“Billy Cobham's Spectrum is of the first jazz-rock fusion records. It totally turned people's heads around. And Tommy Bolin, who had replaced Ritchie Blackmore in Deep Purple, is an absolute monster on it.

"On the song Quadrant 4, he’s going nuts with the wah-wah, the Echoplex, the whammy bar. God, he’s just making the guitar scream! But what’s super-impressive is how he keeps his licks right in place and never loses the rest of the band.

“The great thing about Tommy Bolin is that he had a wonderful ‘fuck-off-ness’ to his playing. But it wasn’t for the sake of being arrogant; he was just being himself, being free. The guy lived and breathed music, and it’s really sad he died so young. He would have evolved and contributed so much.”

Listen: Billy Cobham - Quadrant 4 (solo by Tommy Bolin)

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