SHOWSTOPPERS!

3 GREAT GUITAR TRACKS FROM 2020 – BY THE STARS WHO PLAYED THEM...

STEVE MORSE ON THE POWER OF

THEMOON FROM DEEP PURPLE’S WHOOSH!

“It’s so unusual-sounding with really interesting dynamics. In the choruses there are these close clusters, which are fifths with the ninth or second added, that Don [Airey, keyboards] and I are playing together. That’s one of the signature things we do, sometimes we’ll have a part that’s almost like a sub-melody. It’s a line that doesn’t feel typical for guitar or organ.”

JOHN PETRUCCI ON THE ODD FATHER FROM TERMINAL VELOCITY

“It has something that I really haven’t done before – the middle section has a breakdown that goes into this open-string, right hand hammer-on part that is extended. It builds and builds until you get to the main solo. So in order to play that song, you’d have to work on that specific technique. It also has some very fast tremolo picking because I was mimicking the sound of a mandolin being picked – that Godfather kind of sound – so some people might have to work on their alternate picking to play it. You hear that technique throughout.”

JOE BONAMASSA ON WHY DOES IT TAKE SO LONG TO SAY GOODBYE FROM ROYAL TEA

“It’s right in the same school as Gary Moore, who did those really powerful melodic ballads, and I think it’s one of the better songs I’ve ever been involved in. The riff was a little more straight to begin with, and it was [producer] Kevin Shirley’s idea during pre-production to do the bend and give it that pull. I’d say it’s the kind of song that could be a total showstopper when we play in front if a crowd. We’ve extended the ending for live, we’re rehearsing right now. I told the band, ‘I’ll meet you at the end, you know what I’m doing!’ That’s what the fans want to hear – that unapologetic guitar playing.”