Shawn Lane
Shawn Lane made his public debut in 1978 when he joined Black Oak Arkansas at the tender age of 15, but it took almost another 15 years before the general guitar community started to become aware of his phenomenal talent. Before releasing his debut solo album, Powers of Ten, in 1992, Lane played in a cover band at the Peabody Hotel and various bars around Memphis, where he blew the minds of visiting rock dignitaries like Kirk Hammett, George Lynch, Billy Gibbons, and Ted Nugent. He also contributed to a handful of albums, most notably the Highwayman 2 collaboration featuring Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson and Willie Nelson.
Lane initially became known for his blazing jazz-fusion style, which started where Allan Holdsworth leaves off and was characterized by hypnotic sweep-picking flourishes and incredibly precise breakneck runs. In collaboration with bassist Jonas Hellborg, Lane explored Indian and Pakistani classical music and eventually toured India in 2003, where he earned acclaim as a true master of the style. Sadly, Lane passed away a few months later when he was only 40 years old. Even though many consider Lane the fastest guitarist that ever lived, the most impressive aspect of his playing remains soul, personality and emotion that transcend mere notes.
SIGNATURE TRACK “Gray Pianos Flying”
RECOMMENDED ALBUM Good People in Times of Evil (Hellborg, Lane, Selvaganesh)
Ronni Le Tekro
In the Eighties, while most shredders were dousing their bands’ songs in excessive licks, Ronni Le Tekro stood out as a bastion of tasteful nuance. As lead guitarist for TNT, he integrated his solos within the context of the songs, interspersing succinct, whiplashing lead breaks throughout the tunes. Within a single guitar break, he could shift from a fast classical run to a gutsy blues lick. It’s easy to see why esteemed guitarists that include George Lynch, Nuno Bettencourt and Zakk Wylde have admired his playing.
Born in Oslo, Norway, in 1963, Le Tekro grew up in the middle of the woods. The nearest guitarist was miles away, and Norway’s radio stations played no rock. So Tekro taught himself how to play guitar and through his isolation developed a style that stands out even among fellow European players. His explosive playing with TNT ignited the Norwegian band’s first three stateside albums (Knights of the New Thunder, Tell No Tales and Intuition), but like many metal acts of the early Nineties, the band lost momentum to the arrival of grunge. But as any old-school-metal connoisseur will tell you, Le Tekro ranks among the elite hard rock guitarists. He continues to record with TNT and as a solo artist and occasionally plays throughout Norway in the Thin Lizzy cover band Bad Habitz.
SIGNATURE TRACK “Sapphire”—Tell No Tales (TNT)
RECOMMENDED ALBUM Knights of the New Thunder (TNT)
Johnny Marr
One of the epoch-defining guitarists of the Eighties, Johnny Marr created a brave new world of chiming, churning glory from the guitar pop legacy. He came out of Manchester, England, and teamed up with Steven Patrick Morrissey to form the Smiths in 1982. The Morrissey/Marr songwriting partnership produced a body of work that spoke deeply to a generation of bookish, disaffected youth. Marr’s incredible gift lay in his ability to find just the right guitar textures, chordal patterns and countermelodies to complement Morrissey’s lonely outsider lyrics. Together they created a vision of shimmering, fragile beauty amid the grit and grime of mundane existence.
Marr’s guitar technique is inseparable from his songwriting. The billowing waves of tremolo chording in “How Soon Is Now” arise organically from the song itself, as does the garage psych riffing that drives “What Difference Does it Make?” It’s all so right and so rock and roll.
Since the Smiths’ breakup in 1987, Marr has shown consummate taste in his choice of collaborators, including Bernard Sumner (Joy Division/New Order/Electronic), the Pretenders, Beck and Modest Mouse. His influence was vital to the “Madchester” sound of the Stone Roses and the Brit-pop stylings of Oasis, Blur and Suede. Radiohead also worship at the altar of Johnny Marr, as do more metal-centric L.A. guitarists like Dave Navarro and John Frusciante. All would concur with Noel Gallagher of Oasis’ noted appraisal of Marr as “a fucking wizard.”
SIGNATURE TRACK “How Soon Is Now?” (The Smiths)
RECOMMENDED ALBUM The Smiths
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