The Top Modern Blues Guitar Albums

This seventh studio offering from British blues virtuoso Taylor has a return to a more roots and vintage vibe whilst maintaining the edgy yet melodic playing which has gained her a place amongst modern blues innovators. The album is a new collaboration with Detroit producer and long time friend Al Sutton, who’s previous work with Greta Van Fleet and Kid Rock give ‘Reckless Heart’ an earthier sound. This is certainly noticeable in the overall guitar tone and it was decided between Taylor and Sutton prior to recording, that no pedals were to be used.

With everything you hear being an honest nomination of direct amp and fingers; this is an opportunity to hear Joanne’s playing in its purist most dynamic form. Tracks were, in the main part, recorded entirely live, giving an extra element of spontaneity to the solos. The decision to move the recording from Nashville to Detroit also sets a new set of musicians appearing on the album.

There’s a broad musical palette on offer with this album, with some grittier rock crossover moments such as the track ‘New ’89’ and ‘In The Mood’ which features some bone-shaking and authoritative guitar work. Joanne’s choice of guitar for the album was largely Les Pauls but she states that she occasionally switches to Tele and Strat when the song calls for it. Amp wise; a blues staple of a Fender Super Reverb and a Marshall Blues Breaker for the heavier tracks. Again - all directly into the amps.

If you want an example of Taylor’s musical spontaneity and ability to think on her feet; then I refer you to her performance Diamond Jubilee concert performance playing lead guitar in Annie Lennox’s band. Her solo spot was choreographed to kick in with a fuzz pedal-driven lively solo, however, the pedal malfunctioned forcing Joanne to adapt with thousands of people watching. the resulting clean solo won her the adoration of non-other than Stevie Wonder.

The 2018 album from former MMA fighter Barras reached No.1 in both Amazon and iTunes Blues charts have traditional shades of Howlin Wolf and Zeppelin but with a modern edge in the vein of contemporary bands such as ‘Rival Sons’ and ‘Black Stone Cherry’, all garnished with Kris’s brand of choppy playing and gritty vocals. There’s a distinct rock/country/blues crossover with Kris’s playing that’s tasteful yet energetic and soulful - the track ‘Hail Mary’ is a shining example of this. Other highlights which give a full showcase of Kris’s guitar prowess are ‘Hold On For Tomorrow’ (check out the outro solo) and the soulful ballad ‘Watching Over Me’.

Barras has been very vocal regarding his first and most potent influence of Gary Moore, and this shows in the passion he injects into his playing. It’s the more progressive and fusion-based influence which set him apart - there are some definite shades of Greg Howe and Frank Gambale subtly in the mix here.

Gear wise, Kris uses his Fender Custom Shop Telecaster into a Laney Lionheart head and cab for all his clean and rhythm tones. For his solos, he ramps things up through a Wampler Paisley Deluxe pedal. Kris has also been known to boost his signal at the front end of his chain with an MXR Micro Amp.

Released February 2017, ‘Perfection Kills’ is the 9th studio album from South African blues virtuoso Dan Patlansky. Having been voted the best blues guitarist in the world by a number of publications and online polls, and gaining mass critical acclaim for his previous studio releases including two Blues Rock Review’s #1 Blues Rock Albums; it is safe to say that Mr Patlansky is one to watch. He has also supported Joe Satriani and kicked off the latest stage of his career by opening for Bruce Springsteen in 2014.

His latest, self-produced offering has an infectious mix of groove-based hooks and blues sensibilities with a modern rock sting. The opening track ‘Johnny’ sets the tone (quite literally) with a guitar tone to die for and solo work that is a schooling in blending rock virtuosity with raw blues phrasing. If you’re new to Dan’s playing, expect lots of very vocal and melodic lines mixed in with lots of Hendrixian funky rhythm work. The latter style makes its way into much of his lead work and is a showcase of his incredible time feel. In fact, Dan’s rhythmically diverse phrasing is the first thing that strikes you and is a fountain of inspiration to get you playing away from your stock licks and lines.

It’s not all fire and flair however; check out the solo on ‘Shake The Cage’ for the perfect use of space and restraint.

As for the gear which drives his majestic tone; Dan has two strats - a ’62 named ‘Old Red’ and, its temporary replacement, a ’61 nicknamed ‘The Beast’. He runs things into his Dr Z amp and has an interesting approach to pairing with higher wattage, EVM speakers to keep his tone clear when pushing the amp harder, a practise adopted by a number of blues heavyweights including Joe Bonamassa. Dan has often spoken of the benefits of boosting your signal before hitting the front of your amp to get a hotter tone. For this task, he employs a Keeley compressor. He is also a fan of fuzz and stacks things up with a clone of the infamous Klon Centaur.

This is the fourth studio album from the Grammy Award-winning 12 piece, fronted by the, now critically acclaimed, husband and wife duo of Susan Tedeschi and, slide maestro Derek Trucks. Fans of Derek’s exquisite, vocal-like playing won’t be disappointed with the guitar content on ‘ Signs’ however, this is an altogether softer and more intimate album; giving a lesson in the perfect cohesion of lead playing within the mix and a masterclass in playing for the song. The track ‘Shame’ gives Trucks fans a lively, rocked up guitar injection.

The album was recorded the old school way using 2” tape. This decision was taken to give each take more importance and a live vibe, having to rewind in mistakes were made and fostering impulsive, single take playing.

From a guitar gear point, Derek uses the SG with which he is now synonymous, tuned, for the main part to open E (E-B-E-G#-B-E). He has a history of using Fender Super Reverbs, but for the TT band, he enlisted the expertise of George Alessandro who custom-built a Super Reverb style amp with more juice and guts. This allows Derek to cut through the large 12 piece band. In the studio, he favours smaller amps such as Fender Deluxe Reverbs.

For a deeper insight into what influences Truck’s out of this world slide playing; he has made frequent references to taking his inspiration from Qawwali - a form of Islamic devotional music which layers chanting, soaring vocals over syncopated clapping and percussion.

So there we have it; some inspiration to get your ears and fingers in a playing frame of mind! Plus a few fun facts to impress your friends with!