It was sometime back in the late 80's, I was watching Yngwie Malmsteen at a local venue, and for the first few minutes I was blown away with his playing, but then it became a wash of notes and technical exposition - there was a brief point in the concert I where was taken aback again, when he managed to play faster in an unaccompanied section, but that was a short flirtation with excitement.
This anecdote always brings a quote to my mind from Ian Paice when Deep Purple where re-forming for 'Perfect Strangers' - when asked what they would bring to music he replied something like; "taste... light and shade". That is what guitar playing is to me - the excitement of playing on the edge of your technique, the possibility of tripping ever present combined with the taste to add light and shade... most of all melody.
I think this stems from my early obsession with the Shadows - Apache had me transfixed as a ten year old, and a love of the guitar, and well constructed guitar instrumentals has stayed with me ever since.
What's in this blog?
Words, words, words...it seems odd to be using them in celebration of that which has none, but that is the purpose here - to muse about the niche area of guitars and specifically guitar instrumental music - what are the gems? What makes a good instrumental? There will be plenty of diversions into more general thoughts on equipment, writing and recording guitars, particularly in the home studio.
So...what makes a good guitar instrumental? Searching the phrase doesn't pull up much, so here are my thoughts on the basic requirements:
- It has to work as a song - a definable melody.
- It has to take you somewhere - capture a mood or a feeling, move you without resorting to simple exhortation in words.
- Any album of instrumentals must be light and shade, different tones and textures and moods to keep your interest.
- Simple 'flash' extended soloing over a basic chord sequence doesn't cut it.
My Top 5 Players and Albums
This list is what I consider the best albums by my favourite instrumental guitarists.
- Jeff Becks "Guitar Shop": Stunning playing, beautiful songs, manic drummer and superb production - the whole package with Jeff really showing his mastery of the whammy bar.
- Joe Satriani "Surfing with the Alien": Joe's best collection of songs, blistering playing, the 'artificial' nature of the production seems to add to it's appeal. Re-invigorated the genre.
- Steve Vai "Passion and Warfare": For me his most cohesive album, not too much from the leftfield.
- The Shadows "20 Golden Greats": One of the most influential guitarists of all time, personifies taste and tone, 'Apache' is the reason I started playing guitar...not much else to say!
- Michael Lee Firkins "Michael Lee Firkins": It's only on listening again to this after many years that I realise that it actually had a quite an influence on my playing, if only subconsciously. Well written diverse songs, demonstrating great technique without overshadowing the songs, amazing he didn't go on to be more of a household name.
That's enough for this intro...more to follow.
Kevin
