Sure, there are scores of stellar live versions of Stevie Ray Vaughan's "Texas Flood" online, but there's simply something magical about this raw performance of the Larry Davis tune from July 17, 1982, at the Montreux Jazz and International Music Festival in Switzerland.

The extended, dynamics-filled rollercoaster ride finds Vaughan reaching into his bag of Albert-King-meets-Jim-Hendrix licks — not to mention behind his back, where his Fender Strat rests for the final quarter of the 10-minute-long performance.

Vaughan floored everyone that night, except for a handful of blues purists who can be heard (and clearly seen in the video below) booing loud and clear.

"We weren't sure how we'd be accepted," Vaughan told Guitar World in the early Eighties. But he must've known it went well when David Bowie appeared backstage ... and important alliance was born.

In the video below, Vaughan puts his guitar behind his back at 8:22, and it stays there for the rest of the song. As for the booing, it starts right away, then picks up during the quiet part of the song (around 6:50 in the clip). You can actually see a group of knuckleheads booing at 10:14.

Although I'm not defending the knuckleheads, I should mention that a good portion of the crowd was expecting the type of music they'd been hearing for most of the day: quiet, acoustic blues guitar (For instance, John Hammond played solo acoustic guitar at the event). When Vaughan and bassist Tommy Shannon turned up the amps and went to work, well, it was a bit of a shock.

By the way, this entire performance is available on DVD right here. As the DVD's title suggests, Live at Montreux 1982 & 1985 also features the band's 1985 performance at the Montreux Jazz Fest. No one booed him in '85.

From songs like the Police’s “Message in a Bottle” to Nirvana’s “Come As You Are,” Andy Summers and Kurt Cobain used the unmistakable sound of the chorus pedal to great effect, no pun intended.

For those players, a chorus pedal was an integral part of their rig, and as evidenced above, it’s the signature guitar sound on a lot of great songs.

Unfortunately, lush modulation was so blatantly overused in popular music during the Eighties and Nineties that most modern guitarists have eschewed it for more organic tones. Chorus isn’t going away anytime soon, and there are many fine chorus pedals that can add three-dimensional shimmer to your tone. But DigiTech’s Luxe pedal is something different.

While it can produce classic chorus and vibrato tones, it’s also capable of creating spacious pitch detunings that can make your guitar sound thicker and even double-tracked.

FEATURES The compact Luxe looks more like a boutique stomp box than a member of DigiTech’s popular pedal line. Its white-painted metal housing is finished with gold-floral graphics and studded with a rugged footswitch and a pair of beveled aluminum knobs.

The Luxe features a true-hardwire bypass, brightly lit red LED, and controls for level and detune. Level adjusts the mix ratio of your dry signal to the detune signal (setting it at 12 o’clock splits it in half), and detune lets you adjust the range of detune +/-50 cents. The Luxe isn’t battery powered, but it comes with a nine-volt DC power adapter.

PERFORMANCE To think of the Luxe as simply another chorus would be selling it short. It borrows its singular detune function from the polyphonic pitch-shifting algorithm used in DigiTech’s popular Whammy Pedal.

Instead of duplicating the slightly delayed modulation of chorus, the Luxe cleanly increases or decreases the detuned pitch of your original signal, producing pure oscillating microtones that sound like a doubled guitar track. The Luxe can certainly pull off excellent chorus and vibrato tones, but its thick doubling effect is the pedal’s calling card. Crank the level knob all the way up and set the detune knob at 10 o’clock to enhance solos, or set the level at 10 o’clock and push detune to two o’clock for a massively dense rhythm tone.

LIST PRICE $199.95
MANUFACTURER DigiTech, digitech.com

THE BOTTOM LINE: The DigiTech Luxe is more than a chorus pedal, adding texture and dimension to fatten and double your guitar’s tone.

If you enjoy watching Canadian musicians play giant guitars, you might find this video amusing.

It's the official music video for "Rude" by Canada's Walk Off the Earth. And, as promised in the first sentence, it features a gigantic, yet seemingly functional, acoustic guitar.

The guitar (the brand is unknown as of this writing) is so big that it is pretty much the entire rhythm section. It's being used as a bass on the song while the drummer taps on it just a few feet away.

"Rude" is a cover of a hit by a Canadian reggae fusion band called Magic! (I'm not screaming; the exclamation point is actually part of the band's name.)

For more about Walk Off the Earth, follow them on Facebook..

We love when the guys at the ESP Custom Shop in Japan create videos that show how their latest creations are, well, created.

Ergo, we're happy to share this new video, posted January 4, that shows exactly what goes into the Custom Shop's magnificent "Rinne (Transmigration)" guitar. We're not sure if we need the quotation marks, but we'll worry about that later.

Anyway, check out the video below and tell us what you think of this beauty!

To see several more brand-new pieces by the ESP Custom Shop, head here—and, of course, be sure to follow along with Guitar World's NAMM Show coverage next week, especially on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. It'll be like you're at the show!

If Jimmy Page is the Steven Spielberg of guitarists, then “Stairway to Heaven” is his Close Encounters.

Built around a solid, uplifting theme—man’s quest for salvation—the epic slowly gains momentum and rushes headlong to a shattering conclusion. The grand finale in this case is the song’s thrill-a-second guitar solo.

In the new BBC video below, Page, who is relaxing in a comfy-looking easy chair, listens to "Stairway to Heaven" (on vinyl, of course), and then goes on to explain how it was written.

If you'd like a bit more history, read on. If not, head straight for the video!

Page remembers: “I’d been fooling around with the acoustic guitar and came up with several different sections which flowed together nicely. I soon realized that it could be the perfect vehicle for something I’d been wanting to do for a while: to compose something that would start quietly, have the drums come in the middle, and then build to a huge crescendo. I also knew that I wanted the piece to speed up, which is something musicians aren’t supposed to do.

“So I had all the structure of it, and ran it by [bassist] John Paul Jones so he could get the idea of it—[drummer] John Bonham and [singer] Robert Plant had gone out for the night—and then on the following day we got into it with Bonham. You have to realize that, at first, there was a hell of a lot for everyone to remember on this one. But as we were sort of routining it, Robert started writing the lyrics, and much to his surprise, he wrote a huge percentage of it right there and then.”

In the brand-spanking-new video below, guitarist and awesomely obsessed gear-head Pete Thorn, who we just don't feature on the site enough, demos the Boss BD2W Blues Driver Waza Craft edition.

From the company:

Passionately designed by the master engineers at BOSS in Japan, the Waza Craft BD-2W delivers a premium stomp experience that fans of customized pedal tone will love.

Crafted with an ear for highly refined sound, the BD-2W takes the classic Blues Driver grit to a new level with all-discrete analog circuitry. Standard mode captures the classic BD-2 tone while Custom mode delivers new body and sustain.

For more about this pedal, visit its page at bossus.com. For more about Thorn, visit peterthorn.com.

Follow Guitar World's coverage of the 2015 Winter NAMM Show with gear news and videos on GuitarWorld.com, updates on Facebook and photos and more on Twitter and Instagram.

ESP is adding dozens of new and updated LTD models to this year’s lineup.

“LTD represents the ‘bread-and-butter’ for ESP dealers, with affordable guitars and basses for all levels of musicians,” says Matt Masciandaro, ESP president and CEO.

“This year, our LTD offerings are better than ever, with exciting new instruments that cover everyone from brand new novice musicians to professional touring and recording players in every genre and style of music.”

Three special limited edition LTD models have been made to commemorate ESP’s 40th anniversary. The LTD EC-2015 and MH-2015 will be limited to 300 pieces worldwide, and the 7-string H7-2015 limited to just 200 pieces.

Each of these premier-quality guitars with high-end features and components will include a hardshell case with the “ESP 40” logo, and a certificate of authenticity.

Based on direct result of feedback from ESP customers who enjoy the greater range of extended string and scale configurations, the company is also introducing six new baritone (27” scale) guitar models. These include the 6-string MH-401B/FM and V-401B, the 7-string EC-407B/FM, V-407B, and MH-417B FM, and the 8-string H-408B/FM. Two brand new shapes are being debuted in the LTD line that were previously unavailable in the USA, with the aggressively-shaped LTD Arrow-401, LTD FRX-401, and 7- string FRX-407 models.

The LTD Deluxe series also expanded with a number of “1000 Series” guitars, including the special edition M-1000/SE with its high-end components by Floyd Rose and Seymour Duncan, and flamed maple top in Vintage Natural Satin finish. More new LTD Deluxe models include the EC-1000ET/FM with an EverTune bridge system, and the M-1000/Ebony with ebony fingerboard.

New to LTD Deluxe is the “1001 Series” which add special design considerations and/or components like EMG’s MetalWorks pickups, including the EC-1001/FR, the H-1001/FR, the M-1001, the MH-1001/NT, and the MH-1001/FR.

New finishes for some of LTD’s most popular shapes include the EC-401 in Charcoal Satin, the M-200 in Black Desert Camo, and the TE-406/FM in Dark Brown Sunburst Satin and Snow White Satin.

More information on all of the updated LTD guitars and basses, along with the rest of ESP’s new models for 2015, is available at espguitars.com.

For more NAMM 2015 coverage, visit GuitarWorld.com's official NAMM 2015 Zone, get updates on Facebook and photos and more on Twitter and Instagram. It's like you're at the show!

Follow Guitar World's coverage of the 2015 Winter NAMM Show with gear news and videos on GuitarWorld.com, updates on Facebook and photos and more on Twitter and Instagram.

D’Addario announces the re-release of the Clip-On Headstock Tuner, now with improved features.

“We’ve had a great demand from users to bring back our original CT-10 Headstock Tuner since it was discontinued a few years ago,” said D’Addario Accessories Product Manager Rob Cunningham.

“We listened and returned the model with new and improved features.”

The D’Addario Clip-On Headstock Tuner precisely tunes guitars, basses, and other stringed instruments utilizing vibrations rather than sound. Using a highly sensitive piezo sensor and large multi-color display, the Clip-On Headstock Tuner allows guitarists to tune easily and accurately in noisy and dimly lit environments where many other tuners fail.

It features a large, multi-color display, and 360-degree rotation for various viewing angles and left- and right-handed instruments. The tuner features a flip-up display that automatically turns the tuner on when opened and off when closed. The screen is also reversible. The tuner offers a wide calibration range of 410–480 hz.

The PW-CT-10 Clip-On Headstock Tuner will retail for $44.95 and will be available as of January 17.

For more information, visit daddario.com.

For more NAMM 2015 coverage, visit GuitarWorld.com's official NAMM 2015 Zone, get updates on Facebook and photos and more on Twitter and Instagram. It's like you're at the show!

Follow Guitar World's coverage of the 2015 Winter NAMM Show with gear news and videos on GuitarWorld.com, updates on Facebook and photos and more on Twitter and Instagram.

D’Addario has added new guitar straps with fresh, fashion forward designs.

By partnering with top fashion industry designers, multiple new woven and leather strap designs are now being offered.

“Investigating the clothing and symbolism of rock, indie, and Americana genres, as well as various world cultures, helped to inspire the design team to lay the foundation of what will be some of the most diverse guitar strap offerings available,” says Mike D’Angelo, D’Addario product specialist.

“In addition to having eye-catching designs, we plan to make our line ever-changing so we consistently have a fresh look to our guitar straps.” In addition, feedback was obtained from dealers whose thoughts helped to create designs.

D’Addario also surveyed social media followers who helped the company to gather vital feedback. New designs have been added to their various strap lines, including Rock, Indie, Americana, World, Core and Signature.

The 2015 Leather Guitar Strap design additions include Racing Stripes, Tooled Embossed, Contrast-Colored Ends, Horizontal Stripes, Paisley Window and Icon Heart and Star designs. Leather Straps retail for $73-$88 and are available now.

Woven Guitar Strap design additions for 2015 include Latin Blanket Stripes, Baja Blanket, Buffalo Check, Polka Dot, Tie Stripes, Checkerboard varieties, Guatemalan Woven, Cross Print, and Monterey varieties, as well as Flame Pinstripes, Camo, Optical Art, Mixed Symbols, Tiki Totem Pole, Sugar Skulls, Paisley and Zig Zag patterns. Woven strap designs range from $30.60-$40.80 and are also available now.

By consistently updating its product offerings, D’Addario & Company proves its dedication to inspiringhigher levels of creativity and performance for musicians worldwide. Learn more at planetwaves.com.

For more NAMM Show coverage, visit GuitarWorld.com's official NAMM 2015 section, get updates on Facebook and photos and more on Twitter and Instagram. It's like you're at the show!

The Washburn N4 model designed by Nuno Bettencourt and Stephen Davies has enjoyed incredible success since its introduction nearly 25 years ago, in 1990.

Unlike most signature model guitars, which appeal only to fans of that artist, the N4 has earned acceptance on its own terms as a great player’s ax. In fact, over the past decade or so, it’s likely that most guitarists that have bought an N4 don’t even know Nuno from their nana.

While the new N4 Authentic is an exact replica of Bettencourt’s main N4 guitar, it’s certain to appeal as much to guitarists who want a stripped-down, high-performance instrument with a comfortable broken-in feel as it does to the most die-hard Extreme fan.

FEATURES All of the features that made the original N4 popular are still present and accounted for, including the sexy-feeling five-bolt Stephen’s Extended Cutaway design, powerful Seymour Duncan ’59 neck and Bill Lawrence USA L500XL bridge humbucking pickups, and a Floyd Rose Original double-locking vibrato.

The body is a light and resonant slab of alder, and the bird’s-eye maple neck features an ebony fretboard, 22 jumbo frets, 25 1/2-inch scale and an ultra-slim profile. Controls consist of a single volume knob and a three-position pickup selector switch.

Notable features not found on normal N4 models include “mismatched” tuners (four mini Gotoh for the D, G, B and high E strings, a Grover 18-1 for the A string, and a different Gotoh tuner for the low E string) and an EVH D-Tuna with its own routed body channel. Every dent, mark and ding found on Nuno’s personal guitar is replicated in fine detail.

PERFORMANCE When I first opened the case and picked up the N4 Authentic, I initially thought that Washburn had sent me Nuno’s personal guitar by mistake. Whereas most premature aging processes look and feel more like the work of a disgruntled craftsman going to town with a ball-peen hammer and belt sander, the N4 Authentic looks and feels like a played and naturally worn ax.

The aging isn’t overdone either—in fact, from a distance the guitar looks only slightly used, with only a few subtle dings visible.

The playability is absolutely incredible, especially for players who love the feel of a broken-in guitar. The tone is equally killer, with the L500XL delivering brilliant treble and presence and the Duncan ’59 producing a fat, warm growl. Thanks to the Buzz Feiten Tuning System, intonation across the entire neck is dead-on accurate.

LIST PRICE $3,999.90
MANUFACTURERWashburn Guitars, washburn.com

“Mismatched” Gotoh and Grover tuners, the EVH D-Tuna, and Seymour Duncan ’59 and Bill Lawrence USA L500XL pickups match those on Nuno Bettencourt’s personal N4.

The Stephen’s Extended Cutaway provides completely unobstructed access to the uppermost regions of the 22-fret fingerboard.

THE BOTTOM LINE If you’re looking for a high-performance hot rod of a guitar that feels as comfortable and broken-in as your favorite well-worn and much-loved ax, the N4 Authentic is the guitar for you.

Around the release of his eponymous debut solo album, Slash took the time out to show us how to play some of his favorite riffs, both new and old.

In the Guitar World video below, Slash talks about writing the classic Guns N' Roses tune "Paradise City." He also shows you how to play the key parts of the Appetite for Destruction track.

Slash's new studio album—World on Fire—was counted among Guitar World's50 Best Albums of 2014.

Enjoy!

Photo: Robert John

Three energetic—not to mention inquisitive—musicians have re-recorded Metallica's much-debated, often-criticized 2003 album, St. Anger.

And, if you believe the Internet chatter that's making the rounds as I type these words, the 2015 version is considered (by some) to be "better" than the original.

We'd like you to listen to the new version of the album below and tell us what you think.

St. Anger was the product of an unusually turbulent period in Metallica's history. Tensions came to a head after bassist Jason Newsted left the band; frontman/guitarist James Hetfield soon entered rehab amid a confrontation with drummer Lars Ulrich. Anyone who has seen the Some Kind of Monster film has an idea of the conditions under which the album came to be.

It often has been wondered, would the album have sounded completely different—better, perhaps—if it were conceived and recorded under different circumstances?

Metallica Fans Daryl Gardner (guitar, bass, drums), Dave Cox (vocals) and Chris Dando (production, backing vocals) set out to find out exactly that—so they recorded the entire St. Anger album themselves and released it via YouTube, dubbing the project #stanger2015.

“#stanger2015 is for the listeners who weren’t so fond on the record when it was released in 2003,” Gardner wrote. “Recorded from the ground up, the album has been shortened by 16 minutes, yet every riff and lyric is intact, resulting in a more concise and focused record.

“The production is also more conventional, and we hope Metallica fans appreciate this new version of an album that is always looked at as an anomaly in the incredible career of the world’s biggest metal band, Metallica.”

What do you think of it? Let us know on Facebook!

In this new Guitar World video, GW Tech Editor Paul Riario shows you how to install a Super-Vee BladeRunner tremolo system.

The BladeRunner offers the company's patented "Blade" technology, frictionless action and a positionable whammy bar.

For more information, visit super-vee.com.

Also, be sure to check out Riario's reviews of the Super-Vee Maverick Telecaster Tremolo System and the Super-Vee Mag-Lok Tremolo Anti-Deflection Device.

Follow Guitar World's coverage of the 2015 Winter NAMM Show with gear news and videos on GuitarWorld.com, updates on Facebook and photos and more on Twitter and Instagram.

Orange has announced its latest combos, the new 2015 Crush series.

Redefining the benchmark for practice amplifiers, the Crush 12, Crush 20, Crush 20RT and Crush 35RT are primed to introduce guitarists of all levels to the signature Orange sound, while offering a genuine alternative to digital modelling.

Building on the success of the critically acclaimed Crush Pro range, Orange has opened up the same high gain, four stage preamp design to the new Crush series, capturing the Dirty channel of its iconic Rockerverb in solid state form. Combined Orange’s custom Voice of the World speakers, the new Crush deliver gut-punching tones with highly responsive overdrive and levels of detailed saturation never before heard in a practice amplifier.

All models feature Orange’s new CabSim circuit, which faithfully emulates the muscle of an Orange 4x12" cabinet through the headphone/line output, whilst channel switching is available on 20W and 35W models. RT versions feature onboard reverb and an integrated chromatic tuner. The Crush 35RT also includes a fully buffered low-impedance effects loop and more than enough output for the rehearsal room.

With refined styling, rock-solid build quality and enormous, wide-ranging tones, the new Crush takes players back to the heady, no-nonsense days of straight ahead, ‘plug and play’ analogue amps.

Key Features:
· New high gain preamp design (Crush 20/20RT/35RT)
· Footswitchable channels (Crush 20/20RT/35RT)
· Analogue signal path
· Custom Orange Voice of the WorldTM speakers
· CabSim loaded headphone/line output
· Free access to the online beginner Orange Rock Guitar Syllabus (https://orangeamps.com/learn) when registering on orangeamps.com

Orange Amplification will be showing the New Crush Amplifier series and all their other new products at their Booth 4890 Hall C at Winter NAMM 2015. The series is available from January 22.

For more information including audio samples and high-resolution images, visit orangeamps.com.

For more NAMM Show coverage, visit GuitarWorld.com's official NAMM 2015 section, get updates on Facebook and photos and more on Twitter and Instagram. It's like you're at the show!

Follow Guitar World's coverage of the 2015 Winter NAMM Show with gear news and videos on GuitarWorld.com, updates on Facebook and photos and more on Twitter and Instagram.

Orange Amplification has solved the perennial problem of instrument cables tangling and kinking, with the launch of the new Orange Twister Cable.

This age-old problem has frustrated musicians and inventors since the dawn of electrified music and Orange has had to think outside the box to create a solution that provides freedom of movement on stage without the need for a digital wireless unit.

True performers are not static and cables can knot and prevent them from moving and turning on stage. The innovative Twister Cable incorporates a unique Twister module (patents applied for) which rotates freely preventing the cable from tangling and kinking.

The Twister module itself is machined from high quality, lightweight, aircraft grade aluminium, incorporating three sealed internal precision ball races ensuring a robust and reliable cable for performing musicians. The signal transmitted remains unaffected and uninterrupted due to the unit’s extremely low noise factor. Featuring the highest grade of oxygen-free copper cabling, the new Twister Cables achieve the same high performance of signal transmission as Orange’s existing Professional Cable range, ensuring optimum clarity and articulation with the additional benefit of tangle-free operation.

Features include:
• Prevents cables from tangling in use, without the need for wireless technology.
• Durable precision aluminium casing with three internal ball races.
• Superior low noise transmission of sound with excellent frequency response.
• Available as part of the Orange Professional Cable range in instrument and microphone configurations with genuine Neutrik connectors.
• Twister module is available in black or silver finishings.

The Orange Twister Cable is available to purchase from Feb/March 2015.

Orange Amplification will be showing the Orange Twister Cable and all its other new products at their Booth 4890 Hall C at Winter NAMM 2015. For more information, visit orangeamps.com.

For more NAMM Show coverage, visit GuitarWorld.com's official NAMM 2015 section, get updates on Facebook and photos and more on Twitter and Instagram. It's like you're at the show!

Follow Guitar World's coverage of the 2015 Winter NAMM Show with gear news and videos on GuitarWorld.com, updates on Facebook and photos and more on Twitter and Instagram.

Reverend Guitars is introducing five new models to the line for NAMM 2015.

All of the models push the boundaries of the line while maintaining the Reverend grit and innovation: the Descent, the Sensei Jr., the Tricky Gomez 290, the Bayonet RA 90 and the Double Agent OG.

The Descent is a baritone guitar on Reverend’s double-cutaway bolt-on platform, with a 26 ¾” neck, that comes in two pickup configurations. The Descent H90 comes with Humbucker-sized Gnarly 90 bridge and Tel 90 neck Railhammer pickups, a Wilkinson Trem and is available in Oceanside Green with Maple fretboard or Rock Orange with Rosewood fretboard. The Descent RA comes with chrome-covered Railhammer Chisels, and it comes in Violin Burst Flame Maple with Rosewood.

Some of the world’s best guitar music was written on a single pickup guitar. Now, guitarists can continue that tradition with the single pickup Reverend Sensei Jr. Outfitted with one of Reverend’s own P90 bridge pickups, the hardtail set-neck guitar sounds slightly hotter than a similar vintage model. The rosewood neck has dot inlays and the gloss Korina body is available in either Vintage Clear or Tobacco Burst for further vintage cool. With the bass contour control, the Sensei Jr. becomes the most versatile single pickup guitar on the planet.

Due to the roaring success of the Reverend Tricky Gomez, Reverend has decided to expand the model to include a P90 version, the Tricky Gomez 290. In tribute to the off-brand, semi-hollow body guitars from the sixties, the Tricky Gomez is a routed Korina body with a solid Maple top made to sound like a vintage guitar, but play like a modern one. The model comes with a Rosewood neck, a Bigsby B-70, Roller Bridge and a tortoise pickguard in Satin Redburst or Satin Emerald Green.

The Reverend Bayonet RA90 is armed with a pair of contrasting Railhammers. At the bridge is a chrome-covered Hyper Vintage Humbucker with ringing, open tones. At the neck is a Gnarly 90, with fat and raw attack. Together, they create a broad spectrum, hard rock tone that is controlled with the three-way switch. The sleek Bayonet Korina body has a Flame Maple cap, while the Rosewood neck is balanced with the Wilkinson Tremolo System at the bridge. The Bayonet RA90 is available in Gloss Wine Red FM and Gloss Orange FM.

The Reverend Double Agent W is one of the most successful models in the brand’s line. The double-cutaway, bolt-on, Tremolo Bridge, with the humbucker-P90 combination has made an impression on the guitar buying public.

What most people don’t know is that the original model of that guitar was a single-cutaway. Reverend has decided to bring it back, and offer it alongside the popular model. The Reverend Double Agent OG has the same pickup configuration as the Double Agent W, but it will also have a tune-o-matic bridge with a stop-tail. The Double Agent OG is available in Gloss Violin Brown Flame Maple with a Maple fretboard or Gloss Metallic Alpine with a Rosewood fretboard.

Visit Booth 5899 or reverendguitars.com.

For more NAMM Show coverage, visit GuitarWorld.com's official NAMM 2015 section, get updates on Facebook and photos and more on Twitter and Instagram. It's like you're at the show!

Learn to play every song from the Red Hot Chili Peppers' latest studio album, the Grammy-nominated I'm with You.

Josh Klinghoffer's distinctive guitar sound has taken the Peppers in an exciting new direction. Here is every delightfully textured, nuanced note from their triumphant 2011 CD transcribed with tab!

It's available now at the Guitar World Online Store for $22.99.

Songs include:

• The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie
• Annie Wants a Baby
• Brendan's Death Song
• Dance, Dance, Dance
• Did I Let You Know
• Ethiopia
• Even You Brutus?
• Factory of Faith
• Goodbye Hooray
• Happiness Loves Company
• Look Around
• Meet Me at the Corner
Monarchy of Roses
• Police Station

Head to the Guitar World Online Store now!

I admit it. I just love Bonnie Raitt.

Is there a more bad-ass female musician out there? I would argue she’s the queen of blues guitar.

Raitt, now 65-years-old, is still as hot (and cool) as ever. She released her first album, Bonnie Raitt in 1971 and has been dishing it out ever since.

She’s been nominated for and has one countless GRAMMY awards, including the GRAMMY for Best American Album in 2013 for her latest, Slipstream.

There are so many killer performances by this soulful performer, but this one I particularly like.

While she can typically be found sporting a Strat, here she performs “Love Me Like a Man” on acoustic guitar with lots of bluesy riffs and a killer solo thrown in for good measure.

She’ll be touring this spring. Find out more at bonnieraitte.com

John Statz recorded his new album with an all-star band in the middle of a Vermont ice storm.

“We had to keep the stove burning the whole day, and then the electricity went out for ten minutes,” concedes Statz. “Luckily, we were just rehearsing.”

John Statz will release Tulsa on March 10, 2015.

After years of DIY touring everywhere from Eastern Europe to Mexico, the Wisconsinite who now resides in Colorado fell in with fellow Midwesterner Jeffrey Foucault, a critically acclaimed songwriter and veteran of the americana circuit.

A fan of Statz’s last album (2012’s Old Fashioned, produced by Bo Ramsey), Foucault offered to produce his next record while the two were on tour together in Colorado.

The resulting Tulsa is beautiful blend of soft americana and smooth folk with echoes of The Jayhawks and Whiskeytown. “John writes songs you can’t shake,” says Foucault. “They follow you around all day and run through your head at 3 a.m. Open hearted, horizon-line songs.”

“Jeff kicked my ass. He pushed me to crank out well-written songs,” continues Statz. “He’s such a great songwriter himself and I felt like I had to step up my game. And then there is the absolutely amazing band...”

The band John speaks of features Billy Conway (Morphine) on drums, Mark Spencer (Son Volt) on electric guitars and pedal steel, Jeremy Moses Curtis (Booker T) on bass, Jeffrey Foucault on guitars and vocals, Caitlin Canty singing harmonies and Matt Lorenz on fiddle.

“Tulsa feels like how I was always supposed to make a record. Hunkered down for three days, living and eating with the band, tracking live, all during the raging 'Polar Vortex'.”

Statz will be touring in support of Tulsa and a list of confirmed tour dates can be found below with more to be added.

John Statz Tour Dates:
Jan 22 – Denver, CO – The Walnut Room
Jan 28 – Bellingham, WA – Green Frog Café
Jan 29 – Portland, OR – Hawthorne Theatre Lounge
Jan 30 – Willamina, OR – Wildwood Hotel
Jan 31 – Seattle, WA – The Triple Door
Mar 05 – Dubuque, IA – Eronel
Mar 06 – Neenah, WI – Cranky Pats
Mar 14 – Madison, WI – Crystal Corner Bar

More at http://www.johnstatz.com

Sweet & Lynch, a newly formed band fronted by Stryper's Michael Sweet and George Lynch of Lynch Mob and Dokken, have premiered their latest music video via GuitarWorld.com.

You can check out "Dying Rose" below. As always, be sure to tell us what you think in the comments or on Facebook.

The track is from the duo's upcoming debut album, Only to Rise, which will be released in the U.S. January 27.

“'Dying Rose' ... has a country-esque, Nashville element to it,"Lynch told us last month."I could hear a modern country outfit do it as well as a rock band. It's a beautiful melody and chorus with a nice hook. There's also some showing off and old-school metal kind of stuff on this album as well."

Sweet seems just as proud of the new album, which also features bassist James Lomenzo and drummer Brian Tichy.

“We’re counting the days for the release," he said in a statement. "We’re equally as proud of the fan base out there. So many people have been there through thick and thin, and this album is a testimony to the perseverance of working hard and working even harder. George, Brian, James and myself gave 110 percent to every note played and sung, and we hope that it shows.”

To keep up with Sweet & Lynch, follow them on Facebook.