Hear It Here

Stevie Ray Vaughan Texas Flood

Particularly recommended are Pride And Joy and the title track, although all sorts of inspiration can be found elsewhere. Lenny showcases his melodic mellower side, but it’s a great opportunity to pick up vocabulary that can easily be put to use on a whole variety of tempos and styles. It’s always worth listening to ‘album tracks', as they can teach us much more about the artist than just the hits alone.

Jimi Hendrix Live At Woodstock

If you haven’t heard Jimi’s well documented studio albums, you should make a point of doing so straight away. Otherwise, there is much to be learned about the area I’m focussing on here by watching his overdubfree live performances, which give us such a great ringside seat as he goes far beyond the conventional power trio remit, incorporating soul, jazz and blues.

John Mayer Continuum

Coming from a similar school of thought, Mayer is no stranger to this kind of approach. He has a considerable back catalogue to refer to, but this album is a good place to start, with Gravity, Slow Dancing In A Burning Room and I Don’t Trust Myself With Loving You. It’s also worth searching out obscure tracks and live performances to get a more three-dimensional idea of the style.