, with the Rylynn being somewhat beautiful music that less expensive, but plays throughout as they’re both major \RX YLVLW GLŲHUHQW investments. What “PRINCE’S IDEA HAD SODFHV ´6WUHHWV RI is the most ME WEARING A WILD :KLWHUXQµ LV important aspect unbelievably for those seeking 50-FOOT CAPE. BUT I JRUJHRXV ,W·V the Andy McKee WASN’T TOO INTO THAT” sound on a budget? RUFKHVWUDO VR , ÀJXUHG WKH KDUS , FDQ SLFN XS DQ\ guitar would be my best arrangement JXLWDU DQG SOD\ DZD\ DV ,·P QRW WRR tool, because it’s the best route for me to SDUWLFXODU DERXW WKLQJV EXW , SUHIHU WKH FRYHU UHDOO\ ORZ VWXŲ 7KH WXQLQJ IRU WKH KXJH VRXQG RI D MXPER ERG\ ,W·V JUHDW JXLWDU LV DQ RSHQ ( PDMRU ( % ( *# % ( IRU ÀQJHUVW\OH SOD\LQJ EHFDXVH WKHUH·V D # # # # ORW RI ORZ HQG DQG YROXPH 2I WKH WKUHH and the harp is tuned C ) G A B G , PDLQ *UHHQÀHOGV , XVH OLYH DQG LQ WKH shot a video of myself playing that tune VWXGLR WZR RI WKHP DUH MXPERV 7KH several years ago, and people loved it on harp guitar has a unique body shape, EXW P\ VLJQDWXUH * DQG WKH EDULWRQH with the color-shifting paint are both MXPERV WKDW FDQ ÀW LQ WKH H[DFW VDPH FDVH 7KH EDULWRQH VLPSO\ KDV D ORQJHU VFDOH OHQJWK Have you had any pandemic-era epiphanies about being a guitar player right now?

At Columbia Theater Berlin

NOV E M BE R

2021

$V , JURZ ROGHU ZKDW , ORRN IRU LQ PXVLF and guitar playing is something that FRPHV DFURVV DV JHQXLQH ,W GRHVQ·W KDYH WR EH ÁDVK\ RU KDYH DQ\WKLQJ WR GR ZLWK WKDW 7KHUH DUH VR PDQ\ JXLWDU SOD\HUV RXW WKHUH :KHQ \RX ÀQG VRPHRQH WKDW you can tell is being honest, has dove deep to discover who they really are and expresses it through the guitar, that’s the JRRG VWXŲ , JHW D NLFN RXW RI KHDULQJ WKDW WKHVH GD\V G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M

AN D RE A F R I E DR I C H /R E DF ER N S (B ER L I N ); A L ESSAND RO B OS I O/ PAC I F I C P R ESS / LI G H TROC K ET VI A G ET T Y I M AGES ( I TALY)

How about the Billy McLaughlin cover, “Clockshop”?

L ESSO NS |

STYLE

HENDRIX CHORDS Put Jimi Hendrix’s chord inversions, melodic scale-tone embellishments and jazz voicings to work in your own rhythmguitar playing. BY PAT RIC K B R EN NA N

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NOV E M BE R

2021

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H U LTO N A RC H I V E/G ETT Y I M AGES

N O GUI TA R I ST HAS LQÁXHQFHG PXVLF

MORE ONLINE!

For audio of this lesson, go to guitarplayer.com/nov21-lesson1

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Ex. 1

T A B

5 6 7

9 10 10 9 9 11

10 10 11

5 7 7

1 1 2

1 3 3

2 4 5 1 3 4

Ex. 2

2 2 4

6 7 7

1 1 3

2 4 3

2 3 1

2 1 3

1 2 3

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root pos.

### 3 & 4 œ œœ œœœ œœ œ

1st inv.

root pos.

2nd inv.

root pos.

1st inv.

2nd inv.

1st inv.

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7 7 7

7 7 9

1 1 1

7 9 10

4 5 5

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SKU KGEF S GA SURF GREEN

SURF MEETS BOARD. Introducing the Fender® x Kyser® Quick-Change® Electric Guitar Capo in Surf Green.

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G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M

L ESSO NS |

THEORY

ALTERED REALITY A fresh approach for mastering the altered scale, the elusive 7th mode of melodic minor. BY CH RI S BUO N O

the guitar and studying music for over three decades. Throughout my time spent woodshedding in the name of mastering various scales and all their various modes, one scale in particular traditionally vexed me. After years of trying to harness the potential of this Voldemort-like “scale that must not be named” (not yet) with otherwise successful methods, I realized I had to change my approach. I needed a new reality, one that entailed re-examining the importance of naming conventions, embracing enharmonic equivalents GLŲHUHQW QDPHV IRU WKH VDPH SLWFK DQG perhaps the most jarring, using chords WR LQIRUP P\ OHDUQLQJ RI D VFDOH ¬ I speak of the altered scale, which is the seventh mode of the melodic minor scale. Now, it’s our standard practice to spell out a scale’s intervallic formula in SDUHQWKHVHV ZKHQ LW·V ÀUVW PHQWLRQHG This temporary omission is fallout from the theoretical rebellion the altered scale wages, which I will attempt to quell in this lesson. To the uninitiated, the altered scale presents itself as a formidable foe, with its enharmonic tendencies and formulaic duality, as well as its multiple names. Regarding the latter, in your own quest to learn about the altered scale you may have already discovered the relatable names superLocrian or Locrian b4, or maybe more descriptive names like altered-dominant (my favorite) or diminished whole-tone (my second favorite). If you’re looking for more commemorative or exotic names, then consider dubbing this organized order of elements the “Pomeroy,” “Ravel” or “Palamidian” scale. Whatever 80

NOV E M BE R

2021

name suits your fancy, the fact remains the altered scale is a challenging proposition to wrap your head around. All that said, to get the most from this campaign, prepare to have your own VFDOH OHDUQLQJ UHDOLW\ ZHOO DOWHUHG ¬ As I mentioned, the altered scale is the seventh mode of melodic minor (1, 2, b3, 4, 5, 6, 7), which ironically has its own naming saga. The historical use of melodic minor, in classical music, calls for the scale to follow the formula you see here as it ascends; when it descends, however, it shifts to the parallel natural minor scale, or Aeolian mode, formula (1, 2, b3, 4, 5, b6, b7), where the 6th and 7th degrees are lowered a half step. “Jazz minor” is an alternative name that helps

GLŲHUHQWLDWH WKH PDQQHU LQ ZKLFK melodic minor is played by modern improvisers, where the scale retains its makeup regardless of the direction it’s SOD\HG ¬ At face value, the altered scale is intervallically spelled 1, b2, b3, b4, b5, b6, b7. From a C root, the notes are C, Db, Eb, Fb, Gb, Ab, Bb. As you ponder the who, what and why of that diminished 4th (Fb), play through the patterns illustrated in Figures 1–3, ascending and descending, to get a feel for the sound as ZHOO DV WKH VRPHZKDW DUFKDLF ÀQJHULQJ possibilities of this enigmatic device. About that b4th degree: this is where names like super-Locrian and Locrian-b4 originate, since the rest of the scale G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M

BER N D VOG EL /GE TTY I MAGES

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For audio of this lesson, go to guitarplayer.com/nov21-lesson2

spells out a Locrian formula (1, b2, b3, 4, b5, b6, b7). However, looking at the scale from this perspective robs you of the WUHDVXUH WKDW DZDLWV ¬ Setting aside the honorary naming conventions, the gold within the altered scale is revealed when you consider the more descriptive names such as altereddominant and diminished whole-tone. The former hints towards the scale’s ÁDYRU DQG IXQFWLRQ ZKLOH WKH ODWWHU VSHOOV about valuable insight into the idea of formulaic duality. With a shift in perception, let’s spell the altered scale as C, Db, Eb, E, Gb, Ab, Bb. Notice the enharmonic shift from Fb to E. Although they are indeed the same pitch, reckoning the 4th degree of the scale as E reveals its true value as a major 3rd of C. In conjunction with the b7th degree (Bb) you can fully appreciate the nod to a dominant 7 chord (1, 3, 5, b7) that the DOWHUHG VFDOH RŲHUV DQG WKXV WKH QRWLRQ of perhaps calling this scale altereddominant. Regarding the “altered” nomenclature, this describes the function of the remaining scale tones - Db (b2), Eb (b3), Gb (b5), Ab (b6). These “outside”-sounding notes provide WHQVLRQ RYHU WKH ÀUVW KDOI RI D 9 ,PDM cadence, for example, thus creating a more intense sounding resolution that’s attractive to jazz, fusion and modern blues players. Examples 1–3 show a trio of V - I lines in the key of F — C7 to Fmaj7 — where the C altered scale could apply. The licks will feature each of the WKUHH VFDOH ÀQJHULQJV LQ )LJXUHV respectively, to begin to give you a taste RI ZKDW WKLV DSSURDFK KDV WR RŲHU ¬ Respelling the scale one more time, as well as shifting a few choice scale degree assignments, chew on this iteration: C (1), Db (b2), Eb (b3), E (3), F# (#4), G# (#5), Bb (b7). From this perspective, you can start to wrap your head around the idea of calling the altered scale the diminished whole-tone scale (1, b2, b3, 3, #4, #5, b7). With the major 3rd (E) serving as a shared axis point, we can split this scale down the middle, with the initial four notes UHVHPEOLQJ WKH ÀUVW KDOI RI D symmetrical diminished scale formula (1, b2, b3, 3, #4, 5, 6, b7) — also known as the half-whole G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M

Fig. 1

Fig. 2

Fig. 3

Ex. 1 ( C7 )

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(7)

Ex. 2 ( C7 )

   

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( Fmaj7 )

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(8)

Ex. 3 ( C7 )

                   

12 14 11

        

( Fmaj7 )

 14 13 11

13 11

14 13 11 13

scale, due to the repeating step pattern — and everything north of the major 3rd mirroring the last four notes of a whole-tone scale formula (1, 2, 3, #4, #5, b7), which, as its name implies, is made up of successive whole tones, or steps. Both the symmetrical diminished and whole-tone scales in their totality are viable options for supplying lines with WHQVLRQ RYHU GRPLQDQW FKRUGV DV ZHOO ¬ With the altered scale name game addressed and some, albeit not all, of the WDON DERXW HQKDUPRQLFV ÁHVKHG RXW WKH

11 13

11 12

 10

14 (14)

attention shifts to establishing a neck vision through chords. You might still be thinking, “Chords? I thought this was a lesson about getting better control over a scale.” The approach centers on this thought: Scales are melodic devices meant to be in constant motion while FKRUGV DUH À[HG VWDWLRQDU\ KDUPRQLF devices. With regards to the latter, chords are easier to picture and thus visualize on the neck. In conjunction with that notion, think of chord tones as PDUNHUV RQ D WUDLO ZLWK P\ULDG SDWKZD\V ¬ NOVE MBE R

2021

L ESSO NS |

THEORY

To get started, you need a complete VHULHV RI DOWHUHG VFDOH ÀQJHULQJV WKDW HQG on successive scale tones. These will serve as your pathway. Figures 4–10 provide just that, with a collection of ÀQJHULQJ SDWWHUQV IRU WKH $ DOWHUHG VFDOH (A, Bb, C, C#, Eb, F, G) that make their way up the neck, starting with a pattern that climbs up to a 5th-fret A root on the high E string. (The A root notes are circled in red in all of these diagrams, in every octave where they occur.) It should be noted that the lowest note in each of these seven patterns (i.e., the note you start on, on the low E string, IUHWWHG ZLWK WKH VW ÀQJHU LV D VXFFHVVLYH VFDOH GHJUHH ZLWK WKH ÀUVW DQG ORZHVW pattern beginning on the # ) ¬ For each of these patterns, I assign a corresponding altered-dominant-7 chord shape, illustrated in Figures 11–17, respectively, which similarly contain root-note markers, highlighted in red circles. The connection between the scales and chords rests on the highest note of each chord purposefully matching the highest note of the scale SDWWHUQ LW·V PDWHG ZLWK ¬ To begin to illustrate and cultivate this system, the phrases in Examples 4–10 have you playing the associated chord that goes with each scale pattern before playing a descending line on the top three strings. With the exception of Ex. 5, each chord’s highest note ÀQJHULQJ LV FRPPRQ ZLWK WKH VFDOH LW·V connected to. This makes for a smooth OHJDWR OLNH WUDQVLWLRQ IURP WKH À[HG harmonic altered entity to its everÁRZLQJ PHORGLF FRXQWHUSDUW (YHQ better, within those short descending bursts you’ll pass by more markers in the forms of chord tones, as you walk \RXU ÀQJHUV GRZQ WKDW SDUWLFXODU SDWKZD\ ¬ As you review Examples 3–9, you may notice altered extensions, such as b9, #9, #11 and b13 in the chord names. Another challenging facet of the altered scale and the harmony it breeds is the liberal use of what are called upper extensions when naming scale and chord tones. More often than not, players experienced in extended harmony of all types will freely label scale degrees 82

NOV E M BE R

2021

Fig. 4

Fig. 5

Fig. 6

Fig. 8

Fig. 9

Fig. 10

Fig. 11

Fig. 12

Fig. 13

Fig. 15

Fig. 16

Fig. 17

Fig. 14

Ex. 5

Ex. 4 A7♭9

        

Fig. 7

5 2 3 5

A7♭9♭13

        3

    

6 6 6 5

       5

G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M

ZLWKLQ WKH VLPSOH UDQJH ÀUVW RFWDYH DV extensions found in the compound range (second octave). Below is a table that addresses all of the possibilities: Scale Tone

b2 b3 #4 or b5 b6

Equivalent Upper Extension b9 #9 #11 b13

You may also have picked up on the use of #5, despite not having an E# in the spelling provided for the A altered scale. The liberal approach to designations also includes enharmonics — one player’s #4 is another player’s b5. Be patient with this; it will come. In the end, with time, you will not only start to be versed in the possibilities, but you’ll also develop your RZQ QDPLQJ FRQYHQWLRQV ¬ Let’s have another go at aligning those same A altered-scale patterns in Figures 4–10 with same altereddominant chords, this time with grips on the middle four strings, as illustrated in Figures 18–24. This time, the match is on the B string, where both the highest note of each chord voicing is common with the highest note of the associated scale SDWWHUQ <RX·OO ÀQG DQRWKHU DSSURDFK WR the idea of pathways in Examples 11–17. 7KH ÀQJHULQJV IRU WKH FKRUGV DUH VOLJKWO\ GLŲHUHQW GHVSLWH WKH YRLFLQJV UHPDLQLQJ the same, due to the major-3rd tuning relationship between the G and B strings. Embrace this concept and invest time into transferring your entire chord vocabulary to neighboring string sets. It’s a powerful skill to have and will EROVWHU \RXU QHFN YLVLRQ WHQIROG ¬ I hope this method helps you develop your own reality with the altered scale, one where you harness its full potential and take it even further. I encourage you to compose your own pathways and systems of markers to help drive home this concept. As you woodshed these examples, along with your own ideas, be sure to regularly apply slight changes along with modulating through all 12 keys. These practices will not only solidify this new reality, but all the ones to follow. G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M

Ex. 7

Ex. 6 A7♯9

        

8 8 6 7

A7♭9♭13

9 8 10 8

A7♯11

      

11 10 12 11



A7♯9♯5

    

        9

11 10

13 11 10

12 10

Ex. 11 A7♭5

       

15 14 14 13

        13

A7♭5

   

          

4 2 5 4

2 3 5

2 4 2

5 3 2 5

Ex. 13

Ex. 12 A7♯9♯5

        

6 5 5 4

A7♭5

             3 5 6

4 6 4

6 5 3



   

          

8 6 7 6

5 6 8

6 8 6 4

6 5 8

Ex. 15

Ex. 14 A7♭9

       

   



6 8

10 6 8 10

      

6 8 10 8 6

8 6 10

A7♭9♭13

                  11 10 11 10

8 10

8 10 11 10 8

10 8 12

Ex. 17

Ex. 16 A7♯9

        

      

13 13 12 11

Ex. 10



Ex. 9

Ex. 8



      

    

        

13 12 11 12

           

10 12

10 11 13 11 10

12 10 14

A7♭9♭13

           14 11 13 14 1311 14 12 1214 14 12 15 15 13

NOVE MBE R

2021

F R E TS|

LEARN

Acoustic Blues Musings, Pt. 1 How to choose a blues box and strings. J I M M Y

L E S L I E

an acoustic guitar is as natural as the sun in the sky. After all, that’s how the thing got started. In the modern era, some acoustics are built for blues and some aren’t. An instrument that requires a little elbow grease is generally a good thing, and unless one seeks a contemporary sound, a vintage instrument or one designed along traditional lines adds an air of authenticity. The choice of strings can PDNH D VLJQLÀFDQW GLŲHUHQFH LQ WRQH DQG playability. Here are some historical insights and musings on how to choose a blues box and the strings to make it sing.

P LAYIN G BLU ES ON

O RIG I NS A N D CO N S I DE RATI O NS A blues acoustic doesn’t have to be fancy unless you need a snappy guitar to play VRSKLVWLFDWHG OLFNV &RQVLGHU ´&DWÀVKµ Keith. He plays a dazzling signature Santa Cruz that helps him conjure tricky KDUPRQLFV DQG KLV &DWÀVK 6SHFLDO LV DQ upscale representation of guitars from the formative Great Depression era, when many cats played parlor guitars. Martin 0 and Gibson L series models epitomize the style, the latter being favored by Keb’ Mo’. With only 12-frets to the body, these guitars have their bridge further from the sound hole and closer to the center of the lower bout, giving the instrument a warm and powerful tone. Having a shorter scale length and fewer frets also brings the frets closer together and results in less 84

NOV E M BE R

2021

string tension. That means less distance IRU ÀQJHUV WR VWUHWFK HDVLHU VWULQJ bending and an overall slinkier feel. These designs are still widely available, with Taylor a notable example of a manufacturer that embraces the 12-fret concept while adding modern touches, such as a cutaway. Another school of bluesers prefers big 12-strings, often in lowered tunings. They include old-time players like Leadbelly, with his iconic Stella, and contemporary guitarists such as Leo Kottke, who recently reported that he had the chance to buy one of Leadbelly’s 6WHOODV EXW GLGQ·W EHFDXVH ´LW VFDUHG PH µ Electric icon Jimi Hendrix hardly played acoustic in public, but in the most famous footage of him doing so he’s playing a Zemaitis 12-string. And of course, a resonator adds an air of legitimacy. Think of Taj Mahal playing a National Duolian on his classic albums such as The Natch’l Blues. These days he plays a Regal RC-56 Tricone Resophonic with a copper-plated brass body. ST R I NG T H EOR I ES Strings matter. Heavier gauges generally deliver more robust tones, but lighter strings are better suited to the trebleforward nature of the smaller guitars. Some players leave old strings on as long as possible for the most authentic worn-in tone. As Luther Dickinson once noted in these pages, “Think about the

situation of the old-time blues players. 7KRVH JX\V FRXOGQ·W DŲRUG QHZ VWULQJV µ According to Ben Harper, “The rumor and myth of the Leadbelly 12-string is that he used to get free piano strings from a piano refurbishing company. After they put on new ones, they’d give him the old ones. Those thick strings would bend the neck of his guitar if he didn’t lower the tuning way down. That EHFDPH WKH /HDGEHOO\ VWULQJ VRXQG µ Nylon and gut strings have become the exception for American blues since steel strings became widely available in the 1920s. The 80/20 bronze alloy introduced by D’Addario in the 1930s delivered strong highs and lows with reduced mids. It was succeeded by less corrosive phosphor-bronze strings, which D’Addario introduced in the 1970s. They remain ubiquitous for players of all styles, and are available standard or coated. More recently, manufacturers have produced strings with alloys designed to let the sound of the wood speak. They include D’Addario’s Nickel Bronze and Martin’s Retro strings, made of nickel and copper. It’s worth auditioning a few string types WR ÀQG WKH EHVW VRXQG DQG IHHO RQ D JLYHQ acoustic. Once the wood and wires are happening, there are some time-honored tricks that can help make playing acoustic blues easier. We’ll address a few in next month’s Frets Learn column. G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M

N ESS ER 33 21 /GE TTY I MAGES

B Y

G EAR |

ELECTRIC GUITARS

ESP

LTD MH-1000 Deluxe EverTune TEST ED BY A RT T HO M PSON A LWAYS S E E KI N G TO improve its

hip-looking square/rectangular pearl position

guitars, ESP recently announced it was

markers and carries 24 jumbo frets that are

adding stainless-steel frets to all of its LTD

crowned and polished to perfection. There

1000 Series guitar and basses. It’s a notable

are elegant multi-ply bindings on the body

update since stainless-steel can provide a

and headstock, while single white binding

smoother playing feel as well as better

adorns the fretboard edges. Everything has

resistance to wear and corrosion than

been so well rendered and smoothed on this

alloy-based fret wire. The LTD MH-1000

guitar — including a neck joint that literally

Deluxe EverTune on review here is a

ﬂows into the double-cutaway body — that

beautifully made guitar that has a mahogany

it’s surprising the corners of the nut were left

body with a ﬂame-maple top ﬁnished in Dark

fairly sharp.

Brown Sunburst, and a three-piece maple set thru-neck. The ebony ﬁngerboard has

The electronics consist of a pair of active EMG humbuckers — a 60TW-R in front and an 81 at the bridge — along with a three-way

S P E C I F I C AT I O N S

blade switch and volume and tone controls, the latter being a push-pull for coil-splitting

LTD MH-1000 Deluxe EverTune

the pickups. Power for the system comes

CONTACT espguitars.com

from a nine-volt battery housed under a

PRICE $1,299 street

cover that’s secured with machine screws to make it easier to remove.

NUT WIDTH 42mm, molded

Our review instrument is special

NECK Maple three-piece set neck-thru, Thin U

because it’s also equipped with an

shape

EverTune bridge, a passive system

FRETBOARD Macassar ebony, 25.5” scale, 14”

that provides uncanny tuning stability.

radius

Once it’s set by the user, the guitar will

FRETS 24 stainless-steel extra jumbo .

not go out of tune, regardless of how

TUNERS Grover

hard you play, ﬂuctuations in ambient

BODY Mahogany with ﬂame-maple top

temperature/humidity or string breakage.

BRIDGE EverTune F model

You can easily adjust EverTune to

PICKUPS EMG 60TW-R (neck) EMG 81

respond to your playing needs. For example,

(bridge)

I used the guitar in the studio to layer some

CONTROLS Volume, tone (pulls for coil split),

rhythm parts. By setting it to maintain

three-way

constant pitch (which is called Zone 2),

selector

I found it impossible to inadvertently

EXTRAS Dark Brown Sunburst, Snow White,

bend the strings out of tune, which

See Thru Black

made for more consistent-sounding

FACTORY STRINGS D’Addario XL-120

tracks. Conversely, for performing,

.009-.042

I set it to respond to string bending

WEIGHT 8.3 lbs (as tested)

and didn’t have to touch the

BUILT Indonesia or Korea

tuners for the duration of the gig. Setting the EverTune’s

KUDOS Plays very well and stays solidly in

bending sensitivity is easily done

tune. Excellent construction and ﬁnish

via the tuning machines. The

CONCERNS Gig bag has to be purchased

MH-1000 arrived set to Zone 2,

separately. Some will miss the trem, despite

which might confuse someone

the advantages that EverTune provides

who isn’t familiar with the system.

NOV E M BE R

2021

G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M

To change it, simply tighten each string until

Fulltone OCD for distortion and three UAFX

crisp, single-coil tones that sound very cool

the note goes sharp, then back it off until it’s

pedals (Astra Modulation Machine, Golden

for rhythm playing with both pickups on.

in tune again (referred to as the Bend Stop or

Reverberator and Starlight Echo Station), the

I mainly used the MH-1000 in the studio in

transition point between Zone 2 and Zone 3).

MH-1000 sounded very even and balanced,

this mode, and I dug how it sounded with

Now you can bend strings and apply vibrato

and delivered a wide range of sounds. It was

guitars that were pushing various amounts

as much as you like, and EverTune will keep

also dead quiet. The EMG 81 at the bridge is

of overdrive.

the tuning and intonation absolutely solid.

great for everything from spanky cleans to

The LTD MH-1000 Deluxe EverTune is a

heavily distorted tones, while the 60TW-R in

lot of guitar for the money, and it should

MH-1000’s overall performance, and, coupled

the neck position delivers a full, round tone

appeal to those looking for a superb-playing

with an excellent factory setup, this guitar

that stays ﬁrm and clear at all volume

rock machine that delivers great sound and

plays beautifully and has a lively and

settings. Both pickups kept their detailed

won’t leave you ﬁghting with tuning issues, no

sustaining acoustic sound. Played through a

composure when rolling down the tone

matter how aggressively you play or what

Victoria Double Deluxe 2x12 combo with a

control, and the push-pull switch provides

mother nature throws down.

EverTune certainly enhances the

Holeyboard

Now available at:

G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M

NOVE MBE R

2021

G EAR |

AMPLIFICATION

VICTORY

The Duchess V4 Guitar Amp TEST ED BY JA MES ROTON DI

VICTO RY AMPS AND their chief designer, Martin Kidd, have enjoyed a sterling reputation for high-quality British-made boutique amplifiers for nearly a decade. From their stunning aesthetics to the careful selection of tubes, transformers, speakers and voicings, there are reasons Victory amplifiers like The Duchess V40, The Sheriff 22 and the VC35 The Copper Deluxe have won over players like Guthrie Govan, Richie Kotzen, Joe Gore and Chris Buck. Built (and generally priced) for pros, Victory’s goods surely belong in the top echelon of modernday amp makers. That said, being a notable maker of Class A tube amplifiers in the age of modelers and profilers may not be the most mixed portfolio an amp company could have. It’s perhaps to

input. There’s even a nine-volt DC jack, which

address this new market that Victory last year

can power up to 500mA. (Note that many

The Duchess V4 Guitar Amp

added The Duchess V4 Guitar Ampliﬁer to its

single pedals are rated for nine-volt 300mA,

CONTACT victoryamps.com

Duchess line, the company’s ode to the

so be sure not to exceed this limit.) The

PRICE $699 street

dreamy cleans and light overdrives of classic

industrial design is super cool, and the pedal

Fender amps. With essentially the same

is light and portable. The digital reverb and

CONTROLS Bass, middle, treble, volume,

preamp section you’ll ﬁnd in the widely

tremolo are top-notch, and the preamp has

master volume, tremolo depth/speed, reverb

admired The Duchess V40 Deluxe full head

sensational tonal colors.

POWER 180 watts, ICEpower solid-state

and the V40H lunchbox head, the V4 follows

TUBES Preamp tubes only: 1 x Mullard EC900,

the same basic design map of Victory’s widely

power section, speciﬁcally, the V4’s 180-watt

3 x CV4014

admired unpowered V4 preamp pedals

German-built ICEpower ASW200AS1, the

EFFECTS LOOP low-impedance series loop

— including the Sheriff, Kraken, Jack and

same Class D compact amp design found in

EXTRAS Tremolo and Reverb foot switch

Copper models — if with a slightly bigger form

powered Kemper modelers, among others. As

(optional)

factor, and with its own internal power.

with the Kemper PowerHead, the early

S P E C I F I C AT I O N S

CABINET Victory V112 Neo Cabinet with Neo

Atop the V4’s powder-coated aluminum

So what’s not to like? Well, the solid-state

consensus among many users — and not just

250 Copperback speaker, $719 street

chassis, the Duchess script graphics surround

old cork-snifﬁng tube guys — is that

WEIGHT 3.75 lbs

a clutch of mini chicken-head knobs that

something is not quite right with the way

BUILT U.K.

control a tone stack of bass, middle, treble

ICEpower drives a speaker cabinet. Scan the

and (preamp) volume. There are also controls

comments sections of many a thread on how

KUDOS An elegant and smartly designed

for master volume, tremolo depth and speed,

to power your Proﬁler, or the many U.K.

portable pedal amp with a superb preamp

and digital reverb. The back panel sports a

reviews of the The Duchess V4 itself, and

section. Great for ultra-clean tones or

speaker out, a line out (bypassing the power

you’ll ﬁnd the jury is still out.

direct-recording applications

section and ideal for direct recording), a

Describing the somewhat brassy,

CONCERNS A brassy-sounding high-tech

low-impedance series effects send and

unnatural and hard attack of these ICE amps,

solid-state power section that rattles the ears

return, a foot-switch output and a guitar

some players use the terms pokey, bright and

NOV E M BE R

2021

G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M

is a terriﬁc amp for ultra-clean tones. I played

Again, this Duchess preamp circuit, with its

my Fender American Professional II

one Mullard EC900 triode and three Mullard

Jazzmaster through the V4 on a recent

CV4014s, is really stunning.

jazz-blues gig, setting a subtle tremolo and

Though the solid-state V4 has no need to

reverb sound, and that big headroom really

match the impedance of your speaker cab,

delivered some nice Grant Green tones and

the wattage is reduced signiﬁcantly as you

even echoes of Jimmy Wilsey–style lounge

increase the speaker load. That is, it takes

twang. A Jazzmaster, Gretsch or more atypical

advantage of its full 180 watts through a

choice are good with the V4, as your Strat,

four-ohm load like the Neo 1x12, but that is

brash, or simply remark, “something seems

Tele and Les Paul tones are not likely to sound

reduced to an effective 100 watts into eight

off.” As much as I respect Martin Kidd and

quite the way you’re used to. I suspect the V4

ohms and 50 watts into 16 ohms. Still, these

Victory, I have to agree, and it points to a

would make a brilliant keyboard amp, too,

are solid-state watts, not tube watts. It’s just

troubling marketing trend in the industry.

and running my acoustic-electric guitars

not the same. Plugging the V4 into eight-ohm

Manufacturers love to tout their partly (or

through it was not unlike plugging into a solid-

and 16-ohm cabinets yielded mixed results:

completely) solid-state designs, and even

state acoustic amp like a Henricksen or an

The amp sounded diminished to my ears

their 100-percent digital modelers, as

AER. Though some have called The Duchess

— less power, but less fullness and projection

possessing “real tube warmth” or “fat tube

V4 a “great pedal platform,” I don’t think any

as well — and still had that nagging hard and

saturation.” But as useful as the beneﬁts of

of my gain pedals offset that sonic hardness.

brassy sound. Even with the preamp volume

these tools may be, only tubes have tube warmth. Anything else is a simulation. Some modelers and preamp pedals

Our V4 was paired with a Victory V112 Neo

all the way up to dial in some breakup, it

(neodymium) 1x12 cabinet, and Victory was

didn’t deliver what I would ever call real tube

kind enough to send us a more conventional

warmth.

accomplish this extremely well in a direct

2x12 V12 VCD cab with Celestion G12M-65

recording environment, but it’s still a

Creambacks, as well, for comparison. There’s

power is not going to end with this review.

simulation. You may have great preamp tubes

no question the Neo cab, with its Celestion

There are those who will ﬁnd the portability

at play, but without a tube power-amp

Neo 250 Cooperback speaker rated for up to

and versatility of The Duchess V4 worth any

delivering those modeler/preamp sounds to a

250 watts, exaggerated that brassy solid-

sonic trade-offs, and there will be younger

cabinet, it’s not going to be real tube warmth.

state quality, but it was still evident through

players raised on virtual amps who may not

The difference isn’t subtle, either, at least not

the 2x12 as well, though certainly boasting a

hear it as a trade-off at all. Tone is surely a

for someone who’s spent a lifetime playing

more natural breakup. Interestingly, I found

subjective experience, though with Victory’s

tube amps. If you’ve been playing solid-state

the V4 made an excellent direct-recording

well-earned reputation in the world of

gear for years, perhaps you won’t notice the

device. Although it has no built-in cabinet

boutique all-tube amps, I’m not sure

difference at all.

emulation of its own, it sounded great with

gambling with this type of solid-state power

my own IRs going straight into a Universal

is the best objective approach to designing a

Audio Apollo Twin and into Apple Logic Pro.

smaller footprint ampliﬁer for the faithful.

Still, let’s talk about what this amp does well. Because of its massive clean power, this

G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M

The debate over tube versus solid-state

NOVE MBE R

2021

G EAR |

AMPLIFICATION

D. KOWALSKI Dark Gene Micro Ampliﬁer TEST ED BY DAV E H U N TER

FOR M OR E TH AN 10 years, David

traditionally a preamp tube — is conscripted

single-coils, into a Germino 2x12 cab with

Kowalski has been building and repairing tube

as an output tube, wired in parallel for a

Greenbacks and a custom 1x12 with a

amps in McAllen, Texas, just across the Rio

dual-single-ended Class-A output stage.

Scumback J75. The Dark Gene Red got the

The circuit is cleverly put together using

ﬁrst spin and quickly proved to be a fun and

Reynosa, Mexico. Fairly recently, he came up

quality components, and both the power and

compelling little beast. With gain 1 set below

with his own big idea in the form of the tiny

output transformers are also located inside a

noon, the clean channel generally copped a

Dark Gene micro ampliﬁer. Available in Red

metal box that’s just seven by ﬁve by two

mid-’60s American tone, with surprising body

and Green models, the Dark Gene puts out

inches (though the height measurement

and reasonably full lows. It’s not one to rattle

a diminutive 0.5 watt into your choice of

excludes the tubes mounted atop the case).

the foundations, but it provides plenty of

four- to 16-ohm cabinet, and is voiced and

The entire thing looks more like a boutique

tubey playability without disturbing the TV

gained-up to sound huge in spirit, if not in

pedal than an amp, and indeed it can be used

watchers in the next room, while delivering a

decibels.

as such. In addition to an output jack (labeled

crisp, detailed voice with easy bloom and bite

“full”) that feeds a speaker cab, the Dark

from the S-style guitar and a little more sting

popular way to achieve cranked-up tube amp

Gene has a line out (labeled “low”) that lets it

and grit from the Les Paul. It’s a likable and

fury without overwhelming volume. Unlike

function as a preamp pedal for driving cab

usable clean tone for a broad range of playing

some of the mass-manufactured mini amps

sims into power amps and other live or studio

styles, and I could see it getting a lot of use in

that have hit the market in recent years, the

solutions. No speaker cab needs to be

the studio, too. Cranking gain 1 beyond

Dark Genes are hand-wired in genuine

connected during such use.

halfway induces some old-school, non-

Grande — and the U.S. border — from

Mini and micro amps have become a

point-to-point style. A pair of 12AX7 tubes take preamp duties, and a 12AU7 — also S P E C I F I C AT I O N S

master-volume grind for enjoyable garage-

Green Dark Gene models are distinguished by

rock or gnarly blues hijinks. At the same time,

the color of their pilot lights and the sound of

a lot more sag seeps into the touch response,

their respective circuits. The Red model came

yielding an interestingly low-voltage fuzz-like

ﬁrst and is described by its maker as a

playing feel that can be fun. In Overdrive mode, the Red sounded more

Dark Gene Micro Ampliﬁer

“blackface-style preamp with a completely

CONTACT dkowalskiampliﬁers.com

original overdrive section.” It carries a single

hot-rodded ’60s West Coast than modern

PRICE $349 direct, each

input, controls for sensitivity (EQ ratio), gain 1,

high-gain, with loads of sizzle and sustain,

treble, bass and gain 2. There’s also a

plus a little preamp ﬁzz on top. It’s an

CHANNELS Red model, 2; Green, 1

three-way voicing switch that accentuates

enjoyable lead voice, for sure, but it also

CONTROLS Sensitivity, gain 1, treble, bass, gain

the mid or top. Gain 2 is a push-pull control.

beneﬁts from some careful balancing of the

2 (with clean/lead push-pull on Red Model),

When pushed in, the amp is in High-Gain

sensitivity, gain and EQ knobs to keep it from

switch for Top/Mid voicing

mode, and gain 2 acts as a master volume.

getting too buzzy. The hot preamp and the

POWER 0.5 watts

Pulling it out removes gain 2 from the circuit

Class A output stage combine for more

TUBES Two 12AX7 preamp tubes, one 12AU7

and engages the Rhythm mode, in which

compression and bloom here, and ultimately

as output tube

gain 1 become the only volume.

it’s a very touchy-feely little amp that begs

EXTRAS Low output for use as preamp. Uses a

The Green model resulted from requests

you to spend some time playing and exploring its possibilities.

standard IEC power cord

for a more Marshall-esque Plexi-meets-

WEIGHT 2 lbs

JCM800 circuit, which is voiced more toward

BUILT Assembled in USA

midrange grind and high-end sizzle. Unlike the

Brit-mini-stack grind and burn, and while I

Red model, it lacks the push-pull switch on its

thought that might be kind of redundant in

KUDOS Cleverly designed and well-

gain 2 control and has only the High-Gain/

the wake of the dual-mode Red amp, I found

constructed, they tonefully fulﬁll the need for

Overdrive mode.

this one a likely go-to for rock duties in

I tested both amps using a Gibson Les

low-volume playing

Looking virtually identical, the Red and

The Green model goes straight to thick

general. The cranked-Plexi voicing has

CONCERNS Red overdrive can sound a little

Paul 1959 Reissue with humbuckers, and a

become a classic lead tone for good reason,

ﬁzzy when pushed hard

K-Line Springﬁeld with Strat-style

and this little box again proves why: There’s

NOV E M BE R

2021

G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M

something instantly right about this sound in the classic-rock mold. Given the range of the two gain controls plus tone switch, it’s not the one-trick pony you might expect, rolling confidently from thick Kossoff-like blues-rock to crispier, higher-gain early ’80s hair-rock with ease. It’s worth noting that both models took to drive pedals and functioned well in preamp mode, though the functionality of the latter depends as much on your pedal setup and final cab-sim/IR and/or power-amp configuration. All in all, both Dark Gene amps are a blast and serve as an easy reminder of why the mini- and micro-amp craze is still roaring. The Red model does what it does very well, and proved more versatile overall. But for whatever reason, I unexpectedly found myself spending more time playing the Brit-toned Green. And that’s what it’s all about.

G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M

NOVE MBE R

2021

G EAR |

ACCESSORIES

EMINENCE

DV-77 Mick Thomson signature speaker and Kristian Kohle Metal IR Pack TEST ED BY DAV E H U N TER W IT H T HE QUEST for modern metal

aggressive, yet balanced heavy rock

tones becoming an ever-more-reﬁned

performance.

adventure, Eminence has thrown down the

While accepting that plenty of guitarists

gauntlet with the new DV-77 Mick Thomson

achieve their speaker sounds in the virtual

Signature model. Designed in collaboration

realm these days, Eminence-Digital has

with the Slipknot guitarist and Mike Smith of

almost simultaneously released the

Omega Ampworks, the DV-77 uses

DV-7–laden Metal IR Pack, a selection of

Eminence’s popular CV-75 (think of the earlier

metal-minded impulse responses created by

English Vintage 30 platform) as a springboard

Kristian Kohle of Kohlekeller Studio in

to recalibrate the formula for an ideal

Germany. We tested the actual and virtual to see how they performed.

S P E C I F I C AT I O N S

Though its foundation lies in existing technology, Eminence tells us they designed

DV-77 Mick Thomson Signature Speaker

the DV-77 from the ground up, using new

CONTACT eminence.com

voice coil and spider designs, a carefully

PRICE $149 street

selected U.K.-made Kurt Mueller cone and a

K RI STI AN KOHL E ME TAL IR PACK

hefty 50-ounce ceramic magnet. A high-

In addition to several great DV-77 IRs, this

POWER HANDLING 70 watts

efﬁciency of 100.6 db (1W/1M) and 70-watt

pack includes ﬁles generated using

EFFICIENCY 100.6db (1W/1M)

power handling round out the specs list.

Eminence’s Swamp Thang and CV-75, plus

NOMINAL IMPEDANCE 8 Л

blends, and the selection proves a real boon

MAGNET 50 oz. ceramic

cabs with a Les Paul into a Friedman Small

to any rockers going the digital route. Flipping

TOTAL WEIGHT 10.4 lbs

Box and Boogie Mark III, the DV-77 took high

between speaker IRs always requires an aural

BUILT USA

gain extremely well, punching out a voice

readjustment to

that’s lush, meaty and extremely well

the surprisingly

KUDOS A punchy, well-balanced speaker that

balanced, with no mush at the low end

dramatic EQ

takes a lot of punishment. Sounds great with

or stridency at the top. Where some players

shifts, but once

high gain and surprisingly good with cleans

ﬁnd a certain spiky upper-mid harshness in

I’d played with

CONCERNS None, as long as you heed its

the Vintage 30, for example — justiﬁable

them a bit via a

rock-inspired intentions

classic though it is — the DV-77’s midrange is

Mesa CabClone

thick and full, just a little bit creamy when

IR+ and the

Eminence Kristian Kohle METAL IR Pack

overdriven, and not the least bit fatiguing.

Neural DSP

CONTACT eminence-digital.com

More to the point, it chugs and sings with

Quad Cortex

PRICE $49 street

equal aplomb while feeling dynamic and

I found most options both extremely useful,

playable through all settings.

and they were great-sounding captures by

FEATURES 18 individual and blended impulse

Tested in both closed- and open-back

Used with either amp set clean, the DV-77

any measure.

responses in total, each at 44.1 khz, 48 kHz,

was impressive, and even at lower volumes it

and 96 kHz (54 WAV ﬁles in all)

exhibited a linearity that beautifully threw

and the DV-77 Fat WAV became one of my

SETUP Captures made using a Mesa 4x12

back whatever you put into it. There’s a little

new all-round favorites. Like the physical

cabinet variously miked with Shure SM57,

bark from the open G and D strings that might

speaker, it’s big, full, aggressive and muscular,

Rode NTR, Heil PR-20 and sE V7x

be just a bit obtrusive for some styles, but it

yet well balanced and impressively musical

isn’t intended for country twanging. All in all,

all at the same time. All in all, this is a great

KUDOS Great-sounding speaker-and-cab

the Eminence DV-77 is simply a very likable

selection of well-judged emulations, and

emulations. Useful for rock applications

and versatile performer, and a real winner for

worth grabbing for heavy and moderate

CONCERNS None

rock in particular.

IR needs.

NOV E M BE R

2021

I liked the various DV-77 IRs in particular,

G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M

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E N D PAG E |

LEGACIES

How I Wrote…

“Do You Feel Like We Do” Peter Frampton explains how his 1973 sleeper became the monster hit of 1976.

Peter Frampton performs at London’s Empire Pool on the Frampton Comes Alive! tour, October 1976.

J O E

B O S S O

“OU T OF T H E hits that I’ve had, I can’t

something better,’” he says. “Of course, I never

out and play with its dynamics,” he says. “The

underestimate its importance,” Peter

did.” After coming up with an A-to-E chord

crowds seemed to love it more and more.”

Frampton says of “Do You Feel Like We Do.”

pattern for the verse, he wrote lyrics that

Originally released as a six-minute studio cut

summed up how he felt after a night of

introduction of a talk box during one of the

on the guitarist’s second solo album, 1973’s

overindulgence: “Woke up this morning with a

extended solo sections. He ﬁrst used the

Frampton’s Camel, the song became an

wine glass in my hand.” “They came right out,”

effects unit for the studio recording of “Show

instant classic thanks to the epic 14-minute

he explains, “and they’re probably the most

Me the Way,” but during his 1975 concerts he

version on his epochal 1976 live album,

iconic lyrics I’ve ever written.”

fully embraced the device. “People went nuts when I went to use the talk box,” Frampton

Frampton Comes Alive! SO METH IN G ’S HA PPE NI N G

says. “Hey, everybody needs a gimmick, and

things wide open,” he says. “It sort of worked

The band previewed the song at a few shows

this was mine.”

as the trailer for both the album and my

before recording it at New York City’s Electric

concerts. ‘You want to know what Peter

Lady Studios. Frampton used his now-

F RAM PTON I S EVERYW HER E

Frampton sounds like live? Listen to this!’”

famous 1954 Les Paul Custom that he paired

The release of Frampton Comes Alive! was a

“That’s the version that helped break

with a late-’50s Ampeg Echo Twin. “That

seismic cultural moment, and within months

“WO KE U P T HI S M O RN I NG…”

amp wasn’t designed for distortion, but it

of the record’s appearance, Frampton went

In preparation for Frampton’s Camel,

broke up beautifully and gave me a great

from playing theaters to selling out arenas.

Frampton assembled a band consisting of

sound,” he says. Getting the song on tape was

The double album sold in the millions, his

keyboardist Mick Gallagher, bassist Rick Wills

relatively straightforward, but the band

posters adorned millions of teenagers’

and drummer John Siomos. “We did a lot of

recorded two versions: one slower, one faster.

bedrooms, and his presence on both AM and

jamming back then,” he recalls. “We were a

“We thought the slower one was best, so that

FM stations was a lock. “I was everywhere,” he

new band, and jamming was our way of

wound up on the album.”

recalls. “It got to the point where I was sick of

Nobody in the

myself. I’d turn on the

came to rehearsal with his reel-to-reel tape

guitarist’s camp or at

radio and hear myself.

machine, on which he’d recorded chord ideas

his label thought the

and a melody for a new song.

song was a hit. “It was a

ﬁguring out our sound.” One day, the guitarist

“I didn’t have much else to it,” he says. “We

Adding to the excitement was his

good FM deep track,

“WE STARTED TO DRAW IT OUT, AND THEY SEEMED TO LOVE IT MORE AND MORE”

I’d change the station and land on myself again.” Over the course of

jammed a bit, and at one point somebody

and it got some play in

said, ‘Wind the tape back to three or four

various spots of the

minutes in. You played a line that’s really cool.’

U.S.,” Frampton

That line turned out to be what I then used for

remembers. But over

the main hook riff. Then Mick started to play

the next two years, during which time he

Feel Like We Do.” “It’s my show closer, the

harmonies of the line on the keyboard.”

released two more studio albums — 1974’s

ultimate capper to a concert,” he says. “What

Stuck for a chorus, Frampton improvised

Somethin’s Happening and 1975’s Frampton

was really remarkable was when I would play

what he considered to be a dummy lyric: “Do

— “Do You Feel Like We Do” began to stand

with Lynyrd Skynyrd, I’d play ‘Do You Feel’ and

you feel like I do?” “It didn’t sound right, so I

out as an audience favorite. “We closed the

they’d play ‘Free Bird,’ so you’d get the two

told the guys, ‘Don’t worry. I’ll come up with

show with it, and we really started to draw it

longest FM songs in one night.”

NOV E M BE R

2021

his career, Frampton never played a gig that didn’t include “Do You

G U I T A R P L A Y E R . C O M

I AN D I C KSON / RE D F ER N S/GE TT Y I M AGES

B Y

9000

9001