The guitar is as legendary as the rock n’ roll music it shaped at the fingertips of so many countless axmen, and in Lisa Johnson’s fascinating new book Immortal Axes, the six-string is celebrated in a manner that tells the story of its players with little embellishment to get in the way. Johnson doesn’t just cover the great guitars of rock in this brilliant exhibition of her skills as a photographer; from country to blues and jazz, there isn’t much ground she leaves uncovered in the official sequel to 108 Rock Star Guitars. Whether a fan of the instrument or just vibrant photography, this is a good read from top to bottom.
WEBSITE: https://108rockstarguitars.com/
Johnson’s shots embrace the wear and tear on each of these guitars like details in an epic history lesson. Noted are the make, model, and often a description of how the picture came to be in the first place, which adds to the real feel of photography in a way that conventional storytelling simply couldn’t. Bands like Metallica, Nirvana, and The Who are covered with as much intricacy as solo players like Hendrix or Buddy Guy are, and I wouldn’t say that you have to be particularly familiar with any of the artists here to appreciate the depth skill Johnson brings behind the camera.
I was specifically intrigued by the coverage of jazz guitarists George Benson and Charlie Christian, both of whom have scarcely received the kind of coverage their immense credibility in the genre warrants. There’s boundless energy that carries over from the stage to the stand in any one of the guitars featured in this book, but these two struck me as being of particular warmth, mostly thanks to the keen eye Johnson utilizes in capturing the elegance – and tremendous love – with which they’ve been played.
To say there’s been an onslaught of similarly-stylized coffee table books on the market since the start of the pandemic might be too grand an understatement for me to make, but what Lisa Johnson puts forth in Immortal Axes feels different largely because of how far her lens reaches into the soul of its subject. At first glance, the specs and straightforward stories attached to them seem geared towards the techie over the casual guitar enthusiast, but when coupled with the well-framed photos here, we’re immersed in the magic of the strings and the notion of what they’ve produced in their time on this earth.
AMAZON: https://www.amazon.com/Immortal-Axes-Guitars-That-Rock/dp/1648960235
You don’t have to be a hardcore rocker or even a particularly involved fan of music to enjoy what Immortal Axes is made of, but for those who are interested in an up-close-and-personal look at the foundations of popular music as they’re realized in physical form, this is a must-read for sure. Lisa Johnson’s work has won the attention of critics in the past, and I like the odds of this latest effort eclipsing her previous output in terms of accolades. Simply put, photography buffs and guitar nuts the same should absolutely check this out before the autumn is over.
Rachel Townsend