John
Sykes can be characterized as the guitarist-guarantee to make a band
reborn. His technical mastery, fluid musicality and amazing ability to
combine heavy riffing with melodic solos characterized all the albums he
participated in. Unfortunately he has never been rooted to a band for
good, with the result to become a kind of session musician, although
this wasn't his intension when he joined each new group. His first break
has been when he joined the NWOBHM legend Tygers of Pan Tang in 1981.
Later he was hired by Thin Lizzy to create the masterpiece "Thunder
and Lightning". Following he joined forces with Whitesnake with
result to release one of their most successful albums "1987" (he had originally joined the band right after the release of
"Slide it In" and for that purpose, Geffen Records released a
re-recorded version of the album with flashy soloing from the new
guitarist). In Late 80's he formed the band Blue Murder releasing three
albums of lyrical hard rock. After the dismissal of Blue Murder, Sykes
released four solo albums, with "Please Don't Leave Me", being
a really good one. He appeared in many albums of famous musicians with
his latest contribution being this to Hughes/Turner Project this year.
Sykes seemed to have a golden touch, as in whatever band he joined, the
group released magnificent works. Plus he was prone to compose amazing
sentimental ballads that wrote their own history in our music (just
remember Whitesnake's "Is this Love?"). Here we present four
albums to which he played and we perceive as monumental and
characteristic of his whole work and career. Wish we could hear from him
more often, as we miss him a lot. Be good John!
TYGERS OF PAN TANG
"SPELLBOUND"
(1981)
This
has been the second and according to our opinion best release of the
British band. It is no coincidence that all NWOBHM fans include this
album to the best ones of the genre. The new vocalist Jon Deverill and
new guitarist John Sykes, created with the rest of band an explosive
combination, that Chris Tsangarides used in the best possible way in
order to produce an excellent in technical and musical terms album. All
the record is full of classic "diamonds", and makes it hard
for us to distinguish a couple of songs to propose. What should one
remember first? The opening storm "Gangland", "Take
It", the heartbreaking ballad "Mirror", the melodic
"The Story So Far", or "Don't stop By," where Sykes
takes the first great solo of his career? Even the cover of the album is
mystical. We strongly recommend you to try and acquire this album as
soon as possible if you don't have it already. NWOBHM wouldn't ever be
the same without this gem on its crown.
THIN LIZZY
"THUNDER AND LIGHTNING"
(1983)
It
might be worthless to write anything about this legendary group that
imposed the double harmony solos (along with Wishbone Ash of course).
Lyrical hard rock and amazing lyrics from one of the most expressive and
sentimental singers of all time. However the beginning of the 80's has
been a rather bad period for Thin Lizzy. Phil was in a bad condition and
their latest work hasn't been successful enough. Then Phil made the
magic move and hired John Sykes, who brought a wind of change to the
band. Influenced by NWOBHM the new guitarist helped the band out of the
deadlock and led it to more "metalic" paths. The result? The
heaviest and one of the best albums in Lizzy's career, flooded with
fantastic melodies and virtuoso solos, that tied in the best possible
way with Phil's warm voice. "Thunder and Lightning" take their
real essence in the opening track of the album, and the story goes:
"This is the One", "The Holy War", "Baby Please
Don't Go" (hymn), "Bad Habits", "Heart Attack",
just to mention a few of the amazing tracks of the album. We are talking
about an album that will make your neck move...unless you are dead! It's
a shame that there was no continuity, as this has been Lizzy's last
studio album.
WHITESNAKE
"1987"
(1987)
This
is the album that make Whitesnake's career take a big boost in
commercial terms. It is quite difficult to distinguish a best album from
Whitesnake's works, as they have released monumental albums. One can
only have a favourite album and I have to say that 1987 is my favourite
album from Whitesnake's works. And again Sykes made his magic to occur
here. The mostly hard rockin' blues band of the past turned into a
dangerous more straight hard rock direction with high speeds and
songs-like-thunder. Songs like "Bad Boys", "Straight for
the Heart", You're Gonna Break My Heart Again" are trademarks
of Sykes technotropy. But here are two of the most heartbreaking ballads
that stamped Sykes' career: "Looking for Love" (which to be
honest reminds a new/different version of Deep Purple's
"Mistreated") and "Is This Love", that helped the
band to sell millions of copies of the album. Even the anthem "Here
I Go Again" sounds fresh and different in Sykes' hands. For sure
one of Whitesnake's most complete works and evidence that commercialised
music can be qualitative at the same time!
BLUE MURDER
"BLUE MURDER"
(1989)
After
leaving Thin Lizzy, John Sykes formed his own band along with drummer
Carmine Appice and bassist Tony Franklin. Famous Bob Rock undertook the
production and we are pleased to have one more little gem for hard rock
music. Sykes contributed elements from all his previous bands, the
experience of a decade and his guitar style and produced a complete
album with numerous highlights: "Riot", "Jelly
Roll", "Blue Murder", "Billy" and the ballad
"Out of Love" that continued the tradition of heart-rending
ballads that Sykes used to produce. We suggest you start looking for
this album, especially if you are into the hard rock sound, and for sure
if you like Sykes' way of playing.
It
might be worthless to write anything about this legendary group that
imposed the double harmony solos (along with Wishbone Ash of course).
Lyrical hard rock and amazing lyrics from one of the most expressive and
sentimental singers of all time. However the beginning of the 80's has
been a rather bad period for Thin Lizzy. Phil was in a bad condition and
their latest work hasn't been successful enough. Then Phil made the
magic move and hired John Sykes, who brought a wind of change to the
band. Influenced by NWOBHM the new guitarist helped the band out of the
deadlock and led it to more "metalic" paths. The result? The
heaviest and one of the best albums in Lizzy's career, flooded with
fantastic melodies and virtuoso solos, that tied in the best possible
way with Phil's warm voice. "Thunder and Lightning" take their
real essence in the opening track of the album, and the story goes:
"This is the One", "The Holy War", "Baby Please
Don't Go" (hymn), "Bad Habits", "Heart Attack",
just to mention a few of the amazing tracks of the album. We are talking
about an album that will make your neck move...unless you are dead! It's
a shame that there was no continuity, as this has been Lizzy's last
studio album.
This
is the album that make Whitesnake's career take a big boost in
commercial terms. It is quite difficult to distinguish a best album from
Whitesnake's works, as they have released monumental albums. One can
only have a favourite album and I have to say that 1987 is my favourite
album from Whitesnake's works. And again Sykes made his magic to occur
here. The mostly hard rockin' blues band of the past turned into a
dangerous more straight hard rock direction with high speeds and
songs-like-thunder. Songs like "Bad Boys", "Straight for
the Heart", You're Gonna Break My Heart Again" are trademarks
of Sykes technotropy. But here are two of the most heartbreaking ballads
that stamped Sykes' career: "Looking for Love" (which to be
honest reminds a new/different version of Deep Purple's
"Mistreated") and "Is This Love", that helped the
band to sell millions of copies of the album. Even the anthem "Here
I Go Again" sounds fresh and different in Sykes' hands. For sure
one of Whitesnake's most complete works and evidence that commercialised
music can be qualitative at the same time!
After
leaving Thin Lizzy, John Sykes formed his own band along with drummer
Carmine Appice and bassist Tony Franklin. Famous Bob Rock undertook the
production and we are pleased to have one more little gem for hard rock
music. Sykes contributed elements from all his previous bands, the
experience of a decade and his guitar style and produced a complete
album with numerous highlights: "Riot", "Jelly
Roll", "Blue Murder", "Billy" and the ballad
"Out of Love" that continued the tradition of heart-rending
ballads that Sykes used to produce. We suggest you start looking for
this album, especially if you are into the hard rock sound, and for sure
if you like Sykes' way of playing.