Friday's Playlist - Ollie Halsall: Sessions & Contributions

This Friday we zoom in on another one of rock's unsung guitarists. Ollie Halsall could have been mentioned in the same breath as some of his contemporaries and the closest he ever came to fame was as a part of The Beatles parody band the Rutles, and even then he ended up being cast out of the movie almost entirely.

So what happened? To nobody's surprise, it's the same old story. And it ends the same as it always does, with the protagonist turning blue in a bathroom and dying at a young age. This sheer waste of talent, youth and life will never cease to anger me.

Best to concentrate on the positive though, and that 's where this playlist comes in. That lead guitar on Kevin Ayers' Blue is just as exhilarating as anything Rory Gallagher could have come up with. Do yourselves a favor and check out the albums those songs are culled from.

The last song in the playlist is a real treat: a phenomenal, extended live version of Tempest's the Gorgon (we had featured the studio version on our massive Prog-Rock Playlist from last year) culled from a BBC broadcast during the short-lived two guitar line-up of the band, before Allan Holdsworth decided to quit the band. Hearing Holdsworth and Halsall trade solos is just as mind-boggling as you'd expect.

Enjoy, comment and share.