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Christine McVie 1943-2022

In the soft-rock soap opera of Fleetwood Mac at the height of their global fame, Christine McVie was a calming presence. While no stranger to the relationships freefall and wild substance abuse that unwittingly became shorthand for the making of Rumours, there was something steady and reassuring about her ice-cool voice on You Make Loving Fun, Oh Daddy and possibly the finest 200 seconds of her entire career, Songbird.

david quantick likes

...to write a column for Record Collector. Yay Remake/Remodel - or re-record?

mac on black

Fan or obsessive? Ian McCann long since crossed the divide

music to visit

Bob Stanley carries pop's baggage everywhere Ark of the lost Raiders

THE WHO, WHAT, WHERE AND HOW OF 'WHY'

The song Why has a significant place in music history because it was one of the tracks the fledgling Beatles recorded with Tony Sheridan in 1961 before making a recording debut in their own right. But few people know of an earlier, 1958 recording of the song made by Sheridan, which recently surfaced on a 10\" acetate. Beatles scholar Hans Olof Gottfridsson tells the story of a song that would later attain immortality by association.

33 1/3 minutes with...Jake Bugg

A prodigious talent, Jake Bugg burst out of Nottingham aged 18 with his self-titled debut album in 2012. Featuring timeless rock’n’roll hits Lightning Bolt and Two Fingers, it saw Bugg championed by Noel Gallagher and starting a fascinating career that has led to albums produced by Rick Rubin and The Black Keys singer Dan Auerbach. After 2021’s poppier Saturday Night Sunday Morning returned Bugg to the Top 3, his debut has recently been reissued as a deluxe set adding demos and a London Royal Albert Hall show. Bugg tells RC of rediscovering teenage demos, hanging out in Rick Rubin’s garden, and getting walloped with indie stars at football.

Diggin' For GOLD

Our regular look at the more arcane corners of record collecting. Includes Label Of Love and Sound And Vision

Polyphia – "Guitar is a Means to an End - the End Being Good Music"

Two virtuosos, no rules: how Polyphia are redefining the possibilities for guitar music

Jared James Nichols – "It feels like the amp's about to explode!"

The blues rock power of Jared James Nichols, a man of many Les Pauls...

PRS - Horsemeat Transparent Overdrive, Mary Cries Optical Compressor and Wind Through the Trees Dual Analog Flanger

AFTER INITIALLY ESTABLISHING his reputation with electric guitars, and following with acoustic guitars and amplifiers, it seemed an inevitability that Paul Reed Smith would fill the missing link in the signal chain -pedals.

BOSS - Dual Cube LX

ROLAND LAUNCHED THE Cube in 1978, and since then, the compact amp has been offered in more than 50 different models that deliver great sound and features in durable enclosures.

EARTHQUAKER DEVICES

Special Cranker

RED ALERT

Salvaged old-growth redwood finds new life in Grez Guitars models like this Mendocino DC.

THE EVOLUTION OF JIM LAUDERDALE

His main goal has always been to write great songs. As he drops his 35th album, Game Changer, the Americana stalwart is learning to be a better guitarist.

You Dirty Rat

Introduced in 1979, the ProCo Rat Distortion Pedal is the OG overdrive.

TIP SHEET

Slide virtuoso Sonny Landreth delivers 10 pointers for everyone from beginners to pros.

FLYING HIGH AGAIN

On the 40th anniversary of Randy Rhoads' death, we celebrate his metal mastery with a lesson devoted to his genre-defining style.

GAME ON

Chris Scruggs and Craig Smith explore the licks that make Game Changer a winner.

How I Wrote..."867-5309/ Jenny"

Jim Keller recalls how he helped dial in Tommy Tutone's 1982 smash hit.

VICTORY - V1 the Duchess and the Jack Overdrive

BRITISH GEAR MAKER Victory is primarily known for its well-built tube amps, but the amp-in-a-pedal sector is a growing and popular one, so it makes total sense for this company to join the likes of Bogner, Friedman and countless stompbox makers in this arena.

CARDINAL VIRTUE

As he puts his old band back together for their debut album, blues guitarist Chris Buck emphasizes playing for the song.

EPIPHONE

Joe Bonamassa 1962 ES-335

MY CAREER IN FIVE SONGS

With more than five decades of road behind him, George Thorogood picks a handful of tunes that brought smiles to the miles.

PLAYING by the RULES

Known his work as a guitarist, writer and producer with artists like Kacey Musgraves and Brett Eldredge, Daniel Tashian follows three guidelines on his newest solo set. The result is an album's worth of gems.

LEARNING TO BREATHE

Eight years into his career, Marcus King has shown he has what it takes to go the distance. With Young Blood, his latest solo excursion, he does it with all six strings blazing.

SIX OF ONE

Marcus delivers a half-dozen tips to help you become a singular guitarist.

Raw Power

The Beatles' 1970 swan song finds its groove in this 2003 redux.

SOMETHING IN THE WATER

Hailing from Clarksdale, Mississippi, Christone \"Kingfish\" Ingram is a born and bred blues guitarist. Just don't call him a purist.

TAKE FIVE

Kingfish delivers his top guitar tips.

RIFFING ON CLASSICS

Rebecca and Megan Lovell reveal the secrets behind Larkin Poe's alchemical magic for turning classic blues riffs into modern fuzzed-out blues-rock hooks.