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In The Footsteps Of Giants

This month, myself, Nev Marten, Editor of Guitar Techniques and Mick Taylor of That Pedal Show had the pleasure of performing some of Cream’s greatest tracks at Bristol’s annual Jazz & Blues Festival, in honour of the 50th anniversary of the band’s farewell in 1968. Aside from the exhilaration of playing such classic material to a room full of Cream fans who cheered us on in a very generous spirit, everyone in the band remarked on what an interesting journey it had been musically, too. One of the most surprising

things was which songs generated the most power and excitement on stage. Sometimes it was obvious hits like I Feel Free but quite often the tracks that really hit home were deep cuts like Deserted Cities Of The Heart. Far from being dated relics, performing Clapton, Bruce and Baker’s album tracks made us realise how far ahead of their time Cream were – and how powerful that work remains. Of course, we had plenty of other musical revelations this month, too, from the artists and experts who helped us put this issue together. We were lucky to have the brilliant Canadian guitarist Ariel Posen drop by during his UK tour with Josh Smith (see interview, page 68). When we asked him what his best tip for mastering the tricky art of slide guitar was he gave us some disarmingly simple advice – get a slide that fits your finger snugly. Think about it: how many times have you put a bulky slide on your finger that rattles around on your digit like a length of sewer pipe and then wondered why you couldn’t shape a good note with it! As Ariel points out, it should really just be an extension of your finger. Likewise, Eric Johnson (see interview page 56), a modern master of tone, gave us plenty of sage advice on great sound as he returns to touring his seminal album Ah Via Musicom. And of course, I doubt there’s an electric guitarist alive who doesn’t enjoy a good, rich overdrive tone from time to time. Join some of the world’s leading effects designers to find out how to get warm, expressive lead tone every time on page 80. Enjoy the issue and see you next time.

Editor’s Highlights

Tone For A Ton How hard can it be to build your own electric guitar from a kit? We find out with Dave Burrluck’s DIY review of the £118 Boston Teaser on p96

Jamie Dickson Editor

Elmore James Haunting, moving and deeply influential, the slide blues of Elmore James inspired everyone from Jimi to SRV. We look back on the bluesman’s life on p62

Silver Sky We review what is easily the year’s most controversial guitar, the PRS John Mayer Silver Sky, to find out what all the fuss is about... p8

May 2018  Guitarist

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