Articles by Ed Mitchell, Writer

Ed Mitchell was the Editor of The Blues Magazine from 2012-16, and a contributor to Classic Rock and Louder. He died in October 2022, aged 52. A one-time Reviews Editor on Total Guitar magazine from 2003, his guitar-modding column, Ed’s Shed, appeared in print on both sides of the Atlantic (in both Total Guitar and Guitar World magazines), and he wrote stories for Classic Rock and Guitarist. Between them, the websites Louder, MusicRadar and Guitar World host over 400 of his articles – among them interviews with Billy Gibbons, Paul Weller, Brian Setzer, profiles on Roy Buchanan, Duane Allman and Peter Green, a joint interview with Jimmy Page and Jack White, and dozens of guitar reviews – and that’s just the ones that made it online.

Articles by: Ed Mitchell

"The reason I never made it big is because I never cared whether I made it big or not": The life and death of the guitarist’s guitarist, Roy Buchanan

By Ed Mitchell published 14 August 24

Roy Buchanan inspired Jeff Beck, Gary Moore and Joe Bonamassa, but suffered a life of addiction and died a bluesman’s death

Told to get clean or he had two weeks to live, guitar great Stevie Ray Vaughan did, and recorded his greatest album

By Ed Mitchell published 23 May 24

How Stevie Ray Vaughan put blues music back in business

America was imploding, and Graham Nash's vision of domestic bliss was the answer

By Ed Mitchell published 2 February 23

Just five months after releasing the howl of fury that was Ohio, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young put out Our House, two and a half minutes of homespun, blissful peace

Metallica's James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett

The Guitars That Built Rock: The Gibson Flying V

By Ed Mitchell last updated 20 September 22

The ultimate metal guitar might appear like it was born yesterday, but the Gibson Flying V's iconic pointy bits and crushing tone are way older than they look

Why David Lee Roth and Steve Vai were the greatest partnership of the 80s

By Ed Mitchell last updated 4 August 22

Often dismissed as a disappointing follow-up to its predecessor, David Lee Roth’s Skyscraper is a scorching album from one of rock’s greatest, albeit short-lived, partnerships

The 10 best blues songs you might not have heard

By Ed Mitchell last updated 10 May 22

10 early blues classics

The 10 best Jimi Hendrix songs released after his death

By Charles Shaar Murray, Ed Mitchell, Henry Yates published 18 September 21

Jimi Hendrix released just three studio albums and one live album in his lifetime. These are the 10 best songs from his posthumous albums

BB King: a guide to his best albums

By Ed Mitchell published 15 September 21

During a long career, BB King recorded some of the best blues albums of all time – and its greatest treasure

Elvis Presley: a guide to his best albums

By Ed Mitchell published 28 April 21

Elvis Presley escaped poverty to become a global phenomenon and a hip-swivelling, parent-baiting target for the KKK. These are his best albums

How to buy headphones: everything you need to know

By Ed Mitchell last updated 8 November 20

Should you buy bluetooth, over-ear, on-ear? Read this before you buy.

Duane Allman: The life and legacy of a southern man

By Ed Mitchell last updated 29 October 20

Duane Allman is justly lauded for his work with his Brothers, but there’s more to the legacy of the doomed guitarist than At Fillmore East

Peter Green relaxed in a field, chewing grass

Peter Green: a tribute to a reluctant genius

By Ed Mitchell published 27 July 20

Fleetwood Mac co-founder Peter Green never really considered stardom as a career option. He had other ideas

World Guitar Day 2019: The Guitars That Built Rock'n'Roll

By Ed Mitchell last updated 26 July 20

The men and women who built rock'n'roll all had their favourite weapons, and this series tells their stories

How BB King made his forgotten masterpiece Indianola Mississippi Seeds

By Ed Mitchell published 10 June 20

Obscured by the shadow of BB King’s groundbreaking colossus Completely Well, his follow-up album featured Carole King, Leon Russell, Joe Walsh and more

ZZ Top play Georgia Southern College - October 10, 1973

Blues, beer and burritos: How ZZ Top made Tres Hombres

By Ed Mitchell published 5 June 20

ZZ Top’s Tres Hombres transformed them from that Little Ol’ Band From Texas into a phenomenon, putting the Lone Star State back on the musical map as they defined the sound of Texan blues

Danny Gatton: the tragic story of the "the best guitar player that ever lived"

By Ed Mitchell last updated 11 December 19

Still a cult figure outside of the guitar world, Danny Gatton was the ‘player’s player’, a genius who mastered every genre he touched before tragically taking his own life

Motorhead's Phil Campbell - the 10 Records That Changed My Life

By Ed Mitchell last updated 1 December 19

Former Motorhead man and current Bastard Son Phil Campbell picks 10 earth-shattering discs that shaped his long career in rock'n'roll