Hard rock lead guitar playing has always been celebrated the speed and aggression of youth. And so Chris Impellitteri has a very clear-cut goal. He wants to burn the brightest and party the hardiest in his quest to be the fastest gun with a pick. While subtlety and calm can be found in the eye of the hurricane, Impellitteri has traded them for the emotional fury of the storm itself. We cooled his flames just long enough to through him In the Listening Room with some people who also know how to play with fire without getting burned.

1. "Egyptian Danza" from Casino, by Al DiMeola/Columbia
CHRIS: Al DiMeola's my favorite guitarist. I love the way, I love the way he mutes in this piece. His picking technique is awesome. Everything he does is to the point where you have to stop and think about it in great detail. This guy is obviously a schooled musician. He took the guitar to another point. I'd never heard anything so fast. The first album I heard was Tour De Force, which I loved. Then I got Elegant Gypsy and Land of the Midnight Sun, which is my favorite. I love the fire in him. Now I'm a Steve Morse fanatic. Those two guys are solely responsible for me burning.

2. "All the Way" from Alibi, by Vandenburg/Atlantic
CHRIS: Bravo! Adrian Vandenburg is the new Michael Schenker. The guy is incredible. He's got that melody. He has a lot of feeling. The first time I heard him I knew he was from Europe. It was the song "Burning Heart" and the solo had so much taste. He captured me. It was a solo you could remember. I like this song because of the production on it. The fills behind the vocals were very lyrical. The harmonies were nice. This is an example of what I'd like to do with my next record, except with a faster guitar solo.

3. "Wait Til Tomorrow" from Radio One, by Jimi Hendrix/Rykodisc
CHRIS: What can I say about Hendrix that hasn't already been said? I have to respect him and realize it was a completely different era of guitar playing. If you listen to his era and his peers, he was so far ahead of them in what he did with the guitar. Nobody was doing that, or at least not people who had succeeded in a commercial format. He was an emotional player. One of those players where it was very unpredictable whether he was going to have a good or bad night. "Purple Haze" is legendary. His line on that was incredible. The reason it succeeded was because it was so noticable, so weird. By today's standards, it's still a cool guitar piece. This song doesn't blow me away. The best thing about it is the drumming.

4. "Rising Force" from Odyssey, by Yngwie Malmsteen's Rising Force/Polygram
CHRIS: I've got to give credit where credit is due. Yngwie deserves it because he came out with it first. This song has got more of a pentatonic feel to it. It's upbeat as far as the main riff. His solo is kinda neat. It's almost as if he is doing little hammer-on areas. I'm not sure if he does it with his finger or his pick, like Randy used to do. It's a good song. His style has changed. You hear it in this song especially. I don't think he would have done this a few years ago, he was more progressive than this. He is trying to go for more of a commercial edge with his stuff. This song is in between the commercial and the heavy stuff, because of the tempo. "Heaven Tonight" was a good commercial song though the solo was a little sloppy in a certain area. I hear things I like in his playing that are similar to what I want to go after. Probably because it's progressive. I think Trilogy was a better album because the vocals were carefully planned. The song structures were better. I love Joe Lynn Turner. I think he works better with Ritchie. I think he will do much better in the reformed Rainbow. Ritchie doesn't play as much as Yngwie. I personally like the guitar overplaying, because I am a guitar player.

5. "The Pepper Shake" from Greg Howe, by Greg Howe/Shrapnel
CHRIS: Devestating. Great piece. It's got feel. Someone was listening to Joe Satriani and combining some of the Vai stuff in there. It's got a lot of funk to it. Total voicings. It sounds like something I should open up to and incorporate. I think it's great. It's Greg Howe! I'm buying this. This kid is incredible, awesome. I love him. This is what makes me want to open up and do an instrumental album.