Campbell American Guitars: Dreams to Behold (and be held)

"This is a guitar you do not want to put down. It has the feel of not so much an expensive sports car as that of a flying saucer. It almost plays itself. Honestly, I can’t remember being this taken by a first play since the first time I played a really right Les Paul through a 100 watt Marshall. But this is a completely different trip. The Transitone is cool, calm, and collected, as subtle as it is beautiful."  That's me speaking on the Campbell Nelsonic Transitone.

Kind of odd that I choose to start an interview with perhaps America's finest custom guitar builder with a quote from my own mouth, but if the shoe fits....

I wrote that little blurb in a review back in 2007, long before Dean Campbell, Bill Nelson, and artist Nicholas DelDrago had conceived the Campbell Spaceship Transitone that is currently on display at the always excellent Premier Guitar website (url below). 

While there is no question that the guitar is the eye-grabber of the year, the true joy lies under the hood.  Dean Campbell not only has a wonderfully artistic eye for design, he also builds some of the best playing and sounding electric guitars and basses you can imagine.  But the process doesn't stop at Dean's design desk, with how the guitar looks, that's only the beginning.

Dean on the design process, "Every design differs, some come quite quickly, others are flung around the shop for years. Once we are ready to take the design further than sketches, we move everything onto a cad drawing and set the dimensions. Then we will cut it out of rough materials and check it. If it makes it that far, we will then build a working prototype. Everyone at the shop will evaluate the piece and if it warrants, and we want further input, we speak with some of our endorsees and dealers."

The process also includes the most valued opinion, that of the end user, as Campbell explains, using the example of the Nelsonic Transitone, the signature model built for Bill Nelson, the iconic british musical visionary best known for his work with Be Bop Deluxe, but who has consistantly created vibrant original music for over 40 years and continues to do so.

"I showed Bill various CAD drawings and sketches that I had done years ago on many different guitars including several variations of the guitar that was to be eventually called the Transitone (we had done over a dozen, including the shape that was eventually selected) and we discussed building a signature model. Bill came up with the color scheme and that large pickguard that graces the front of the instrument. Bill requested a tremolo and two humbuckers with a particular control arrangement. Once we had this information, we selected the Gotoh Tremolo and Humbuckers and after searching for weeks, we were able to source those NOS “cooker” knobs. We built a prototype, and after Bill had played it for a while, he asked for a different color red, added a second pickguard and an arm contour, once we had that, we were done and went into production."

Bill Nelson talks about Campbell Guitars, "I actually own two Campbell Precix guitars..an apple greenburst one and a blueburst one fitted with a vibrato arm. I've used both guitars on various tracks that I've recorded in my home studio. I actually had these guitars before I got the Nelsonic Transitone so they feature on albums prior to the albums credited with the Nelsonic guitar. But it was the Precix that first brought my attention to the Campbell American company and the excellent guitars they make. I still use the Precix models on recordings and have actually used the blueburst one live at a couple of Nelsonica concerts in the past."

Nelson continues, "One of the good things about Campbell American guitars is that they are within the reach of working players and not just overpriced exotic toys for rich lawyers to collect and stash in their bank vaults. A Dean Campbell 'Precix' guitar sits in my lap as I type these words." 

I first played the Transitone and several other Campbell models at Swamp Dogs Music in Columbus, Ohio, and in thirty some odd years of playing guitars, I have never been more impressed with an builder's wares more instantly.  The guitars in the Campbell line are simple and elegant, yet once you get one in your hands you find that they unfold into subtle layers of expanding brilliance.  The interaction of ideas between design, builders, and end users becomes abundantly obvious.  Comfortable, ergonomic, and handsome, yes, but these instruments sound even better than they look and feel.  Campbell uses the finest materials and parts, generally offering choices on pickups and hardware from Gotoh, and pickup makers Seymour Duncan, Dimarzio, Lollar or TV Jones.  In fact a great many of Campbell's creations are one of a kind.

Unlikely though it would seem, Campbell Guitars are flying out of Gruhn's Guitars in Nashville.  The legendary vintage store has a huge Campbell fan in ace salesman Billy Jackson, a longtime and well respected guitarman in Nashville, a town that is notably known for all things guitar.  Billy doesn't just sell Campbells, he plays them, owning three variations of the Transitone.

Billy Jackson, "My lake placid blue Transitone has a basswood body, rosewood fingerboard, maple neck, string thru body with a 3 way toggle, and the pickups are Seymour Duncan 59s, with a coil tap in the tone  control.  My shell pink model has a mahogany body with and ebony board on a maple neck, a Gotoh strat style bridge, Dimarzio Air Norton pickups with dual coil taps, and Sperzel locking tuners. Finally, the gold metallic Transitone is basswood bodied, rosewood maple, and Duncan 59s again with an 18 switch passive tone control."

Jackson has this to say about Campbell Guitars, "I think very highly of Dean Campbell, his crew, and their great guitars. They make an honest guitar that plays and feels great, and the tones are nice, especialli since you can customize each guitar to your liking. I call Dean, and I generally have a perfect custom instrument in about two weeks.  My clients range from doctors and lawyers to some of the hottest players in town, and I sell Campbells to them all!"

Dean Campbell, "We have most definitely become more of a custom builder. At this point I’d say that 75% of our current output are custom pieces, even the dealers place special orders for their stock pieces,"  and Campbell  adds, "The fit between the dealer and our company is extremely important. We are looking for dealer’s whose business philosophy matches ours. We prefer to work with someone who isn’t trying to compete with the larger business models that exist, and who has an eye for and desire to sell quality instruments."

Dean Campbell's relationships with his artist endorsees speaks of collaboration and appreciation for the artist, a welcome respite from a scene in which generally an act's ticket sales are more influential than any valid input the player may have concerning design or function.  One such artist that Dean has collaborated with is David "The Fuze" Fiuczynski.  Iconoclastic and prolific, a jazz player who“doesn’t want to play just jazz”, The Fuse has been hailed by the world press as an incredibly inventive guitar hero, who continues to deliver with music that is unclassifiable, challenging and invigorating. An innovative musician who has released nine CD’s and a double live DVD, Fuze is best known as the leader of the Screaming Headless Torsos.

Campbell continues, "Ah yes, Fuze. As David teaches at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, and plays out at different venues around the city, we were bound to run into each other eventually. If I recall correctly, I was introduced to David at the Lizard Lounge one night. He was playing a gig there with another wonderful guitarist, Dave Tronzo. We started talking about, of all things, guitars, and David invited me over to Berklee. We have built several guitars for David, the most unusual instrument was a double neck where the lower neck was a standard 25 1/2 scale and the upper neck was fretless and a 21’’ scale. David has a signature model called the FuZix and he owns a Precix or two and a UK-1."

Dean Campbell, you'll find, is as elegant and understated in speech as his instruments are in their manifestations.  The Campbell FuZix is a startlingly beautiful design the seems to marry the art museum to the liftoff pad.  Available in no less than eight different tone woods, and with a huge variety of build options, the FuZix is a signature axe that becomes the signature guitar of the end user, once again.  The body shape is familiar but elaborated on and informed by a post modern twist.  The headstock is a work of art on its own, in a world in which builders have seemingly thrown in the towel and settle for a slight variation on the too familiar.

The Fuze on the FuZix, "It's supposed to do more than one thing. on the outside it basically looks like a strat, but it's warm, i actually want to be able to do a jazz gig with it, at the same time, I'd like to be able to crank, rock out, do weird whammy stuff and more. my main contribution is the longer horn. For me the instrument balances better that way.  I love the straight string pull headstock shape that Dean came up with. It allows me to use the whammy without a locking nut, but it still has a vintage look."

So, I'm far from alone in my reverence of the work of Dean Campbell.  Campbell American Guitars are being described by the music press as such:

PREMIER GUITAR MAGAZINE: “This is the second Campbell American model that I have reviewed, and like the previous one, this one manages to magically feel and sound like an old guitar. This is the main thing that breaks the company out of the custom builder crowd; somehow Campbell has figured out a way to make a new guitar have the broken-in feel, and aged sound of a 30 or 40-year-old vintage instrument. Call it voodoo or call it – as he does – “New England craftsmanship,” from the minute I picked up this guitar and plugged it into my Orange Tiny Terror head, it felt like an old friend.”

GUITAR PLAYER MAGAZINE: "Guitarists who are willing to spend upwards of $2,000 or more on an instrument can choose from a vast playground of excellent boutique, production, and custom models. The Campbells are pricey guitars, but they represent an appropriate measure of care and pride, and the level of quality is commensurate with other models in their price ranges. Perhaps the greatest appeal of the Campbell clan is that each model is so damn fun to play. Their gentle, satin-finished C-profile necks promote oodles of gleeful fretboard gymnastics—a trait confirmed by the smiles of every GP editor who picked one up."

I generally like to write my own copy, but these are two of the best guitar publications in existence, and they say it as well as I ever could, and it shows that I'm not nearly alone in thinking that Dean Campbell may be the best guitar builder on the planet, and one who has slowly built  his company one guitar at a time, out of the spotlight but in the hands of some of the world's most innovative players.

Campbell says, "I feel great about that! It shows that there are plenty of musicians out there that have found our instruments to be the correct tools for the creation of their music. Some time in mid 1999 I had walked into a local guitar shop in an affluent suburb of Boston and realized that there wasn't one American made instrument for sale in the entire store. The over all quality of those imports was deplorable, I wasn't very happy about that and the wheels started turning. It gave me the motivation to start something that I had wanted to do for a very long time."

Sailing through these economic tough times hasn't always been easy.  I asked Dean about this and he replied with a typically colonial, New England answer, filled with a humble nature and good reason:

"Badly? Just kidding, anyone in this business who maintains that things have been ok is either insane or lying. I have had to make some painful decisions over the last two years.  We are much leaner and efficient. We have increased the length of our lead-time and are far more prudent when it comes to ordering materials."  Campbell continues, "As builders of musical instruments, we are always open to new business partnerships!"

Dean Campbell's guitars speak for themselves.  Everyone who plays one walks away thinking they've just been in an amazing spaceship that just happens to feel as home as anything cooked up in an American kitchen circa 1959.

The full line of Campbell models address any concept or need that a guitarist could ask for, from the ultra elegant  Caledonian, the rootsy Precix, the space age Transitones, the UK-1 (which comes as Campbell casually mentions, "We offer that model in several different configurations, chambered with sound holes, chambered without sound holes, a solid body, and a slab version." is that all, Dean?), to the exciting new Terrasonic.  Within any basic body shape/style you can design the hardware configuration as you would like.  A fabulous, "you can have your cake and eat it too," guitar dream scenario.

Cambell's user list is growing quickly, and with astounding range, from players such as The Fuze and Danish glam metal maven Dennis Post of Starrat, whose take on Campbell guitars is a bit more brash than the erudite Nelson, or the scholarly Fiuczynski. "If you want a powerful axe that stands out, just get any Precix or Transitone model, and I guarantee you heavy metal madness! Campbell builds them from the ground up, so you decide the wood, hardware, and pickups you want.  This is class A custom shit at a price you can actually afford without having to sell drugs at the local kindergarden, hahahaha....."

Post adds, "Dean hooked me up with a Kahler tremolo, Gotoh bridge, Sperzel tuners, a Seymour Duncan Distortion pickup in the bridge, and that is all I wanted; simple and highly effective! It took me about two minutes on the phone to get all the specs down pat...."

Dean makes it all seem effortless and easy, but I'm guessing that it's not really that easy at all, otherwise there would be more guitars out there as interesting, versatile, and innovative as what he's cooking up in New England.  But there's not.

Campbell says, finally, "The concept behind Campbell American Guitars is simple: build guitars here in America - using old New England craftsmanship; utilize sensible designs and top shelf components; and always retain a commitment to quality, integrity, and ingenuity.  We believe the results and philosophy speak for themselves."

If you've not had the pleasure of playing a Campbell American Guitar, I highly recommend that you remedy that, you deserve it.  You'll be as amazed as I have been at the look, feel, and playability of these great guitars.  Dean is doing fantastic work, and as always I appreciate his efforts, unfailing kindness and consideration. 

Thanks to Dean for taking the time from the brutality of tax preparation to supply so many insightful answers, and to the magazines whose words I've quoted, and to Swamp Dog Music in Columbus.

All quotes are from new interviews with the exception of Bill Nelson, whose comments originated on his Dreamsville Forum @ http://www.billnelson.com/

Here's a few links for more info....

http://www.campbellamerican.com/

http://www.premierguitar.com/Magazine/Issue/Daily/News/Campbell_American_Guitars_Unveils_Spaceship_Transitone.aspx

http://www.campbellamerican.com/dealers

http://www.premierguitar.com/

http://www.swampdogsmusicandmore.com/

http://www.billnelson.com/

Graham Bonnet : Every Guitarist's Dream

Graham Bonnet has long been the singer of choice for the cream of the crop of hard rock guitarists.  First Ritchie Blackmore pegged him to replace Ronnie James Dio in Rainbow, then Michael Schenker gave him the nod.  Soon afterwards, Bonnet started his own band, Alcatrazz and recorded three stunningly good records with three separate guitarists.  Alcatrazz first featured whizz kid Yngwie Malmsteen, then introduced Steve Vai to the world of hard rock, and rounded out their run with Danny Johnson, another extremely talented six stringer.

Bonnet also featured on albums by Impelliteri, Japan's Anthem, Bruce Kulick's Blackthorne, and of late, lesser know acts Taz Taylor, Electric Zoo, and Savage Paradise, amongst others.  When a hot guitarist needs a singer, Bonnet is often the man on the receiving end of the phone call.

Graham first came to my attention when I went to see Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow, and expecting to see the diminutive, long haired Ronnie James Dio, I was instead greeted by a James Dean look alike who could not have been further from the Elf.  It soon became apparent that this was another band completely, and actually one that I preferred.  Still in place were Blackmore and Powell, but they were now joined by old Deep Purple bassist Roger Glover, keyboardist extraordinaire Don Airey, and this guy who looks like a rebel without a cause, but has incredible vocal talents that became immediately apparent as he blew through the Dio-era material with no problem aside from an occasional apparent smirk at the previous singer's proclivity for  semi-mystical imagery.  I love Dio, don't get me wrong, but I couldn't imagine singing those words, could you?

On Rainbow's newer material, Bonnet showed exactly what he was made of, and it blew me away.   He certainly had the power and range of a Dio, but he also had the most incredibly controlled vibrato and a much more highly developed melodic sense, as evidenced on Down to Earth's (the band's 1979 album featuring Bonnet), Eyes of the World.   Down to Earth presented a sharp right turn from their previous records, returning Blackmore to an earthier bluesy sound, and a more song driven approach.  The album's first single,  Since You Been Gone is still a staple of classic rock radio, and remains maybe the best example of Bonnet's talents.  The Russ Ballard written tune sounds as if it were written with Bonnet's huge range and power in mind.  The tune is simple enough on the surface, but try singing it in the shower and you instantly become aware that this is a vocal tour de force.  Bonnet brings to the song great inflection and dynamic range, going from a near conversational beginning to a more emphatic note on the pre-chorus, then exploding with emotion and power for the song's memorable refrain.  This is probably one of the most accomplished vocal performances you will ever hear on rock radio, and Bonnet pulls it off with a style that sells the song without sounding like he was trying to sing just for effect.  It sounds like a very real plea.

Throughout the whole of Down to Earth, Bonnet's performance is pretty amazing.  His bluesy wailing on Makin' Love and Love's No Friend are as strong as anything Blackmore had done with David Coverdale in Deep Purple Mk III.  In fact, Love's No Friend is as good a bombastic blues as I've ever heard, with Graham hitting notes that most singers can only dream of hitting, and his singing at the end of the chorus going into Blackmore's solo is a masterpiece of control, note length and inflection.  I've often played this to many people as a demonstration of sheer vocal artistry and it is an incredible example of the man's talent.

After leaving Rainbow, Bonnet released Line Up, an album that netted several singles which made the charts in England, but made little headway in America.  The Bonnet concert staple Night Games made it to #6 on the BBC charts and another Russ Ballard penned number, Liar ( a huge hit in America for Three Dog Night) also made a showing.  Line up featured Deep Purple family members Jon Lord, and Rainbow drummer Cozy Powell, who soon recommended Bonnet for the singing position in the Michael Schenker Group shortly thereafter.

Graham joined the Michael Schenker Group in 1982, replacing vocalist Gary Barden, and the band proceeded to make what serious listeners still consider to be one of the true classics of hard rock/heavy metal, Assault Attack.  Produced by Martin Birch, the record displays Schenker's huge talents superbly and never before had Schenker worked with a musician of equal technical prowess, and the fireworks are fantastic as Schenker and Bonnet take turns giving lessons in hard rock  history.  The Desert Song is a great example of the marrying of these two musicians skill and is a breathtaking performance.  Especially notable is Bonnet's ability to harmonize with himself on these tracks, weaving intricate layers throughout the album.  Birch and Bonnet often recorded several layers of vocals and the effect is superb. The vocal talents required to do this are astounding, mixing power, range and timbre into an intricate cloth of melody.

Managerial greed rose it's ugly head and forced the band on to the road without proper rehearsal time, and unfortunately this version of MSG never got a chance to tour or record again, and this was a huge disappointment to the hard rock audience.  Stories of this incident have circulated for a great many years and once again, but suffice to say that it would appear that the business killed the band, that same old song and dance.

In 1983 Bonnet moved to Los Angeles, and it was there that he formed Alcatrazz, a band built around his vocals and the rhythm section from the band New England, who had previously scored big in America with the hit Don't Ever Wanna Lose Ya.  Formed in Bonnet's garage, the band discovered a young Swedish guitarist, Yngwie Malmsteen, a protege of metal guitar guru Mike Varney, who had brought the young Swede to America and produced his first record with LA band Keel.

The result became No Parole From Rock and Roll, yet another classic album of the era.  This is one of the albums most responsible for the birth of what became known as the shred guitar movement.  The influence of this record was immense.  Filled with great guitars, excellent songs, and Bonnet's amazing singing, it's as listenable today as it was in 1983.  Bonnet's lyric writing became filled with imagery of foreign lands, mysterious worlds, distant childhood memories, and created superb tales based around Malmsteen's guitar histrionics.  This was a creative pinnacle for both artists and remains a testament to their incredible skills.  Graham's singing throughout the album is a virtuosic masterpiece.  He does fantastic things on literally every track, and every aspiring rock vocalist would do well to spend dome time studying it.

Malmsteen left the band shortly thereafter to set out on a solo career, but never again made an album of such consistant quality.

Next up for Bonnet and Alcatrazz came Frank Zappa's stunt guitarist, the incredible Steve Vai.  Once again, Bonnet proceeds to assist a great guitarist in making the best record of his career.  Disturbing the Peace continued Bonnet's path of the lyrical nomad, with such tunes as Desert Diamond and the indian influenced Mercy.  This matched up perfectly with Vai's highly developed sense of melody and mysticism, and gives the album a great feeling of being a soundtrack to a global trek, featuring Bonnet and Vai as tour guides.


Once again the market stepped in and killed a golden goose of art for a golden goose of commerce, and Vai left Alcatrazz to join David Lee Roth in his first solo outing.  While I can't blame Vai for increasing his salary tremendously, I can mourn the loss of another great Graham Bonnet fronted band.


From there Alcatrazz reconvened, once searching for a new guitarist and coming across seasoned veteran Danny Johnson, who after being discovered by Rick Derringer and spending several years in Rick's band (doing great work incidentally - a smoking band, they were), had played with Rod Stewart, Alice Cooper and many others.  While not the sheer shredder of Vai or Malmsteen's ilk, Danny brought to the band a tasteful approach that emphasized song-craft over pure musicianship, though he certainly had the chops to fill their shred shoes, which he proved while touring with the band.

By now the band had landed on Capitol records doorstep, and the label demanded a more hit single type approach.  Bringing in veteran producer Richie Podolor (Three Dog Night),  the band produced Dangerous Games, a great record, but one that left fans confused over which Alcatrazz they were getting this year, after the two previous lineups.

Another great album of amazing vocals remains largely unheard, and that's a shame as Bonnet consistantly put out world class records to n indifferent marketplace.  Whether it's bad luck, timing or whatever hardly matters.  The fact is that Graham Bonnet put out great record after great record of some of the best rock vocalizing that's ever made it onto tape.

While he may not have had the impact of a Dio or a Halford in terms of record sales, listening proves that Graham Bonnet is as talented a singer as ever walked into a recording studio.  If you've not heard the Alcatrazz records, do yourself a favor and search them out.  You will be glad you did.

Peace, love, loud guitars, and great vocals!

Cracker's John Hickman: "Hell yes, it's all I ever want to do"

One day last week I saw an amazing video of John Hickman singing Another Song About the Rain, accompanied by David Lowery from their Cracker Duo tour last fall.  Then I see a notice that Cracker is playing here in Dayton on May 15th.  Next thing I know I'm on the line with Cracker's PR folks and setting up an interview with John.  World's funny like that, and you have to pay close attention and go where it takes you.

John Hickman has been the lead guitarist and for Cracker for about twenty years now, and his partnership with David Lowery has been amazingly fruitful.  In a time of cancelled tours and disappointing records sales, Cracker is doing big business, selling out shows and moving units in an impressive fashion.  Their latest long player, Sunrise In The Land of Milk and Honey is yet another fine record and it sounds as fresh as their debut Cracker Brand back in 1992.  Lowery's songwriting is always as fine as you'll find, and in addition to being a fine writer himself, Hickman is as fine a right-hand man as there is in the business.  His tasteful playing is as big a part of Cracker as Lowery's distinctive twang, and places him in the same league as Richards and Ronson as brilliant sidemen.  In addition, Hickman released his solo album Palmhenge a few years back with excellent results and reviews.

Normally, I like to write a feature around an interview, but John Hickman's words are such that I thought a verbatim transcript would best serve.  A little less of me, a little more Cracker Soul.

John, my Facebook page lit up like crazy when news of a local Cracker show came across. With a tanked economy and in the throes of record-store deaths, how’s the road treating you?

JH: Surprisingly well I'm happy to say. The new Cracker CD "Sunrise In The Land Of Milk And Honey" is still doing well after nearly a year and the shows have been selling out consistently both with the full band and with the David and Johnny duo shows. Cracker just competed a sold out tour of Spain which is like a second home to us now. It's sad to see the record stores going under one by one. We sell most of our CDs online or at shows now.

I saw David Lowery and yourself on youtube in Sebastopol, CA – “Another Song About the Rain” - one of the best “rain” songs ever written, right alongside Fogerty and Lennon’s.

JH: You're putting me in some heavy company. Thank you very much.

How much fun is it to sing and solo in a live setting over a really solid acoustic guitar underpinning? Lowery is really a solid rhythm player, no?

JH: It's a sheer pleasure. Yes, in addition to being a great songwriter David is a highly underrated guitarist. He spent four years in Spain as a kid and I think it got into his blood. He can finger pick very well and the next moment be beating hell out his guitar like some Flamenco demon. For the duo shows we run his classical guitar through sub woofers and it sounds like a kick drum. We mesh very well together as a live duo. We know intuitively how to follow one another and so it frees us both to take chances and be adventurous on stage. We never use a set list so it's always fresh and unpredictable. It's a little different every night. We love that and so do the fans.

"Another Song About the Rain" How did you come to write this song? Song-craft, autobiography, or perhaps a bit of both?

JH: I wrote the core of it alone in a cabin where I lived in the San Bernardino Mountains of California where I lived. I also wrote "Father Winter" up there which came out on my solo album "Palmhenge" years later. The original version of "Another Song About The Rain" was very long. I was listening to a lot of "Blood On The Tracks" era Bob Dylan when I wrote it and later my other co-writer and longtime friend Chris LeRoy edited the verses down, simplified it and shaped it into what you hear. Obviously it was a bad time in my life but that's where some of the best music comes from. It's the classic double edged sword. There is the cathartic purging of pain but yet you sort of give it eternal life if you write a song about it.

What was David Lowery’s reaction when he first heard it? Had you done a lot of writing prior to this?

JH: We were nearly finished with the first album when I brought it in. We had already written some pretty great songs together at this point so I think David was pretty open. If he didn't like it I would have tossed it aside immediately. I mean, we're talking about David Lowery, one of the best songwriters out there in my opinion. He and our producer Don Smith heard my demo and said "Let's record it". It was the last song to go on the record. Listening to the album version now I wished I had had time to do it better but that's often the case. It is what it is. I think David and I play it much better now.

How was the Cracker/Camper tour? Any competition issues between the bands?

JH: Sure, I'd be full of shit if I said there wasn't a little healthy competition between the two bands but we have also been brothers and friends, all of us for a very long time. Over the years we have had a lot of support for each other and share two band members. The tour was very successful. Most shows sold out pretty quickly.

Your tour blog shows you to be a pretty good and serious writer. Do you journal a lot, and what do you derive from it?

JH: Thanks. I'm pretty outgoing as a person and it's just an extension of that I guess. It just comes naturally for me to comment on whatever riles me up, humors me or outrages me somehow. Also I was tired of reading other writers get things so wrong so often. It's very satisfying when people tell me they were effected by one of my articles or blogs which happens all over the world now with the internet. Another reason I do it is because you have to be a hustler in the music business these days. It's another way to stay connected with our fans. I wish I had more time to devote to it.

I know you’re big fans of analog tape, so how do you approach recording your guitar digitally?

JH: We record everything to tape, move to the digital realm for editing and then bounce it back to analog to warm it back up as they say. When I record guitars I sometimes try people's patience because I set up a huge wall of very different sounding amps, going from one to another and combining them often. It gets loud as hell sometimes but that records well with certain amps. If I'm playing the same thing through two amps simultaneously I try to persuade the engineer or producer to give each amp it's own mic and track even if it bleeds a little. You can be a lot more creative in mixing that way. I learned that trick from the brilliant producer Don Smith who sadly, just passed on while we were in Spain. He used that technique with the Stones, Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers and others before us. I've read that Jimmy Page did this a lot too.

What do you listen to for enjoyment?

JH: Everything from outlaw country to Middle Eastern music to electronica. I put my ipod on shuffle on the long drives on tour and it runs the gamut from classical to punk rock to Irish ballads. As a musician and songwriter I think it's good to listen to current and ancient music and everything in between. It gets into your blood and challenges your sensibilities. It's good medicine.

What is your favorite band, and your favorite album?

JH: I'd have to narrow it down from 20 or 30 bands and to about 100 albums. Off the top of my head I'd put The Rolling Stones "Beggars Banquet", Bob Dylan's "Blood On The Tracks" The Kinks "Muswell Hillbillies" and "The Harder They Fall" Soundtrack album right up there but I could never pick just one favorite. It changes daily. I'm anxiously awaiting the next Fleet Foxes album. I love Graham Coxon too.

With the demise of traditional record companies and record sales, is there any less recognition of newer material by fans on the road, or are they boned up on new stuff? Any noticeable differences?

JH: It's an every changing playing field with regards to the business side of things but you just have to roll with it. Cracker fans are very devoted to say the least. They have pretty much embraced every album and know that every album is going to shift gears a little. They don't really care whether it's on the radio or not. This new album HAS gotten on the radio and garnered us many more fans I'm happy to report. There are lot of free thinkers in the Cracker fan base. I've met many thousands of them and they all came to the party from different albums over the years, the latest one or the first one. We never have a set list but we try to play something from every album live. Every night is a little different.

Are there any bands or musicians you’d like to play with?

JH: Hell yes. Bob Dylan or The Replacements would be at the top of that list but I love to collaborate, jam, record, play live. It's all I do or ever want to do.

Your Les Paul….How long have you been playing it, how much work did you do or have done to it?

JH: It's a 1977 Standard and I bought it new. I was living on my own at a young age and actually gave blood to make the payments several times in those lean days. I've turned it into a bit of a Frankenstein monster over many years. I use Seymour Duncan Jeff Beck pick ups in it and it has a Kahler locking tremolo system. They don't even make those anymore. It's an odd set up but it works very well for me. It's ain't broke so I ain't fixing it as they say. I've also carved all over it, tattooed it, gouged it out and put a little piece of Muddy Water's birthplace wood in it. I've also attached some polished stones to it.

Your tone is often nearly as pure as a Tele’s. Any pickup height, or pole piece adjustments worth noting?

JH: I played up around Bakersfield for a while just before I got together with David and all the old cowboy players would say "You can't play country on no Gepson...get a FENDA boy!". I just worked at it until I could get those sounds with my hands and picking style on the Paul. I have my bridge pick up raised up pretty high and use fairly heavy strings. I like a lot of deep twang as well as psychedelic noise and overtones and that set up does it for me.

What is the difference in your rigs for the acoustic shows vs. Cracker full band shows?

JH: Actually I play with the same set up for both. David plays an Ibanez nylon string acoustic for the Cracker duo shows and I play with my usual electric set up which is: My Les Paul through a Boss tuner into an MXR Carbon Copy delay pedal into a Boss Blues Driver and then into a Fender Supersonic. I run the Supersonic through a 4x12 Marshall cabinet on bigger stages. I also have a clamp on holder on my mic stand with anywhere from 2 to 5 Lee Oskar harps in it for both duo and full band gigs.

What’s your favorite guitar or road story. The must tell story?

JH: My favorite guitar story is that I was once lucky enough to open a few weeks of shows for ZZ Top when they were at the top of their game in the 80s. I'm a big Billy G fan and would sound check with his licks before I had actually met him. One day I saw that beard poke around the corner and was afraid I'd pissed him off. I was wrong. He came to the dressing room and introduced himself with a grin. "heard ya playin my chops boy" Then he asked in that great Texas accent "Why'd you put a wiggle stick on a Les Paul?" I loved it. He was very cool to me on that tour which amazed the crew because he's kind of mysterious. He let me sit behind the P.A. speakers on stage every night and watched him up close. I'll never forget it.

David Lowery and John are currently on tour as Cracker Duo, and will commence full band touring in May co-headlining shows with The Reverand Horton Heat.  This will be a tour to see, maybe the hottest I've come across this year.

Thanks to John Hickman and the gracious folks at Pavement PR.

The RGD Hall of Fame (my favorite players)

Here's the first segment of Rock Guitar Daily's Hall of Fame.  The players who have left the greatest impressions on an impressionable mind.  The guys I go to frequently and forever shall sing their praises.  Some are larger than life, some you've probably never heard of.  Over the next few columns I'm going to list my favorite records, guitars, unknown guitarists and such.  It's a slow news period anyway, right? 

George Harrison  -  Beatle George looms large in my life, as much for his spiritual side as for his huge musical abilities.  He gave me the beginnings of any religious leanings I possess, and they are substantial.  As a guitarist, George defined melody and taste.  Early on Harrison brought a tremendous rockabilly vibe to The Beatles early recordings.  His tone cut through every mix and never clashed with Lennon and McCartney.  His chord voicings were usually played higher on the neck than John's chugging rhythms, and his solos were never less than both perfect for the song and exceptionally well played.  His phrasing and technique were superb.  As time moved on his playing evolved, becoming more melody driven and less influenced by his musical heroes.  As he became a more confident writer his use of sophisticated chord structures became a hallmark.  His first solo album, All Things Must Pass, is a remarkably beautiful production, with acoustic guitars creating a huge wall of sound, and the melodic Strat work by himself and Eric Clapton are gorgeous throughtout.  Clapton never played better than he did with George.

Mick Ronson  -  Mick's solo on Moonage Daydream remains as incredible as any solo to ever grace a rock and roll record.  With stunning speed, flash, and tone, it was and is the quintessential glam-rock guitar song.  However, it was Ronson's melodicism that always grabbed me most.  Not just a great guitarist, Ronno sang wonderfully, played great piano (Bowie's Lady Stardust), arranged strings as well as George Martin (Mott the Hoople's Sea Diver, Lou Reed's Perfect Day), and he wrote more than a few great songs.  He personified the right hand man in rock, making better everything he touched with his egoless approach to teamwork.  Many have never heard his solo album Play Don't Worry, but it perhaps is the best document that displays in full his huge range of talents.  The platinum haired spider died too damned soon.

Django Rheinhardt  -  I remember the first time I heard the mad gypsy.  I thought I'd fallen off the bus and missed school completely.  No guitarist's education is near complete without finding out why Beck and Blackmore both agree that he was the greatest that ever lived.  He played with a fire unmatched to this day, barrelling through every tune with neck breaking speed, perfect timing and a devil may care sense that remains unchallenged.  Many great guitarists dedicate their musical lives to his style and it's not hard to see why.  Shred?  Django invented it in the '30s.

Bill Nelson  -  Nelson's work with Be Bop Deluxe influenced Randy Rhoads tremendously.  He masterfully and seemingly without effort played dazzling guitar over everything he wrote, and what he wrote was brilliant (still is).  Be Bop's Sunburst Finish resides at the top of my desert island top 10.  After leaving the world of commercial rock behind, Nelson has continued to record inventive and endlessly interesting music for 35 years, practically inventing DIY.  He was recording in his attic years before it became the way of the world.  The world lost a lot when Nelson gave up big rock, but you gotta love a guy who sticks by his guns and follows his muse as opposed to chasing dollars.  A few years ago, Bill teamed with American guitar maker Campbell Guitars and they produced the Campbell Nelson Transitone, maybe the coolest signature guitar ever made.  He's been championed a bit over the last few years by Guitar Player's Michael Molenda, and that's a good thing.  Eveeryone should get to hear Sunburst Finish.

Gary Moore  -  Bluesman, rocker, bluesman, rocker....Truth is he's as good as they come at both.  Moore might be the most under valued guitar star on the planet.  His rock work in the '70s and '80s set a high mark for shredders, and he sings as well as he plays.  Whether solo or as an occasional member of Thin Lizzy, Gary never fails to bring tremendous passion to his work.  His right hand be the most authoratative I've ever heard.  Dazzling speed and a near Beckish melodicism graces his every note.  Not many have made the argument that he's the best that ever played and sang concurrently, but I will and with no apologies to the Stevie Ray crowd.  Moore has vocal chops for days, a great singer, not a 'good singer for a guitarist'....

Webb Wilder  -  Webb is the only basic rock rhythm player who's name I mention in the same breath as Keith's.  And more than that, he's consistantly produced great records for 25 years and in the process worked with some of the best guitar players you've never heard, such as Donny "The Twangler" Roberts, George "The Tone Chaperone" Bradfute, and Tony Bowles.  These fellows have been burning it up on Webb's records for years, and making his shows amazing displays of taste and virtuousity.  Wilder himself is an excellent soloist, and he trades licks with these great players fearlessly.  His last live CD, Born to be Wilder, has three guitarists tossing of great licks left and right as Wilder runs this guitar circus with wit, humor, piss and vinegar.  With one foot in country and the other in rock and roll, Wilder by his own admission is loved by dozens.

Ritchie Blackmore  -   No one's favorite fellow, Ritchie is still one of the most unique and skilled guitarists I've ever seen or heard.  Throughout his run with Deep Purple and Rainbow, Ritchie displayed a great combination of riffs and sophisticated soloing.  His playing sounds like his own and no elses.  It's almost impossible to hear anyone's influence on his playing with the possible exception of Django.  Blackmore alone brought that type of gypsy improvisation to heavy rock.  I wonder if he'll rock again....I almost hope not.

Jimmy Page  -  Led Zeppelin exist on the same plain as The Beatles, The Who, The Rolling Stones, and Queen.  There's no real comparing them to anything, and you know them the minute they start playing.  Page is at times almost maddeningly sloppy, but so what?  He jammed more great guitar information into a single song than anyone else.  No one has come even close in terms of guitar orchestration.  Jimmy would combine tunings, techniques, and tones to create whole worlds of sounds.  His production syle defined the sound of Zeppelin on record.  A shame he never produced for others.  And he defines guitar player cool to this day.  The man reeks sophisticated rock coolness.

Uli Jon Roth  -  Best known for his incendiary performances with The Scorpions, Uli combined a love for Hendrix and classical music, and this combination became shred guitar.  More than any single player, Roth brought mind bending technique to the world of hard rock.  Early Scorpions tunes such as Catch Your Train, and Pictured Life woke me up to a post-Hendrixian world of guitar playing.  Never had I heard such a combination of technique and over the top rock madness.  His huge tone, incredible virtuousity, and melodic sensiblities still leave me breathless.

Jeff Beck  -  Keeps getting better, and better, and better....I first heard Beck on 1968's Truth, and there's been no looking back.  The man continually forges his own path and his brilliance has never wained.  Sure I wish he worked with a singer more often, but that's my problem.  Guitar Shop set a standard for rock instrumentals which has not yet been bested.  His transcendent meditation on The Beatles A Day in the Life might be the best guitar instrumental I've ever heard.  He's been the high water mark for guitarists since 1965.  Need I say more?  There's every guitarist and then there's Jeff Beck.  A breed apart.

Michael Schenker  -   I've saved my favorite for last.  He's had more ups and downs than you can imagine, more lives than a cat's nine, but for my ears, Michael Schenker is the finest purveyor of the rock and roll guitar solo.  His work is melodic, toneful, fast, and beautiful.  His years with UFO produced a lot of the finest guitar rock in existance.  He plays with a fluidity that perfectly matched his melodic sensibilities.  His turn to heavier rock with 1980's Michael Schenker Group still compares with the best metal of the 80s.  Forget the personal crap and listen to the man's playing.  I'm hoping that the end of The Scorpions here shortly will bring back together the guitar team of Michael and Rudolph Schenker.  They've parried together brilliantly, but never for a full record since before Michael found his footing.

There you have it.  No illusions that this is anything but MY favorites.  Every person SHOULD have a different list, it makes everything more interesting, right?

Peace, love, and pretty guitars.

       

Black Country: "This Band is Viral" a chat with Glenn Hughes

Seems a bit funny to title an interview piece with the words of someone other than my interview's subject, but it feels right, and those are the words of no less an expert than super-producer Kevin Shirley. And that is what Kevin is saying about Black Country, Glenn Hughes's new band, with axeslinger extraordinaire Joe Bonamassa, Jason Bonham, and Derek Sherinian. The producer is taking a very active, hands-on role for this record, overseeing the songwriting, arrangements, and generally serving as field marshall.

I spoke with Glenn at length yesterday about this exciting new band. Here's what he had to say:

"I had a bit of a vision, a dream," Hughes begins, "I had a follow-up to last year's record (the excellent First Underground Nuclear Kitchen, F.U.N.K.) fully written and ready to go, but there had to be a hold up to the follow-up. As you know, I played with Joe at the Guitar Center show in November, shortly after I had wrapped up my world tour. He had asked me to come up and do a couple of my old tunes, Mistreated, and Medusa, and as we played I looked over at Joe, he back at me, and I said that's it; this is a band!" And so it was born, Black Country.

There's ample proof of the chemistry shared between the two over on YouTube, and it is pretty obvious that this is not just two successful solo acts getting together for a one-off project. Black Country is their new group, a band, a tribe from and of the black country of England, the home of both Hughes and Bonham.

"I've known Jason since he was a child, what is he? about mid-forties now, and we've played together through the years, on occasion, and when we started playing with Joe and Derek, he just smiled."

Hughes points out that in spite of himself and Bonamassa both having very busy careers, this record may upset things a bit.

"There will be proper touring, not just going out for a few shows here and there. My voice gets stronger as I work, and this will be a touring band. We've got all the songs written, titles are in place, and Joe has clearly told me, 'I want to be in a rock band,' so he's got some Zeppelin in him, and some times he's as bluesy as Kossoff (Paul Kossoff, legendary guitarist for Paul Rodgers' Free). He's singing and writing great stuff as well."

Bonamassa has been headed down the road to rock for some time, and Hughes is finally returning to a full-on rock approach, something fans and fellow rockers have been clamoring about for years, though Glenn has kept moving in a positive motion towards his funky proclivities, and his own creative path in lieu of chasing the easy rock dollars.

"Tony, you have to understand I get asked to do huge tours, and to join big bands every year, and I've chosen to pursue my own projects, but now it's seems fated that this band happen. You've got Chickenfoot, Them Crooked Vultures, and while I avoid the term supergroup, this IS a band, and we've obviously got some good company.

"We're as bombastic as The Who, and as bluesy as Free, but we are doing some different kinds of things in terms of structure, and tempo: 7/8, 6/8, even 5/8 time, so it's not just a few chords and out. Joe's just written a song that is just blowing me away. He sings a couple, I sing a bunch, and there's a few where we're both singing. We originally had figured mid 2011 for the release, but here we are we've got it written, we'll have it tracked by the middle of March, around the 17th, and we should be done with vocals, and some overdubbing by April the 10th, just before Easter. So, it makes sense for it to come out sooner and now it should be out around September of this year.

"We recorded basic tracks for some of the songs on January 3rd and 4th, and we didn't even get a playback, we just packed them off, and didn't hear them until the next few days,and they were amazing. We've got some epics, I will say that. And, we've cut them live, with me using an old P-Bass, all of us together in one room. I don't want to be that guy, saying supergroup. But if you had told me back last February, that I'd be in a rock band, I'm not so sure. What we've got is not what I have done, not what Joe's done, but something tremendously exciting, and brand new.

"Kevin Shirley is calling it, 'viral rock' and 'beyond beautiful,' and coming from Shirley this is high praise, indeed. "You know, Tony, it's funny; at one point, the critics are calling me horrible things because of bad habits and vices, and now they knock me for being mr. health nut, the higher power guy, but this band and record seems to have everyone rooting it on, the time just feels right."

We spoke for a long time about Glenn's past, his work with Trapeze, Deep Purple, Gary Moore, Black Sabbath and his famous bout with addiction, yet so much has been written about this elsewhere that there seems little benefit in my spending time on it here, but here's where Glenn left that subject:

"I am almost 60, playing with a 32-year-old guitarist, but you'd never know to listen. We are hitting at full velocity (not a bad title, there) and don't think I don't feel fear I am an alcoholic and addict in recovery and I'm riddled with fear every day of those demons returning, but I'm very lucky. I will tell you this I hit the next note with absolutely no fear, and for that 90 minutes to two hours that I am onstage every night, I am completely without fear"

I wanted to include this because it shows a bit of the character of this immensely talented, yet humble and generous man. I've rarely had a more pleasurable conversation with lifelong friends, let alone this stranger whom I've only known from afar, but Glenn is as easy to chat with as an old school-chum. That he admits the frailty and vulnerabilities that face anyone in recovery only goes to display the man's humanity, and speaks of his honesty.

I spoke to Glenn about his bass playing, which is melodic and acrobatic, as well as rock-solid.

"Well, Tony, my playing is getting better. I play at least 5 to 6 hours a day, and I'm not one of these guys from the 70s that chooses to sit back. The more I sing the better I'm able, and my voice gets strongest mid-tour. My guitar playing is getting a lot better of late, also."

This is coming from a fellow who played for a quarter of a million people in his early twenties at California Jam with the biggest hard-rock band in the world at the time, Deep Purple. This truly marks the graduation of rock into serious music, as its elder statesmen continue to grow and develop even relatively late in their careers.

Glenn and I spoke about other topics in a lot of detail, and I'll have more of his words in future postings as the band and record progresses. I'm going to follow this one closely as I think it is going to prove to be the surprise of the year, in the midst of a year that is shaping up as the best year for hard rock yet in this century. So I want to keep the focus on Black Country for today.

Thanks so much to Glenn Hughes, Kevin Shirley, and to everyone reading and all my kind friends and supporters on Facebook, where I'm always talking guitars and rock.

Peace, love, and loud guitars, tony conley

Entwistlean Logic - Bass Matters

Pino Paladino is amongst the greatest bassists who ever lived, of this, there is no debate.  In the same breath I add that I don't care for his work in the context of The Who. This comment is generally met either with a spirited defense of his efforts, or a stare that lets me know the person doesn't realize the Who even has a bass player, and that's when I realize that something has gone a bit funny.

I've repeatedly gone back and checked out clips, tapes, and such of many of The Who's performances, and by comparing a recent show to a tape from the Quadrophenia tour in 1973, I realized the difference.  The song was the bass driven epic, The Real Me.  In the new edition, Pino hits all the right notes, and generally does a fine job, but a terribly unexciting job.  I listen to the earlier John Entwistle fueled version, and I'm instantly engaged, the song demands that I anxiously accompany it on its path.  It's compelling.  It won't be ignored.  It can't be ignored.

John Entwistle's playing commanded to be heard, whether in the over the top manner of The Real Me, the barreling solos throughout My Generation, or his horn-like embellishments on Behind Blue Eyes.  His tone blasted through a mix like no other, sounding at times like a massive rhythm guitar, as on his amazing power chords that ring in the verses of Pinball Wizard, chords that are not even recognized by the casual listener as bass notes.  He took possession of Townshend's songs, made them his own, left an indelible stamp that turned rock songs into reasons for living.  Entwistle's talent made them larger than life in the grandest of fashions.

Every great band has a great bass player, and if you don't have a bass player, I'm not gonna much like your band, at least I haven't yet.  I hear The White Stripes, and yeah, I miss the bass to the point of distraction.  The Doors came close with Manzenerek  playing pretty decent bass on a Fender bass keyboard, but I always wanted to hear the songs with a proper bassist.  No, make that a great bassist.  The bass is the magic that marries european harmony to african rhythm and creates rock and roll.

Paul McCartney always talked about, "....the guy playing the bass" on the Motown stuff, and though he may not have known it was James Jamerson supplying those throbbing lines that made America dance, he knew that what Jamerson did was indispensable to the music.  Paul then proceeded to spend countless hours crafting bass lines that made Beatles tunes stand out from any others.  He spent a lot of time and energy creating parts that worked harmonically, rhythmically, and it shows in the results.  All too often I now hear radio ready rock in which the bassist merely apes the chords being played by the guitars, and it nearly drives me around the bend.

It's as if the whole ease of operation of digital recording has sped things up tothe point where musicians aren't taking the time to create parts, they just barrel through the song and pop it out.  I hear less craftsmanship on records now than I can ever remember.  I'll listen to any oldies station and be amazed at the care, skill, and craft being shown on even the most throw away old pop, rock, and soul stuff.  It stuns me to hear the differences in simple effort and ingenuity.

John Paul Jones created magic on every Led Zeppelin track in existence.  This speaks loudly of the fact that Jones was a trained orchestrator, and not just a failed guitarist.  It's worth noting that many of the best bassists come to the bass from other instruments.  Entwistle, Bruce, McCartney, Jones, Flea: each of these great bassists are skilled on other instruments, which means they know a little (or a lot) about how music is assembled.  Jack Bruce is a great pianist, Entwistle, an accomplished horn player, McCartney can make great music out of about anything, and this has a huge impact on the bass line these fellows laid down.

McCartney is as inventive a musician as has ever lived.  His bass lines never cease to amaze me, from the descending melody on Michelle, his fuzzy underpinnings in While My Guitar Gently Weeps, and the magnificent playing that accompanies George Harrison's Something.

Some of the greatest pop music of the 60s featured fantastically inventive bass lines from incredible players, such as James Jamerson and Bob Babbit's work on Motown, Duck Dunn on Stax stuff, and the unknown but brilliant Joe Osborne, whose great work I recognize every time I hear an oldie by The Grassroots.  How many bands today can you recognize by the bass lines, aside from Flea's always stellar work  with The Red Hot Chili Peppers?
 
One thing worth pointing out is that these fellows almost never played a repeating part throughout a tune. They always opt to vary notes, rhythms, and structures, and this creates interest that keeps you listening, and involved.  I can't stress this enough.  Repetitive parts makes for staid, and boring music, which I'm hearing a lot of these days.  Makes me howl with frustration is what it does.

This will be just the first in a serious of meditations on the art of the bass.  I haven't even touched on such topics as tone, note selection, and style.  More on this later.              

Gary Moore: A Return to Rock?

Over on facebook, I'm being inundated with the news that guitar great Gary Moore is to play a hard rock set at the Sweden Hard Rock Festival.  This is really some cool news.  In a year that appears to be sizing up as a great one for the world of rock guitar, this is but another indication that rock guitar is far from dead, in fact it appears to be afire.

Gary Moore has focused his career on the blues for the last 20 years, and will most likely continue to do so, but this show that he's playing indicates at least a slight return to rock.  Though it's hard to fathom, there are a great many people who know Moore only as a bluesman, not realizing that he reigned near the top of the hard rock world throughout the 70s and 80s as a solo artist and as a frequent collaborator with the late great Phil Lynott of Thin Lizzy.

I first saw Moore playing with the Lizzies back in 1977.  He stood in for an injured Brian Robertson on an American tour.  I was bummed out for about two minutes when the band took the stage without one of my favorite players.  That disappointment didn't last long.  Moore was much more than a stand-in, in fact he stole the show from Lynott, the band, headliners Def Leppard, and everyone else in the arena.  His fiery playing turned the 6,000 strong audience on their ears.  His high water mark with Lizzy was the Irish rock anthem, Black Rose, and it was during this song that my long and subsequent love of Moore's work began.

Moore's career had started with early appearances in Colusseum II, and Skid Row, but it was only when he joined Lynott in Lizzy that he appeared on American radar. He toured with the band off and on, but only recorded the English hit, Still In Love With You, in 1974 with the band.  The only full length album he recorded with the band was 1979's, Black Rose: A Rock Legend. His stays in Lizzy were always brief, as Moore focused instead on establishing his solo career.

1979 marks the true beginning of the ascendancy of Moore to "rock god" status.  The Black Rose album charted #2 on Britain's record charts and sold well in America as well.  Moore's first major solo outing, Back On The Streets, did big business and landed him his first #1 single, the classic, Parisienne Walkways, a duet with his friend and occasional mentor Lynott.  The album features Moore's astounding guitar work, his passionate vocals, and songs.  He's joined by such stalwarts as Lynott, keyboard wizard Don Airey, and super drummer Cozy Powell.  The title cut is one of the finest rockers of the era, featuring Moore and Airey dueting throughout the solo sections.  Don Airey, if you're not aware, is unquestionably the best hard rock keyboardist in history.  In this period alone he contributed mightily to this album by Moore, Rainbow's Down To Earth , and Michael Schenker's first solo record.  Not a bad year for either gentleman or any of these great bands.

Throughout the 80s, Moore recorded and toured incessantly, releasing excellent albums and filling large venues as a headliner, and  was a favorite at festivals throughtout Europe.  This period saw Moore become both a rock guitar legend, and a hugely successful band leader.  America took to the man, but nothing compared to Europe and Japan.  Speaks more of this country's need for glitz than it does about the talent involved.

I've always been equally astounded by Gary Moore's talent.  He's equally blessed  as a remarkable guitarist, a passionate and powerful singer, and a great songwriter, equally at home with screaming rock, tender ballads, or of course, the blues.  The man possesses perhaps the most powerful, authoratative right hand in the annals of guitardom.  His playing brims with confidence, soul, and excitement.  Listen once to his cover of The Yardbirds classic hit, Shapes of Things, from his 1983 release, Victims of the Future, and you'll be a convert for life, if you're not all ready.  The histrionics on display are mindbending, featuring a great array of Moore's finest chops.  Moore was amongst the first guitarists that Ozzy Osbourne called when confronted with the unfortunate death of Randy Rhoads.  Thankfully Moore turned the offer down, as did my old friend Michael Schenker.  Both guitarists have always followed their own muse, and wisely chose the focus of solo careers, which saw both filling arenas on the strength of great guitar playing, a day sadly passed, I fear.

Moore continued playing to huge crowds and recordig excellent hard rock records throughout the 80s.  Run for Cover, released in 1985, saw Moore featuring a great set of tunes and sharing the stage with his old friend Phil Lynott, and also a gave a glimpse at what has to be one of hard rock's greatest missed oppurtunies, Moore teaming up with Glenn Hughes.  The pair duet on several songs, Hughes singing a couple, playing bass on a few and we get a taste of a band that would have been amazing had it grown to fruition.  This is another absolute must listen.  If you've never heard this album, you should remedy that at once.  It is an amazing LP, and amongst my top 20 hard rock albums.  Moore shines when singing and playing beside equals and never more so than here.

Moore rounded out the 80s by becoming increasingly Irish with every release.  He always displayed a political side with many songs concerning world affairs, and as time went on, he reverted back to his Irish roots and put out two records, Wild Frontier, and, After the War, that stand as the best examples of Irish hard rock ever put to tape.  Wild Frontier, especially is a very nationalist album, and another gem, filled with jig-tinged molten rock.  Moore takes to his hoe as a fish to water.  His passion is almost overwhelming.  Check it out.

1990 saw Moore get the blues, and he's been here ever since, and doing it heroically I'll add, but I've missed his rocking side mightily.  He brought hard rock technique and tone to the blues to great success and has hada big influence on many great young bluesers, such as Bonamassa and Davey Knowles. 

I hope that this foray into the realm of rock means that Moore will return at least a portion of his energy to rock.  This year marked John Sykes's retirement from Thin Lizzy.  Perhaps we'll see Gary take up some of that slack.  In a year that is promising to be the best that the rock guitar world has seen in many, the return of Gary Moore to the arena could be yet another high water mark.  Let's  hope.

We've got great projects coming from Black Country (Glenn Hughes and Joe Bonamassa), West, Bruce Jr, and Laing, and more to come.  Yeah, it's gonna be a good year for guitar lovers....

Thanks to everyone who has read, and commented.  If you have anything to suggest please do not hesitate.

Peace, tony conley