This magazine issue changed my life forever!
There comes a time in every guitar player’s musical upbringing when they find that one record, that one pivotal piece of music that completely destroys any hope they had of a non-musical future career. It’s that one CD (or LP/cassette in my case) that is so moving and inspirational that you lose your mind and block out anything and everything that is not guitar-related.
For me, that record has a little bit of a back story. I remember going to the local 7-11 one day to pick up the latest issue of Guitar for the Practicing Musician magazine. Back in the day, this was the magazine to buy. If I remember correctly, Guitar and Guitar World were the only two magazines for guitar out. (I could be wrong about that.) So, I picked up the March 1986 issue and started pouring through the pages. At the time my favorite section was the transcription area. I wasn’t that great at reading music yet, and certainly my ear wasn’t developed.
Perusing the transcriptions, however, led me to a then little-known song by a Swedish guitar player named Yngwie J. Malmsteen. (According to Spinal Tap, the “J” was to separate him from all of the other Yngwie Malmsteen’s out there in the world.)
The song was called “Black Star.”
Now, I have to be honest. The reason why the song intrigued me was the sheer volume of notes splashed all over the page. How could someone possibly play that fast? I had never seen anything like that before. I tried to play a few of the runs and was flabbergasted! I simply had to find out more.
Yngwie Malmsteen - Rising Force
So I ran out to the music store and found a cassette of Malmsteen’s first solo record. I didn’t have a good idea of what to expect, I just knew that there were a lot of notes and Malmsteen looked pretty cool on the magazine cover. To say that I certainly wasn’t expecting my life to change forever is an understatement.
I’m quite sure that most of you Fretheads have heard at least one Malmsteen song or seen him on youTube, so you know what I’m talking about. But you have to remember that back in 1986 there was absolutely nothing like him out there. He was literally all alone and blazing his own trail.
His music almost seems tame by today’s standards, but back then it was truly innovative and original. His neo-classical influence spread like wildfire, and without his contribution to guitar music we would not have many of the shredders and great players we have today.
I will forever be indebted to Yngwie for his Rising Force album, and to Guitar magazine for running the article and transcription. Without those two pivotal events in my musical upbringing I don’t know where I would be musically right now.
How about you Fretheads? What was the first guitar record that blew you away?
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Probably ‘the Ultraviolence’ by Joe Stump. One of the seasoned players at a guitar forum I was on sent me the song and I listened to it fairly religiously after that. I even used it as a backing track for an animation I did at Uni
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvMC5hkrdeI
Either that or Technical Difficulties by RacerX.
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Good stuff, Neal. I had never heard of Joe Stump before. Racer X, of course, I have heard of.
That song was a big one for me, too. I loved Yngwie when I was in my teens. But I was already hooked by Jimmy Page. believe it or not, the album that hooked me was The Song Remains the Same film soundtrack.
Steve in Hatfield
Yeah, I know tons of people my age and a bit older that were into Page; just not my cup of tea. But, I recognize his obvious contribution to guitar.
Yeah, I get that. Intellectually I know he wasn’t the greatest technician (or even really a good one), but I loved the guy. I don’t listen to Zep (or rock in general) much any more, but I have to give Page the credit for hooking me on guitar.
Great blog by the way. Nice work.
Steve
Thanks, bud!
Have you considered having a forum here at Fretterverse?
It’s crossed my mind, Steve. At this point I don’t know if I have enough time to moderate it, and my biggest fear is that the forum would turn into a typical guitar hater discussion, which I do not want at all. I don’t know if I could keep things where it would be all about the positive aspects of guitar playing and not just ragging on each other.
I’m not saying “no,” just saying that right now perhaps isn’t the right timing for it. Thanks for the suggestion!
Hendrix – Band of Gypsys
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I feel like a bit of a poseur for not being as into Hendrix as I probably should be; he is one of the greatest, after all. I mean, every guitar player should be a huge Hendrix fan. I had my phase with him for about six months and that’s it.
I was never a huge Hendrix fan either. I’m not sure why, I was exposed to enough of it. Just didn’t really do a lot for me.
Wow…I have quite a few of these. Hmm…I remember when I was a kid, shortly before I took up guitar, I was living in a house that played 70s balladeers such as The Carpenters and The Temptations. Good bands–don’t get me wrong, but when I first heard Def Leppard’s “Photograph”, that’s when it all started for me.
Thanks for sharing this Josh. The first Guitar Magazine that changed my musical life was Guitar Player magazine featuring Al Dimeola on the cover back in ’78 or thereabouts. I actually still have that mag and pretty much all Guitar Player mags from the mid 70′s to 1990 or so…with a bunch after 1990 as well. And just like you, I ran to the record store to grab Dimeola’s Elegant Gypsy album…and I haven’t been the same since…:)
@Steve…I also was heavily influenced by Zep’s “The Song Remaisn The Same” album…AND…I learned so much from Page having seen the film version 28 times when I was 14…Page basically became my “teacher” and to this day I still love slapping on the original vinyl and traveling back to when I was 14.
Peter Frampton Comes Alive was also an album that influenced me heavily into being a guitar player and I had the wonderful opportunity of seeing the tour for that album in Montreal when I was a young lad.
The third album that changed my musical identity as a young man, was the first Van Halen album…:) In fact, I was lucky enough to have owned the only copy of their original 45 single in Montreal at the time that featured You Really Got Me on one side and Atomic Punk on the other. My world was never the same since…!!!
Thanks again Josh for the post.
Lyle
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Great stuff, Lyle. I had a huge DiMeola phase back in high school. I totally wish I could pick like him! The rainbow PRS is another story, however.
Had to be Led Zeppelin II. I knew nothing of the guitar but after years of listening to the Beatles and Monkees etc. this record sounded HUGE! I don’t think anyone has ever made their instrument change it’s voice and purpose in service to the song (often within the same song) more than Page. Well, Hendrix, yes, but he was more ethereal. Neither one is my favorite player but, overall, few have done more to connect on a purely visceral level while offering a thoughtful and quality product.
I remember being a teenager and discovering an old record that my father had stashed in the bookcase. It had the faces of the members of the band on the cover, in shades of blue.
For some reason I decided to put it on track 1 of side two. I have never been so captivated by a song in my whole life. I was sat on the floor, listening to this song, the amazingly delicate drums, that one chord on the guitar, the bass, it was an almost trance-like experience.
The album was called Regatta de Blanc. I had the pleasure of hearing The Police perform “Walking on the Moon” live a couple of years ago. Best. Concert. Ever!
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That would be the Band of Gypsys (Hendrix)…20 years ago i decided it was time to listen to this cat. Didn’t have much money and nobody to “guide” me and recommend me some stuff from him. So i went to a store and bought the cheapest Hendrix album i found…that was the Band of Gypsys 2 …i chocked up when i heard the Hear my train acoming.
The same week i found some money and got the original Band of Gypsys…blew my mind…i was playing two years the guitar and i was shocked when i realized that everything in there was improvisation…that was it…songs like the Machine Gun still tear my soul.
Nick