WHEN GUITAR WORLD published its first issue in 1980, it was one hell of a vintage year for great guitar music. Notable albums released that year included AC/DC’s Back in Black, Jeff Beck’s There & Back, Black Sabbath’s Heaven and Hell, the Cars’ Panorama, Judas Priest’s British Steel, Motorhead’s Ace of Spades, Ozzy Osbourne’s Blizzard of Ozz (which introduced Randy Rhoads to an international audience), the Police’s Zenyatta Mondatta, Rush’s Permanent Waves, Talking Heads’ Remain in Light, XTC’s Black Sea as well as debut albums from Def Leppard, Iron Maiden, the Joe Perry Project, Killing Joke, the Michael Schenker Group, the Pretenders and U2.
But for devoted guitar aficionados, the undisputed album of the year was Van Halen’s third effort, Women and Children First. From his furious playing and massive…
