The B’s keep coming—and apparently they’re determined to give Chaz Charles and Dr. Porifera Glund their money’s worth.

In Episode 12 of Tone Chasers & String Benders, the alphabetical journey through 1,000 legendary guitarists rolls through early rock & roll, art-rock weirdness, Big Star melancholy, British pub rock and a guitarist whose name wasn’t actually his name. Five guitarists. Five completely different corners of the instrument. And, naturally, several doors that probably should have remained closed.

Featured guitarists in this episode:

Franny Beecher – Before rock guitar had figured out what it was supposed to be, Beecher was already tearing it up behind Bill Haley & His Comets. A jazz guitarist dropped into the middle of the emerging rock & roll explosion, Beecher brings the guys back to the days when this music genuinely sounded dangerous. There’s vintage footage, devil’s music, barbaric guitar playing—and the realization that somebody had to play those licks while Bill Haley stood out front.

Adrian Belew – Where do you start? Frank Zappa. David Bowie. Talking Heads. King Crimson. Robert Fripp. Discipline. Lone Rhino. “Big Electric Cat.” Belew’s ability to make a guitar sound like virtually anything sends Chaz enthusiastically into the weird while the Doctor becomes increasingly unconvinced that “genius” necessarily means “something I want to hear in the car.” And then Robert Fripp’s orbit opens yet another door.

Chris Bell – Big Star takes the show somewhere completely different. Bell’s guitar work and songwriting on #1 Recordlead into the extraordinary “I Am the Cosmos,” Alex Chilton, the strange fate of Big Star and one of rock history’s great cult figures—a musician whose influence became vastly larger than the audience he found during his lifetime.

Martin Belmont – From Ducks Deluxe to Graham Parker & The Rumour, Belmont brings the show into the sweaty world of British pub rock: economical playing, great hooks and guitar parts built to serve the song rather than announce themselves. Naturally, finding the guitar solo they're looking for becomes an adventure of its own.

Ariel Bender – Except Ariel Bender is really Luther Grosvenor, which is exactly the sort of thing this show was designed to stumble into. Spooky Tooth leads to Mott the Hoople, Ian Hunter, Mick Ralphs and the glorious theatrical racket of British ’70s rock. Somewhere along the way, Chaz finds himself unwilling to stop the record—which may be the highest honor Tone Chasers can bestow.

And in between?

Skechers somehow become a discussion of tone and value. Robert Fripp and Toyah wander into the proceedings. Chaz discovers music he could apparently write code to all day. Ducks Deluxe gets confused with Bebop Deluxe. Dr. Glund starts running dangerously low on old concert stories.

And then an old thread comes roaring back when Lothar and the Hand People finally get their promised investigation—only for the guys to discover that Lothar wasn't a person at all.

Lothar was the theremin.

At last: a digression with a point.

This isn’t a ranking. It isn’t a lecture. And at this point, pretending the rabbit holes aren't part of the methodology would just be dishonest. It's five guitarists at a time, one record leading to another, until somebody remembers there are still several hundred names left on the list.

Five more guitarists down. 940 to go.

Hosted by Chaz Charles and Dr. Porifera Glund. Only on the Boneless Podcasting Network. (rss.com)