JANUARY 2024 PAGE THIRTY
PACKING MORE TWISTS and turns than a Quentin Tarantino movie binge, 2023 will be remembered for many reasons — some good, some surprising and some utterly heartbreaking. There was the return of the mighty Metallica, and while many of us were impressed by 72 Seasons, as you’ll read below, others weren’t so taken with the new material. The recently reunited Pantera — with Zakk Wylde and Charlie Benante joining Phil Anselmo and Rex Brown — embarked on their first tour since the initial handful of Latin American dates at the end of last year, with the general consensus being this is a celebration very much worth witnessing. There also was a fair amount of controversy, starting with an acrimonious split between Mick Mars and the remaining members of Mötley Crüe, which got very public and very legal after it was announced they’d hired John 5 to take the longtime guitarist’s place on the road and for future recordings. Other bizarre headlines included the discovery of Mary Ford’s 1961 Gibson Les Paul SG Custom on Facebook Marketplace, which was quickly snapped up by Gibson and brought to the Vault at their Garage in Nashville, and Roger Waters deciding to re-record Pink Floyd’s best-selling album.
The year also witnessed some big-name comebacks, from rock ’n’ roll originals the Rolling Stones to pop-punk idols Blink-182, as well as the long-awaited live return of AC/DC at the inaugural Power Trip festival in October, while in stark contrast veterans such as Buddy Guy and Aerosmith announced they would soon be retiring from the world’s stages. And then, of course, there are those we lost along the way — starting with the death of arguably the most inventive and deeply admired guitar player of all time only a few days into the new year. Almost a year on from Jeff Beck’s unexpected passing, we’re still struggling to comprehend the huge sense of loss. So, without further ado, here’s a look at some of the biggest guitar moments of 2023.
— Jimmy Page
RIP JEFF BECK
IN FAIRNESS, EVEN all these months later, nothing that happened over the course of 2023 can compete with
