Saturday, December 16, 2017

5 More Essential Guitar Albums

A while back I did a post on what I felt were five essential guitar oriented albums. I listed some great and important ones, but I think it's time I went back and talked about a few more. There are so many great ones out there that it would be a crime not to give them their proper moment in the spotlight that they so clearly deserve. That said, here are 5 more essential guitar albums.




The Blizzard of Ozz, by Ozzy Osbourne

When Ozzy got kicked out of Black Sabbath, his life was in shambles. He had nothing really going for him and had all kinds of drug and alcohol problems to boot. When his manager and now wife Sharon Osbourne gave him a foot up the ass to get his own band going, he found a young guitarist by the name of Randy Rhoads. Rhoads was unlike anything anyone had ever heard before. The man could do neo-classical riffing and shredding like nobody's business in a way that still very much fit in with heavy metal but at the same time took things to new heights. Their first album together The Blizzard of Ozz showed the world just what you could do on an electric guitar if you stepped outside of the pentatonic box.



Appetite for Destruction, by Guns N' Roses

This album is a MUST for any guitarist looking to play hard rock with blues focus. I know for me this is the album that made me realize that rock n' roll was what I wanted to do with my life. Izzy Stradlin and Slash were the ultimate guitar duo in their day. With Izzy's iconic riffs and Slash's finger blistering yet melodic solos it was almost impossible for their debut album Appetite for Destruction to not be a smash hit.They took what was great about classic rock, blues, and punk and turned it into something, sleazy, yet grand.



Passion and Warfare, by Steve Vai

In the last essential guitar albums post I made I talked about Joe Satriani, who just so happened to be Steve Vai's guitar teacher. Vai took his knowledge of the axe and went into different territory. His big breakthrough solo album Passion and Warfare showed that you could have all the flash of 80's shred while at the same time doing something technically proficient and challenging with it. It is layers upon layers of fascinating guitar work that in a way takes you on a journey.



Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow, by Rainbow

Ritchie Blackmore is pretty much the original when it comes to mixing elements of classical, medieval folk, blues, and rock n' roll together. It has so many tasty medieval riffs and solos that were like songs in themselves. This was another album that in the mid-70's showed that more could be done with rock n' roll than just playing the blues at a faster tempo and heavier sound. It ranges from hard stomping rockers to sweet, melodic ballads. There is a lot to learn from here.



Back in Black, by AC/DC

This is another important album to have if you're looking to play hard rock with a blues bent. There are so many big iconic riffs that any beginning guitarist should learn in order to either jam just for fun or to play in their first band. Plus, the solos are a great thing to learn as well because they take a lot of the bare basics of rock soloing and just put them in a bit of a flashier light. They aren't that difficult when you get down to it. That said, despite the simplicity Back in Black became a hell of a lot more than the sum of its parts.

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