2 new releases spotlight guitar

SHAW/BLADES; "Influence" (VH1 Classic) ** 1/2

ERIC TINGSTAD; "Southwest" (Cheshire) ***

Guitars are an integral part of popular music and can be heard in various styles from rock to jazz to new age to easy listening. And these two new releases feature some great guitar licks and interesting compositions.

Veteran rockers Tommy Shaw (of Styx) and Jack Blades (Night Ranger) have teamed up for "Influence," the cover-song follow-up to their critically acclaimed 1995 debut "Hallucination." And contemporary instrumental guitarist Eric Tingstad, known for his Grammy-winning work with Tingstad & Rumbel, has released the solo album "Southwest."

Both are strong in their own styles — with the musicality in "Southwest" being the more experimental and satisfying.

FOR MANY WHO have visited the Colorado Plateau — which includes Moab, Four Corners, Mesa Verde, The Grand Canyon, Goblin Valley, Bryce Canyon, Zion National Park and Boulder, Utah, just to name a few places — the scenery of the sandstone canyons and warm winds stick in the mind. Geological beauty, framed with sometimes stormy or blue skies, is a perfect place to leave the city blues behind.

Fingerstyle guitarist Eric Tingstad's "Southwest" captures the area's red-rock paradises within the album's nine tracks. Dipping into the sacredness of ancient civilizations' mysteries, Tingstad's heartfelt compositions are a reverent homage to the balanced ecosystems of the southwest.

"Sunrise at Four Corners" conjures up the brilliance of the sun's reflections glowing off the early morning desert sands. "Voices of the Ancient Ones" and "Kiva" pulls audio images of the Ancient Pueblo, once known as Anasazi, culture out of the mist. And when vocalist Petra Stahl begins her chanting in both pieces, it's as if the Mesa Verde cliff dwellers have come to life in a memory or dream.

The mix of acoustic and pedal-steel guitar (the latter played by Terry Lauber) is also featured on a number of tracks. The steel is especially sublime in "Where the Moon Stood Still," which reflects the peaceful and chilly, full-moon desert night.

Other guest artists on "Southwest" include new-age pianist icon David Lanz and Tingstad's musical partner Nancy Rumbel.

SHAW/BLADES has done what guitarist/vocalist Tommy Shaw's band Styx has done — a covers album.

It seems there are a lot of artists taking the cover-album route — Rush, Eddie Money, Susanna Hoffs & Matthew Sweet, Ozzy Osbourne, the list goes on.