GUITAR WORLD MAGAZINE FEATURE SCRAPPED!

Guitar World Magazine scrapped their 4,000 word article in favor of an "encyclopedic" smaller blurb on Tommy coming out in the MAY, 1999 issue (hitting stands April 1).

The larger feature was going to highlight a couple of firsts for Guitar World: it would have been their first Tommy Bolin story in over a decade, and it would have been the first to cover his personal life as well as his music. It also would have been their lengthiest Bolin piece to date, and it WOULD HAVE BEEN the most extensive major magazine story on Tommy since Simon Robinson's 1982 Kerrang article.

Instead, what will be featured will be an article on the upcoming 4CD Deep Purple compilation, including Mark IV (Tommy Bolin) material.

Email Brad Tolinski, Editor-In-Chief, of Guitar World and let him know what you think of his decision to scrap this article. Was he influenced by political causes of some kind at the last minute? What's going on, here?

Try E-mailing Brad at:
Email: soundingboard@guitarworld.com
If you find a better e-mail address,
like directly to him, tell us and we'll
update this link.

OLD GUITAR WORLD NEWS...

The December, 1998 Issue: The December, 1998 issue had a feature on Jazz Fusion. The issue's main feature was on the Miles Davis "Bitches Brew" sessions that are being released. But a corollary feature on page 69 was called "Ten Essential Jazz Fusion Guitar Records". It listed some of the key fusion players of the '70's, then continued on page 112, with Billy Cobham's "Spectrum"!:

Spectrum(Atlantic, 1973)
By the time he made his solo debut in ’73, drummer Billy Cobham had done time with Miles Davis and the Mahavishnu Orchestra and was seeking a hybrid of jazz and rock with a more assertive rhythmic foundation –fusion that followed a tighter script. With this charged album, he got it. Though there are two stylized, heavily arranged tracks featuring guitarist John Tropea and a horn section with saxophonist Joe Farrell, the highlights come from the band with guitarist Tommy Bolin and keyboardist Jan Hammer, two technically accomplished musicians who understand the power of repetition and the way to make rock rhythms sizzle. This rhythm section tore through muscular melodies and disciplined solo bursts, and was particularly keen on developing episodes of scrappy, high-intensity crossfire, like those on "Red Baron" and "Taurian Matador."

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