inspiration

WHO	WHY
	Alex Lifeson - Rush Lifeson has such an amazing role in the band, his hooks, leads, rhythms, textures, invention & innovation are all truly remarkable. An astounding all round guitarist
	Scott Gorham - Thin Lizzy Gorham was the first guitarist who made me realise the value of guitar tone. He also wore a very cool black & white jacket!
	Gary Moore As far as I was concerned, the first uber-guitarist. Moore's sheer speed and fretboard agility left a young axeman totally bewildered.
	Django Reinhard Reinhard was a great guitarist before an accident which nearly ended his career, but the fact that he kept playing and writing these great gypsy melodies is just pure inspiration.
	Steve Stewart - The Enid Deeply underated player - but inspired me to be so much more artistic in my approach to playing - not only the notes, but also the performance and expression. Stewart's perfect guitar foil to Godfrey's classical profusion just blend so beautifully. His phrasing is bold and passionate yet sensitive and his control exceptional.
	Nik Kershaw (yes!) Great sounds, tight accurate playing and the boy can write a tune. Taught me a lot about melody and power pop. Good, well placed riffs taught me that solos are not the only way for a guitarist to shine through.
	Kevin Peak - Sky Much of my big sustained sailing notes with big gain are the fault of Peak. He had this chunking great Gibson L5S and an ElectroHarmonix Big Muff, and the combination was notes that sustained for weeks on end.
	Steve Vai & Joe Satriani Oh come on - you didn't expect me to leave them out did you? But only in the last 7 or 8 years or so. Though they are celebrated very easily by some media, the influence of Vai & Satch I feel is a little more complex. Vai has brought a new spirituality to guitar playing as an artform, and though some of his ideas may seem deeply left-field, they are well worth persevering with. Vai has brought meditation and reflection to the guitar world along with the more obvious technical excellence of accuracy and composition. Satch has always struck me for his mastery of tone & control. Satch also brought damn tootin melodies to a world otherwise jaded by indulgent rock guitar solos.

SOLO	ALBUM	WHO	WHY
Limelight	Moving Pictures	Alex Lifeson (Rush)	Sheer fluidity and 'rightness' within the song
Available Light	Presto	Alex Lifeson	Fine two part solo, first part has a wonderful life & song lifting energy - second part very simple arpeggio - beautiful.
Warm Regards	Firegarden	Steve Vai	A Vai slow burner - very lyrical, very evocative
Touching Tongues	Sex & Religion	Steve Vai	Astoundingly creative use of delays but fantastic little piece anyway.
Always With Me, Always With You	Surfing with the Alien	Joe Satriani	Always hear this as the musical equivalent of a genuinely romantic evening. Always makes me smile.
Still In Love With You	Live & Dangerous	Brian Robertson & Scott Gorham (Thin Lizzy)	One of the first solos to convince me hat guitar solos need not be entirely indulgent.
Roisin Dubh	Black Rose	Scott Gorham & Gary Moore	Forget Flatley, these guys really knew how to make Irish music sexy. Astounding speed and accuracy in this inspiring guitar duel.
Easter	Season's End	Steve Rothery (Marillion)	Great emotion, astounding tone (is that really a Strat?). All the more impressive when you realise this was Rothery's first improv take! Great player - fine composition.
Something Wicked This Way Comes	same	Steve Stewart (The Enid)	The solo rises from a reprise of the album's theme & Stewart summarises it all so beautifully. There is drive and passion and deep deep emotion in his piece.
In The Region...	In the Region of the Summer Stars	Steve Stewart	Stewart has this amazing gift of drawing immense passion from passages of tranquility and this is signature Stewart.
Profession of Violence	The Wild, the Willing & the Innocent	Paul Chapman (UFO)	Not a name that usually comes to the fore of lead players, but this solo highlights how good a jobbing guitarist Chapman is - solos are rare, but delivered with power and passion when he deems them necessary.
Mother Earth	Blizzard of Oz	Randy Rhoads	Difficult choosing a Rhoads solo as i think you have to listen to his entire recorded body of work to get a true feel for the true genius that was the late Randy Rhoads. This just happens to be one of his more pyrotechnical ones with some great little tricks in it - screams and chirps etc.
SATO	Diary of a Madman	Randy Rhoads	SATO is one of my fave Ozzy 'pop' songs and this is just a great topping to it. Perfect fit in the song.
Gypsy Girl	n/a	Colin Muinzer (Cruella de Ville)	Where did this band go??? For me - Colm Muinzer was the other great irish shredder! A truly astounding player. His speed & sheer agility are remarkable.
Purple Rain	Purple Rain	Prince	Hugely underated as a guitarist, I think this is one of the piece's that displays that perfectly. Not just flashy, this has genuine passion and finesse.
Analog Kid	Subdivisions	Alex Lifeson	I never listened to much Van Halen, so this track was pretty much the first divebomb trem i ever heard - it made me so want a guitar with a trem after that! Great solo - pyro, octavers, divebombs, flangers the lot - all with Alex's tact & decency!
Bird of Paradise	White Flames	Snowy White	White's simplicity of set-up still yields this astounding tone - some beautiful phrasing and great control have always drawn me to this track.
Faithful (Meshell Ndegeocello)	Bitter	David Torn	Torn has always been a great influence for his innovation and creativty in sound and phrasing and this short solo is a perfect example - the dirtiest of sustained notes rises from this very mellow, plaintive song and perfectly expresse the inward pain in the song. The tone is astounding and almost knocks the breath out of you.
Moonlight Shadow	Crises	Mike Oldfield	I love all of Oldfield's playing, again underated as a guitarist as such, and difficult to choose a favourite moment, but it has to be this one. I remember listening to this solo mid-teens for hours when i got the 12" single, marvelling at the bravado of such a clean guitar sound having so much life and drive in a solo.