“The music of your youth stays with you throughout your lifetime,” says guitar legend Steve Stevens. “I think it’s because the music that’s important to you during your teens comes at a time when you’re experiencing so many things for the first time. You’re becoming sexually aware. You’re learning to form your own opinions and speak your mind. Music plays a key part in all of it.”
When asked to compile a list of the 10 records that had shaped him as a guitarist (presented here in no particular order), Stevens — who plays a Knaggs Steve Stevens Signature electric guitar — reflected on the social aspect of music during his teens. “Anytime you got a new record, you’d get together with your friends. You turned on the stereo, opened the album gatefold sleeve and read the lyrics. Somebody would say, ‘Play that song again,’ so you’d pick the needle up and put it back down — hopefully in the right place. You’d listen to the song again and go, ‘Wow!’ It was a shared experience, and it was great. I know people today get that when they go to a concert, but I think the act of listening to music together has been lost to a certain extent.”
Yes — Close to the Edge (1972)
“It seemed like the culmination of that era of progressive rock. The first Yes album I bought was their previous record, Fragile, which was fantastic. I learned ‘Mood for a Day’ and a lot of songs on it. But that album seemed more about the individual players, whereas Close to the Edge was truly a band effort — there were no solo pieces. To me, the record summed up what was possible as a group.
“It also demonstrated how many different guitar styles were possible in an ensemble piece. Steve Howe wasn’t blues based. I later learned that his influences included Chet Atkins and Wes Montgomery. It all sounded space age to me. He played steel guitar, slide guitar, acoustic guitar, psychedelic guitar — and all of his parts were so well composed. You couldn’t compare him to anybody. He and the band were truly unique.”
Joni Mitchell — Ladies of the Canyon (1970)
“I was at summer music camp when this record came out. I was already playing guitar, but I hadn’t yet moved on to an electric, so the timing was kind of perfect as there seemed to be a huge explosion of folk rock and pop songs played on acoustic. Everybody wanted to know how to play something by James Taylor, Neil Young or songs from Ladies of the Canyon. I’d get together with five or six other campers, and we’d sit around playing these songs.
“The album was important to me in other ways. I fell in love with Joni — her photos, her voice, everything about her. All of this coincided with my attraction to girls. If you could play a Joni Mitchell song, you had an immediate ‘in; with girls. Joni’s music taught me that it was okay to be a sensitive kid. I could express myself on the guitar and play these non-macho tunes.”
Genesis — Selling England by the Pound (1973)
“By now, I was really into rock hard and heavy. I saw Genesis on the Midnight Special, and I thought, ‘These English musicians look like they’re from another planet.’ That was especially true of Peter Gabriel — where did he come from? I got this record and fell in love with it. I was such an Anglophile. I loved Monty Python, and I would listen to this show ‘Things from England’ on WNEW radio. Scott Muni played all of this great music from Britain, and I’d go out and buy the imports. This record was right at the forefront of what was going on in England at the time.
“I really liked Steve Hackett’s guitar playing, but I was equally impressed by the other members of the group. Like Yes, you couldn’t compare Genesis to anyone. I think this was the first time I heard a band play in 7/8 time, though I didn’t know what it was. I just thought, Where’s the beat? Whatever they’re doing, it sounds challenging.”
The Beatles — Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)
“It’s Ground Zero for progressive rock. What I loved about the record was the journey it took me on. Every song went somewhere new — there were different sounds, moods and melodies. I remember thinking, ‘What instruments are they playing?’ They would manipulate guitars so they didn’t sound like guitars. I wasn’t particularly great at sports as a kid, so I disappeared into my record collection. When I’d put my headphones on and listen to Sgt. Pepper, I was transported away from my mundane suburban experience.
“Everything was changing so fast when this record came out, and it’s impossible to separate the music from the culture. Head shops started appearing in my neighborhood. People were putting black light posters up in their rooms. Indian music was creeping into popular songs. Pot was happening, though I was too young for that. There was now a clear-cut line being drawn between what your parents liked and this new movement of music and fashion. We had our own identity, and the Beatles were the driving forces behind it.”
Led Zeppelin — Led Zeppelin IV (1971)
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“When this record came out, everybody in my neighborhood was playing electric guitar, including me. I was friends with three other guys, and the race was on to see who could learn these songs the quickest. One guy knew ‘Black Dog,’ and the other guy knew “Rock and Roll.’ I was in my first garage band, and I couldn’t wait to play those songs.
“Sonically, the album is a tour de force. There was nothing else that sounded like it. I think it represented everything that Jimmy Page had learned about the ins and outs of recording as a session musician, and the album game him a huge canvas to do whatever he wanted. The guitar playing on ‘Stairway to Heaven’ — what more can be said? The acoustic work took you on this beautiful journey, and then he goes into what is probably the greatest electric guitar solo of all time. It’s so composed, but it still sounds off the cuff. Even with how jaded we’ve become, I think that solo has stood the test of time.”
XTC — Drums and Wires (1979)
“This cassette lived in my Walkman, which I had just bought. It was such an incredible experience to walk around Manhattan and listen to this record. Anytime I hear something from it, I go right back to that time of having mobile music. It was also my first exposure to what we might describe as post-punk new wave music. To me, it was the next generation of what was to come from the guitar sonically. It ushered in these new sounds that we would hear from bands like the Police and Siouxsie and the Banshees. I could finally step away comfortably from some of the prog stuff, which had gotten a little stale. I was like, ‘Oh, this is the next level of guitar playing.’
“I can’t recall how I first heard XTC. I must have heard the single ‘Making Plans for Nigel’ on the radio. Whatever it was, I got into XTC and listened to this record all the time.”
The New Tony Williams Lifetime — Believe It (1975)
“I was still pretty happy to play rock songs, but I was starting to hear some jazz fusion stuff, like Jeff Beck’s Wired, as well as Mahavishnu and Return to Forever. Then I heard Allan Holdsworth on this album, and I couldn’t fathom what in the world he was doing. I brought the record to my music teacher, who was a jazzer, and he said, ‘Oh, the guitarist is playing Coltrane licks.’ I had no idea who John Coltrane was, so he gave me a record — ‘Here, take this home’ — and I started to listen to Miles Davis and John Coltrane.’ I just let it seep in a little. I never thought about listening to horn players before, so I have Allan Holdsworth to thank for that.
“To be honest, my hands were too small to play his stuff, but he opened my eyes to a different way of thinking. To this day, I love that era of Allan’s playing. Everything he did back then was great, and he had a really beautiful guitar sound, as well.”
Emerson, Lake & Palmer — Emerson, Lake & Palmer (1970)
“My dad didn’t have an electronics background, but he built a home stereo from a Heathkit. He bought this album called Moog: The Electric Eclectics of Dick Hyman, and it seemed tailor-made for that stereo. I’d never heard a Moog synthesizer before, and I couldn’t believe the frequencies it produced.
“My older brother was into Keith Emerson’s band the Nice, and then he brought home the debut album by Emerson, Lake & Palmer. I remember him saying, ‘Hey, Dad, it’s that crazy instrument you’ve been talking about — the Moog or whatever it is.’ The advent of synthesizers ran parallel to me getting my first electric guitar. I was fascinated by what Keith was doing, and I recognized Greg Lake’s voice from King Crimson. I noticed Eddy Offord’s name as the engineer, and I went, ‘Oh, he’s the guy who does the Yes albums.’
“I loved listening to the record on headphones — it sounded so great. It’s kind of funny, though: I feel as if everything ELP had to say was said on their debut album. It was a bit naïve and a bit ‘Where do we go from here?’ They could only play better, and I think there’s something to be said for playing for musicians.”
The Jimi Hendrix Experience — Axis: Bold as Love (1967)
“There was nothing like smoking marijuana for the first time, putting headphones on and listening to this record. For my money, Axis: Bold as Love has Jimi’s best songs. It’s not just the wild man craziness, but there’s also the Curtis Mayfield influence. The debut album was kind of shocking, but Axis is a beautiful album in terms of songwriting and ensemble playing. The band had toured by now, and I think Jimi was really starting to realize the potential of the recording studio.
“There’s so many great songs on it — ‘Castles Made of Sand,’ ‘Little Wing.’ ‘If Six Was Nine’ was in Easy Rider, and I still can’t hear that song without thinking about the movie. I was 10 years old when my brother took me to see it. We had no idea what the ending was, and we were like, ‘They killed them!’ It really affected me.
“This is another record that sort of represents the line being drawn between young people and our parents. Jimi was the king of all that. He was African-American, but white kids liked him. He crossed all barriers.”
The Rolling Stones — Sticky Fingers (1971)
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“It’s my favorite Rolling Stones record. I loved the sound of it, but what was important to me at the time was, I could play these songs on my shitty guitar. It brings to mind something Ozzy Osbourne said to me when I was working with him. He said, ‘Come up with guitar parts that make people want to pick up a guitar and learn it. Don’t write stuff for people who already know how to play.’ I thought that was great advice.
“The album cover was pretty taboo, but it went along with everything you heard about the Stones being bad boys. This album solidified that status. There’s so many great tracks on it, especially ‘Can’t You Hear Me Knocking,’ which is probably still my favorite Stones song.
“Mick Taylor was the perfect guitar foil for Keith Richards; they filled in the gaps for each other beautifully. I always loved rock bands that knew how to use acoustic guitars, and you can hear that on ‘Wild Horses.’ That’s another song you could sit around and play on acoustic with your friends.”
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