If you take Satriani, Vai, Dimebag, that guy who plays in Dream Theatre, and loads of other “Well Known” guitar players out of the picture, you’d be left with some really obscure, and extremely talented axe slingers standing as the dust clears. This is a slightly comprehensive review of seven of my favorites that I’ve listened to and at some point said “Who IS that?”.
Steve Stevens
Born Steven Schneider, May 5, 1959, in Brooklyn, New York, you may have heard of him from his work with Billy Idol, Michael Jackson, Vince Neil, or Juno Reactor., but he’s also been an in-demand hired gun for Ric Ocasek (The Cars), Thompson Twins, and Robert Palmer. After a failed attempt, and one album with Atomic Playboys (which had a couple decent tunes), he sought out a more expressive outlet. His work with Terri Bozzio, and Toni Levin on Blacklight Syndrome showcased his love of Prog Rock, but he really shines with his solo efforts, with the likes of Memory Crash (2008), and Flamenco-A-Go Go (1999), and has appeared on guitarists collaborative efforts such as GFPM’s Vol 2, and Merry Axemas. He and his wife Josie were also one of the four couples under the microscope for the 2010 reality show “Married To Rock”. There’s so much that Stevens has done, I’ve probably left some things out… like his collaboration with Harold Faltermeyer for the Top Gun theme which he won a Grammy for, and one of his tunes from Flamenco-A-Go Go being on the soundtrack for the movie “Step Into Liquid”.
Up next:
Robert Fripp
Bill Frisell
Reb Beach
Ry Cooder
Kazumi Watanabe
Cristopher Parkening