Hey Mr. Fantasy

As the intro points out, the number of reunions that have taken place since Traffic first did it in 1970 are too numerous to list, but the Readers’ Poll on Bands That Should Reunite is still kinda sad.

We’ve got the usual suspects: Pink Floyd, Oasis, GNR, The Smiths, Genesis, The Kinks  …  but most of the write-ups say something like “it ain’t going to happen ‘cause xx hates yy” or “zz isn’t interested, so dream on.”

So it’s sad.  Or worse.  I mean, Led Zeppelin can’t reunite because their drummer is dead.  Ya, the 2007 show was amazing and Jason Bonham did a great job, but shouldn’t we move on?

Can’t we treasure what’s come before and still give a shot to the host of current acts out there that deserve a listen?  Isn’t “the new” what attracted us to those old acts in the first place?

Good Enough

I usually reserve my 10^th-favourite-guitarist-of-all-time spot for whoever I’ve listened to recently that’s very good but didn’t make the top 9.  Mike Campbell, Tom Petty’s sidekick, is frequently in that spot.

One list he could definitely top, though, is Most Improved Guitarist.  Such a designation may be unfair, because he was always terrific.  Never a wasted note, always complimenting the song with additional emotion, tasty licks, clever double stops and a unique but familiar style. 

Refugee, The Waiting or Mary Jane’s Last Dance are typical examples of Campbell’s ability to improve a song without getting in the way.  But you’d be hard pressed to move him up the list and compare him with the likes of Clapton or Page or Hendrix or SRV, right?  Not enough notes.  Not enough complexity.  Insufficient speed.  No real surprises.

OK, so go listen to Good Enough from Petty’s last album, Mojo.  It’s a trippy, bluesy, Beatle-esque number calling for either some signature Harrison bends or some classic Lennon howls.  Campbell gives you both, while still sounding like himself.  But during the extended soloing, Campbell also gives you Jimmy Page with a bit of Clapton thrown in.  If you swapped Petty’s vocals for Plant, and had John Bonham drumming, this song could be a stow-away on Led Zeppelin III.

Improved?  Well, maybe Mike Campbell got better with time.  Maybe he just became more adventurous.  Or maybe he just felt like saying, “oh ya, I can do that too.”

I should have known it.

Do It When You Wanna

Go have a listen to Led Zeppelin’s For Your Life.

Feeling better?  Betcha are.

They Got Rhythm

Gibson has this 10 Great Rock Rhythm Sections list.

What Elvis said about people applies to bands too: Rhythm is something you either have or don't have, but when you have it, you have it all over.

Rhythm is what holds it all together. Rhythm is fundamental. Rhythm is what it's all about.

Here's the list:

1. John Paul Jones and John Bonham, Led Zeppelin
2. Geddy Lee and Neil Peart, Rush
3. Flea and Chad Smith, Red Hot Chili Peppers
4. Les Claypool and Jay Lane, Primus
5. Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts, The Rolling Stones
6. John Entwistle and Keith Moon, The Who
7. Tim Commerford and Brad Wilk, Rage Against the Machine
8. Jack and Meg White, The White Stripes
9. Mike Dirnt and Tre Cool, Green Day
10. P-Nut and Sexton, 311

I might have added Larry Mullen and Adam Clayton from U2, or Ian Paice and Roger Glover from Deep Purple - and I definitely would have added Paul and Ringo.  Yes, The Beatles did fancy, trippy, pretty and symphonic, but they also rocked.

Not to slag Mr. Jones, but I wonder if he didn't get lost in John Bonham's thunder.  Not sure if Zep's rhythm section wasn't just Bonzo, and John Paul Jones was along for the ride.

Based on what I read in Keith Richards' autobiography, they same might be said about Bill Wyman. Keef waxes poetic about Charlie, but his comments on Bill Wyman are basically limited to:
1. we let Bill into the band because he had a Vox AC30 amp, and
2. then ( a few hundred pages later) Bill left the band

Anyway, great list, because it reminds us about the primary element.

Somebody's Fault, But Whose?

Why is Led Zeppelin's Nobody's Fault But Mine not on classic rock radio's playlist?

It's got it all: a blues base under a hard driving rock tune, vintage Page guitar riffs, an exotic melodic hook that hints at somewhere either south or east of the Mediterranean, pounding syncopation from Bonzo ...

No, the hook isn't as instantly gripping as Whole Lotta Love, the blues isn't as hypnotic as When The Levee Breaks, it isn't as exotic as Kashmir, and the grandeur doesn't sweep as much as Stairway To Heaven. But it's got bits of all that and more.

Another example of how corporate radio narrows our taste and numbs our brains.

Try to save your soul tonight.

Bonzo Reprise

Gibson just published The Top 10 Rock Drummers. Lots of similarities to the Rolling Stone list published a while back. Here's the list:

 1. John Bonham - also #1 in Rolling Stone

 2. Neil Peart - #3 in Rolling Stone
 3. Keith Moon - #2 in Rolling Stone. Not a lot of variety here, is there?
 4. Dave Grohl - also #4 in Rolling Stone. See what I mean?
 5. Lars Ulrich - not in Rolling Stone. Ah, some change!
 6. Mike Portnoy - also not in Rolling Stone. OK maybe it's worth having a new list.
 7. Ginger Baker - sigh. Better than Rolling Stone's #9, but still not good enough.
 8. Josh Freese - not in Rolling Stone. A pattern of slightly more current drummers perhaps?
 9. Stewart Copeland - #7 in Rolling Stone
10. Ringo. Still nice to see him included, but I liked Rolling Stone's #5 better.

I agree with Gibson's statements that a good drummer is the backbone to the band, and that he/she also keeps the listener engaged. The best drummers find ways to do that without interfering with the song - not an easy thing to do.

The Bonzo List

Well, I've found another list, the Rolling Stone Best Drummers Of All Time list.

Pretty good, and I guess predictable. Here it is:

1. John Bonham. Not a surprise. Page's riff's defined the songs, but Bonham held them together.
2. Keith Moon. Not a surprise, though I've always thought Moon was more famous for being nuts than for his drumming.
3. Neil Peart. Well, he wins on the size of his kit anyway.
4. Dave Grohl. Had to look him up to learn that he drummed for Nirvana and Foo Fighters.  Showing my age, I guess, but two great bands.
5. Ringo. Nice surprise. Just by association, he deserves be there. And for being Ringo.  And for figuring out drum parts for, say, Maxwell's Silver Hammer.  See? There is justice.
6. Buddy Rich. I suppose.
7. Stewart Copeland. Well, he helped changed the beat, and The Police were huge, so sure.
8. ?uestlove. ???
9. Ginger Baker. No. Much, much higher. Anyone who can solo over top of Clapton and Bruce (x2, since he sang and played bass solos at the same time) and still keep the song together is #1 or 2.
10. Michael Shrieve. OK, so he played one of the most famous drum solos of all time. So did Gene Krupa. Where's he?

Speaking of ... where is Ian Paice? Mitch Mitchell? Clive Bunker?

Anyway, it's all good. Most music, especially rock, is all about the beat. All decent drummers are worth their weight in gold.

10 Greatest Dead Rock Stars

I gotta stop reading Rolling Stone.  This Top 10 Greatest Dead Rock Stars list is kinda morbid.

It's also utterly predictable.  Like, you would have come up with the same list - and the same sequence.  It would have been, dare I say it, dead easy.

Sorry.

Here's the list:
 1. John Lennon
 2. Jimi Hendrix
 3. Kurt Cobain
 4. Jim Morrison
 5. Elvis
 6. Freddie Mercury
 7. Janis Joplin
 8. George Harrsion
 9. John Bonham
10. Keith Moon

It would be interesting to see who numbers 11, 12 and 13 were.  25 years ago Buddy Holly would have made the list, as would Duanne Allman (not sure who else).  It's not surprising that Kurt Cobain, Freddie and George pushed them off the list.  But it does beg the question:  who on this list could be pushed off?  At this point, some of them are almost more famous for being dead than for being rock stars.

Better stop.  This is definitely morbid.