Thank you for the music – Adam Sweet

1. Foxy Lady – Jimi Hendrix

The first gig I ever saw was The Hamsters at the Marine Theatre, Lyme Regis. I was about 13 and although I’d played guitar since 7 I hadn’t fully embraced it. Primary school lessons and a dalliance with classical guitar didn’t provide much inspiration! Thankfully my new guitar teacher, Adrian Loveridge, took me to the show… The Hamsters specialised in Jimi Hendrix and ZZ Top. When ‘Snail’s Pace Slim’ opened with the howling guitar feedback and massive guitar riff of Hendrix’s ‘Foxy Lady’ I realised what I’d been missing! After that I was hooked. I learnt as many Hendrix songs as I could and by the age of 15 I was playing my first gig at the Royal Standard in Lyme. Guess what song we opened with? Not Hendrix’s finest work lyrically, but it’s all about that riff.

2. Black Night – Deep Purple

After the Hendrix breakthrough I couldn’t get enough classic rock. Suddenly I had a lot more interest in my Dad’s record collection and Deep Purple featured heavily. ‘Black Night’ is another that’s all about the riff. It’s simple, hard driving rock music and it sounds a bit dangerous! The virtuoso Ritchie Blackmore was a real inspiration as a budding guitarist.

3. Bring it on Home – Led Zeppelin

From Deep Purple it didn’t take long to find Led Zeppelin, another big influence in my teens. I realised it was the bluesier side of this music that really connected with me. ‘Bring It On Home’ is a good example, starting as a stripped back blues before kicking in with another beefy riff halfway through. It’s through these bands that I learnt about the blues, discovering that Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton and co were all inspired by the blues pioneers such as Robert Johnson, Freddie King, BB King etc. It took me a long time to realise that this song was actually a Willie Dixon/Sonny Boy Williamson tune.

4. Tequila Sunrise – Eagles

Again I have Adrian Loveridge to thank. I was still too focussed on playing classic rock riffs to fully appreciate it at the time, but ‘Tequila Sunrise’ was one we worked on in guitar lessons. There is so much to learn from the Eagles – in terms of song craft, melody and harmony. This was probably my first taste of country music too.

5. Fire and Water – Free

Free are one of my favourite bands – labelled as ‘classic rock’ but there is so much blues and soul in their music. When I started singing I wished I could sing like Paul Rodgers (I’m still trying). Fire and Water has all the elements of what made them such a great band.

6. Need Your Love So Bad – Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac

Peter Green is my favourite of all the British Blues-Boom guitarists. I could have picked so many songs by Fleetwood Mac.  But ‘Need Your Love So Bad’ is probably the best example of his exquisite touch and phrasing on the instrument. You can hear the strong influence of BB King here.

7. These Days – Jackson Browne

There was a best of Jackson Browne CD on regular rotation in my Dad’s car. Despite my heavy diet of blues rock in my teens, his songs always resonated with me, particularly ‘These Days’. Beautiful lyrics and quite incredible he wrote this when only 16. Some tasty slide guitar work too from the wonderful David Lindley who sadly passed recently.

8. Dengue Woman Blues – Jimmie Vaughan

I was lent a copy of ‘Stevie Ray Vaughan live at the El Mocambo’ on VHS (showing my age now…) by my dear friend and mentor Nik Ryan.  It turned me onto blues, away from the harder rock music. But these days it’s his older brother Jimmie Vaughan I turn to if I want to get my Texas blues fix. Much more laid back and super cool. I first heard ‘Dengue Woman Blues’ in the bizarre crime/vampire movie ‘From Dusk till Dawn’, an early Tarantino movie with a killer soundtrack. I could fill a “Top 10” just with Tarantino soundtracks.

9. Wildflowers – Tom Petty

Whenever anybody asks me what my ‘dream gig/job’ would be, it would have been to be Mike Campbell from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. To have a career playing guitar on so many great songs would be a dream come true. My Dad and I saw them play the Albert Hall in 2012. As well as being one of the greatest live bands of all time what struck me was the vast quantity and quality of their back catalogue…the hits just kept coming! I can’t pick a favourite Petty song but the Rick Rubin produced ‘Wildflowers’ is my favourite album and this is its title track. 

10. Wildflowers & Wine – Marcus King

From ‘Wildflowers’ to ‘Wildflowers & Wine’. Marcus King is my new favourite thing. My wife bought tickets for my birthday to see him playing in Bristol. It was breathtaking. I can’t remember the last time I enjoyed a gig as much. His 8-piece band played for two hours straight and it flew by. A melting pot of blues, rock, soul, gospel and country. Check out both his recent albums produced by Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys. This track from the ‘El Dorado’ album is exquisite.