Music Theory as a Lifestyle

1. John McLaughlin, Al DiMeola and Paco DeLucia - Friday Night in San Francisco
2. Michael Hedges - Live on the Double Planet
3. Willy Porter - High Wire Live
4. Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds - Live at Radio City Music Hall
5. Eric Clapton - MTV Unplugged

Ok, to start the list McLaughlin, DiMeola and DeLucia is a classic for the acoustic.  The sounds and styles that ooze from the this “off-the-cuff” recording.  Everything is live with the exception of the “Guardian Angel“.  Very good example of playing off of each other.
Michael Hedges performance on “Live on the Double Planet” is captivating at the very least.  This is fairly early in Hedges recording career, May 1986-July 1987.  Although released before “Watching My Life Go By“, this was recorded from a number of performances and hand-picked by Hedges.  His covers are devastatingly good, “All Along The Watchtower“, “Come Together” and even the Sheila E./Prince tune “A Love Bizarre“.
Willy Porter was a guy that shook me to my core when I first heard him play at The Pageant on Delmar in the Loop here in the STL.  He was the opening act for Jeff Beck.  I took a buddy of mine, Denny, for his birthday. I remember us looking at each other after Willy did his second song saying “Who is this guy and why don’t I have everything he’s ever done?”  I immediately went out and bought everything I could find by this guy and his recordings didn’t include the same kind of intensity as his live show.  “High Wire Live” solved that problem.
Dave Matthews/Tim Reynolds together works.  Reynolds is amazing on guitar and Matthews’ vocal/complimentary guitar make the songs riveting.  “Gravedigger“, “Grace Is Gone” and Neil Young’s “Down by The River” are personal favorites.
Eric Clapton recording this album started the whole “Unplugged” series.  This is not only the best “Unplugged” it is one of the best albums by Clapton in years.  Totally raw and smoking.

1. Michael Hedges - Aerial Boundaries
2. Vlatko Stefanovoski & Miroslav Tadic - Tretja Majica
3. Rodrigo y Gabriela - Rodrigo y Gabriela
4. John Fahey - Legend of Blind Joe Death
5. John McLaughlin - Remembering Shakti

Michael Hedges “Aerial Boundaries” is must for anyone who has ever looked at an acoustic guitar.  No one has ever played the guitar like Hedges plays before him but many imitators after him.  His untimely death in December 1997, left a huge whole in the innovation of acoustic guitar playing.
Vlatko Stefanovoski & Miroslav Tadic create a type of playing I had never heard before I was turned on to Stefanovski while I was in Europe.  Stefanovski is considered to be the “Macedonian Guitar God”  and is a very accomplished rock electric guitarist.  His work with Leb I Sol and the V.S.Trio is a mazing. “Tretja Majica” is Vlatko’s other side.  Deep rooted in gypsy rhythms and tonalities, Stefanovski and Tadic make a great duo.
Rodrigo y Gabriela are Mexican ex-metal heads who shed their armor and went flamenco.  They are fairly new but they took Ireland by storm.  Great version of Metallica’s “Orion” but the “Diablo Rojo” probably is the best on the album.
John Fahey was an undergraound blues/folk acoustic player that got little noteriety.  I absolutely love the rawness of this album.  Originally recorded in 1959, re-recorded in 1964 and once again in 1967, reissued in 1996 with both the 1964 and 1967 sessions plus songs dropped from the 1959 original recording.
John McLaughlin “Remembering Shakti” stretches our musical boundaries to the other side of the workd with the mix of amazing acoustic guitar and Indian instruments (tabla drums, ghatam and bansuri).

1. Allan Holdsworth - Metal Fatigue
2. Jeff Beck - Blow by Blow/Wired
3. Led Zeppelin - II
4. The Allman Brothers Band - Live at the Fillmore East
5. Rush - Permanent Waves
6. Santana - Moonflower
7. Robin Trower - Bridge of Sighs
8. Steely Dan - Royal Scam/Aja
9. Yes - The Yes Album/Fragile
10. Jimi Hendrix - Electric Ladyland/Axis: Bold As Love

This was kind of a tough list as you can probably tell. 

Jeff Beck’s “Blow by Blow” or “Wired” would be great to get a glimpse of that era.
Steely Dan’s “Royal Scam” is probably my favorite SD album but “Aja” is probably a better electric guitar album.  The sax in “Deacon Blues” should be something every electric guitar player should aspire to.
Yes “Fragile” or “The Yes Album” are great examples of Steve Howe’s brilliance of making the electric guitar as part of band of lead instruments.
Jimi Hendrix’s “Electric Ladyland” is pretty much Jimi’s best work period.  “Axis: Bold As Love” must have been Jimi experiencing his greatest freedom.  I would have included “Band of Gypsies” but I think that was less innovative.

So, who was left off?  Some great guitar players - come on, I only had 10 albums to work with and I sort of cheated on that.  I believe anyone wanting get a good rounded idea of great players should start out with these 10 or so.  Here’s are some other guys you might want to check out in, no particular order:

• Van Halen - Van Halen
• Randy Rhoads (Ozzy Osbourne) - Blizzard of Oz
• Eric Clapton - Slowhand, 461 Oceanside Blvd, Layla (Derek & The Dominoes), Blind Faith
• Joe Satriani - Surfing with the Alien
• Yngwie Malmsteen - Rising Force
• Wayne Krantz - Signals
• Brian May (Queen) - Night At The Opera, Jazz
• Warren Haynes (Gov’t Mule, Allman Bros.) - Dose (GM), With A Little Help From Our Friends (GM), Hittin’ The Note (ABB)
• John Mayer - The John Mayer Trio
• Robert Fripp (King Crimson) - Anything besides Poseidon, Lizard or Islands
• Frank Zappa - The Man From Utopia
•  Steve Morse (Dixie Dregs) - The Introduction
• Tommy Bolin - Teaser, Private Eyes

This list will grow and grow.  That’ll do for now.