The Hold Steady’s Steve Selvidge, our reader of the month, and PG editors vote on first albums that changed the game and stand the test of time.
Q: In your opinion, what is the best debut album by a band?
Photo by Kelly Shee
Steve Selvidge
The Hold Steady
A: I'd have to go with Van Halen. It's always hard to rate music when so many people's favorites are tied up with memories and personal musical tastes. There have been a lot of “game-changer" debuts. To me, the best serve as an artist's Statement of Intent. Everything that follows from there is set up on that first album. You could point to debuts from both the Jimi Hendrix Experience and Led Zeppelin as examples, and many more.
Van Halen's debut certainly did this and more. As a debut, it's a perfect album. All killer no filler, as they say. The mix of sunny Southern California hooks and groundbreaking riffs has never been equaled. But for me, it's just the simple fact that Van Halen changed so much upon its release and afterward. This is obviously a very guitar-centric opinion, but I can't think of another album that created such a monumental shift in the way the guitar was played, promoted, and even manufactured. The legacy of all of that is still very evident to this day.
Current obsession: Lonnie Johnson. I was always familiar with his earlier acoustic recordings, but I only recently discovered the later period when he was playing electric guitar. I'd actually heard him on electric for a while but was unaware it was him! One of my favorite records is a solo album by the great pianist Otis Spann. It's all solo piano and voice, save for one song that has a beautifully sympathetic electric-guitar accompaniment.
Photo by Russell Lee
I was always so seduced by the tone and phrasing of this guitar, but there were no credits to let me know who it was. Many, many years later I stumbled upon a YouTube video of Lonnie Johnson playing a Kay Value Leader guitar and singing “Another Night to Cry," and it was like finding the Rosetta Stone. There he was! I knew for sure it was him. That was the magic guitar player on that Otis Spann album. Now I'm trying to find as many albums of his from this period as I can. I also bought a one-pickup Kay Value Leader just like his. I don't sound at all like Lonnie, but it's still a lot of fun to play.
James Miller
Reader of the Month
A: Chicago Transit Authority. Up until that release, there were no bands like Chicago. It was an unheard of for the time—a double album, incredibly well recorded, and every song stands up over 50 years later.
Current Obsession: The session players known as the Wrecking Crew. I knew many of the songs they played on but didn't realize it was the same core of amazing musicians that played the music on those hits. When I happened upon the excellent documentary by Denny Tedesco, Tommy Tedesco's son, I was in awe and it sent me down the rabbit hole of finding and listening to as much music the Wrecking Crew performed on as possible. There will (probably) never be another group of session musicians like the Wrecking Crew again and I want to ensure I take the time to truly enjoy the hundreds, if not thousands, of songs they performed on.
Rich Osweiler
Associate Editor
A: A ridiculously difficult question when 20 albums come to mind almost immediately, but I can't not go with Van Halen. Why? It awakened the world to EVH's genius, was a complete rewriting of what a guitar and human are capable of, and introduced us to arguably one of the greatest rock frontmen of all time. Just as important, Van Halen cooked up 11 tracks that remain as fresh and mind-blowingly amazing as they did at first listen.
Current Obsession:Jimmy Carter: Rock & Roll President. I didn't know much at all about 39's deep ties and friendships with so many legend-level influencers in music, but I now like him even more. Highly recommended!
Jason Shadrick
Associate Editor
A: So many albums flash through my head but the one that really sticks with me is Pat Metheny's Bright Size Life. Metheny brought a Midwest sensibility to jazz, which proved that not every chord needs to have a seventh in it and triads can be melodic as hell. Not to mention that this record introduced the world to Jaco Pastorius (his self-titled album wouldn't be out for another seven months).
Current Obsession: The beauty and musical simplicity of a trio is fascinating to me and I've been immersing myself in what that format is capable of. Considering Chick Corea's recent passing, I went back and dived into Now He Sings, Now He Sobs with new ears. The freedom is astounding and inspiring and fulfilling. Other groups that are getting major rotation are Joshua Redman's Elastic Band, Delvon Lamarr's Organ Trio, and anything with Paul Motian.
While the pedal builders at Sehat Effectors are in the game for their love of the 6-string, they’ve since begun exploring what effects pedals mean to other kinds of instrumentalists.
This time, I’d like to share my perspective as a pedal builder on how our effects pedals—originally crafted with guitarists in mind—are experiencing an exciting evolution in use. Our customer base spans around the globe, and as it turns out, many of them aren’t guitarists. Instead, our pedals are finding their way into the hands of non-guitarist musicians like DJs, synth players, movie sound directors, and even drummers. Yes, a drummer once used one of my fuzz pedals in a drum miking setup—quite an extreme yet bold experiment! This made me wonder: How did such a phenomenon come about?
Most of the pedals I build are fuzz effects and other experimental types, all primarily tested within guitar setups. But then I visited a friend’s studio; he goes by “Balance” onstage. He’s a well-known musician and producer here in Indonesia, and a member of the hip-hop group JHF (Jogja Hip Hop Foundation). Now, here’s the kicker—Balance doesn’t play guitar! Yet, he’s one of my customers, having asked for a fuzz and modulation pedal for his modular synthesizer rig. Initially, I was skeptical when he mentioned his plans. Neither my team nor I are familiar with synthesizers, let alone Eurorack or modular formats. I know guitars and, at best, bass guitar. My colleague has dabbled with effects experimentation, but only within the guitar framework.
So, my visit to his studio was a chance to study and research how guitar effects pedals could be adapted to a fundamentally different instrument ecosystem. The following is an interview I did with Balance to get a deeper understanding of his perspective.
As a modular synthesizer user, aren’t all kinds of sounds already achievable with a synth? Why mix one with guitar effects?
Balance: Some unique sounds, like those from Hologram Effects’ Microcosm or the eccentric pedals from Sehat Effectors, are hard to replicate with just a synth. Also, for sound design, I find it more intuitive to tweak knobs in real-time than rely on a computer—direct knob control feels more human for me.
Are there challenges in integrating guitar pedals with a modular synthesizer setup? After all, their ecosystems are quite different.
Balance: There are indeed significant differences, like jack types, power supplies, and physical format. Modular synthesizers are designed to sit on a table or stand, while guitar pedals are meant for the floor and foot control. However, they share a common thread in the goal of manipulating signals, eventually amplified through a mixing board and amplifier. The workaround is using converters/adapters to bridge the connection.“If you’re a saxophonist who buys a guitar pedal, it’s yours to use however you like.”
Are you the only modular synth user combining them with guitar pedals?
Balance: Actually, I got the idea after seeing other musicians experiment this way. Effects like fuzz or distortion are iconic to guitar but absent in synthesizer sound options. I believe signal manipulation with fuzz or distortion is a universal idea that appeals to musicians creating music, regardless of their instrument.
This brief chat gave me new insight and sparked my curiosity about different frameworks in music-making. While I’m not yet tempted to dive into modular synths myself, I now have a clearer picture of how fuzz and distortion transcend guitar. Imagine a saxophonist at a live show using a pedalboard with a DigiTech Whammy and Boss Metal Zone—absurd, maybe, but why not? If you’re a saxophonist who buys a guitar pedal, it’s yours to use however you like. Because, in the end, all musicians create music based on their inner concerns—whether it’s about romance, friendship, political situations, war, or anger. Eventually, they will explore how best to express those concerns from many angles, and of course, “sound” and “tone” are fundamental aspects of the music itself. Good thing my partner and I named our company Sehat Effectors and not Sehat Guitar Works. Haha!
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Contender 290, Midnight BlackMetalocalypse creator Brendon Small has been a lifetime devotee and thrash-metal expert, so we invited him to help us break down what makes Slayer so great.
Slayer guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman formed the original searing 6-string front line of the most brutal band in the land. Together, they created an aggressive mood of malcontent with high-velocity thrash riffs and screeching solos that’ll slice your speaker cones. The only way to create a band more brutal than Slayer would be to animate them, and that’s exactly what Metalocalypse (and Home Movies) creator Brendon Small did.
From his first listen, Small has been a lifetime devotee and thrash-metal expert, so we invited him to help us break down what makes Slayer so great. Together, we dissect King and Hanneman’s guitar styles and list their angriest, most brutal songs, as well as those that create a mood of general horribleness.
This episode is sponsored by EMG Pickups.
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Pearl Jam announces U.S. tour dates for April and May 2025 in support of their album Dark Matter.
In continued support of their 3x GRAMMY-nominated album Dark Matter, Pearl Jam will be touring select U.S. cities in April and May 2025.
Pearl Jam’s live dates will start in Hollywood, FL on April 24 and 26 and wrap with performances in Pittsburgh, PA on May 16 and 18. Full tour dates are listed below.
Support acts for these dates will be announced in the coming weeks.
Tickets for these concerts will be available two ways:
- A Ten Club members-only presale for all dates begins today. Only paid Ten Club members active as of 11:59 PM PT on December 4, 2024 are eligible to participate in this presale. More info at pearljam.com.
- Public tickets will be available through an Artist Presale hosted by Ticketmaster. Fans can sign up for presale access for up to five concert dates now through Tuesday, December 10 at 10 AM PT. The presale starts Friday, December 13 at 10 AM local time.
earl Jam strives to protect access to fairly priced tickets by providing the majority of tickets to Ten Club members, making tickets non-transferable as permitted, and selling approximately 10% of tickets through PJ Premium to offset increased costs. Pearl Jam continues to use all-in pricing and the ticket price shown includes service fees. Any applicable taxes will be added at checkout.
For fans unable to use their purchased tickets, Pearl Jam and Ticketmaster will offer a Fan-to-Fan Face Value Ticket Exchange for every city, starting at a later date. To sell tickets through this exchange, you must have a valid bank account or debit card in the United States. Tickets listed above face value on secondary marketplaces will be canceled. To help protect the Exchange, Pearl Jam has also chosen to make tickets for this tour mobile only and restricted from transfer. For more information about the policy issues in ticketing, visit fairticketing.com.
For more information, please visit pearljam.com.