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The Latest Breaking News from Total Guitar

"He wrote it for me, but the record company had the power to prevent any other record coming out and they said, ‘This is a number one smash: Beck doesn’t get this’”: The story of the Stevie Wonder and Jeff Beck connection

Denied the song Stevie Wonder wrote for him, he instead gifted the guitarist a composition that would inspire one of his greatest performances

MusicRadar

“Freddie was a good riffmeister! He was a devotee of Jimi Hendrix. People think he was just concerned with the lighter stuff but it’s not true. He did enjoy the heavy stuff”: Brian May reveals the inside stories behind 13 classic Queen tracks

In a world-exclusive interview, Brian May takes you behind the scenes of the making of 13 iconic Queen cuts, and reveals what inspired his magical guitar playing in Bohemian Rhapsody, Killer Queen, Don’t Stop Me Now and many more

Guitar World

“It was just another riff, like Into The Fire. We didn’t make a big deal out of it and it wasn’t being considered as a track for the album": Ian Gillan on the unlikely success story of writing and recording Deep Purple's Smoke On The Water

"The downdraft from the mountains caused the smoke to blow across Lake Geneva, like a film set or dry ice on a stage show. At this point, Roger wrote the words ‘smoke on the water’ on a napkin”

MusicRadar

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“To me, those are blues machines”: Joe Bonamassa picks his three quintessential guitars for playing the blues – and names his “Les Paul killers”

Bonamassa has one of the most expansive guitar collections around, but if he had to choose, which models would he select as the best bits of kit for playing blues?

Guitar World

“I know Pagey made me mix the outro section half a dozen times: ‘Not enough of me, dear boy! Not enough of me, make me louder!’” – Andy Johns on the challenges of engineering Led Zeppelin's Rock And Roll

In 2011 the acclaimed engineer revealed some of the realities behind making Led Zeppelin IV: "John’s got his hi-hat nearly all the way open and that was bleeding all over the place"

MusicRadar

“It was so destroyed you could take the paint off with your hands”: How Rich Robinson brought his ’68 Gibson Les Paul Goldtop back from the brink after Hurricane Sandy

The Black Crowes guitarist says his restored LP is a rare example of an instrument that (eventually) came back stronger following the 2012 disaster

Guitar World

“I still don’t find it easy! It’s one of the most unnatural riffs to play you could possibly imagine”: Brian May finds Bohemian Rhapsody difficult to perform – and he points the blame at “riffmeister” Freddie Mercury

The Queen guitarist has called it “the most unnatural riff to play” and says even now he has to battle with adrenaline when he plays it live

Guitar World

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"I have no idea what I'm going to play when I get to that solo" – Brian May reveals the classic Queen song he improvises most live… and the track he takes the opposite approach with

"Every time the solo comes up live, I think, well, actually I can’t do much better than that"

MusicRadar

“I never liked it, to be honest, the way it was mixed. But I do recognise that it works”: Brian May says Under Pressure sounded like The Who before David Bowie took out the heavy guitar parts

Brian May said he was “beaming” about the guitar on the early versions of Under Pressure. David Bowie was not

MusicRadar

“It’s probably the only time in my career I bowed out, because I knew it was going to be a fight… most of that heavy guitar was lost”: Brian May says David Bowie removed his electric guitar riffs on Under Pressure – and he never liked the results

The Queen guitar legend says the song originally sounded more like a Who-style rocker, but Bowie had other ideas…

Guitar World

On sale now! Inside the new issue of Total Guitar: Queen's Greatest Songs Track By Track – By Brian May

Also in issue 381! Interviews: Yard Act, Sleater-Kinney, Ihsahn and more. Reviews: New gear from Gibson, Fender, Shergold and more. Learn songs by Queen, Bring Me The Horizon and U2

Guitar World

Vote for the greatest blues guitarist of all time!

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“That song, and Perfect Crime, we started writing when we were doing pre-production for Appetite" – Slash tells the story of Guns N' Roses's long-in-the-waiting classic You Could Be Mine

"You Could Be Mine was one of Izzy's riffs"

MusicRadar

“It’s a little bit softer and you get a different attack”: Matteo Mancuso took the guitar world by storm with his otherworldly playing style – now he’s revealed the secret to his flawless fingerpicking tone: fake nails

He's already given his advice on crafting better lead lines. Now, the young virtuoso has kindly revealed how you can get natural tones to match

Guitar World

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Guitar World

“I’m a sloppy guitar player! I’ll be the first to admit that… In retrospect, I should have practiced more”: Ace Frehley isn't going to apologize for his loose playing style – but he also doesn't recommend that players follow in his footsteps

The former Kiss guitarist has often been accused of sloppiness, a label he says he doesn't mind at all

Guitar World

“I had a couple of passes at the solo, and that was it. Keith’s playing great – and it’s unusual to hear me playing at full acceleration outside of Led Zeppelin”: Jimmy Page on his surprise Rolling Stones collaboration, and the gear that made rock history

In this all-encompassing 2020 interview, the Led Zeppelin legend reflects on the evolution of his guitar rig, writing rock’s greatest albums – and how the Beatles shaped the sound of Whole Lotta Love

Guitar World

“Joe Bonamassa texted me and said, ‘I know you love that black Les Paul. It’s at Carter Vintage right now. Call them ASAP!’”: Kirk Hammett says he only got his ultra-rare Factory Black ’59 Les Paul thanks to the help of his collector friend

The Metallica guitarist also reveals he had “30 guitars stolen” in a previous attempt to buy the unicorn electric guitar

Guitar World

Inside the new issue of Total Guitar: The best of 2023!

Also in issue 379! Interviews: Kirk Hammett, Nuno Bettencourt, Cory Wong, Yvette Young, Nita Strauss and more. Reviews: New gear from Epiphone, Fender, Guild, Jackson and more. Learn songs by Led Zeppelin, Phoebe Bridgers and Blink-182

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Metal Hammer

Metallica snuck the Batman theme song into one of their riffs, Kirk Hammett admits

Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett has said that 2023 song Shadows Follow contains a nod to the ’60s Batman theme

Guitar World

“We called that riff ‘The Batman Riff’”: Kirk Hammett admits Metallica lifted the Batman theme on 72 Seasons

Thought that riff in Shadows Follow sounded awfully similar to a certain classic superhero theme? Turns out Metallica knew exactly what they were doing

MusicRadar

Do guitar solos matter? Kirk Hammett says non-musicians won’t remember your solos – but “they are gonna helluva remember a great melody and they’re really gonna remember a great song”

As Metallica's lead guitarist, Hammett has written and performed some of metal's most iconic guitar solos but maintains that the majority of people will forget them

Guitar World

“I hate to say it, but non-musicians – who are the majority of the listening world – are not going to remember guitar solos”: Kirk Hammett says it doesn’t matter how good or flashy a solo is – most people are going to forget them anyway

According to the Metallica maestro, the average music listener doesn't share a guitar player's enthusiasm for a ripping solo

Guitar World

Inside the new issue of Total Guitar: 99 Ways To Better Tone!

Also in issue 375! Interviews: Biffy Clyro's Simon Neil & Mike Vennart, Nothing But Thieves, Ultra Q, Saint Agnes, Grace Potter and more! Reviews: New gear from Marshall, Fender, Gibson, Gretsch and more. Learn songs by Pink Floyd, Greta Van Fleet and The Killers

Guitar World

Inside the new issue of Total Guitar: The 50 Greatest Acoustic Guitar Songs Of All Time

Also in issue 374! Interviews: Ben Howard, Skindred, Nat Myers, mehro and more! Reviews: Blackstar Debut 50R, Dave Mustaine 2023 Flying Vs, Danelectro Blackout '59M NOS, Fender Gold Foil Telecaster, EHX Lizard Queen. Learn songs by AC/DC, The Hives and Billie Eilish.

Guitar World

Here’s what you voted the greatest acoustic guitar song of all time – and the winner might be controversial

The track beat Eric Clapton’s Tears In Heaven and Pink Floyd’s Wish You Were Here to the top spot

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