Illustrated Encyclopedia of Guitar Heros

by Rusty Cutchin (Editor)

Featuring over 180 of the world's greatest guitar superstars, "The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Guitar Heroes" is a definitive guide to those guitarists whose talents helped change the face of music forever and touched the lives of millions. From the heroes of rock - the likes of Hendrix, Clapton, Page and Beck - to classical maestros such as John Williams and Latin legends such as Paco de Lucia, this comprehensive catalogue of guitarists covers a wide range of musical styles. It will allow the reader to discover legendary players from the earliest blues pioneers right up to today's indie icons and everyone in between.Grouped into seven chapters based on the genre of music each guitarist is most closely associated with, each chapter is then organised chronologically according to the guitarists' birth dates, making the book easy to navigate. Written by an expert team of music writers and musicologists, the informative text tells the story of how each of these axemen rose up to stand out from the crowd, carving themselves a place in the history books. Learn what inspired them to create the music that led to their legendary status, how they achieved such greatness and the tools they used to get to the top.Supported by over 400 superb images that bring each page to life and capture the power and emotion behind the music, this encyclopedia is the ideal book for any aspiring guitar hero, and will satisfy even the most die-hard of music fans. The comprehensive reference section includes an extensive listing of a further 500 of the greatest musicians ever to pick up an axe, recommended further reading and a host of website links, all of which provide a further gateway into the lives of the greatest guitarists the world has ever known.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction

Hardcover

First published August 1, 2008

Reviews

[Alex Vecen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some great guitar players like John Mayer, Jonny Buckland, Sergio Vallin, Alejandro Markovich are missing. Sad about it. But the books looks great on my studio.

[Rich · Rating 4 out of 5]

What I enjoy about this is is how inclusive it is. Yes it has the standard rock god pantheon--Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Stevie Ray Vaughn--but is so expansive. It has a section for the guys who invented it all such as Chuck Berry, then it breaks out the guitar heroes by style--rock, heavy metal, jazz, blues, country, alternative, indie. You also find Chet Atikins in here, Roy Clarke, Mark Knopfler, and some of my favorites who are often overlooked such as Gary Moore. There are some surprises in here as well, like Elton John's long time guitarist, Davey Johnstone. Also listed are B.B. King, Albert King, Buddy Guy, Howlin' Wolf. And the information is great, it tells the story of how Brian May and his father made his first guitar, using the 200 year old rosewood from the family fireplace mantle. It's May's favorite guitar. I wish Donald Roser aka Buck Dharma, of Blue Oyster Cult were in here, but I guess you can't have everything.

[Roxanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book because I love the heavy metal bands this book talks about. He talks about the most famous guitar heroes. He mentions Hendrix, Clapton, Page , Beck but i would like to add Slash and Joe Perry to the list. I have seen all these bands. The author works with many performers as a musician and as recording engineer. I love this book since I am old enough to have these seen all these bands myself.

[Ryan Edwards · Rating 1 out of 5]

There's something about those fetishist guitar players, the ones who encourage these types of publications, that just fucking annoys me. A thoroughly uninteresting read (the parts I did read, anyway).

[Kevin Gallan]

190/448

[Gabriel Diamond · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great present for any guitarist that can be used over and over again.