- Introducing the standout features of 2023
(Image credit: Lionel FLUSIN/Gamma-Rapho, Scott Dudelson, Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic, Inc, Rob Ball/WireImage, Paul R. Giunta/Getty Images)
2023 was definitely an outstanding year for the guitar. The period saw fantastic innovations in the gear space and players of all genres raise the bar, moving the instrument forward in amazing, unique, and unexpected ways.
But sadly, it was also a year in which we had to say goodbye to a staggering amount of guitar geniuses who were innovative in their day and helped lay the bridges that today’s players cross.
Here, we recognize those guitarists and their contributions to the instrument.
This list is presented in chronological order.
Sebastian Marino
A veteran heavy metal guitarist, Sebastian Marino did tours of duty with both Anvil – playing on their 1991 album, Worth The Weight – and Overkill, contributing to the latter group’s The Killing Kind, From The Underground And Below, and Necroshine albums, respectively.
Later, Marino pivoted to backstage work, becoming a sought-after guitar tech and crew member for a number of notable rock acts.
“Seby was a dear friend and I will miss him profoundly,” wrote Anvil singer/guitarist Steve ‘Lips’ Kudlow of Marino. “Worth the Weight was an extremely special Anvil album and it will keep Seby alive through our history forever!”
Alan Rankine
A beloved figure in Glasgow, Scotland’s music scene, Alan Rankine helped found Electric Honey Records, a student-run label headquartered at Glasgow’s Stow College (now Glasgow Kelvin College). Electric Honey served as the home for early releases by Biffy Clyro, Snow Patrol and Belle and Sebastian, and provided those and many other groups crucial support and exposure in their formative years.
Rankine also played guitar in The Associates – a unique post-punk group that found success in the UK in the early ’80s with the top 20 hits Party Fears Two and Club Country – and found success as a producer, manning the boards for releases by Paul Haig and Cocteau Twins.
In a statement posted to Belle and Sebastian’s Facebook page, the band’s drummer, Richard Colburn, said, “If it wasn’t for Alan, our path would’ve been very different. We owe a lot to him. Alan was a fantastic, generous and talented person who will be sorely missed by everyone that knew him. He was an unbelievable musician and his musical legacy will live on forever.”
Jeff Beck
(Image credit: Future / Joby Sessions)
By any measure, Jeff Beck was one of the greatest, and most influential, guitarists of all time. His aggressive, fearless approach to the instrument seamlessly blended influences from blues, jazz, and… well, whatever else caught Beck’s fancy. His fingerstyle playing was always expressive – ignoring showiness in favor of powerful,
