Instrumental guitar albums

Though not technically on PA as a solo artist, Richard Thompson is here as prog-related; being with Fairport Convention from 1967 to 1971.

His 1981 album Strict Tempo! is by far and away my favourite instrumental guitar album. Thompson is a genius of both acoustic and electric guitar.

Here from Strict Tempo! is a guitar interpretation of the largely original piano driven composition Rockin' In Rhythm by Duke Ellington. This is mind-boggling guitar playing...when it should be a piano!



The entire album is here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmZA-jNGaHs&list=PLyC9-EpySTOSnn2vZ_fOyb-QOtMJFIGFm

Just love it.


Edited by BarryGlibb - March 30 2016 at 04:21

Mascodagama wrote: micky wrote: never been much on this stuff man... but one album certainly does jump to mind Wow, that's one of the first jazz albums I ever bought on vinyl. I would have been about sixteen, and they played a track - I think Eleanor Rigby - on a breakfast radio show that didn't normally feature any music, someone must have been impressed by his prodigious technique. I couldn't believe what he was doing, ran out and bought it the next Saturday. Still got it but I must not have listened to it in a decade. I'm going to dig it out for a spin.

yep same here.  As I said.. most of the time that kind of stuff bores the hell of out me but this album connected and connected HARD. I was visiting my father in Tucson where he was living with his.. oh I don't know.. 4th or 5th wife and he whipped that album out one day played the Eleanor Rigby song and as soon as I got home I immediately got it.

Wish I still had it..  likely lost in the great album purges for beer money of the mid 90's when young Mick discovered some things were more importantly than music.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Jeff Beck....Blow by Blow and Wired are both excellent.

"Self-Contained" by Peter Banks is sublime.  He picked up the "Jem" guitar model from Ibanez and sounds a great deal like Steve Vai.   Highly recommended. 

never been much on this stuff man... but one album certainly does jump to mind

Mascodagama wrote: Staying on an ECM tip, here's something from Ralph Towner's Solstice:     Sublime record. And what a band! Ralph Towner, Eberhard Weber, Jan Garbarek, Jon Christensen.

^ Very good album indeed
When it comes to 'completely' guitar oriented albums, my winner is Manuel Goettsching's 'Inventions For Electric Guitar'.

Staying on an ECM tip, here's something from Ralph Towner's Solstice:

Martin Barre's best album Stage Left is brilliant.



Lots of different styles of guitar playing. Martin uses a different guitar for each track. The last track does have vocals though, which is a pity, as it does spoil this great album.