Michaels' Picks
This page is a work in constant progress where I talk about my favorite things, basically!
Let me start with a very concise summary of my favorite guitarists and why...
MICHAEL SCHENKER for his amazing lead playing, tone, and sense of melody
ULI ROTH for his equally amazing originality and for playing the best solos in the history of rock music
FRANK MARINO for his exceptional rock / blues / jazz versatility
STEVE MORSE also for his versatility, brilliant compositions, and acoustic work
RITCHIE BLACKMORE mostly for his composition's “exotic” vibe - still great w/Blackmore's Night!!!
JOHN McLAUGHLIN for his exceptional originality and fusion element
ALEX LIFESON for his rhythmic ingenuity & progressive chord voicings
CLINT STRONG for stunning clean jazz and bebop lines
ALLAN HOLDSWORTH because he's a nice guy who drinks beer...and is the SICKEST guitarist on Earth.
Favorite bands
Rush ('74 -'89) - Yes ('71 - '80) - The Beatles (post-"Help") - Kansas ('72 - '82)
ELP ('70 - '74) - Mahogany Rush - Deep Purple - Cheap Trick
Uriah Heep ('71 - '75) - Black Sabbath ('70 - '80)
Judas Priest - Loudness ('85 - '89) - King's X
Favorite all-time records
"Brain Salad Surgery" - Emerson, Lake, and Palmer
"Hemispheres" - Rush
"Captain Beyond" - Captain Beyond
"Masque" - Kansas
"Magical Mystery Tour" - The Beatles
"Close To the Edge" - Yes
"Power Windows" - Rush
"Strange Universe" - Mahogany Rush
"Court of the Crimson King" - King Crimson
"Utopia" - Todd Rundgren's Utopia
Favorite Guitar Solos you've never heard
"The Sails of Charon" - Uli Roth (Scorpions)
"Still So Many Lives Away" - Uli Jon Roth
"On With the Action" - Michael Schenker (UFO)
"Nostalgic Lady" - Allan Holdsworth (Jean Luc Ponty)
"The Bash" - Steve Morse (Dregs)
"Together And Free" - Pete Haycock (Climax Blues Band)
"Karma" - Neal Schon (Journey)
"Crying to the Sky" - Bill Nelson (BeBop Deluxe)
THE SONGS THAT CHANGED MY LIFE...
Favorite prog anthems
"Karn Evil 9" - ELP
"Hemispheres" - Rush
"Close to the Edge" - Yes
"Song For America" - Kansas
"Utopia" - Utopia
Favorite pop-esque songs
"Undun" - The Guess Who (writer: Randy Bachman)
"Penny Lane" - The Beatles
"No Matter What"; "Baby Blue" - Badfinger
"Maybe I'm Amazed" - Paul McCartney
"Uncle Albert / Admiral Halsey" - Paul McCartney
"Killer Queen" - Queen
"Limelight" - Rush
"A Dream Goes On Forever"; "I Saw the Light" - Todd Rundgren
"The Smartest Monkeys" - XTC
"Peace of Mind"; "More Than a Feeling" - Boston
"Can't Stop the Music" - Cheap Trick
"Blue Morning; Blue Day" - Foreigner
"Rest in Peace" - Extreme
Favorite movies
"Amadeus"
"Contact"
"Close Encounters of the Third Kind"
"The DaVinci Code"
"Seven"
"No Way Out"
Role Models
Favorite Comedians