It’s that time of the year again! We will finally get to learn who our favorite artists and performers chose as their picks for several categories. One of those artists is Steve Stevens, who shared his picks for Guitar World magazine 2022 on his Instagram account with his fans; his choice as the guitarist of the year was Alter Bridge’s Mark Tremonti.
Tremonti made it on Stevens’ list for several reasons: one being the courage he showed to cover Frank Sinatra songs. Stevens wrote, “Mark Tremonti for putting his guitar aside and turning out mind-blowing versions of Sinatra tunes on ‘Mark Tremonti Sings Frank Sinatra’ all for charity.”
Even though many musicians have taken up the challenge to cover Sinatra songs, Tremonti, as a heavy metal guitarist, dipping his toes to uncharted waters was quite a surprise. However, the musician came out on top and did the original tracks justice by perfecting his chest voice and using his lower voice to the best of his ability.
Stevens revealed that besides Tremonti’s cover of Frank Sinatra songs, the Alter Bridge album was also a smash hit. He said, “Then he released the fantastic Alter Bridge album ‘Pawns & Kings.’”
The guitarist also released a new record with his band Alter Bridge, as if the cover album wasn’t enough. ‘Pawns & Kings’ became a fan favorite quite quickly by perfecting every element of the band’s sound. It turns out Stevens was one of those fans who enjoyed it so much that he decided to name it under his pick of favorite guitarist’s work.
If these two full-length works created by the guitarist are not enough to convince you to consider Mark Tremonti as a possible favorite for your list, I don’t know what is. Give it a listen and maybe you will be convinced!
