“Every rock music fan has heard the war, every rock guitarist has fought in the battles.”
Starting with their conception and design in the early 1950s, Solidbodies, The 50 Year Guitar War focuses on the five decade competition of sounds between the two guitars that have been heard on more popular recordings than any other instruments during the rock era. The documentary features players, historians, instrument dealers and collectors expressing their views on the competitive influences of the Stratocaster and the Les Paul. The soundtrack and performance segments feature guitar solos played on those two instruments with styles of music highly representative of the time periods that are discussed in the documentary.
Among those contributing commentary are Joe Bonamassa, named Best Blues Guitarist by Guitar Player Magazine’s readership in their 2008 Reader’s Choice Awards; Derek Trucks, famed slide guitar virtuoso who leads his own group and played with Eric Clapton’s band during his 2006-2007 world tour; Henry Garza, guitarist and singer with the Grammy Award winning Los Lonely Boys; Gary Hoey, internationally acclaimed guitarist who has composed for ESPN’s Summer X Games; George Gruhn, the owner of Gruhn Guitars who is considered to be one of the world’s leading experts on vintage guitars; and Richard R. Smith, the author of “Fender: The Sound Heard ‘Round The World” which is often viewed as the definitive book about Fender guitars and Leo Fender.
It’s been rock ‘n’ roll’s version of Coke vs. Pepsi, the Yankees vs. the Red Sox, almost since the music’s start. And the battle is still being fought every day in garages, studios, and music clubs across America. It’s the guitar wars: Fender vs. Gibson.
-The Boston Globe
You can visit the official site of the DVD release and view a video trailer by CLICKING HERE.
When Joe Bonamassa took the stage at Royal Albert Hall in May 2009, he fulfilled a dream he’d held since first picking up a guitar as a kid in upstate New York. The sold-out concert—fresh off the release of his album The Ballad Of John Henry—marked Bonamassa’s headlining debut at arguably the most prestigious concert venue in the world. “May 4, 2009 was a day 20 years in the making,” says Bonamassa. “I have never been so honored in my life. It was truly larger than the sum of its parts.”
Recent Comments