Daniel Lanois: Exploding Guitar

With his  Bigsby-equipped 1953 Les Paul fitted with a Firebird pickup in the bridge and its P-90 in the neck, run through his Korg SDD-3000 digital delay into his Tweed Fenders, Daniel Lanois spews forth pure rock and roll emotion in this rehearsal video A bonanza for fans of his personal style of playing and unique sound.

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Guitar Modern Top Records of 2016

It’s that time of year again: Trees being decorated, candles being lit, balls being dropped, and, of course, year-end top ten lists. You love ’em, you hate ’em but no publication worthy of the name is without them. So here is mine. There were many great records of modern guitar released this year (read about them in the various Record picks posts) but these are the ones that found their way most often to my virtual turntable.

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Guitar Moderne Record Picks VII

RareNoiseRecords presents a slew of new records:

Merzbow/Haino/Pandi An Untroublesome Defencelessness
Japanese electronic maestro Merzbow (aka Masami Akita) joins countryman, guitarist Keiji Haino, and Hungarian drummer Balazs Pandi for some extreme sonic experimentation that transmits its own rough beauty.

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Happy Birthday Neil Young

I often play a parlor game with friends. I say, “People always lament about what Jimi Hendrix might have accomplished if he had lived longer. Well, he might have done great things, or he might have reached a certain point and stagnated, like so many of the Sixties icons.” We then try to think of artists who had 40 or 50 year careers that have continued to grow, experiment, and change. The list proves to be a short one: Miles Davis, Jim Hall, right up until his death; Jeff Beck, for sure, Joni Mitchell, and always, Neil Young. His recent release of old Blue Note tracks is a step back. But this record, with Daniel Lanois, was a Roots Moderne, guitar noise masterpiece. Happy Birthday Neil.

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Guitar Moderne Top Records 2014

You may notice some labels making recurrent and multiple appearances on this list and from year to year. These labels have become successful, forward thinking purveyors of boundary stretching music, so it is not surprising they are attracting the best of the best. Cuneiform has a long history in this field, which makes up and coming, virtuoso Anthony Pirog a good match. Rune Grammofon continues to support the ground-breaking work of modern guitar hero Stian Westerhus, while Anti and Nonesuch are becoming the go-to labels for roots artists looking to remain relevant.

Once again this is a purely subjective list, so please let me know if you feel strongly about a record I have left off. We are fortunate so much great modern guitar music is  available, but it makes it hard for one man to keep up. Happy Holidays.

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