Top 10 Female Guitarist Based Albums of All Time

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Top 10 Female Guitarist Based Albums of All Time

Top-Ten-Female-Guitarist-Based-Albums-of-All-Time

Preface by Neil/Editor

This guest post is by Martina Fasano of Playing With Chaos who describes herself as a worshiper of rock’n’roll, always on the lookout for great music, bands, gear, and the right concert to photograph. When she’s not venerating the Gods and Goddesses of Rock, she can be seen teaching high school history, rocking out with her band, being a wife and mom, and cheering on the Patriots/Blue Jays/Maple Leafs.

Often times female guitar slingers don’t receive the praise & notoriety that their male counterparts do, though they surely deserve it. We here at ScaleTrainer.com jump at the chance to honor our six stringed sisters whenever we find an opportunity. It is with great pleasure that we share with you this post on the Top Ten Female Guitar Based Albums of All Time written by Martina Fasano.


 

Enter Martina

[lollum_dropcap]I[/lollum_dropcap] hate top 10 lists. I really do.

It’s so difficult to limit something like rock’n’roll to 10 of anything. As difficult as it is however, I’m offering up what I consider to be the top 10 albums of all time that have a female guitarist playing lead or rhythm (or both!) guitar.

In fact, three of the women on this list have signature model guitars that you can purchase in the hopes that you can channel your inner rock star. And there’s another one on the list (ahem, Lzzy Hale) that Gibson created a signature model Explorer for her to rock on stage. In fact, only Sheryl Crow, who has a signature Gibson acoustic model, is missing from this list in terms of women who have their own signature models with major manufacturers.

Before anyone complains and comments about “Hey, you missed FILL IN THE NAME OF THE ARTIST/BAND HERE! How could you?!?!?” Keep in mind that this is a very difficult list to make and limiting it to only ten makes it even harder. Also, keep in mind that I tend to listen to music not worrying about the gender of who is playing the instruments. But as a teenage girl who wanted to play guitar, I found solace in the fact that I had some female role models to look up to. Many of the women on this list didn’t have such a luxury: they were the pioneers themselves.

That being said, this is the top ten according to me. If your musical tastes are more in the punk vein or classical/jazz, there are people missing off of this list. There are also great female guitarists not mentioned here because they were not the predominant element on the album/band, or they never really released albums of their own: they were session or touring musicians. Some of those women are very talented and their playing would blow your mind.

I could not “rank” the ten, so I have them listed alphabetically. If you’re a regular reader of my blog, you know where my bias lies. (Here’s a hint, they’re the one-two punch from The Runaways)


Spend The Night – by The Donnas

I miss The Donnas. I really do. I loved the idea of the “name t-shirts” (just like The Runaways), the slick album covers, and the all-girl band idea.

The buzz-saw sound of the guitars on this album is killer, and of all their albums, this was the most commercially successful, and for good reason. It rocks!

The Donnas are currently on hiatus, and I sincerely hope they do come back sometime soon. The musical landscape needs more bands like this. Fun, rebellious, loud rock’n’roll. In a word, awesome.


Dead Sara – by Dead Sara

The powerful voice that Emily Armstrong brings to this band is one thing, but the fact that she smashed her guitar on stage at an el Rey gig earlier this year makes it even better.

Siouxie Medley holds down the fort with awesome precision and Dead Sara brings us a band that may just be the next big thing. Check them out! You won’t be sorry.

I personally think it’s super cool that Siouxie fractured her ribs by jumping around on stage and having her heavy Les Paul hit up against them over and over again. She literally had her guitar break her ribs, over time. If that’s not rock’n’roll, I don’t what is.

I’m partial to “Weatherman” and “Lemon Scent” from their self-titled album. I even ordered a lemon-yellow 7” vinyl version of “Lemon Scent” when it was released. They were limited to only 1000 and I’m glad I got my copy.


Lita and Living Like a Runaway– by Lita Ford

Where do I begin? How do I love thee, let me count the ways, Ms.Ford. Really. So much so that I couldn’t choose between these two albums, and I would have included Stiletto, Dancing on the Edge, and Dangerous Curves on this list too.

Lita sounds like, well, Lita. That vibrato of hers could make this list all by itself. Lita was and is one of my guitar heroes. I personally think her 2012 offering Living Like a Runaway is her strongest in terms of song-writing and vocals, but Lita’s signature guitar sound that we all love and compare all of her work to is embodied in the Lita album.“Kiss me Deadly”, “Close My Eyes Forever”, and please don’t forget “Can’t Catch Me”, “Blueberry”, “Falling In and Out of Love”…I could go on. I clearly remember the video to “Kiss Me Deadly”, and standing in my living room thinking “I wanna be like THAT”. I’m still not blonde (yet!), and I still can’t play like Lita does, but this album rocks and it’s iconic. Go listen. Now.

Once you’ve done that, go buy and listen to Living Like a Runaway. She’s still Lita. Until you’ve listened to Lita Ford’s music, from yesterday and today, you can’t say you know about women who play the guitar. There’s Lita and then there’s everyone else. Period. If you don’t believe me, send me an e-mail and I’ll give you a complete breakdown of why the above statement is true. Be prepared to lose the argument, as many already have.

And until Lita Ford has pointed and smiled at you during a live performance, you haven’t lived. Trust me. Get out there and check out one of her shows. She’ll remind you why today’s bands only THINK they know something about showmanship or true musicianship. There’s a reason BC Rich makes a signature Warlock bearing her name.


Hit and Run – by Girlschool

How did this band not sell way more records? Is the world really not ready for an all-girl band? Still? Even now?

Girlschool had some awesome guitar work and their kick-ass attitude is right up there with The Runaways. It’s almost sacrilege that I hadn’t heard of these ladies until this past year! How wrong is that?

Help me repent by giving them a listen. I was bopping my head while watching YouTube footage and Girlschool rocks!


The Strange Case Of… – by Halestorm

Lzzy Hale can sing. Scratch that. She can kill people with that voice. Powerful, soulful, angry, vindictive, soft, vulnerable, you name it. She can blow the roof off of any venue with her voice. I’ve been there twice to witness it myself.

Funny thing is her voice is so good that you forget the girl can play guitar too, and play it well. All while wearing 4 inch stilettos! Much respect sister! I play in my sneakers and have trouble with my wah pedal at times.

The Grammy voters thought this record was great too, and they hardly ever get anything right. This time they did, and awarded Halestorm with the first Hard Rock Grammy to a female-fronted band. In 2013. Incredible.

Do yourself a favour and check out Halestorm if you haven’t already. It’s catchy riff after catchy riff, lots of killer vocals, and yes, it sounds like a freight train coming out of your speakers. Enjoy. They are my pick for band of the decade. Check in with me in 2020 to see if I was right. I certainly hope so because they’re a talented band, and the root of the talent here, without a doubt in my mind, is Lzzy Hale.


Dreamboat Annie – by Heart

How can I not include the Wilson sisters on this list?

Heart is a great band. I chose Dreamboat Annie because it carries two of the most awesome songs they’ve ever done: “Magic Man” and “Crazy On You”, which shows off Nancy Wilson’s intricate guitar work.

We’ve all dreamed of being the girl in the story that is “Magic Man”. Don’t lie. You know you have and it probably made you blush too, which is why it’s so great.

As for “Crazy On You”, if I ever get my acoustic guitar to sound like Nancy does in that intro, I probably won’t be writing blogs anymore.

Well, I probably will, but more people will want to read them.

It always blows my mind when people ask if she really played that herself. Why is it a surprise? Don’t get me started. Nancy can play, of that there is no doubt. When paired with her sister’s beautiful voice, it makes Heart a force to be reckoned with and a very worthy band to be included on this list.


I Love Rock’n’Roll – by Joan Jett

How do I love thee, let me count the ways, Part 2.

You knew this was coming, surely. Joan Jett is one of the reasons I picked up a guitar. I heard “I Love Rock’n’Roll” while riding around on my bike in my driveway. I was in heaven. When I saw the music video and witnessed a girl with dark hair wearing running shoes playing a guitar on top of a bar, once again, I thought “I wanna be like THAT”. I have dark hair (for now), but I still can’t get that same crunch out of my Gibson.

Joan Jett is the other half of my guitar hero duo. She also rose from the ashes of The Runaways, just like Lita Ford did.

This was her most commercially successful album, and I think it does a great job of showing off why Joan is an icon: it’s simple, to the point, loud, and fun. No nonsense. You can learn to play these songs on your guitar relatively easily, but to get the same attitude and crunch that Joan gets out of that Melody Maker of hers will take a long time. If you ever figure it out, let me know.

This list had to have a Joan Jett album on it, and I had a tough time deciding which one, since I think that “Glorious Results of a Misspent Youth” could take the cake too. If Joan has ever locked eyes with you during a performance and then winked at you, you understand the magnetic onstage personality this woman has. She’s tiny when you meet her, but her guitar tone is the size of a dragon. Something about those Runaways isn’t it?


Heaven in This Hell – by Orianthi

Heaven-in-This-Hell--by-OrianthiShredder alert! Orianthi is the female Steve Vai. In fact, she’s shared a stage with him several times and had no trouble keeping up. Carlos Santana has sung her praises, and she had won the job to star in Michael Jackson’s last tour – which means she was going to be handling the solo from “Beat It”, originally played by Eddie Van Halen. She’s currently on tour with Alice Cooper, but she also released her own album last year.

I chose “Heaven in This Hell” as opposed to her 2009 offering because that was pop music. You can’t waste talent like Orianthi’s on pop music. She is meant to shred amongst the Gods of rock and seems to be the only person on the horizon that MAY (skill wise only!) be able to take over when Lita Ford decides to retire. I say “may” because this album has great songs, phenomenal guitar work, and a kick ass attitude, but she’s got to tour the heck out of it, and bring some of the attitude she channels during Alice Cooper’s shows in order to get the kind of status she deserves.

Joan Jett and Lita Ford are who they are because they had to fight to break down barriers just to be able to play the music they love. They both kick serious ass. Orianthi can become the heir apparent to those thrones if she wants to, but she has to decide whether she wants to be a the princess of pop with some “cute” guitar solos thrown in for good measure, or the princess of metal, where she can melt faces with her insane Vai, Van Halen, and Satriani-type guitar work. The latter will likely sell less records, unfortunately, but it would be a waste not to have more of the type of work you hear on “Heaven in This Hell” coming from this very talented young woman.

Do yourself a favor and check her out. Your hope in humanity might just be restored.


Luck of the Draw – by Bonnie Raitt

I have a soft spot for the blues and country music. One of the first things I remember learning when I was taking guitar lessons as a teenager was a standard 12-bar blues progression. I fell in love with it because it wasn’t hard to play, sounded so awesome, and it reflected the mood of my teenage love life: sad, miserable, with a faint glimpse of hope that it might get better even though you know it won’t. But I digress.

I first heard Bonnie Raitt on the radio when “Something To Talk About” became a Top 40 hit. Bonnie Raitt can play the blues. She can play slide guitar like it’s nobody’s business and makes it look so easy. It’s not. When I do it, it sounds like a cat in heat is dropping marbles on my guitar strings.

Her distinctive voice helps her songs emote a certain sense of soul that only trying to make a living as a blues musician can generate. That her work lived in relative obscurity for decades until her big Top 40 hit is a testament to how difficult it is being a female guitarist in general, but to be a female blues guitarist is a beast unto itself. Raitt battled many personal demons and came out on top with this album. That solo is just as soulful today as it was then.


Live in Japan – by The Runaways

This list would not have been possible if not for The Runaways and the two icons that rose from the ashes of the band, of that much I am sure.

I firmly believe that Cherie Currie is one of the luckiest people on the face of this earth because she (for just over 2 years) stood between Lita Ford and Joan Jett playing their guitars, on stage, every night. What I wouldn’t give to be able to experience that.

The Runaways were before their time. To not acknowledge their influence is foolish, and to not include this album on the list would completely obliterate my credibility as a rock blogger. The Runaways were pure magic live, and this album proves it. Lita’s searing solos, Joan’s booming rhythm guitar, and the powerful Sandy West on drums.

At the time, these now iconic women were teenage girls. The world judged them harshly, and their critics were too short-sighted to see the talent several of the band members had. They branded them as a gimmick. They accused them of not really playing their instruments, and sometimes they even threw bottles at them while they played on stage.

But in Japan their arrival mimicked that of The Beatles arrival at JFK in 1964. I sit and listen to this album while I’m working at least once a week, and each time I end up with a tear in my eye. Every week I am astounded at how tight, crisp, and mean these girls sounded with their guitars, and how hungry they were to prove to the world that girls could rock just as hard as guys could.

There isn’t much high quality footage of The Runaways playing live, which only adds to their mystique and makes you wish you could have been there to witness one of their performances in person. This record is as close to that as 70’s babies like me are going to get.

We owe The Runaways an apology as a music industry, and I hope that one day we give it to them. Buying this album and listening to it would be a great way to start. And while you’re listening you can pray for a Runaways reunion, just like I do. Hey, a girl can dream, right?

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