Ain’t No Life Nowhere

 

You want psychedelic?  Listen to I Don’t Live Today by Jimi Hendrix.  That’s psychedelic.

Gotta Hear It Again Today

The three best covers of all time are:

1. All Along The Watchtower by Jimi Hendrix, and 
2. All Along The Watchtower by Neil Young, and 
3. All Along The Watchtower by U2 

Okay, it’s actually Roll over Beethoven by The Beatles, but still …

Butterflies Above Our Nation

Sure, I know that Woodstock started out as a commercial enterprise.  I realize that it was basically a disaster.  I understand that most of the positive things happened by accident.  And I accept that the ‘Woodstock Nation’ was an illusion that would never materialize.

To which I say this: If we don’t grasp at illusions, if we don’t embrace fantasies, if we don’t chase dreams, there can be no magic in our lives.

And what’s the point of that?

Well I Realize I’ve Been Hypnotized

OK, I know Hendrix played the Chitlin’ Circuit, and near the end he was getting into funk and all, but Jimi Hendrix did psychedelic, right?  I mean he embodied the words Far Out.

But listen to Gypsy Eyes.  Underneath the trippy exterior is a Motown song.  It could have been done by The Temptations, right?

That’s what’s so cool about great artists, great recordings, and great songs.  They keep giving up something new.

Just My Tears And The Orchestra Playing

Maybe it’s because I’ve heard them, like 7,000 times, but some songs are like symphonies.  Take, say, Third Stone From The Sun or Dazed And Confused.

As you listen to the ebb and flow, the music continually morphs into an entirely different vibe.  As you pick up on the nuances that drive those translations, you gotta think: this is musical genius of a higher order, like Wagner or something*. 

Or maybe it’s just because I’ve heard them 7,000 times.

* Yeah, I know.  Wagner was an opera guy, and not really known for his only symphony, which, as it turns out, was once conducted by Engelbert Humberdinck, whose namesake performed music which – especially compared to Hendrix or Zeppelin – was not particularly symphonic.

See how I worked that in?

Only A Bar Band?

I have friends who will disparage bands they aren’t fond of by saying, “They’re only a bar band.”  Curiously, this includes people who are in the same bar band as me.

To which I say:  Only a bar band?!?  Think about some of the massive albums that were recorded by bands who were still playing in clubs at time.

The Beatles were still gigging at places like the Cavern Club in Liverpool and the Star Club in Hamburg while they recorded Please Please Me.

The Who were performing in clubs when they recorded My Generation.

Eric Clapton achieved his notorious divinity not on the concert stage but in the nightclubs of London, while he knocked off both the John Mayall “Beano” and Fresh Cream albums.

The next year, Eric, The Beatles, The Stones and their pals caught Hendrix at the Bag O’ Nails while he was recording Are You Experienced.

Even Page, Plant &co. played a few club dates before Led Zeppelin I launched them on their path to world domination.

Only a bar band?  I guess if you can have a left-handed compliment, you can also have a left-handed insult.

The First Cut Is The Deepest

When you’re huge, you’re huge, and after you’ve been around a while, your entire body of work tends to morph into one, uh, huge, thing.

So it begs the question, who would we still view – years later - as huge if they had stopped after only one album?  Hendrix, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, The Cars, Buddy Holly  …

After that, I dunno.  Adele?  The Band?  The Byrds?  Crosby Stills and Nash?  Dire Straits?  Eagles?  Elvis?  Jeff Beck?  Steely Dan?  Maybe.

There are a lot of names from the rock pantheon missing, a lot of acts that took a couple or three albums to really establish a place in music history.  The Beatles, The Stones, The Who, U2, Pink Floyd, Chuck Berry, AC/DC …

Maybe we’d remember them all, but more as flashes in the pan than big influencers.  But not many artists nailed it the first time out.

All I Have To Do Is To Be Happy

Well, he wasn’t Jimi Hendrix or Stevie Ray Vaughan, but it should be no surprise that George Harrison continued to show his superior guitar skills after The Beatles went bust, as illustrated in Guitar World’s George Harrison’s 10 Greatest Guitar Moments After The Beatles.

It’s little wonder that the cat who gave us the 12 String guitar solo and the sitar should have invented his own style of slide guitar, or that he could hold his own on a blues song.

But session guitarist for Belinda Carlisle?  Now that was a surprise.

Wait A Minute, Something’s Wrong Here

I’m grateful for all his other music and all, but when I hear songs like Red House, I can’t help thinking:  Man, I wish Hendrix played more blues.

So Many Roads

With apologies to the purists, here are the songs that helped me figure out that  The Blues was the thing:

·      Jimi Hendrix - Voodoo Child (Slight Return)

·      Led Zeppelin – When The Levee Breaks

·      The Doors – Riders On The Storm

·      Canned Heat – On The Road Again

·      Cream – Crossroads

·      Led Zeppelin – Since I’ve Been Loving You

·      Elvis Presley – Heartbreak Hotel

·      Johnny Winter – Highway 61 Revisited

·      The Beatles – Come Together

·      Creedence Clearwater Revival – Suzie-Q

Yeah, I know – but we all get there by different roads.  For me, Main Street was called Beatles Avenue.  Take a right at Rock & Roll Drive, left on Psychedelic Boulevard, left again at Hard Rock Road, slip down a back alley and you find this cool juke joint where they’re all playing:  B.B., Muddy, Sonny Boy, Howlin’’ Wolf, Hooker …  all of ‘em.

Does the road matter if we reach the destination?

Jimi vs. Stevie

Many (possibly most) people consider Jimi Hendrix to be the greatest guitar player of all time, and, while I don't agree, I get it.  But listen to Stevie Ray Vaughan's version of Little Wing and tell me that isn't how Hendrix should have sounded all the time.

Riding With The King

The introduction to Guitar Player’s 12 Most Influential Guitarists of All Time starts with an apology, as if they were expecting an avalanche of criticism – and I know I’ve done my share of whinging about lists over the years.

But they’re talkin’ about influence – not who’s best or who’s the most favoured – and I, for one can’t find a darn thing wrong with this one.

Who hasn’t copped a Chuck Berry lick?  Who hasn’t tried to emulate Clapton or Page or Van Halen?  Who hasn’t dropped his or her jaw at Hendrix or SRV and said, “How’d he do that?”  Who doesn’t appreciate how large Robert Johnson or Chet Atkins loom over all those cats?  And then there’s B.B..

Influential?  You bet.

Dust My Lick

Gibson’s 10 Iconic Blues Riffs & Melodies is focused on playing – maybe fooling around and coming up with your own riffs.  But it could just as easily be called The Best Blues Songs of All Time.

Yeah, I know, there are a few thousand tunes competing for that honour, but it’s a pretty impressive list.  Songs written by giants like Willie Dixon, Howlin’ Wolf and Robert Johnson, and played by the masters:  Sumlin, B.B., Buddy Guy, Elmore James, Albert King, Clapton, Hendrix and Johnny Winter.  It doesn’t get much better than that.

But the article’s main point is a good one:  mess around with something you already know and it might take you somewhere new.  I’m sure that’s how most songs are written.

The Circle of Love

In Guitar World’s 30 on 30, 30 great guitarists pick their favourite axemen.

All the cats you’d expect to see are there:  Green, Clapton, Blackmore, Beck, Hendrix, May, van Halen, B.B., Rhoads, Malmsteen …

As are, thankfully, a few guys you worry might be all but forgotten, like Leslie West, Alvin Lee and Mick Taylor.  And there are a few names you might not expect to be the idols of guitar wizards, for example Neil Young or Pete Townshend or George Harrison.  Not that they weren’t/aren’t amazing guitarists, but you don’t realize the hotshots feel the same way as you do.  So that’s cool.

But what’s really interesting is to see who the guys on the list like.  So:

• Tom Morello likes Steve Vai, and Steve Vai likes Brian May.
• Joe Perry likes Angus Young, but Angus likes Chuck Berry.
• Ron Thal likes Zakk Wylde, whereas Zakk Wylde likes the Judas Priest duo of Tipton and Downing.
• Richie Kotzen digs Eddie van Halen, who in turn thought Clapton was the man.

Sometimes you can clearly hear a guitarist’s influences in his work; other times, not so much.  So it’s instructive to see what they actually think.  And sometimes surprising.

Reelin’ In the Ears

Great songs hook you quickly, and reel you in.  This is nicely illustrated by Guitar World’s The 20 Best Guitar Intro’s of All Time.

Day Tripper, Sunshine Of Your Love, Smoke On The Water, Heartbreaker, You Really Got Me …  Hendrix, Van Halen, Chuck Berry, Hetfield, Keef …   Some of the best riffs of all time courtesy the greatest riff-meisters of all time.

Most great songs have a ‘hook,’ something that grabs you, catches your attention, somehow makes you feel like you already know the song even when you’re hearing it for the first time.  Sometimes that hook is a riff, but not always.  Sometimes the hook doesn’t show up until part way through the song.  But looking at GW’s list, I’d have to say the winning formula has got to be to snag ‘em right away.

Paying The Cost To Be The Boss

Imagine a world without Hendrix, Cream, Santana, Paul Butterfield, The Allman Brothers, Johnny Winter, Fleetwood Mac, ZZ Top, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Robert Cray.

Hard to imagine, isn’t it?  Not something you’d want to imagine, is it?

Well, according to Rolling Stone’s 10 Legendary Acts That Wouldn’t Exist Without B.B. King, all that magic would not have happened were it not for B.B. King.

That’s 10 more thankyous we owe to B.B..

Got Live If You Want It

As the introduction to Rolling Stone’s 50 Greatest Live Albums of All Time says, it’s impossible to capture the frenzy (and I would add joy) of a great live show on record.  But as the list shows, there have been some awesome live recordings.

Confession:  in general, I have always preferred studio albums, because the sound quality is better, there’s less self-indulgence from the band, and the mistakes land on the cutting room floor.  But I still enjoy a good performance, and I love going to concerts.

The list has something to satisfy just about every musical taste, and it includes some career-establishing performances.  But for me, its main virtue is that it serves as a healthy reminder that music is meant to be enjoyed live.

Double The Pleasure

Now here’s a fresh list on an overdue subject:  Guitar World’s Top 30 12 String Guitar Songs of All Time brings some attention to an underappreciated instrument.

America, Dylan, The Hollies, The Byrds,  … the people/bands you quickly identify with 12 string are all there.  And some surprises too.  OK, maybe not surprises, but people/bands you wouldn’t immediately associate with the sound:  Hendrix, Queen, Bowie, The Who.  For me, anyway, the tendency is to associate the 12 string with folk, delta blues and country, so if you say 12 string guitar my mind gravitates to folk rock tunes.

And songs like Maggie May, As Tears Go By, Mr. Tambourine Man and Free Falling are all there.  As are classics like A Hard Days Night and Stairway to Heaven.  Um, OK, these aren’t folk rock, but you do expect to find them on the list.

But there are songs I would have forgotten about, like Closer To The Heart, More Than A Feeling or Wish You Were Here.

Anyway, whether electric or acoustic, the 12 string guitar produces such a beautiful rich sound.

I don’t own one though, as much as folk rock is pretty much home base for me.  I can barely keep my 6 strings in tune.

Rhythm Ninjas

Guitar World’s 50 Greatest Rhythm Guitarists of All Time proves the point that you can have a tremendous impact without being a flashy soloist.

Chuck Berry, Steve Cropper, Bo Diddley, Don Everly, The Edge, Keef, Andy Summers, Pete Townshend, Malcolm Young … these guys defined the sound of the band, erected the songs on their chords, and for the most part didn’t need a solo to make the tune kick butt.

As Danny Kortchmar says, “it’s easier to play a screamer solo over a heavy groove than it is to make that groove.”

Which is why cats like Alex Lifeson, Jimmy Page and Jimi Hendrix, who are perhaps know for their soloing, are also on the list.  And deservedly so:  it ain’t easy to give us a rhythmic groove and a solo all at the same time.

I can’t figure out why John Lennon doesn’t make these lists, though.  Maybe my Beatles obsession just drives me to want to include a guitarist who happened to play rhythm, as opposed to a guitarist of revolutionary importance.  Maybe, but I still think he was pretty darn good.

Solo Stars

Guitar World’s 40 Most Influential Solos In Rock is quite possibly the list that’s come closest to what I would have expected.

All the early rockers are there: Scotty Moore, James Burton, Eddie Cochrane –and Chuck Berry, who’s Johnny B. Goode GW correctly notes is “the most important rock guitar part ever recorded.”

All the Classic Rockers are there: Clapton, Beck, Hendrix, Blackmore, Allman, Fripp, Page, Gilmour, Knopfler, Young and West.

The blues influencers are there: Elmore James, and the 3 Kings.

The list is chronological, so until it got to the 80’s my reaction was consistently, “yep, influenced me alright.”

The latter-day guitar heroes are there too: SRV, Zakk Wylde, Randy Rhoads, Malmsteen, Satriani and, the cat with the coolest handle: Dimebag Darrell.

One or two guitarists I wouldn’t have included myself, but fully expected to see.  And given GW limited itself to one solo per guitarist, I think they did a pretty good job of coming up with the most representative tune.  No easy feat with most of these guys.

Not sure how Heartbreaker gets to be Jimmy Page’s most important solo, but that’s just me.  I certainly remember being floored when I first heard it, but later on I kinda felt it wrecked the song, because it interrupted such a powerful groove.

Nice to see Europa chosen for Santana so they could make room for Peter Green and the original Black Magic Woman.  Peter Green is usually under-rated and overlooked.  Speaking of overlooked: no Highway 61 Revisited by Johnny Winter?