IT’S A SIX-STRING THING
All this talk of guitarists got you hankering for some hot six-string action? We’ve teamed up with the good people at Mascot Records to bring you this exclusive compilation of some of the very best.
1 Steve Lukather Serpent Soul
Led out by a shuffle beat straight from the world’s seediest jazz bar, this highlight from I Found The Sun Again puts cathouse piano front and centre – but Toto’s resident motormouth finds space for an all-feel guitar solo where his fingers do the talking. From I Found The Sun Again
2 DeWolff Yes You Do
The Covid-era genesis of Yes You Do might sound like a dystopian nightmare (“We wrote it in a Zoom meeting!”). But this strutting soul-psych highlight from new album Wolffpack is steeped in the old-school, and will be one to shout back at the Dutch power-trio when the masks come off. From Wolffpack
3 Steve Cropper Far Away
The Stax silverback still has a way with a money lick, and his first ‘proper’ solo album since 1969 peaks on this escapist rhythm’n’blues rug-cutter. Horns blart and ivories clink, but at the heart of Far Away is that immortal right hand. As the Colonel says: “I set the groove…” From Fire It Up
4 Kenny Wayne Shepherd Diamonds & Gold (Live)
Last year’s Straight To You Live release showed just how hard the blues can kick in the hands of a master, but the Louisiana gunslinger doesn’t neglect the swing on Diamonds & Gold. Between the ‘whoawhoa’ hook and the addictive horn lines, you’re all set for earworms. From Straight To You Live
5 George Benson I Hear You Knocking (Live)
Back in 2019, the jazz scene’s smoothest operator drizzled honey over a select crowd at Ronnie Scott’s, and this standout from the resulting Weekend In London live album catches the atmosphere. Dave Bartholomew’s 1955 standard has previously been rocked up by acts like Dave Edmunds – but it’s never lolloped quite so lazily as here. From Weekend In London
6 Vandenberg Hell And High Water
Just a blues label? Don’t bet on it. Mascot’s dizzyingly eclectic roster means that Adrian Vandenberg’s Dutch-American heavy mob also have a seat at the table – although the jackhammer riffs of Hell And High Water mean you’re more likely to be moshing on top of it. From 2020
7 Marty Friedman Makenaide
Shaking off that ‘formerly of Megadeth’ tag a little more with every solo release, Friedman’s third instalment of Tokyo Jukebox opened with a hyperactive, harmony-drenched instrumental seemingly plucked from the soundtrack of Bill & Ted (it’s actually a cover of an obscure 1993 single by Japanese pop-rockers Zard). From Tokyo Jukebox 3
8 Black Stone Cherry The Chain
As the emotional fulcrum of last year’s The Human Condition, The Chain’s unifying chorus was a reaction to “the fucked up mess of the world” – while the verse took a cheeky steal from the Kentucky band’s heroes. “We were like, ‘What would be heavy Aerosmith?’” smiles guitarist Ben Wells. “So if you listen closely, there’s a little Walk This Way tribute in there.” From The Human Condition
9 Joe Bonamassa I Didn’t Think She Would Do It
Writing alongside Bernie Marsden and Pete Brown for the unashamedly Anglophile Royal Tea album, Bonamassa had Hendrix’s Fire in mind as he birthed this wah-heavy psychedelic squall. “I Didn’t Think She Would Do It was just something uptempo,” remembers the guitarist, “and the title sang well.” From Royal Tea
10 The Georgia Thunderbolts Spirit Of A Workin’ Man
From Skynyrd to the Allmans, there’s a little stir of every Southern great in these Georgia longhairs, but this highlight from last year’s self-titled debut album sums up their blue-collar ethos. “That’s our anthem,” says frontman TJ Lyle. “It’s got a deep lesson to it. You can’t knock down the little man.” From The Georgia Thunderbolts
11 Walter Trout Final Curtain Call
A tough twelve-bar with a faintly celtic-sounding guitar hook, Final Curtain Call was a gut-punch among the tracklisting of Ordinary Madness, and 70-year-old Trout’s acknowledgement that there’s more behind him than ahead. “That song is about realising that my time is running out, man,” he says. “I gotta deal with it and be ready for it. That’s one of the conditions of being alive.” From Ordinary Madness
12 Robby Krieger The Hitch
After a decade’s silence, The Doors guitarist reopened his solo account with last year’s The Ritual Begins At Sundown – and relit the fire with this irredeemably funky, brassdecorated instrumental where it feels like everyone gets a solo. Somewhere out there, a 70s cop show is looking for its stolen theme tune… From The Ritual Begins At Sundown