NPR is streaming Jeff Beck's new album Emotion and Commotion in its entirety until the album is released next week. As you might expect from Jeff Beck, the album is very eclectic and features some uptempo rock tunes and some slower, jazzier tunes and just about everything in between. The album's opener, "Corpus Christi Carol", is an almost dirge-like song with strings … [Read more...]
Review: Joe Bonamassa Black Rock
Joe Bonamassa and Kevin Shirley have a good thing going. Each year they get together for a few weeks and record a new album. I don't know how they do it, but they've got the process down to a science. Which is not to say that the records sound rushed. On the contrary, Shirley seems to be able to push Bonamasssa a little further with each new release, and Bonamassa's signature … [Read more...]
Guitar Review: Squier Classic Vibe ’50s Telecaster
I have a confession: I'm a bit of a headstock snob, mainly because I've always equated quality with the name on the headstock. Additionally, I've had mixed experiences with Squier guitars before. As a result, I haven't paid much attention to Squier guitars over the past few years. However, over the past year after joining The Gear Page forums and The Telecaster forums, I … [Read more...]
Blackheart Little Giant Combo
Low-watt amps have become quite popular over the past few years as people have tried to find great tone at lower volumes. Low-watt amps are not new, though. Fender introduced the 5-watt Champ amp in 1948, and many other manufacturers have offered low-watt amps since. However, it seems that more companies are offering low-watt amps than ever before. Blackheart Engineering is a … [Read more...]
Page Hamilton – Sonic Shapes
Last year, Page Hamilton released a guitar instructional DVD titled Sonic Shapes. I've mentioned before that I was a big fan of Hamilton's and his band Helmet when I first started playing guitar in the 90s. He was one of the first musicians I knew of who tuned to drop-D. On Sonic Shapes, Hamilton illustrates some of the concepts and approaches he takes when writing music for … [Read more...]