The goal of any anthology is to capture the broad scope of an artist’s career. Rush 50 is a strong attempt, starting with their first singles (previously unreleased) all the way to their final live recordings in 2015. In between are reams of epic studio and stage recordings, summing up the band’s career in one tidy, hard-rockin’ box.
The early tracks are fascinating, as the Canadian trio was formidable out of the gate. Tracks from 1973-’74 demonstrate their Led Zep obsession (“You Can’t Fight It,” “Need Some Love”), while Alex Lifeson was already accomplished at speedy Jimmy Page-style licks. An unreleased live-in-studio take on “Anthem” at NYC’s Electric Lady Studio is another Echoplex-through-Marshall stomper.
The next decades are well-covered, but there’s a generous slab of concert material from the 2000s. “Freewill” sounds as powerful in 2011 as it did in 1980, propelled by Geddy Lee’s mighty bass and Lifeson’s chorused shimmer. The last song Rush ever played onstage was a snippet of one of their earliest, the Black Sabbath-charged “Garden Road,” which you can compare here to the ’74 version. In poetic hindsight, its riff provided the perfect way for Rush to begin – and end – their career. – PP
This article originally appeared in VG’s May 2025 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.
At the risk of starting a brawl, Rik Emmett’s guitar work was arguably too good for Triumph. As evidence, his latest project centers on a custom-built Loucin that inspired both a book and accompanying music. “Magic Power” this is not.
On Ten Telecaster Tunes, Emmett delivers 10 solo performances on the instrument he calls Babs, laying down the funkiest R&B vamps, jazz licks, and Chet fingerpicking with robust clean tones; prime examples include “So Pushy” and “Funky Scratchin’.” “Swirling” offers a dash of classical chops mixed with James Taylor lyricism, while “Slinky” is a master class in tremolo effects. If you’ve only heard Emmett’s heavy riffing and flash-bomb solos, this virtuosic non-rock set will both surprise and delight.
The accompanying book is something of a musical autobiography. A deep dive on the guitar, creativity, and Rik’s personal journey in music, it features anecdotes, musings, and a bit of navel-gazing, all written in a humble, humorous manner. There’s plenty of tech-geek info (recording gear, software) and illustrations, but oddly, no photos of Babs.
Overall, Ten Telecaster Tales is a treat – and reminder that Rik Emmett is an underrated monster of a player. – Pete Prown
This article originally appeared in VG’s May 2025 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.
When someone recently asked me to recommend the most essential Elmore James album, I answered, “Any and all.” I’ve never heard a bad Elmore cut, and I’ve heard nearly everything he recorded. Everybody knows that he set the standard for slide guitar in electric blues, but he was also a fantastic singer and wrote some true classics of the blues repertoire. It doesn’t get more anguished than, “The sky is crying, look at the tears roll down the street.”
James was born in Richland, Mississippi, in 1918, and first recorded with Sonny Boy Williamson, II (Alex “Rice” Miller) as co-guitarist with Joe Willie Wilkins. That 1951 session for Trumpet Records’ producer Lillian McMurry yielded “Eyesight To The Blind.” The same year, he cut “Dust My Broom” as Elmo James – again for Trumpet, with Sonny Boy on harmonica (every blues artist I’ve talked to called him “Elmo,” and prior to forming the Rolling Stones, guitarist Brian Jones briefly went by Elmo Lewis).
All Elmore James albums are compilations of singles, and only one was released during his lifetime – Blues After Hours, issued by the label-head Bihari brothers on Crown in 1960. Spanning 1959 to ’63, an expanded reissue of Hits & Rarities contains 36 tracks recorded for producer Bobby Robinson. As singles, they were originally issued on the Fire and Enjoy labels and are arguably the strongest of his career.
Photographs of Elmore were rare until more popped up on the internet. They show him playing two main guitars – a Kay K-6000 flat-top with a DeArmond pickup, and a Silvertone 1361. It’s likely he used various amps; Ry Cooder believes he used a Valco-made Harmony H440 for the Fire sessions because it was a house amp at Robinson’s New York studio. But he’s also shown with a Magnatone (possibly a 280 model). Homesick James, who backed him on rhythm guitar or bass, stated that he used a Gibson GA-53.
Elmore followed with “I Believe” using the same signature riff, which he borrowed from Robert Johnson’s “I Believe I’ll Dust My Broom,” from ’37. But, whereas Johnson played that riff fretted, James used a slide and played the shuffle in open D. He would recycle the riff over and over – on Big Joe Turner’s 1954 hit “TV Mama” and his own tunes such as “Coming Home,” “Dust My Blues,” “I’m Worried,” “Sunnyland Train,” “So Unkind,” “Make A Little Love,” “My Baby’s Gone,” “Going Back Home Again,” “Make My Dreams Come True,” “Talk To Me, Baby,” “Happy Home,” “Blues Before Sunrise,” “Please Find My Baby,” “Wild About You,” “Baby Please Set A Date,” and “Early One Morning.”
In a 1977 essay for Guitar Player that has often been misquoted, Frank Zappa wrote, “Even though Elmore tended to play the same famous lick on every record, I got the feeling that he meant it.”
When I asked Zappa about this in an interview for Musician in ’79, he offered, “Here’s what that stuff is like: It transcends music and gets into realms of language. Reedledeedeedelee-deedelee-deedelee-deedelee-deedee transcends the music and gets into another realm. Then maybe a million guitar players want to go reedledeedee.”
As for the inherent social function surrounding blues (as opposed to other idioms), Zappa added, “I think a lot of that stuff is just that the guy wants to play that and wants to make that noise. That’s his message; he’s condensed his whole aesthetic into reedledee-deedelee-deedee. That’s where he’s at, and he’s not too concerned about whether or not somebody in a college someplace is going to perceive it as being a viable force for social change.”
Of course, James had other licks and rhythms in his arsenal. “Elmore’s Contribution To Jazz” employs slide over a quasi-mambo groove. He also didn’t always play slide, as evidenced by the instrumental “Up Jumped Elmore,” using Muddy Waters’ “Got My Mojo Working” as a jumping off point. Just some of the artists who have covered “Dust My Broom” include ZZ Top, Johnny Winter, Canned Heat, Howlin’ Wolf, Ike & Tina Turner, Otis Spann and James Cotton, Taj Mahal, Freddie King, Etta James, Albert King, Chuck Berry, and Dr. Feelgood.
Other artists dipped into Elmore’s catalog, such as Jimi Hendrix (“Bleeding Heart”), Stevie Ray Vaughan (“The Sky Is Crying”), Paul Butterfield Blues Band (“Shake Your Money-Maker”), the Allman Brothers Band (“One Way Out”), Eric Clapton (“It Hurts Me Too”), Fleetwood Mac (“I Held My Baby Last Night”), Earl Hooker (“Anna Lee”), the Yardbirds (“Done Somebody Wrong”), Hound Dog Taylor (“Hawaiian Boogie”), Charlie Musselwhite (“Cry For Me, Baby”), Ron Thompson (“Standing At The Crossroads”), and George Thorogood (“Madison Blues”).
Tragically, the man died of a heart attack in 1963 at 45 years old, too early to benefit from the ’60s blues revival. A few months ago, I snapped up a six-CD set with 94 tracks for 30 bucks. Even with all the stuff I have on CD or vinyl, it’s worth it to keep in the car and pull out some Elmo whenever the mood strikes me – which it does often.
This article originally appeared in VG’s May 2025 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.
The Gristle Master returns with scintillating blues and the influences that made him the six-string slayer he is today. On this live recording, Koch uses an array of guitars including his signature Reverend, a Deluxe Tele, Custom Shop Les Paul, and a Custom Shop Strat while sharing stages with Larry McCray, Jimmy Hall, Malford Milligan, Roscoe Beck, and the Memphis Horns. Plugged in, Koch is a guitar behemoth; his slide playing is particularly spellbinding on “Can’t Be Satisfied” with Larry McCray.
On Freddie King’s “The Stumble,” Koch displays his vast knowledge of greasy double-stops, playing behind the beat, swinging, and how to make a guitar sting. He performs a tour-de-force interpretation of Hendrix’s “Red House,” adding extrapolations that borrow from the thinking man’s guitar playbook, performed with gut-level zeal and mastery for more than nine minutes. Volume swells! Oh my!
On Memphis Slim’s “Steppin’ Out,” made famous by Eric Clapton with John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, Greg throws it all in, including the kitchen sink. He uses the song as a platform to unleash the greatest blues, rock, and country guitar techniques known to man. Koch gets his Western swing on with “The Damn Thing,” draws blood on “The Ripper,” and the chops just keep on comin’, rounding off a joyous guitar record. – Oscar Jordan
This article originally appeared in VG’s May 2025 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.
So you want a Gibson-style solidbody that can cover humbucker-powered rock, yet also twangier/glassier tones using a P-90 pickup. Check. You also want to grab high frets via double-cutaway and have the pitch reliability of a tune-o-matic bridge and locking tuners. Got it. One more thing: it’s got to look cool and old-school. Hmm…. sounds like you should check out the Reverend Sensei H90.
With a bound korina body and set neck (24.75″ scale) and rosewood fretboard (12″ radius), the solidbody has a wide-D neck profile called Medium Oval – think Les Paul or SG – and weight that isn’t overly heavy. The result is a lively, thin-finished instrument that balances well.
Under the hood, look for an HA5 humbucker in the bridge and 9A5 single-coil in the neck slot. This offers a Les Paul-conversion combination, as if you put a ’bucker in the bridge of an old goldtop (as Tom Scholz of Boston did). Reverend has developed a knack for giving passive electronics an active feel – no small feat. Grab the Volume knob with your pinky and try a swell – notice how responsive and smooth the volume increases, unlike so many dead-sounding passive pots. Another great knob – Bass Contour – reshapes the tonal dimension to dial Fender-tinged flavors.
In hand, the H90 is resonant, delivering surprising volume unplugged and spanky tones through an amp or speaker-sim modeler. Neither Les Paul nor Strat, the Sensei most often brings to mind a punchy LP Special for rockin’ twang and attitude. Play hard rock and alt, blues, country or any style you want, this Reverend probably has it covered, and it comes in wiggy colors like Army Green, Transparent White, Periwinkle Burst, and the hilariously named Chronic Blue Burst. Mid-price solidbodies this much fun don’t come along every day. – Pete Prown
This article originally appeared in VG’s May 2025 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.
The bolt-on Swamp Ash Special has been around for nearly three decades, but PRS just retooled the U.S.-built version and dropped it at NAMM. There are significant upgrades.
While earlier versions had humbuckers with a single-coil pickup between them, this latest plank has a PRS Narrowfield (NF) humbucker in the middle. Another bonus is the full-sized pickups have coil-taps. Let’s dive in.
First, what the heck is swamp ash? While countless guitars use ash, swamp ash refers to any ash species (in Latin, Fraxinus) that grew near water or was partially submerged. This results in a lively, light tonewood with that vintage “snap” sought by so many tone-ologists. Offered in six high-gloss nitro finishes, the Swamp Ash Special has a carved top that is nicely grained, along with a 25″ scale, bolt-on maple neck and maple or rosewood fretboard (our tester was maple on maple in an attractive White Doghair Smokeburst). Hardware includes the PRS vibrato bridge and Phase III locking tuners.
The Swamp Ash Special arrived ready to play, with a comfortable Pattern Regular neck carve – narrow but not skinny, and retaining a degree of vintage beef. PRS has it set up to burn and its fretboard provides a super-fast surface for quick licks. The full-sized 58/15 LT (for “low turn”) humbuckers allow more woody tone and air to come through your amp. The middle NF in a bolt-on swamp ash configuration sounds far different than it would in a set-neck mahogany guitar. Paired with the 58/15 set, you’ll hear a broad palette of sounds, from Strat-flavored quack to SG scream. The five-way toggle and mini-switches offer 12 well-defined tone options. Add that accurate PRS whammy bar, and the sky’s the limit.
Best of all, the 2025 Swamp Ash Special is not insanely priced. For less than three grand, it’s a serious, professional instrument that can rock any stage from Glastonbury to your local club. This swamp thing is a joy to play. – Pete Prown
This article originally appeared in VG’s May 2025 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.
If nobody mentioned that Martin’s new Standard line had been updated, a player might be forgiven for not immediately noticing that the latest D-28 has been subtly changed. After all, it’s the D-28 – one of the most recognizable and enduring American icons – and the thought of altering such a flagship is likely to raise some eyebrows.
Martin is calling it the Standard Series Refresh, and the company has made changes to its entire line of Standards from the 18 series up, and added three models. The tweaks are significant, and many players will find something to like in the new approach.
Aesthetically, the Standard has undergone a minor refresh, with a modified heel that Martin calls “vintage-style” and a long diamond neck transition that is similar to (but more substantial than) the diamond volute on prior models. The bone nut is now cut at an angle to offer a cleaner transition between the headstock and the fretboard, and bridge pins have been upgraded to bone.
Beyond the 28’s appearance, the big rosewood box has changed in some very real ways, borrowing from Martin’s Golden Era specs. The Sitka spruce bracing is now scalloped/forward-shifted X-pattern, and the neck profile Martin calls the “Golden Era modified low oval” feels a bit fuller than the performance models. Perhaps the biggest change is the ebony fretboard, which is noticeably thinner than previous iterations, with a beveled edge.
At just 4.2 pounds, the tester felt light and delicate. Projection was no issue, and the forward-shifted bracing means this dreadnought punches hard in the lower registers. And as impressive as it was sonically, the real star of the show is its neck; it may be coincidental, but the thinner fretboard on the satin neck makes the guitar feel broken-in straight out of the box. That new configuration gets partial credit, but stellar workmanship and care during the build gets the rest. Either way, this new D-28 feels like it’s been played for a while.
It’s still the D-28 Standard, but this version feels like Martin is incorporating features of its higher-end models to deliver an upgraded experience in the Standard package. – Michael Shirek
This article originally appeared in VG’s May 2025 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.
Arriving a little more than 10 years after the original Skylark, Carr Amplifiers’ new Skylark Special adds versatility and enhanced tonal depths to squeeze a lot more into this diminutive combo.
Specs remain much the same, deriving 12 watts of power from a pair of 6V6GT output tubes into a 12″ Celestion A-Type speaker. But, while it looks much the same, the 21″ x 15.5″ x 9″ cabinet that houses it all is now made with Baltic-birch ply, resulting in a four-pound weight loss (now 32 pounds total) and a more-focused sound.
Circuit-wise, the core inspiration for the Skylark Special remains the tweed Fender Harvard of the late ’50s, but to this foundation, designer Steve Carr added his H73 mode, accessed with a mini-toggle. Popular on Carr’s Bel-Ray model, it induces a somewhat fatter Hiwatt-inspired voice with more clang and punch. The control panel retains its High/Low gain switch, along with its original controls for Volume, Treble, Mid, Bass, Reverb, and Presence, completed by an attenuator switch to drop the output from the amp’s full 12 watts to anything between 1.2 and 0. Other changes include a reworked reverb circuit, a change from solid-state rectification to an EZ81 tube for a more tactile playing feel, and the swapping in of nine U.S.-made Jupiter tone caps, at a cost of some five times each the price of the JB caps formerly populating the circuit. The entire thing is hand-wired, point-to-point, with high-quality components throughout.
Tested with an ES-355 and Telecaster, the Skylark Special quickly revealed a lush, rich character that was warmly enveloping for such a small amp, and supremely inspiring throughout the ride. The central sound is in the Fender camp circa late ’50s and early ’60s, but with far more versatility than any of the originals provide, plus the bonus of the bolder H73 mode. As such, it delves effortlessly into everything from sparkling-yet-trenchant cleans to sweet and touch-sensitive overdrive, the latter enabled at bedroom volumes if desired. It’s all available through a broad range of voicings easily EQ’d to taste and enhanced by deep, multi-dimensional reverb. Lows can get a little loose with heavily attenuated settings, but that’s to be expected. All in all, it’s an extremely appealing club-sized package with a succulent voice, and boasting outstanding build quality – just as we’ve come to expect from Carr. – Dave Hunter
This article originally appeared in VG’s May 2025 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.
Mexican guitarist Javier Batiz, a teacher and inspiration to Carlos Santana and other musicians, passed away December 14 at his home in Tijuana, Baja California. He was 80.
Known as the “Godfather of Mexican Rock,” “La Layenda” (The Legend) and other sobriquets, Batiz came to appreciate American blues guitarists such as B.B. King and John Lee Hooker as a youngster by listening to an American radio station across the border in San Diego. In 1957, he founded his rock band Los TJs and continued to be a musical fixture in Mexico for the rest of his life.
He was known in the guitar world as the primary musical influence and mentor to Carlos Santana, who took lessons from Batiz as a teenager.
Noted musicians who performed in Batiz’s band were bassist Abraham Laboriel and Batiz’s sister, La Baby. Batiz’s wife, Claudia Madrid, occasionally played drums in his bands. Another Mexican bassist, Marco Mendoza, also claimed Batiz as an influence.
Batiz and Santana kept in touch over the decades, and occasionally jammed onstage. At a 1993 concert, Santana presented Batiz with a Paul Reed Smith guitar, which Batiz put to use immediately.
Batiz won several Mexican music awards. He was known to be in declining health when, in November, Tijuana mayor Isamel Burgueno presented him with a key to the city. The mayor described Batiz as “…a proud Tijuana native [who embodied] a legacy of struggle and perseverance, proof that if there is a will, there is a way.” Batiz was interviewed in VG’s August 2000 issue. – Willie G. Moseley
This article originally appeared in VG’s May 2025 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.
Josh Meader is a jazz and fusion player who breaks ground with virtuosity that’s never flashy for its own sake. On his new album, Tide of Times, the young Aussie ace blends styles on a dime, hybridizing music before our eyes; videos online include an especially stunning non-album rendition of “Misty.” It’s fascinating, seeing Meader changing jazz guitar in real time.
Did you study formally? I studied at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music for four years and got to study with amazing Australian jazz legends. But my dad has been my biggest teacher in life and music, and started teaching me guitar formally from the age of seven. Around 10, he started introducing me to music theory, which formed a strong foundation for everything I studied later on.
We hear dashes of Pat Metheny and Allan Holdsworth in your playing. Who are your influences? Metheny and Holdsworth are both definitely massive influences for me! Also, Biréli Lagrene and Sylvain Luc – I have listened to their duo albums so much, and they’re what got me into jazz. Guthrie Govan, Shawn Lane, and Greg Howe are also huge fusion favorites for me. Other guitarists across genres that have inspired me deeply are Kurt Rosenwinkel, Wes Montgomery, Steve Vai, Eddie Van Halen, Django Reinhardt, and Stochelo Rosenberg of the Rosenberg Trio.
How did you develop your technique that bridges rock, jazz, and tapping/sweeping all at once. By trying to emulate my favorite players and the techniques associated with their vocabulary, including other instruments such as saxophone and piano. I always saw technique in service of specific musical ideas. For example, I would practice sweeping to Frank Gambale phrases, or legato/tapping to attempt Guthrie Govan ideas. My current technique is a real blend of it all – a hybrid of alternate, economy and legato picking, and fingering.
How can a guitarist break out of the Dorian mode or blues scale, and try jazz runs? I’d say the best way is through transcribing your favorite players. That’s how I’ve learned most of what I play when it comes to this concept. Especially if you really try and understand what’s being used by that player within, say, a single phrase. Then, try to use that phrase within your own improvisation all over the fretboard, in different keys and different positions.
“Energy” speaks to the music of the Pat Metheny Group and has complicated rhythms. Are there charts, or do you just show people their parts? It is definitely inspired by my love for Pat’s music, especially his Unity Band, and by the amazing Dutch guitarist Reinier Baas. I brought it to the trio and we significantly changed it during the arranging and rehearsal process. We often loop sections at different tempos, starting off slow and gradually increasing speed to nail those rhythmically challenging parts.
Speaking of intimidating time signatures, what time is the intro to “Ultraviolet”? It’s based on complex rhythmic patterns of three, four, and five notes. As a band, we definitely aren’t counting that all out. Instead, we have internalized the feeling of the riff by rehearsing it a lot together. I’d say the biggest thing that has helped me is understanding that any rhythmic structure should eventually have a natural feeling. That’s music.
Describe your ideal guitar tone. I like warm, rich, and full-sounding guitar tones, without any harshness at the front of the note, which is hard to achieve with a clean sound. I love the sound of the tenor saxophone and my ideal tone is heavily inspired by sax, especially the sound of jazz legends John Coltrane, Michael Brecker, and Chris Potter. Some of my buttery clean tones are from Kurt Rosenwinkel and Metheny. I think Kurt’s guitar tone and playing are incredibly inspiring, especially the sound he achieved on “Zhivago” with the Orquestra Jazz de Matosinhos – go watch that video online.
What gear did you use on Tide of Times? The guitars are my signature Kiesel JM1, a ’79 Ibanez AS-200, an Abasi Legion seven-string, and an acoustic 12-string. The amp I used almost exclusively was a Matchless Avalon 30 combo paired with my Quad Cortex and the Strymon BigSky and TimeLine pedals.
Your approach to jazz is very 21st-century in that it constantly jumps between styles and rhythms. Can you discuss how you’re interpreting jazz today? I guess jazz has the opportunity to be influenced by many different styles, because of the internet. We have the incredible access to listen and be inspired by everything around the world. The ability we have to hear new music/musicians has never been greater and, among other things, that’s having a huge impact on those genre lines – or blurring them completely, which is exciting to me. – Pete Prown
This article originally appeared in VG’s May 2025 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.
