THE LINEUP
The month’s best guitar music – a hand-picked selection of the finest fretwork on wax
Philip Sayce
Forty Below Records (available now) 10/10
Strat-wielding blues-rocker’s album punches hard
For high-energy blues-rock fans, Philip Sayce takes some beating. His Fender Strat’s battered appearance is testament to how strong a player he is with the ability to bend, hammer and pick with blazing fireworks through to the softest of ballad-serving touches. TheWolvesAre Coming is a masterful presentation of strong songs played with passion and stunning guitar tones. Not afraid to divulge his influences, Philip told us in issue 508 that his sights are set firmly on the era of classic rock: “[Take] Robin Trower, for instance: when I hear live recordings of those guys in the mid-70s… there’s something about the earth under my feet moving.”
Opener, That BitchesBrew, is a stomping Hendrix-esque burner, filled with heavy riffing and big dynamics. Huge. The swinging swagger of Lady Love Divine has an infectious chorus and a stinging solo, while Babylon Is Burning features guitar and vocal unison melodies and great rhythmic punches. Wah-guitar drives YourLove with a mid-tempo groove, a partylike chorus and a Uni-Vibe coloured solo. Next, you’ll experience sonic chill-out from It’sOver Now with tasty Curtis Mayfield LittleWing-styled guitar chording. For the album’s most blazing solo, check out Blackbirds FlyAlone; don’t be fooled by the intro’s acoustic strumming – Philip’s electric double ‐time chops are full-on for the outro.
Overall, the album has a nostalgic, late 60s/early 70s feel with a production that sounds both powerful and organic. For blues-rock fans, this has to be one of the most must-hear albums for 2024. It’s that good!
Standout track: Babylon Is Burning
For fans of: Jimi Hendrix, Robin Trower
It Bites FD
Magenta (available now) 9/10
Francis Dunnery helms new It Bites live album
It Bites was aUK prog band from the late 80s, fronted by Francis Dunnery who released three albums that championed great songs and musicianship. Decades later, Francis presents a new version of the band (he’s the only original in the six-member line-up here) with this live release filmed and recorded in Wolverhampton. The riff-heavy All InRed and the rocking PositivelyAnimal, plus the diminished-tinged lines within Sister Sarah and the beautiful guitar lead lines on LeavingWithoutYou are just the tip of the iceberg, not to mention the fan fave instrumental Charlie, a pretty chord-tapping marvel using FD’s unique tapboard and an echo. As for the prog-tastic OnceAroundTheWorld, the nearly 17-minute presentation is a rich journey that demonstrates Genesis to Allan Holdsworth influences as well as
