Rock Of Ages

How rock was born is one of the most interesting parts of guitar music history. At the start of the 60s, Apache by The Shadows topped the charts. Just seven years later Jimi was setting fire to his Strat as an astonished Monterey Pop Festival crowd looked on. The musician sang Wild Thing before committing the most famous act of instrument vandalism in music history. In many ways, that moment captures what made rock different – born of blues and its unruly child, rock ’n’ roll, it was louder, harder and faster than any of its influences. Yet rock’s most famous players, such as Angus Young (see interview, page 48), remained in touch with the roots of rock throughout their careers, and that kept their playing authentic and emotionally powerful where others just maxed out the bombast.

In this special issue, we explore what great rock guitar is all about in the company of some exceptional players, including Iron Maiden’s Adrian Smith and virtuoso Tele wrangler Richie Kotzen, who tell us about their return to their classic rock roots on their hard-charging, eponymous new album Smith/Kotzen, over on page 6o.

Rock’s story has always been about excess, such as the sudden and stratospheric success that can catapult musicians from obscurity into the world’s largest stadiums in just a few months – which is exactly what happened to Chris and Rich Robinson when The Black Crowes’ debut album, Shake Your Money Maker, exploded in 1990. Read their extraordinary recollections of that time in our Classic Sessions feature on page 54. If all that’s whet your appetite for distraction, why not pick up some essential rock techniques with Richard Barrett on page 66? Enjoy the issue and see you next month, hopefully with eardrums still intact…