..Here's some favorites that have been stuck in my head through the years for all to chew on...
Larry Carlton - "And Then There Was The Blues" solo, Crusaders Album: Those Southern Knights"
Robben Ford: "Freedom" Album: Tiger Walk (The silky, "front-pickup-Tele" clean tone...one never tires of hearing it...)
Billy Gibbons: "Blue Jean Blues" (You can hear the paper on the cone of the speaker chime in, beckoning Billy to play on...)
Neal Schon: "Topaz" Journeys first album At the end of the song, his tone "cools" down to a soulful vamp...pure joy!
Jimmy Page: Any tune from the "BBC Sessions". Why they didn't release these tapes earlier is beyond me...
this is as good as it gets for "live" r-n-r tone folks...
HONORABLE MENTION:
Walter Becker: "Hey Nineteen" Though brief, the opening lick on the bridge just drips the right amount of tone...and feel...
making this perhaps the tastiest lick I have ever listened to...
TOP FIVE ON BOOGIE'S:
SANTANA: Europa (It should not be cliche to mention this song on this board, as it undeniably showed countless
thousands of players how an amp could "sing" right along with the guitarist...
LARRY CARLTON: Any tune on his first album...if I had to pick one, it would be "It Was Only Yesterday"...
ROBBEN FORD: Any tune on "Inside Story".
STEVE LUKATHER: Solo on "Breakdown" Boz Scaggs Album: Middle Man (Lots of grease, but Luke had a way of turning
"grease" into "butter" with a Mark Series Head...)
CHRIS CAIN: This legendary Bay Area guitarist inspired all of us who saw him. His mastery of "Slow Blues" phrasing was
reproduced back in the day through a Mark I Combo and a 335. Robben calls him "one of his all-time
favorite" players. Sorry, you just had to be there, because anything of his that was recorded back then
just could not seem to capture his "Live" tone...unbelievable...you'd leave his performances feeling uplifted
and in awe that someone could reach you on such a level...
HONORABLE MENTION: It's no secret to anyone on this board that Andy Timmons has managed to capture some truly classic tones of both Lonestars and Stilettos on his last album "Resolution". Along the way, he has earned the respect of numerous players as indeed, someone whose touch and feel are expressed wonderfully through these amps. He has the DNA of an old soul-player, but the ability to frame it in a modern context, and it would be remiss not mention him here as well...
Cheers...
ps: I have a list of "Heavier-toned" faves as well...but they all seem to be covered on this thread...I just thought I'd offer up a change of pallette...