Total Electric Guitar

This fantastic but still rather unknown record was originally released in 1971 on French United Artists label and definitely belongs to the Top 5 of best French progressive albums ever! All the members of Total Issue came from the jazz circuit and the music they have created was guitar-dominated rock (mostly sung in English) with some jazz and good folk influences similar to early Jethro Tull (with distinct references to Van Der Graaf Generator, Genesis and King Crimson), but with clear ‘less Anderson / more Barre’ approach! The record was filled with varied, imaginative and cleverly-arranged songs based mostly on spacey bass lines, nicely distorted electric guitar sounds and some pleasant flute passages. lt’s an album which can't be missed!

Eric Clapton was the opening act of his own Crossroads Guitar Festival on April 12. He took the stage at New York's Madison Square Garden just before the official starting time of 7:30, as if he couldn't wait to get the night going. Seated with an acoustic guitar, dressed in shades of gray and wearing glasses, Clapton performed a short set with his current touring band, starting with an earthy stroll through Charles Brown's

Japanese project Asturias has had an unpredictable history, initially forming around multi-instrumentalist and composer Yoh Ohyama in the late Eighties, with a reworked line-up appearing about fifteen years ago. Since that comeback in 2003, the predominantly instrumental group jumps between `Acoustic' and `Electric' Asturias discs, and like other bands from the same country - Ain Soph and Ptf instantly come to mind - the band/s combine a symphonic grandiosity with the dynamic fire of jazz/fusion, and their latest work under the `Electric' banner, 2019's `Trinity' offers violin and piano constantly met with electric guitar and keyboard colour, all delivered with a cracking energy, nuanced emotion and supreme technical musical precision.