Songs of 2021

Albums are an artist’s grand statement, but a truly great song will always stand out...

50 The Beatles Greatest Guitar Songs

The Beatles – the greatest, biggest and most influential band of all time. No band has inspired more people to play guitar than Beatles.

JOHNNY HEALEY (JOHN)

“Lots of two-piece bands fall into the trap of being quite bluesy,” says Johnny Healey of the amusingly named John, “whereas we’ve always had a punk, hardcore influence. I don’t want to just play power chords – I want to play nice, pretty chords with sevenths in and stuff, but with loads of overdrive, and really fast!”

MAGICAL GEAR TOUR

The Beatles revolutionised popular music. Here are the main guitars and amps they used to do it...

10 GREAT BEATLES GUITAR MOMENTS YOU'VE NEVER HEARD BEFORE

Wild slide guitar, flamenco-inspired rhythm, raw 12-bar blues and more - the inner workings of The Beatles revealed

“WE'D JUST HIT OUR GUITARS SOMETIMES. ACTUALLY HIT THEM!”

Wet Leg are creating a buzz with filthy songs and a novel approach to playing

“REALLY, IT'S JUST ONE EXTRA STRING...”

DREAM THEATER’S JOHN PETRUCCI ON HIS NEW EIGHT-STRING GUITAR AND THE CHALLENGE OF PLAYING IT

Carlos Santana

AS ONE OF THE MOST CELEBRATED GUITARISTS ON THE PLANET FOR MORE THAN 50 YEARS, HIS EPIC CAREER IS ALSO A SPIRITUAL JOURNEY.“SOME PEOPLE PRACTISE CHORDS OR THEORY,” SANTANA SAYS. “I PRACTISE MAKING MELODY BECOME ETERNAL...”

FENDER PLAYER TELECASTER AND STRATOCASTER PLUS

Fender’s Mexican series steps up with a premium line featuring expanded tones and bold finishes Are they worth the upgrade?

“THE CONCEPT OF RHYTHM GUITAR HAS BEEN LOST IN MODERN METAL.”

The new album from Trivium is a master-class in complex riffing and balls-out shredding. Guitarists Matt Heafy and Corey Beaulieu reveal how it was created – with what they call ‘organic improvisation’...

“WE'RE DIRTY NEANDERTHALS PLAYING HEAVY METAL, BUT THERE'S A DEEP SIDE TO MASTODON”

"With an unorthodox two-guitar attack and a mountain of gear, a band in mourning created a monumental double album. How Mastodon" dug deep: by guitarist Bill Kelliher

Improvising's Not Easy - And Ninety-five Per Cent Of It Was Just Sh*t!”

Australian psych rock band Pond have a strange approach to creating songs – applying modern editing to old-fashioned jamming. Multi-instrumentalist Jay Watson talks us through it...

ABBA'S SECRET WEAPON

Guitarist Janne Schaffer reveals his role in the biggest hit-making machine of the 70s

RELEASE VALVES

Blackstar unveils what it says are the “world’s most advanced valve pedals”

James Dean Bradfield

HE STARTED OUT PLAYING A LES PAUL TO SOUND LIKE THE SEX PISTOLS’ STEVE JONES. NOW, HE’S CHANNELING ABBA ON THE NEW MANIC STREET PREACHERS ALBUM AND DECLARING, “I LOVE MY STRAT!” JAMES DEAN BRADFIELD OPENS HIS ‘GUITAR DIARY’ TO TG AND EXPLAINS THE ORIGINS OF HIS SOUND. “IT’S NOT MAGIC,” HE SAYS. “THERE’S NO THEORY. IT’S JUST F*CKING AROUND!”

“WE'RE A VERY RIFF DRIVEN BAND”

For sisters Rebecca and Megan Lovell, the creative nucleus of Larkin Poe, the best songs come from riffing, natural chemistry, and playing cover versions as a way to raise their own game

“ALL MY TRICKS FOR WRITING COME DOWN TO THE FACT THAT I'VE GOT A GREAT RECORD COLLECTION”

The Wildhearts frontman Ginger channels everything from Motorhead to ABBA. His advice: “Educate yourself...”

“I START A SONG FROM A SPACE THAT FEELS CALM”

The War On Drugs leader Adam Granduciel reveals how he wrote their brilliant new album - and why he loves to record with one “magical guitar”.

“SONGWRITING IS LIKE TRYING TO CATCH LIGHTNING IN A BOTTLE”

Alice In Chains guitarist Jerry Cantrell is a master of the art who believes a great song requires only three key elements: “The riff. The melody. And something to say.”

“WHEN YOU WRITE A MELODY, IT'S LIKE YOUR SOUL TALKING”

Sam Fender was ten when he started on guitar – playing Nirvana and Oasis songs on a Peavey Strat copy. 17 years later, he’s a major star acclaimed by Elton John and Paul Weller. He tells TG about the creative process and the gear he used for his new album Seventeen Going Under...

“YOU'RE NOT WRITING FOR OTHER PEOPLE. IT SHOULD BE WHAT YOU BELIEVE IN”

How to write the heaviest metal songs without reverting to formula, by Bullet For My Valentine guitarists Matt Tuck and Padge

JOCELYN GOULD

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

I ❤ The 80s

A track-by-track guide to the slick sounds and classy guitar playing on Mayer’s new album, Sob Rock...

Kim Thayil

AS SOUNDGARDEN’S LEAD GUITARIST, KIM THAYIL’S HEAVY, DARK AND PSYCHEDELIC GROOVES SET THE TONE FOR ALT-ROCK. NOW, ON THE 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE BAND’S CLASSIC ALBUM BADMOTORFINGER, HE REVEALS THE ORIGINS OF HIS UNIQUE SOUND. HIS MOTTO: “I LIKE NOISE!”

The Player

Inspired by Stevie Ray Vaughan and feted by Clapton, John Mayer is one of the most gifted guitarists of the modern era. He also knows how to the play the fame game - from crafting pop hits and collaborating with fellow A-listers to teasing his new album via TikTok. This is his story: the making of a guitar superstar...

The Sky's The Limit

WE TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT JOHN MAYER’S IDEALISED DOUBLE-CUT, WITH THE HELP OF PAUL REED SMITH HIMSELF

“I GREW UP A LONE WOLF IN MY BEDROOM PRACTISING MY GUITAR. ALL I EVER REALLY CRAVED WAS A COMMUNITY”

When John Mayer joined Dead & Company – featuring members of the original jam band, the Grateful Dead – he got a kick out of being a team player. And by honouring the legacy of the late Jerry Garcia, he found a new dimension to his playing.

“I'M NOT SURE HOW I'D FEEL IF SOMEONE WROTE MY SONG BEFORE I DID!”

English singer-songwriter Mary Spender was already a successful YouTuber when she had the idea to finish and release John Mayer’s new single before he could. “I’m glad he had a sense of humour about it”, she says...

“THE GUITAR TONES ON THIS ALBUM ARE SUBLIME”

PRINCE’S SHELVED 2010 ALBUM WELCOME 2 AMERICA IS NOW BEING RELEASED, AND IT’S A FUNK TOUR DE FORCE

THE SHAPESHIFTER

In ten key collaborations, John Mayer has travelled from classic blues to hip-hop, modern rock to mainstream pop and beyond...