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It's a hallowed musical instrument indeed that gets an entire concert at Wembley Arena in its honour. But then the Fender Stratocaster is no ordinary instrument, a revolutionary guitar with a multitude of musical personalities, many of which are on show here.
And so it was that on 24th September 2004 a whole host of guitarists gathered to pay homage to the mighty axe. Legends such as Dave Gilmour, Brian May, Albert Lee, Joe Walsh, Hank Marvin and Jamie Cullum. Jamie Cullum? What's that all about? I've nothing against him, nor Amy Winehouse who also appeared, but their presence at the event was truly baffling.
So what of the real guitar heroes? In truth, it's a curious mixture. Brian May appears early on to sing That'll Be The Day with Albert Lee in something resembling half a dressing gown, with Ronnie Wood strolling on as a pantomime bad boy towards the end. A patchy evening for May is tarnished by his misspelling as 'Brain' on the closing credits!
Mike Rutherford, solid performer though he is, seems sedated as he 'punches' out the riff to I Can't Dance, leaving Paul Carrack to lend some life to the song. Carrick - again, not an obvious choice for a Fender concert - gives a sterling performance of How Long, and a couple of reverential covers in All Along The Watchtower and While My Guitar Gently Weeps, featuring the estimable work of musical director Phil Palmer.
As you'd expect, the presence of Jimi Hendrix is considerable, and nowhere more so than in Gary Moore's eye popping performance of Red House. If you can get past the hilarious faces that he pulls to accompany each note you'll find a virtuoso performance, something the concert could have done with more of. To a man the crowd rise to his musicianship at the end. Paul Rodgers brings a cracking vocal to Alright Now to get the crowd going later on, but at four songs spends much more time on stage than Moore.
Other notable performances from Hank Marvin (a carefully studied version of Flingel Bunt) and Albert Lee (a rollicking Country Boy) prepare for the main act, a trio of songs from Gilmour played on early Fender models.
The crowd sit up as the timeless Marooned, Coming Back To Life and Sorrow unfold, the guitarist in his own world and the band, expertly led by Palmer, providing solid support.
I suppose with such a galaxy of performers it was always going to be difficult to assemble a group of rock stars that covered every angle, and so in that respect the line-up is pretty impressive. It is a mixed bag, however, and can only be recommended with caution, even to keen guitarists.
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