7 0 s G u i t a r i s t s
Here are the voices who captured my undivided attention - and loyalty - for many years. I know that each has left echoes in my playing, because I've been told so by musicians whom I respect.
MAY
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LIFESON
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WEST
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SCHON
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SCHENKER
i m p o r t a n t p l a y e r s
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k i l l e r d u o s & t r i o s
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m e n u
May came back in the 90s with a couple of very tasty offerings, 92's Back to the Light and 98's Another World. The latter was much less inspired than the former, but is worth owning if you appreciate his artistry. All this notwithstanding, I think Brian produced his best work with Queen, who were surely a creative force with few equals. His incomparable tone, taste and technique will always give me major chills. Essential listening: All 70s-era Queen, especially the astonishing Queen II.
m o u n t a i n ' s w e b s i t e
m i c h a e l ' s w e b s i t e
B R I A N M A Y
Unquestionably the top guitarist of the 70s (for that matter, well into the next couple of decades). Writer, singer, composer, arranger, performer, multi-instrumentalist - he brought a rare level of musicality to hard rock. My young imagination was dazzled by the fact that he built his own axe, the infamous Red Special. From it he coaxes warmth, beauty and majesty - soaring angelic strains and wails from the depths of hell!
A L E X L I F E S O N
While it's difficult to choose from their staggering body of work, Fly By Night will always be for me Rush's signature song and album. It was the one I took into the "woodshed" and seriously began to learn as a budding guitarist in high school. One of the many amazing things about Rush is the wide array of musical genres they embraced, often within the same song. Of course, with a lyricist like Neil Peart, the musical bar must get higher! Interestingly, Alex shunned the whole guitar hero thing, yet his arsenal of styles, techniques and dynamics have won him a monumental reputation. In the beginning, comparisons to Yes and Led Zeppelin were inevitable, but Rush weren't long in coming into their own. Essential listening: Every CD in their huge catalog has merit, but my picks are Fly by Night through Moving Pictures, particularly their groundbreaking 2112.
L E S L I E W E S T
West is one bad dude on a fretboard. Though he never got the commercial recognition he deserved, he's responsible for influencing a host of formidable players (Hendrix, Schenker, Van Halen and Rhoads included). My next door neighbor gave me the first two LPs by this new band Mountain (Climbing! and Nantucket Sleighride) and I was in love. The music still holds up today, and it was cool beyond my wildest imagination back then. Leslie's technique (by his own admission) never relies on flash or speed, yet he possesses an honest gift for tasteful and melodic phrasing - and is worshipped for his leviathan tone. Mountain was known primarily as purveyors of brawling blues-rock - Mississippi Queen being one of the phattest tunes ever recorded - but West was an artist of uncommon depth and sensitivity. Some of his acoustic compositions still give me shivers.
N E A L S C H O N
Lightning speed, heavy grooves and eloquent phrasing are just a few of his trademarks. Neal's solos, often deceptively simple, are executed with such precision and passion that they sound extraordinarily complex - then of course there are those passages that are extraordinarily complex! How did he do that? Since joining Santana at a ridiculously young age, Schon has tasted huge success in countless bands, guest appearances and collaborations. But I feel his most inspired work was with Journey. Essential listening: For pre-Steve Perry, blues-based rock with jazzy, prog overtones, check out Next. For pure, tasty melodic rock, go for Infinity, Evolution and Departure.
M I C H A E L S C H E N K E R
Michael's work is absolutely stunning. I bought UFO's LP Force It out of curiosity in 1975. What followed was an addiction - I actually worried my friends - to Schenker's buzzsaw power chords, his squalling, midrangy tone, his manic speed and his intricate, Germanic sense of melody. At the height of their powers, UFO created what were great rock songs on their own, but which became greater as vehicles for Schenker's passionate and inventive soloing. His sound still raises the hair on the back of my neck! Essential listening: Phenomenon, Force It, No Heavy Petting, Lights Out, Obsession and Strangers in the Night.