Recommend Me an album: Electric Guitar based
 

a fourteen year old family friend of mine has gotten into playing the electric guitar, and I was planning on buying him a CD for him (for X-mas), but I am drawing a complete blank, as to an album that could easily be described as a quintessential 'guitar' album - it can either be instrumental or not, but if there are vocals it's got to be clean (his mom is kind of sensitive to 'language', if you know what I mean). Sorry, I know that was a complete run-on sentence, but hopefully you got the gist of what I am requesting.

Thoughts?

Is the intention that he might learn to play the songs on this album, or just draw inspiration from it?

the latter - inspiration.

Liquid Tension Experiment. 1.

Good mix of blazing speeds, and slow mellow stuff. Although it isn't all guitar, it is a band minus vox.

Maybe the anthologies discussed here? <A HREF="http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=305037" target="_blank">the worlds greatest air guitar album (no joke)</a>

More of an acoustic wizard, <A HREF="http://www.nomadland.com/Point_A.htm" target="_blank">Michael</a> <A HREF="http://music.tinfoil.net/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=439" target="_blank">Hedges'</a> <A HREF="http://www.innerviews.org/inner/hedges.html" target="_blank">material</a> would be.... <A HREF="http://www.rootwitch.com/mpeg_tut.htm" target="_blank">challenging</a>!

I second the vote for LTE 1.
Another possibility: Steve Vai: Passion and Warfare
...or just about anything by Joe Satriani (EXCEPT Engines of Creation...his failed attempt at electronica)

Here's a sampling of styles:<ul><li>Derek and the Dominoes - <i>Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs</i></li><li>Television - <i>Marquee Moon</i></li><li>Led Zeppelin - <i>Led Zeppelin</i></li><li>U2 - <i>Boy</i></li><li>King Crimson - <i>Discipline</i></li><ul>

I was going to recommend that Television album but, as usual, wendersfan beat me to it.

Steve Vai - Passion & Warfare
Eric Johnson - Ah Via Musicom
Merry Axemas Vol. 1 & 2
Tuck Andress - Reckless Precision
Joe Satriani - Surfing with the Alien

Miles Davis - A Tribute to Jack Johnson

Van Halen - S/T
Children of Bodom - Follow the Reaper
Metallica - Master of Puppets

Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix are what got me playing guitar almost 20 years ago - and they STILL inspire me.

And I would not recommend Marquee Moon to a 14 year old.

Frank Zappa - Shut Up and Play Your Guitar. All the great playing, none of Zappa's weird tangents that might warp his fragile little mind.

Al DiMeola. :up:

Yeah, it's a pretty mature album. I'm glad I bought it when I was in my early 20s (man, I feel old).

Greetings!
Although NOT electric,but inspirational (my son plays electric guitar,and has learned much from these) as well as other acoustic-type albums.

Just a few to start:

Al Di Meola
Paco De Lucia
John McLaughlin

And a "Must Have" album for acoustic- "Friday Night in San Francisco" featuring all three of these excellent musicians.
This album is AMAZING! I cannot recommend this any more highly.
IMHO-anyone who is slightly interested in acoustic guitar MUST
own this.

CHEERS! jefff

I would go with Joe Satriani's 2CD Anthology. He will be blown away.

I'll second that and add LTE 2

Rush --- Moving Pictures or The Spirit of Radio.

:up: first thing I thought of

He might also enjoy the Vaughan Brothers' "Family Style."

Stevie Ray Vaughan- "Texas Flood", "Couldn't Stand the Weather" or "In Step"

Giles, if you want inspiration, check out the Lost Album by Lewis Taylor. This guy just may be the greatest singer/songwriter to walk the face of the earth since Lennon.
Unfortunately, it's only available for mail order from www.slowreality.com, but I'll put it this way: if you buy it and don't like it, I'll buy it from you. Album of the year, for sure.

Joe Satriani - Surfing With The Alien or The Extrimist
Eric Clapton - 24 Nights
Stevie Ray Vaughn - Live At Montreaux

Come on guys... I love Joe Satriani, Eric Johnson and Steve Vai... but are these really good albums for a 14yo guitar player?? Those guys are too complicated for most guitar players in signed bands, let alone a 14yo just beginning. start him out with something fun that a 14yo would like and something easy for someone his (her?) age just starting out. KISS "Dressed To Kill", Poison "Greatest Hits", AC/DC "Back in Black", Cinderella "Night Songs", Scorpions "Love at First Bite"... heck, even Krokus "Greatest Hits"... something that rocks out, that would be fun for a 14yo, yet has easy guitar power cords to learn. Save Satriani and Vai for when he's 21. Let him learn Rock Me Like a Huricane and Detroit Rock City first.