Since his tragic death from lung failure in 2003, at just 40 years old, Shawn Lane has become almost a mythical figure in the guitar community.
Though his recorded output – two solo albums, three instructional videos, a DVD with Jonas Hellborg, and over 20 total appearances on other records – attracted little commercial notice during his lifetime, videos displaying his scarcely believable technical skill have won him a steadily growing legion of admirers in the internet age.
One such video is the one above, showing Lane cutting loose with an unbelievable three-minute solo during a performance at The South End in Memphis in 1992.
Lane was a deeply soulful player, with an incredible range of influences that all bled into his playing, but his sheer speed in this video is something to behold. It's no wonder that Paul Gilbert once described him as “the most terrifying guy of all time.”
Sit back and enjoy.
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