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Greg Prato
Chris Stein
Blondie’s Guitar Basher
While Blondie’s Chris Stein won’t be mistaken for a shredder soloist, there’s no debate he’s an underrated rhythm guitarist and gifted songwriter, as he co-wrote (with singer Debbie Harry) classic tunes such as “Heart of Glass,” “Dreaming,” “Rip Her to Shreds,” “In the Flesh,” and “Rapture,” among others. Blondie recently released Pollinator, its 11th studio…
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Greg Prato
Uli Jon Roth
Return to Tokyo
In the 1970s, rockers were cranking out now-classic live sets with stunning regularity – Jimi Hendrix’s Band of Gypsys in 1970, the Allman Brothers’ At Fillmore East in ’71, Deep Purple’s Made in Japan in ’73, Kiss’ Alive! in ’75, Led Zeppelin’s The Song Remains the Same, Peter Frampton’s Frampton Comes Alive! and Bob Seger’s…
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Greg Prato
Billy Sheehan
Back to Big
Though there’s no denying Billy Sheehan’s exceptional technical talents on the bass, he has always kept sight on the importance of the song – as evidenced by his work with David Lee Roth, Mr. Big, and the Winery Dogs. He recently returned to the fold with Mr. Big, the rock band that also features Paul…
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Greg Prato
Rex Brown
Still Smoking
Throughout his career, Rex Brown has delivered the low-end as the bassist for Pantera, Down, and Kill Devil Hill. But for his new (and first-ever) solo album, Smoke on This, he picked up the six-string. Motivation for the effort came on the road with Kill Devil Hill. “This is purely for the love of music,”…
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Greg Prato
Kenny Wayne Shepherd
Laying Down the Blues
Blues-rock suffered a blow in 1990 with the death of Stevie Ray Vaughan. But later in the decade, a crop of young guitarists emerged, versed in the style. One of them was Kenny Wayne Shepherd, whose 1998 hit “Blue on Black” launched a career that has never slowed, as evidenced by the recent release of…
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Greg Prato
Andy Summers
Creating Light From Dark
For Andy Summers, it would be easy to compose Police-like music – reggae rhythms, clean/chorus guitar tones, etc. But fans learned to expect the unexpected beginning with his 1982 collaboration with Robert Fripp, I Advance Masked, along with his soundtrack work on the 1986 hit film Down and Out in Beverly Hills, his 1991 jazz-fusion…
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Greg Prato
Punky Meadows
Heavenly Guitar
In the 1970s, glam-rockers Angel carved a niche with five albums of arena-rock anthems and an image that stood in antithesis to their Casablanca label mates, Kiss. After retiring from the music business in the ’80s, guitarist Punky Meadows returned last year with his first solo album, Fallen Angel. What have you been up to…
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Greg Prato
Michael Schenker
Rocking Reunion
Michael Schenker has been part of many live releases over the years, and one of the most intriguing is his latest, Michael Schenker Fest Tokyo, which sees the man known for wielding two-tone Flying Vs reunited with singers Gary Barden, Graham Bonnet, and Robin McAuley, along with ’80s cohorts Steve Mann on keys, Chris Glen…
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Greg Prato
Max Cavalera
Roots Revisited
To the casual fan, heavy metal can get a bit “same sounding” after a while. But then there are those rare albums that are undeniably unique. Case in point is Sepultura’s 1996 classic, Roots, which combined de-tuned riffing with Brazilian percussion, exotic instrumentation, and chanting. Two decades since its release, Max Cavalera looks back on…
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Greg Prato
Rik Emmett
Triumphant Return
Triumph was one of the leading arena-rock acts of the late ’70s and early ’80s. Striking gold and platinum with albums including Allied Forces, Never Surrender, and Thunder Seven and the radio hits “Fight the Good Fight,” “Lay It On the Line,” and “Hold On,” the trio offered a sound both anthemic and challenging –…
