Songs that cannot be played on Nashguitars:

  1. Freebird - Lynryd Skynyrd (unless you are three sheets to the wind on corn whiskey and crank, playing a divorce party in a double wide East of The Mississippi River and South of the Mason/Dixon line).

  2. Stairway to Heaven - Led Zep

  3. Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana (what were we all thinking in the 90s?)

  4. Back in Black - AC/DC - Love the original but....

  5. Moondance - Van Morrison (however, I have given special clearance to a client that plays with him - only he can play it)

  6. Eruption (in whole or in part) - Van Halen - I don't even like hearing Edward doing it anymore, but thanks for all the other great stuff, especially the tone and humor on the early stuff.

  7. Any post Layla Clapton - Sorry, it had to be said. The King Has No Clothes and the sooner we all face it the better.  I think he spent too much time with Phil Collins and it rubbed off. I mean really, is he not now the Stepford Clapton?

  8. Smoke on the Water - Deep Purple. However, you can play "My Woman from Tokyo", but only if you know how to play the bridge correctly.

  9. Sweet Home Alabama - Lynyrd Skynyrd makes the list twice!

  10. Any George Thorogood - I like a good three chord song like anyone else, but George has trouble coming up with the 2nd and 3rd chords.

  11. Mustang Sally - Any Version. Applies to everyone except for my friend in Europe who asked for special permission.

For those who have asked for the tunes or artists that act as a positive, here it is. Yes, this is just a creative way of telling you some of my fave guitar moments. In no particular order. Some are in the list as they are so often overlooked and how fun is a list full of only the obvious.

  1. Any Duane Allman, but especially the stuff he did before he died. (sick joke). In all seriousness, he is my favorite all time player.

  2. Jan Akkerman - Listen to Focus' or his first solo album.

  3. Frank Zappa - Burnt Weenie Sandwich album and specifically track 4 which is quite possibly the finest few minutes of guitar playing ever.

  4. Cream, most is great but for me the Goodbye album is irreplaceable.

  5. T-Bone Walker - If you do not have any, pickup a decent greatest hits collection. With all the current technology at our disposal rarely does guitar tone get much better than this.

  6. Freddy King - this is where Clapton got some of his inspiration, not only as a player, but singer. Early to mid-career is best.

  7. OK here is a weird one: Richie Blackmore - As much as I would like to stab my ears out with a garden tool if I hear "Smoke on the Water", I believe his playing on "Lazy" from the same album is in the top ten of guitar solos ever. I also like early Rainbow stuff. His tone is near demonic.

  8. Rory Gallagher - Just about anything he did, but Against the Grain is his best album. "Souped up Ford" has the boogie groove of the Gods.

  9. Robin Trower - His best stuff is the early or late. His Bridge of Sighs and Live albums from the early era and 20th Century Blues from his latest and much more bluesy period are great.

  10. Mahogany Rush IV - Yes, it is a little weird but very cool. Canadian psycho Hendrix pop.

  11. Stone Temple Pilots - the guitars are great, but really the shit going on here is the bass playing. Probably the best bouncing through changes ever done in the hard rock format.

  12. ZZTop - Fandango. This is the real stuff prior to the crappy MTV Disco Girly shit. Count how many times Billy plays the same riff in different ways on "Thunderbird" - I count 14. Biggest sloppiest, bass sound ever recorded live. Though Felix Pappilardi runs a close second on Mountain's "Twin Peaks".

  13. Lucinda Williams - Live at the Fillmore or World Without Tears albums. Doug Pettibone's incredible playing and killer tone compliment her wonderfully raw tunes.

  14. Elliot Randall's playing on early Steely Dan stuff

  15. Jeff Beck's Wired album is the one for me, though many prefer others.

  16. Kiss - Alive. At the risk of being ridiculed, I must say that as far as straight up, garage band gone amuck, sloppy-live fun goes it does not get much better. A great sonic reminder to not ever take ourselves too seriously.

  17. Howlin' Wolf - need I say more?

  18. Janis Joplin - Big Brother and the Holding Company. Though later to be rumored that the live tracks were not recorded live, this is really killer all the way around.

  19. For the ultimate in tasteful concise solos, Elliot Easton's playing on anything.

  20. David Gilmour - all the obvious, however the solo on "Fletcher Memorial Home" from Final Cut makes me cry.

More will get added later. Feel free to email me with suggestions....