An Imaginative Collection of the Best Guitarists in an Era

Don’t misjudge an album by its cover.

Because of the Guitar Player magazine logo, the new “Legends of Guitar” series may look like an instructional guide that is of interest only to guitarists.

In fact, the series offers an imaginatively designed collection of some of the finest guitar performances of the modern pop era. The first five volumes in the series--released by Rhino Records in association with the magazine--feature tracks by influential artists from ‘50s rock, ‘60s rock, electric blues, country and jazz.

The selections, which reflect both a fan’s enthusiasm and a historian’s insight, include obvious choices and worthy surprises.

Who, for instance, could imagine a “Rock: the ‘50s” edition without such key figures as Chuck Berry (playing “Maybellene”), Bo Diddley (“Mona”) and Duane Eddy (“Rebel-’Rouser”)?

So, the real inspiration comes in the choice of such lesser-known but also influential guitarists as Danny Cedrone, who played on Bill Haley’s classic 1954 recording of “Rock Around the Clock.” Rather than include that widely available selection, however, compiler Dan Forte turned to Cedrone’s solo on “Rock That Joint,” an earlier Haley recording that was the prototype for “Rock Around the Clock.”

James Austin, who produces the series for Rhino, said he had been thinking about a “Legends of Guitar” series ever since reading an article about early rock guitarists that Forte wrote in 1984 for Guitar Player.

Said Austin, “I wanted people to know that rock didn’t occur in a vacuum . . . that people like T-Bone Walker, who is on the ‘Electric Blues’ volume, played a part in the evolution of rock ‘n’ roll.”

The artists featured in the “Electric Blues” volume range from Muddy Waters to Elmore James and Johnny Winter. The “Rock: the ‘60s” album lineup includes Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton, both during their Yardbirds days. Howard Roberts and Charlie Christian are among the 16 guitarists saluted in the “Jazz” entry, while Grady Martin and Merle Travis are featured in the “Country” edition. Volumes devoted to ‘70s rock, surf music and classical are due next spring, along with the second volumes of country and jazz.

MORE SAMPLES: “Just Say Da,” the fourth volume of Sire Records’ lively series of budget CD samplers, includes remixes of past hits (including Depeche Mode’s “Personal Jesus”) as well as tracks from new albums (including works by Danielle Dax and Morrissey) plus at least one track that apparently won’t be released on any other album: “When the Beatles Hit America,” John Wesley Harding’s wickedly satirical account of the long-imagined Beatles reunion.