The 19th October 1991, The Auditorio De La Isla De La Cartuja, Near Seville, Hospitable Southern Spain, witnessed something quite unlikely to happen again. Host of the show was Brian May who stressed that such concert was only meant to be a nice way for such musicians to play together, meeting each other and the audience, mostly aware of what they were going to enjoy. There was no intention of promoting new albums, just the pleasure of playing for pleasure. At 22:00 hrs, Brian May gets on the stage and introduces the first guest: Joe Satriani. Satriani is not very known by the many but is undoubtedly the best rock'n'roll guitar player of the moment. Tutor of many like Steve Vai, Kirk Hammet and others, Joe is the guitarist who many look up to in terms of skills, innovating mentality, and deep knowledge years. His style is the "linkage" between two ages: Blues and Heavy Rock. Pointless to say that he's one of the most paid session-men in the world. The night is then officially open with Satch Boogie. A very few seconds of real mastery are enough to make the crowd rush down to the first rows for a better view of such a unique event. The tranquil "Jazz-club" atmosphere ruling the previous nights turns into an arena feeling, when also the crowd is part of the show. Satriani plays several tunes that never last very long; they're always long enough to be enjoyed, never long enough to lose the clue. A blasting applause welcomes Rick Wakeman when Satriani presents the musicians playing with the guitar legends. Then on with Surfing With the Alien and Always With Me, Always With You, to end with Big Bad Moon. Brian May grabs the mike and ... "... Ladies and Gentlemen: Mr. Steve Vai!". Liberty introduces Steve Vai accompanied by Joe Satriani. Pupil and tutor play once again the same tracks, swapping roles ad libitum. Vai shows a blast of pure energy with Greasy Kid's Stuff, one of his latest album's tracks. The "Wizard of the Seven Strings" (Let's not forget Vai has been one of the first guitarists to use the now famous seven-strings-Ibanez) shows how easily he can shift from one style to the other. Professionaly grown up on the tracks of Jimi Hendrix, Wes Montgomery and Joe Satriani, Steve Vai is nowadays a real authority in the guitar playing field. Former session-man for Frank Zappa, Alcatrazz, David Lee Roth, Whitesnake and he only knows how many others, He's probably the guitarist of the nineties, the one who'll collect Joe Satriani's musical inheritance. Before and during The Animal he gives the other musicians room for personal introductions: Steve Ferrone and Nathan East lead to the next song: For the Love of God. Around 30 mins of amazement have now gone by and the audience has already been given a real lot to listen to and enjoy, while the next guests join in. It's Nuno Bettencourt and Gary Cherrone from Extreme. As usual in their style, as simple as they are, they begin with More Than Words, a ballad that's been on the air by each radio station of whatever frequency. Then through a slip of He Man Woman Hater to Get the Funk Out, acoustic tracks to merely rock'n'roll ones. This young portuguese guy is a real revelation! His preparation ranges wide through different styles. Shaped by evident classical schooling, his style is well defined by the addition of flamenco fingering and the addition of some funky sonorities. It's then Brian May's turn again, leading the others through Driven By You followed (by) one of the Queen's masterpieces: Tie Your Mother Down. Anyone who's seen Queen live should remember how grabbing this song is in its live version, the crowd cannot stand still and one needs to listen to it to realise how these guys can combine four guitars in such an impressive way. Satriani, Vai, Bettencourt and May are playing the same song following different tracks, everyone customizing the tune upon their own style; the result is simply amazing! Then the `Legends' take a short break, a handful of seconds to introduce a musician whose contribution to rock'n'roll has unquestionably been vital: Joe Walsh. Sad but true, the former Eagles' front-man is quite drunk. He totters to the microphone and recalls the man that gave blues guitar playing a new look: Steve Ray Vaughan. No whiskey in the world can stop Joe from singing Amazing Grace, wholly dedicated to Steve Ray, and not many in the world could sing it and play it that well! His adrenaline starts flowing strong again and Rocky Mountain Way comes out so spontaneously. The other `Legends' look amused and embarassed, it seems like `they' do not really know how to feel... After a short while Walsh goes sitting against an amplifier rack, sometimes trying to approach Maggie Riley, the backing vocalist. The show gets into its final part. Someone says its Eric Clapton... But they're promptly denied. Once again Brian May calls to the stage his very last guest "... Senhoras y Senhores: Mr Paul Rodgers!!". It's all it takes to bring back to life the wonders of bad company, starting with I Can't Get Enough of Your Love and Feel Like Making Love, scanning free times by All Right Now. The final part of the show might have been rather unfamiliar to the younger, but the ones in their mid-thirties can certainly detect that the effect on the crowd is still the same, even stronger... We feel the performance is getting to the end, still, there's more to come before the lights go down. The next hit is once again a Brian May's proposal: It's Now I'm Here, from Queen. May is the leader, although the others do not just follow up. It is a unique situation: Five guitars playing together and seperately at the same time. A thousand notes is being played, however, there is no interference. Each single instrument can be as easily distinguishable as they were only two of them. There are three generations of rock'n'roll musicians on that stage, the evolution of electric guitar playing as far as rock'n'roll is concerned. The closing act comes then as a hymn to those who founded this style: Hey Joe, in memory of Jimi Hendrix. All that simply means that rock'n'roll is more than music, more than attitude, more than people. It lives on even when its components go missing. It's not just one artist, though very few are able to speak its language making themselves understood. It's not only technical skills, still it can't exist without them. This year about 5000 people have been lucky enough to be there. Next time you hear of Guitar Legend festival try not to miss it.