Sawyer's Shred Spotlight: Compilations Pt Bonus - Guitar Masters, Vol 1

What's up friends? Welcome to another edition of Sawyer's Shred Spotlight; the column where I ramble on about obscure guitar players and their kick ass music. I had planned on this week's column being a reflection on the career of good ol' Yngwie Malmsteen, as suggest by TDM editor Rob Liz. But upon starting, I realized it would take more than a week to get it done. So next week, expect epicness. In the mean time, I'm going to bring out another sweet compilation from the library of shred, the Guitar Masters, Vol 1. Once again, this features some legends in the world of guitar. Joe Satriani, Steve Morse, Jeff Beck, and even some of the best bass players known to man: John Paul Jones, Billy Sheehan, and Stanley Clarke. Not necessarily the most metal crowd, but all extremely talented musicians. I'll be bringing out my favorite cuts from the album, right after the jump!

Unfortunately,I couldn't find most of the tracks I wanted to show you on Youtube, so I've provided links or embedded media when possible! The first track I'd like to show is a pretty up-tempo fusion piece by bassist David Hines, featuring the masterful Allan Holdsworth on guitar. Its actually got a dark, eerie feel to it. But definitely classic Holdsworth playing written all over it.

Find more artists like Allan Holdsworth at Myspace Music

My next cut is an interesting track, by famous TV composer/guitarist Brian Tarquin. The only video I could find for the song "Jackhammer" is with a montage of super sweet motocross footage. Its really the perfect song for it though, the kind of noodling, and electronic drumbeats you found during the 90's sports shows. Really great stuff!



And without a doubt my favorite track on the album is the fabulous, shredded out cover of Edgar Winter Group's "Frankenstein" done by Doug Stapp and Scott Stine. Many have tried to cover "Frankenstein", Gary Howey, and even Overkill. But honestly, these all pale in comparison to the awesonimity that is this cover. Dig it:

Find more artists like Doug Stapp at Myspace Music

That makes me think I should do a post on shred covers....Maybe somewhere down the line. Anyway, that's a wrap for today's SSS. Don't forget to check my blog throughout the week for the latest in shred news and shred related shred.