Total Guitar June 2018

Guitarist, composer, and bandleader Pat Metheny is one of the most successful jazz musicians in the world. He is the only artist to win 20 Grammy Awards in 10 different categories. A consummate stylist and risk-taker, his musical signature melds a singular, euphoric sense of harmony with Afro-Latin and Brazilian sounds, rock, funk, global folk musics, and jazz. His 1976 debut, Bright Size Life, and the self-titled Pat Metheny Group two years later resonated with audiences and critics for its euphoric lyricism, dynamics, and rhythmic ideas.

Buck Owens, along with Merle Haggard, was the leader of the Bakersfield sound, a twangy, electrified, rock-influenced interpretation of hardcore honky tonk that emerged in the '60s. Owens was the first bona fide country star to emerge from Bakersfield, scoring a total of 15 consecutive number one hits between 1963 and 1967. In the process, he provided an edgy alternative to the string-laden country-pop that was prevalent at the time.

50th anniversary 3CD/Blu-ray edition of King Crimson’s seminal debut presented in 2 x gatefold sleeve containing the individual CDs plus booklet with sleeve-notes by Sid Smith (packed in a rigid slipcase). CD1 - 2019 Steven Wilson stereo mix (approved by Robert Fripp) alonside 2019 instrumental mixes (with Moonchild edited to song length). CD2 - An expanded edition of the alternate album from the Blu-Ray. CD3 - The original master edition of the 1969 mix plus additional tracks.

Formed in 1967 by former Motions guitarist Robbie Van Leeuwen, the Dutch quartet Shocking Blue originally had a lineup of Van Leeuwen on guitar, lead vocalist Fred DeWilde, bass player Klaasje Van der Wal, and drummer Cornelius Van der Beek, and the initial configuration of the band had a minor homeland hit with “Lucy Brown Is Back in Town” a year later in 1968. Things really got moving, though, when DeWilde was replaced by sultry singer Mariska Veres, whose sexy presence and solid singing brought the band a second Netherlands hit, “Send Me a Postcard,” and then a huge international smash with “Venus” in 1970 after the group had signed to Jerry Ross' Colossus Records imprint. Although Shocking Blue's albums (1968’s Shocking Blue, 1969’s At Home, 1970’s Scorpio’s Dance, 1971’s 3rd Album, 1972’s Inkpot, 1972’s Attila, 1973’s Dream on Dreamer, and 1974’s Good Times) featured progressive rock elements…

Formed in 1967 by former Motions guitarist Robbie Van Leeuwen, the Dutch quartet Shocking Blue originally had a lineup of Van Leeuwen on guitar, lead vocalist Fred DeWilde, bass player Klaasje Van der Wal, and drummer Cornelius Van der Beek, and the initial configuration of the band had a minor homeland hit with “Lucy Brown Is Back in Town” a year later in 1968. Things really got moving, though, when DeWilde was replaced by sultry singer Mariska Veres, whose sexy presence and solid singing brought the band a second Netherlands hit, “Send Me a Postcard,” and then a huge international smash with “Venus” in 1970 after the group had signed to Jerry Ross' Colossus Records imprint. Although Shocking Blue's albums (1968’s Shocking Blue, 1969’s At Home, 1970’s Scorpio’s Dance, 1971’s 3rd Album, 1972’s Inkpot, 1972’s Attila, 1973’s Dream on Dreamer, and 1974’s Good Times) featured progressive rock elements…

Nightmares have never sounded so beautiful! Swedish grandeurs of melancholic heaviness, Katatonia, return with Nightmares as Extensions of the Waking State, set for release on June 6, 2025 via Napalm Records. Once again, the Stockholm-based unit masterfully navigates the tightrope act between nocturnal darkness and Scandinavian despair while subtly weaving a sense of hope into the listener’s heart. Since emerging in the early nineties, Katatonia has projected a beacon of light for the forgotten and the lonely ones, offering solace to those willing to lose themselves in the band’s immersive soundscapes. From their roots in death-doom metal to the post-metal entity they embody today, their art remains as haunting as ever. Nightmares as Extensions of the Waking State marks the next step in Katatonia’s evolution, building upon the foundation of their previous album, Sky Void of Stars (2023)…

All Other Voices Gone, Only Yours Remains" is the result of a dialog between Nieves Mingueza and the musicians The Humble Bee and Offthesky initiated by IIKKI, between October 2018 and June 2019. Together, the two have produced a touching, richly nostalgic recording. Tattersall is on piano, guitar, vibes, synthesizers and tape loops. Corder contributes vibes, and was responsible for the album’s arrangements and mixing. They’re joined by Cody Yantis on saxophone, Julie Slater on viola, Rin Howell on vocals, Jiah Shin on cello and Esther Hernandez on flute. While that lineup is suggestive of a new classical recording, All Other Voices Gone, Only Yours Remains is not quite that. The acoustic instruments are blanketed by thick layers of found sounds and digital treatments.

Cinzento is the third studio outing from Marcos Valle in two years. After the critical acclaim for 2019's disco-fied Sempre in June 2019, Valle returns to the essence of Brazilian pop and samba on Cinzento ("Gray"). The set was recorded for the independent Deck Disc and is loosely related to his classic 1973 offering Previsão Do Tempo ("Weather Forecast"). Deck label boss Roberto Ramos, who has reissued several Valle titles including Previsão Do Tempo, buttonholed the artist in 2018 and exhorted Valle to cut an album for Deck at their studios, while looking to the 1973 album for inspiration. He accepted.
Valle revisited the 1973 collaboration with Azymuth, who were still a young band, not yet the influential fusion trio they would become…

Nightmares have never sounded so beautiful! Swedish grandeurs of melancholic heaviness, Katatonia, return with Nightmares as Extensions of the Waking State, set for release on June 6, 2025 via Napalm Records. Once again, the Stockholm-based unit masterfully navigates the tightrope act between nocturnal darkness and Scandinavian despair while subtly weaving a sense of hope into the listener’s heart. Since emerging in the early nineties, Katatonia has projected a beacon of light for the forgotten and the lonely ones, offering solace to those willing to lose themselves in the band’s immersive soundscapes. From their roots in death-doom metal to the post-metal entity they embody today, their art remains as haunting as ever. Nightmares as Extensions of the Waking State marks the next step in Katatonia’s evolution, building upon the foundation of their previous album, Sky Void of Stars (2023)…