Queen: The Ultimate Illustrated History of the Crown Kings of Rock
Few bands in history can claim the amount of influence and reverence that Queen has. With over 300 million albums sold worldwide (according to the BBC), they’re almost universally loved and respected for their anthemic rock. However, the band’s place in rock aristocracy is sometimes overshadowed by tales of their excess. With Phil Sutcliffe’s Queen: The Ultimate Illustrated History of the Crown Kings of Rock, the details of debauchery are put aside and the spotlight is focused on Queen and their ability to entertain thousands on any given night.To tell the Queen story Sutcliffe, a renowned UK rock journalist since the ‘70s, uses every visual aid possible. From captivating live photographs and candid offstage shots—many rare and never before published—to handbills, backstage passes, concert posters, LP artwork and other Queen artifacts, he reveals a lot more about a band beloved by many than their overindulgence. In addition to the abundance of visual goodies, the book features a descriptive narrative by Sutcliffe, who covered the band extensively in its hey-day. Other contributors like Slash, Tommy Lee, and Billy Squier provide personal stories of their relationships with Queen, and former crew chief Peter Hince and producer Reinhold Mack talk about their first-hand experiences working and traveling with the band.
Not just musically brilliant, Queen also understood the importance of spectacle and the power of theater. This book showcases that brilliantly with its intense focus on presentation, recognizing that half of the Queen experience was viewing it firsthand. The attention paid to the band’s media and showmanship hoists this book head and shoulders above other Queen titles. Those wanting to learn more about the musical core of rock’s epic princes should find this hardback immensely informative and entertaining, as it covers an illustrative timeline from pre-Queen to their work with Paul Rodgers. —JW
List $40
voyageurpress.com
Let It Bleed: The Rolling Stones, Altamont, and the End of the Sixties
It was suppose to be grandiose. It was billed as the Rolling Stones’ biggest and most important US tour, capped with a headlining slot at the Altamont Speedway Free Festival—a westcoast counterculture answer to Woodstock. But as we all know, plans rarely go off without a hitch. Thanks to author and photographer Ethan A. Russell and his introspective lens, Let It Bleed: The Rolling Stones, Altamont, and the End of the Sixties, gives the best second-hand all-access pass and captures every memorable moment—planned or not planned, good or not good.Including the Stones, Russell was one of only sixteen traveling on the ’69 tour, and the only photographer. His photographs provide a fly-on-the-wall vantage point on what was witnessed only by a select group and Russell’s lens. He was waiting in the hotels, sitting on stages, observing rehearsals, partying backstage and watching The Ed Sullivan Show performance (where Mick is introduced as “Mike”). He snapped shots during all of it. Providing contextual layers beneath the provocative photography, Russell includes recollections (then and now) from band members, security, crew and the stars who crossed his path in ’69.
If Woodstock symbolized the counterculture’s hope, Altamont was the tide of reality that washed away their castle made of sand. In the final 50 pages Russell effectively tells the Altamont story (the build-up, the concert and the repercussions of its violent conclusion) with exclusive photos and disturbing first-hand accounts. Through all these rare, uncensored quotes and dramatic photos, Russell provides an all-access pass to the tour that started full of promise and ended in despair. —CK
List $35
springboardpress.net
Jimi Hendrix Gear: The Guitars, Amps & Effects That Revolutionized Rock ‘N’ Roll
It’s a known fact that Jimi used and abused Strats and Plexis with his magical hands. All the variables and the exact formula of his signal chain, however, is much like Bigfoot: speculative and elusive. Michael Heatley’s book Jimi Hendrix Gear: The Guitars, Amps & Effects That Revolutionized Rock ‘N’ Roll debunks the mysticism behind his gear and tone page after page.Hendrix’s gear is on full display with specheavy captions and text that decodes and breaks down each of the tools (as Hendrix calls gear in the book) with mentions of his alterations, preferences and settings. The book is crammed with memorable Hendrix gear porn, including the first Strat that he set a blaze in 1967 at London’s Finsbury Park Astoria (also featured on the book’s cover). Other visual golden nuggets include the actual Octavia used on Are You Experienced, the Super Lead used at Woodstock and a slew of smashed guitar bodies. Some smashed bodies feature Hendrix poems or paintings— including the psychedelically painted ’67 Gibson Flying V that later was recreated by Gibson for the “Inspired By Series.”
With the help of effects guru Roger Mayer and biographer Harry Shapiro (Jimi Hendrix: Electric Gypsy), Heatley navigates through all Hendrix’s historic guitars, amps and effects with descriptions that place each piece of gear into the given album or live situation where he was known to use it. This book is a must-have Hendrix guide, as it’s a practical reference book on the tools of a significant craftsman. —CK
List $35
voyageurpress.com
VIDEO
Thin Lizzy — Are You Ready?: Live At Rockpalast
Live and Dangerous, released by rock legends Thin Lizzy in 1978, is regarded as one of rock’s best live albums and showcased the band firing on all cylinders. Are You Ready? is a live set by Thin Lizzy a few years later, shot for Rockpalast in Lorelei, Germany. It presents a slightly different story. While it does feature the incomparable guitarist Scott Gorham, and there are moments where the band really sounded locked together, this live set falls flat in some segments. Lynott’s substance abuse was nearing its height during this time, and his ability to project his voice and hit certain notes seems hampered. Lizzy newcomer Snowy White keeps up with Gorham, only flubbing a few times with an off-harmony note here and there.While both guitarists occasionally groove in unison like trademark Thin Lizzy, White just looks dazed and confused when playing. Brian Downey’s drumming, however, is one of the DVD’s highlights—almost worth the purchase price alone. His tight drumming and occasional bombastic fill really give the songs the energy that they need, and the drum solo is a powerful representation of his abilities.
Those looking for impeccable sound and video quality will probably not be impressed, as it shows noticeable tracking lines due to the equipment in 1981. The bass frequencies drop out only a couple of times, but enough to make it mildly irritating when you’re really getting into the song being played. For die hard fans of Thin Lizzy, it may already be obligatory; for others who really want to hear the band at their best, Live and Dangerous might be a better place to start. —JW
List $11.98
eaglerockent.com
Billy Idol — In Super Overdrive Live
Not many rockers 30 years into a career are willing to wear skintight- leather pants or take their shirt shirts off in front of a packed house. Then again, most rockers aren’t Billy-f***ing- Idol. Filmed in 2009 at Chicago’s Congress Theater, Billy Idol — In Super Overdrive Live captures Idol and long-time guitarist Steve Stevens on top of their game, nearly 30 years after their first collaboration. Both give the audience exactly what they’ve come to expect. Idol provides the “punk rawk,” raucous vocals and exuberates sex appeal, while Stevens plays riff after bodacious riff (gotta love the ‘80s). Stevens gets his Idol-tone through some Plexis and a wall of Marshall 4x12s. As for guitars, he switches between various Les Pauls (creamy white, pink and sparkle burst), two different Godins—Multiac ACS-SA and a custom Signature Series LGXT—and even busts out an Ernie Ball Music Man Axis. The DVD set list is 70 minutes of Idol’s biggest hits, including “White Wedding,” “Scream” and “Rebel Yell.” In addition, they perform two unreleased tracks “Touch My Love” and “Cry.” The high point of the DVD (no it’s not when Idol removes his shirt… twice) is when Idol digs back into his Generation X days and performs “Dancing With Myself,” “Ready Steady Go” and closes the DVD with X’s “Kissing Me Deadly.”Some naysayers may cry foul with only 12 songs, hardly any B-sides and no bonus material, but the power and tenacity of Idol and Stevens in an intimate theater setting give you just enough of the ‘70s and ‘80s, before big hair and leather pants start to seem like a good idea… again. —CK
List $14.98
eaglerockent.com
ZZ Top — Double Down Live
Like Kevin Bacon as Chip Diller in Animal House said, “Thank you sir, may I have another?” It’s the same sentiment when it comes to ZZ Top DVDs, and ZZ Top Double Down Live delivers just that… another. It features a remastered “Definitely Then…” set recorded at the Grugahalle in Essen, Germany, for Rockpalast in 1980 during their Deguello tour. The second disc labeled “Almost Now…” was shot throughout their 2008 European tour.The 1980 Rockpalast concert showcases the tres hombres on top of their game. All three are as tight as spandex and play smooth like butter. They groove in between songs and transition to the next with only the slightest nod of acknowledgement—true masters of their craft. The disc includes 22 essential ZZ Top cuts like “Jesus Just Left Chicago,” “I’m Bad, I’m Nationwide,” “Cheap Sunglasses” and they even cover “Jailhouse Rock.” The first DVD is a real treat for tonehounds because the simplistic shooting and remastered audio provides a great lesson for Rock ‘n’ Roll 101.
The second disc is far less expansive with only 11 songs and includes many of the same as on the first. Some fresh cuts are “Got Me Under Pressure,” “Blue Jean Blues” and a cover of “Hey Joe.” Thirty years later the trio doesn’t move quite as much, but they can still show the fire that’s been in them since the ‘60s. Age is something that can be accounted for, but the high-octane, dramatic cuts and overhead zoom shots severely detract from the band’s performance, causing confusion and distraction. In today’s high-paced, low-attention-span world, other acts may need the flashy edits and vogue camera angles, but for an outfit like ZZ Top, we just want to see them rock. Although the second disc has some editing missteps, Double Down proves the power trio could and still can provide that boogie woogie blues we all know and love. —CK
List $24.98
eaglerockent.com
EBS BassIQ Blue Label Triple Envelope Filter Pedal
The EBS BassIQ produces sounds ranging from classic auto-wah effects to spaced-out "Funkadelic" and synth-bass sounds. It is for everyone looking for a fun, fat-sounding, and responsive envelope filter that reacts to how you play in a musical way.
Overall, they encompass the historic arc of stompbox technology from fuzz and overdrives, to loopers and samplers, to tools that warp the audio end of the space-time continuum. Click on each one to get the full review as well as audio and video demos.
DigiTech JamMan Solo HD Review
Maybe every guitarist’s first pedal should be a looper. There are few more engaging ways to learn than playing along to your own ideas—or programmed rhythms, for that matter, which are a component of the new DigiTech JamMan Solo HD’s makeup. Beyond practicing, though, the Solo HD facilitates creation and fuels the rush that comes from instant composition and arrangement or jamming with a very like-minded partner in a two-man band.
Click here to read the review.
Warm Audio Warm Bender Review
In his excellent videoFuzz Detective, my former Premier Guitar colleague and pedal designer Joe Gore put forth the proposition that theSola Sound Tone Bender MkII marked the birth of metal. TakeWarm Audio’s Warm Bender for a spin and it’s easy to hear what he means. It’s nasty and it’s heavy—electrically awake with the high-mid buzz you associate with mid-’60s psych-punk, but supported with bottom-end ballast that can knock you flat (which may be where the metal bit comes in).
Click here to read the review.
Walrus Monumental Harmonic Stereo Tremolo Review
Among fellow psychedelic music-making chums in the ’90s, few tools were quite as essential as a Boss PN-2 Tremolo Pan. Few of us had two amplifiers with which we could make use of one. But if you could borrow an amp, you could make even the lamest riff sound mind-bending.
Click here to read the review.
MXR Layers Review
It’s unclear whether the unfortunate term “shoegaze” was coined to describe a certain English indie subculture’s proclivity for staring at pedals, or their sometimes embarrassed-at-performing demeanor. The MXR Layers will, no doubt, find favor among players that might make up this sect, as well as other ambience-oriented stylists. But it will probably leave players of all stripes staring floorward, too, at least while they learn the ropes with this addictive mashup of delay, modulation, harmonizer, and sustain effects.
Click here to read the review.
Wampler Mofetta Review
Wampler’s new Mofetta is a riff on Ibanez’s MT10 Mostortion, a long-ago discontinued pedal that’s now an in-demand cult classic. If you look at online listings for the MT10, you’ll see that asking prices have climbed up to $1k in extreme cases.
Click here to read the review.
Catalinbread StarCrash Fuzz Review
Although inspired by the classic Fuzz Face, this stomp brings more to the hair-growth game with wide-ranging bias and low-cut controls.
Red Panda Radius Review
Intrepid knob-tweakers can blend between ring mod and frequency shifting and shoot for the stars.
Electro-Harmonix LPB-3 Linear Power Booster and EQ Review
Descended from the first Electro-Harmonix pedal ever released, the LPB-1 Linear Power Booster, the new LPB-3 has come a long way from the simple, one-knob unit in a folded-metal enclosure that plugged straight into your amplifier. Now living in Electro-Harmonix’s compact Nano chassis, the LPB-3 Linear Power Booster and EQ boasts six control knobs, two switches, and more gain than ever before.
JFX Pedals Deluxe Modulation Ensemble Review
This four-in-one effects box is a one-stop shop for Frusciante fans, but it’s also loaded with classic-rock swagger.
Origin Effects Cali76 FET Review
The latest version of this popular boutique pedal adds improved metering and increased headroom for a more organic sound.
JAM Fuzz Phrase Si Review
Everyone has records and artists they indelibly associate with a specific stompbox. But if the subject is the silicon Fuzz Face, my first thought is always of David Gilmour and the Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii film. What you hear in Live at Pompeii is probably shaped by a little studio sweetening. Even still, the fuzz you hear in “Echoes” and “Careful With That Axe, Eugene”—well, that is how a fuzz blaring through a wall of WEM cabinets in an ancient amphitheater should sound, like the sky shredded by the wail of banshees.
Fishman EchoBack Mini Delay Review
As someone who was primarily an acoustic guitarist for the first 16 out of 17 years that I’ve been playing, I’m relatively new to the pedal game. That’s not saying I’m new to effects—I’ve employed a squadron of them generously on acoustic tracks in post-production, but rarely in performance. But I’m discovering that a pedalboard, particularly for my acoustic, offers the amenities and comforts of the hobbit hole I dream of architecting for myself one day in the distant future.
RJM Full English Programmable Overdrive Review
Programmability and preset storage aren’t generally concerns for the average overdrive user. But if expansive digital control for true analog drive pedals becomes commonplace, it will be because pedals like the Full English Programmable Overdrive from RJM Music Technology make it fun and musically satisfying.
Strymon BigSky MX Review
Strymon calls the BigSky MX pedal “one reverb to rule them all.” Yep, that’s a riff on something we’ve heard before, but in this case it might be hard to argue. In updating what was already one of the market’s most comprehensive and versatile reverbs, Strymon has created a reverb pedal that will take some players a lifetime to fully explore. That process is likely to be tons of fun, too.
JHS Hard Drive Review
JHS makes many great and varied overdrive stomps. Their Pack Rat is a staple on one of my boards, and I can personally attest to the quality of their builds. The new Hard Drive has been in the works since as far back as 2016, when Josh Scott and his staff were finishing off workdays by jamming on ’90s hard rock riffs.
Keeley I Get Around Review
A highly controllable, mid-priced rotary speaker simulator inspired by the Beach Boys that nails the essential character of a Leslie—in stereo.
Cusack Project 34 Selenium Rectifier Pre/Drive
The term “selenium rectifier” might be Greek to most guitarists, but if it rings a bell with any vintage-amp enthusiasts that’s likely because you pulled one of these green, sugar-cube-sized components out of your amp’s tube-biasing network to replace it with a silicon diode.
Vox Real McCoy VRM-1 Review
Some pedals are more fun than others. And on the fun spectrum, a new Vox wah is like getting a bike for Christmas. There’s gleaming chrome. It comes in a cool vinyl pouch that’s hipper than a stocking. Put the pedal on the floor and you feel the freedom of a marauding BMX delinquent off the leash, or a funk dandy cool-stepping through the hot New York City summertime. It’s musical motion. It’s one of the most stylish effects ever built. A good one will be among the coolest-sounding, too.
Or you can check out the Reverend Billy Corgan Drop Z. At a glance, the Drop Z may not look like much of a cure for the 6-string doldrums. But pick it up and you’ll feel the difference fast. The Drop Z is built around a 26 1/4" scale and a 24-fret neck that makes this Reverend feel like a very different instrument. Designed and optimized for use with drop tunings, it opens the doors to whole palace ballrooms full of new musical possibilities.
Beastly Blue and Easy To Use
If the feel of the Drop Z alone doesn’t dislodge you from a guitar rut, there’s a good chance that its pretty profile would compel you to pick it up and play. It’s a handsome instrument. The conservatively chambered alder body (it’s routed at the bass and treble horns) is clad in a very pretty twilight-blue-meets-ocean-turquoise glossy finish, which is complimented perfectly by the brushed-aluminum pickguard. The chambered body definitely helps with the weight; the Drop Z is a little less than eight pounds. It also helps the guitar feel very balanced. There’s not a hint of neck dive. And if it weren’t for the discernibly longer stretch you make to reach the first fret, it would feel as familiar and comfortable as a nice Stratocaster.
The medium-oval neck, which is satin-finished maple with a maple fretboard, is a pleasure. It feels substantial and fast, and getting around its expanse is facilitated by a perfect setup. The 12" fretboard radius and jumbo frets also add to the Drop Z’s easy-breezy feel. Big bends require little more effort than they would on a normal scale, and I never felt the urge to squeeze a note to compensate for the weird intonation issues big frets and long scales can cause. From first fret to 24th, playing the Drop Z is an easy glide.
The Drop-Z pickups are a modified version of the Railhammer Billy Corgan Z-One pickups in his other Billy Corgan signature Reverends. The pickups’ impedance is rated at 14.5 ohms, which suggests a pretty hot unit. In this incarnation, the Z-One pickups are tuned for even more output and smoother treble. That’s a good idea for a pickup designed with heavy musical settings in mind.
Fangs on Cue, but Mellon Collie, Too
Though the Drop Z is easy to play in a getting-around-the-fretboard sense, plugging and turning up may take adjustments in approach and attitude. As the pickups’ impedance rating suggests, the Railhammer Z-Ones have a lot of hop, and as the expansive lengths of string resonate impressively, you’ll hear a lot of very present treble overtones. I spent most of my time with the instrument in a C# modal tuning or C–G–D–G–B–B, and in each tuning the Drop Z rumbled impressively (particularly through a late-’60s Fender Bassman head, which is a beautiful, burly match for this instrument). But unless I wanted to linger among the peaky resonances of the highest two strings (and I often did), I needed to attenuate both tone controls.
The good thing is that each of these controls has a very nice range. And while the guitar can start to feel stripped of its essence with too much tone or volume attenuation, there is wiggle room for softening transients and taming unwanted overtone blooms. These pronounced peaks are easy to hear in both the neck and bridge pickup, depending on your approach. I worked a lot more with open strings and drones than Billy Corgan might on songs like “Zero,” which the guitar was tailored for. But for those keen to explore the mellower side of the Drop Z’s personality, the combined pickup setting is a magic bullet. It’s airy, open, and makes it easy and rewarding to navigate slow-moving chord changes with strong bass foundations. It’s also fun to take advantage of the fretboard’s whole expanse in this setting—darting and dashing from toppy treble-note clusters to growling bass harmony notes—and enjoying the detail and string-to-string balance. By the way, the Drop Z, as you might guess, sounds positively massive with distortion, though you should be careful to choose your gain device carefully. The pickup’s midrange emphasis will make a similarly mid-heavy distortion sound harsh. A Sovtek-style Big Muff, with its scooped midrange and round low-end resonance, is an ideal fit if you want to get extra large.
The Verdict
The Korea-made Drop Z is a beautifully crafted instrument and a silky, easy, balanced player that will make you forget, in moments, about the expansive fretboard and extra scale length. It feels completely natural and effortless. How you relate to the tones here will depend on your musical mission. The hot pickups make it a perfect fit for outsized, aggressive tones. I, for one, would prefer to explore the wealth of overtones this well-constructed instrument generates via less aggressive pickups. But players like me will still find much to love in the combined pickup settings and the pickups’ impressive capacity for detail, which, depending on the tuning you use, can highlight harmonic interplay between notes and chords that would be much less prominent and less fun to explore in a more conventional guitar.
Reverend Billy Corgan Drop Z Signature Electric Guitar - Pearl White
Loopers can be complex enough to make beginners cry. They are fun if you have time to venture for whole weeks down a rabbit hole. But a looper that bridges the functionality and ease-of-use gap between the simplest and most maniacal ones can be a sweet spot for newbies and seasoned performers both. The JamMan Solo HD lives squarely in that zone. It also offers super-high sound quality and storage options, and capacity that would fit the needs of most pros—all in a stomp just millimeters larger than a Boss pedal.
Fast Out of the Blocks
Assuming you’ve used some kind of rudimentary looper before, there’s pretty decent odds you’ll sort out the basic functionality of this one with a couple of exploratory clicks of the footswitch. That’s unless you’ve failed to turn down the rhythm-level knob, in which case you’ll be scrambling for the quick start guide to figure out why there is a drum machine blaring from your amp. The Solo HD comes loaded with rhythm tracks that are actually really fun to use and invaluable for practice. In the course of casually exploring these, I found them engaging and vibey enough to be lured into crafting expansive dub reggae jams, thrashing punk riffs, and lo-fi cumbias. Removing these tracks from a given loop is just a matter of turning the rhythm volume to zero. You can also create your own guide rhythms with various percussion sounds.
Backing tracks aside, creating loops on the Solo HD involves a common single-click-to-record, double-click-to-stop footswitch sequence. Recording an overdub takes another single click, and you hold the footswitch down to erase a loop. Storing a loop requires a simple press-and-hold of the store switch. The sizable latching footswitch, which looks and feels quite like those on Boss pedals, is forgiving and accurate. This has always been a strength of JamMan loopers, and though I’m not completely certain why, it means I screw up the timing of my loops a lot less.
Many players will be satisfied with how easy this functionality is and explore little more of the Solo HD’s capabilities. And why not? The storage capacity—up to 35 minutes of loops and 10 minutes for individual loops—is enough that you can craft a minor prog-rock suite from these humble beginnings. Depending on how economical your loops are, you can use all or most of the 200 available memory locations built into the Solo HD. But you can also add another 200 with an SD/SDHC card.Deeper into Dubs
Loopers have always been more than performance and practice tools for me. I have old multitrack demos that still live in the memory banks of my oldest loopers. And just as with any demos, the sounds you create with the Solo HD may be tough to top or duplicate, which can mean a loop becomes the foundation of a whole recorded song. The Solo HD’s tempo and reverse features, which can completely mutate a loop, make this situation even more likely. The tempo function raises or lowers the BPM without changing the pitch of the loop. As a practice tool, this is invaluable for learning a solo at a slower clip. But drastically altered tempos can also help create entirely new moods for a musical passage without altering a favorite key to sing or play in. Some of these alterations reveal riffs and hooks within riffs and hooks, from which I would happily build a whole finished work. The reverse function is similarly inspiring and a source of unusual textures that can be the foundation for a more complex piece.
HD, of course, stands for high definition. And the Solo HD’s capacity for accurate, dense, and detail-rich stacks of loops means you can build complex musical weaves highlighting the interaction between overtones or timbre differences among other effects in your chain. I can’t remember the last time I felt like a looper’s audio resolution was really lacking. But the improved quality here lends itself to using the Solo HD as a song-arranging tool—and, again, as a recording asset, if you want a looped idea to form the backbone of a recording.
The Verdict
With a looper, smooth workflow is everything. And though it takes practice and some concentration in the early going to extract the most from the Solo HD’s substantial feature set, it is, ultimately, a very intuitive instrument that will not just smooth the use of loops in performance, but extend and enhance its ability as a right-brain-oriented driver of composition and creation.
