She’s Taking Chances

Mark Knopfler is an incredible storyteller and gifted poet with a bagful of masterpieces, but his absolute best song is Skateaway.

 

If Bruce Springsteen had done this song it would have been a number one hit and would have entered the ranks of timeless, beloved anthems.  Because it tells you about how the best songs merge with your life – just like The Boss’s most memorable songs do.

 

The music makes you want to be the story, and the story is whatever is the song.

Different Shades of Blue

One of the things I really dig about Joe Bonamassa is he’s an all-in-one deal.  

Play one of his CD’s and by the time you’re done you’ve had your Cream fix, your Zeppelin fix, your Allman fix …  Buddy Guy, B.B., Gary Moore, Rory Gallagher, Mark Knopfler, Taj Mahal … Humble Pie, Savoy Brown – the list goes on and on.

With Joe, you get all the major food groups in one very tasty blues-rock stew.

Like all great musicians, Joe Bonamassa has his own voice.  But like all great musicians, he’s a superb student of what’s come before.

Long Long Long

When we think about longevity, images of wrinkly Rolling Stones or half The Who come to mind.  And that makes sense, especially from a performance standpoint; some acts just keep on trucking.  The Stones, especially, give the air of having some kind of record for surviving the longest.

But if you examine the question from the perspective of recording new music, they haven’t/didn’t last so long – at least in my iTunes library.

Here’s the ranking of the artists who have had the longest careers in terms of their earliest and latest recordings (again, in my iTunes library – yours will differ).

Artist/Band	Earliest Recording	Latest Recording	Number of Years
Ringo Starr	1962	2012	50
Paul McCartney	1962	2007	45
B.B. King	1956	2000	44
Bob Dylan	1962	2006	44
Steve Winwood	1965	2008	43
Eric Clapton	1964	2006	42
George Harrison	1962	2002	40
James Taylor	1968	2007	39
Robert Plant	1969	2007	38
Joe Walsh	1969	2007	38
David Gilmour	1969	2006	37
Mark Knopfler	1978	2015	37
Bruce Springsteen	1973	2009	36
Tom Petty	1976	2010	34
Rolling Stones	1964	1994	30

OK, the Ringo thing is a bit of a fluke.  I finally saw him live in 2012, and was so happy about it that I bought the tee-shirt and the CD.

I don’t buy everything these folks release, but it’s wonderful that they’re still making great music – the ones that are alive anyway.

Speaking of which, I wonder if Hendrix or Lennon …. oh nevermind.

In His Blood And In His Bones

How many genres can you pack into one song?  I dunno, but Mark Knopfler managed to jam quite a few into In The Gallery.

Blues, rock, country, R&B, a bit of psychedelic maybe?  What do you hear?

A good song should sound like an old friend on first hearing.  The more genres the songwriting – and arranger -  can draw on, the deeper the listener can mine for familiar sounds.  It can’t be a sloppy pastiche, of course.  Everything has to fit together.  And when it does, as with In The Gallery, what you get is one rich song.

Pretty tasty guitar work by Knopfler, too.

Blown On The Steel Breeze

It’s what notes you play, not how many of ‘em, as aptly illustrated by Guitar World’s Top 10 Slow Guitar Solos.  The list features masterful, expressive, passionate solos from greats such as Clapton, Page, Beck, Gilmour, Knopfler, SRV and Gary Moore.

With the exceptions of George Harrison and B.B. King, all these guys are revered for being able to tear it up, but this list shows they also knew how to make their guitar cry and sing.  They knew a guitar solo should make the song better.

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?

Giving the Finger

Now here’s a list that’s close to my heart: Gibson’s 10 All Time Great Finger Pickers.  Why?  Cause that’s mostly how I play.  I may have been weaned on rock ‘n’ roll, but my wanderings into classical and folk made me drop the pick.

Here’s the list: Merle Travis, Davy Graham, John Fahey, Martin Carthy, Jerry Reed, Reverend Gary Davis, Tommy Emmanuel, Jorma Kaukonen, Leo Kottke, Chet Atkins.

I can’t pretend to know all of these guys, but I would have added Mark Knopfler, probably the most successful finger picker in rock.  And Bruce Cockburn, for my money, one of the best acoustic guitarists of all time.  And where is Robert Johnson, the guy with titanic influence over most genres, the guy whose licks we’re still trying to figure out, the cat that made one guitar sound like three?

Anyway, hats off to the finger pickers.  They might not get as much energy into the strings as the plectrum crowd, but they can pull off some tasty licks.

Decades

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I got to thinking about how your perceptions and loyalties change over time, and decided to fill in this matrix of who my favourite artists were decade by decade.  It came out like this:

 

Some time bending was required to jam things into the decade pigeonhole, and some revisionism is at work here.  Looking back as each decade turned over, I definitely would not have listed the Stones as my second favourite band of the preceding ten years.  The third place band would have been #2, and the likes of Deep Purple, Pink Floyd and The Cars – or maybe The Police – and Bonnie Raitt would have shown up.  Oh, and John Lee Hooker, just a few decades late.

But this is a pretty accurate reflection of how I would rank the music as I listen to it now.

A coupla “Ya I knows”:

1. The Stones have not really done anything since Voodoo Lounge, or arguably Tattoo You.  But somehow they remain cool and the concert DVD’s are fun.

2. Not a lot of newness in the past 20 years.  Yep.  I’m getting’ old.  What can I say?

Godfathers of Rock

Gibson has this list of 10 Pioneers Who Inspired Rock's Greatest Guitar Heroes.  Cool list.

Scotty Moore, Chuck Berry, Lowman Pauling, Link Wray, James Burton, Dick Dale, Jimmy Nolan, Cliff Gallup, Hank Marvin, Carl Perkins.

In the full article you get a great sense for the huge influence these guys had: Hendrix, Clapton, Knopfler, Page, SRV, George, Keef … all listed as disciples and students.

Personally, I never got Dick Dale and Link Wray, but I wouldn’t dispute their impact.  I would, however, swap out one of them for T-Bone Walker.  The single most influential guitarist on the list is Chuck Berry and, as the article points out, Chuck owes a lot to T-Bone.

We’ve been dining off that meal for 60 years.

Defining Moments

If you look at the Guitar Player 40 Most Influential Rock Guitar Solos, as a guitarist, you get the depressing feeling that it's all been done, so why bother?

I mean, take Chuck Berry's Johnny B. Goode, for example. It has the quintessential licks that fit in almost every rock song.

Well almost. To fill up your bag of tricks you can borrow from the songs listed by the Three Kings: Freddie, Albert and B.B.: Hideaway, Born Under A Bad Sign, and The Thrill Is Gone. You don't need much else. Don't believe me? Listen to Clapton's Crossroads. (Yes I know Crossroads preceded The Thrill Is Gone but I'm making a point.)

As a guitarist, I'm always searching for new ways to express myself, but those five solos give you a pretty large playing field.

This is a list of influential solos, not necessarily best or favourite solos. So for sure Duanne Allman's Statesboro Blues belongs there, and, sadly, Eddie Van Halen's Eruption belongs. But some seem arbitrary to me. Is Heartbreaker really Jimmy Page's most influential solo? Is Comfortably Numb David Gilmour's? Pride and Joy is Stevie Ray Vaughan's most definitive solo, and All Along The Watchtower is one of Hendrix's most amazing, but ...

At some point it feels like we've crossed the line where the best, most admired guitarists simply get an arbitrary pick. Fair enough. I wouldn't want to see a list that didn't include Mark Knopfler, Peter Green, Angus Young, Jimmy Page, David Gilmour or Ritchie Blackmore either.

My favourite thing about this list is that most of the solos are very musical. Happily, there isn't much mindless wankarama. Thank you, Guitar Player.

By the way, I get the influence of Elmore James for Dust My Broom, but it's Robert Johnson's, 100%.

Rolling Stone Top 100 Guitarists

Rolling Stone has this list of The 100 Greatest Guitarists.  Interesting, even if it's, like, way wrong.

OK, maybe not totally wrong.  Here's the Top 25:
 1. Hendrix.  Hard to argue, but his brilliance was inconsistent.
 2. Duanne Allman.  I've had this lifelong challenge to understand the big fuss.  Sorry.
 3. B.B. King.  Sure.
 4. Eric Clapton.  No problem.  Well, yes, actually.  Number 1.
 5. Robert Johnson.  Yes.
 6. Chuck Berry.  Definitely.
 7. Stevie Ray Vaughan.  OK.  Should be higher, but at least they put him in the top 10.
 8. Ry Cooder.  Pleasant surprise.
 9. Jimmy Page.  I guess so.  I mean, he's important and all that.
10. Keith Richards.  Amen.
11. Kirk Hammett.  Whatever.
12. Kurt Colbain.  Seriously?  Like, is skill not a criterion?
13. Jerry Garcia.  Another of life's great mysteries.
14. Jeff Beck.  To be expected, I guess.
15. Santana.  Could have been worse.  Could have been higher.
16. Johnny Ramone.  Come on!  If you're talking about influence, then where is T-Bone Walker?
17. Jack White.  OK.
18. John Frusciante.  Yes.
19. Richard Thompson.  Whatever.
20. James Burton.  Yes.
21. George Harrison.  I rank him much higher, but am relieved he made the top 25.
22. Mike Bloomfield.  For sure.
23. Warren Haynes.
24. The Edge.  Interesting.  One unique cat, that's for sure.
25. Freddy King.  Yes.  Hugely influential.  But him and T-Bone lower than Ramone?

Overall it could have been worse.  But ...
Mark Knopfler only at #27?  Stephen Stills on the list at all?  For electric?  The write up specifically mentioned electric.  I thought the list was meant to be taken seriously.

Steve Cropper, Bo Diddley, Peter Green and Scotty Moore are all too far down the list.  Ritchie Blackmore is obscenely far down the list.  Ditto Johnny Winter.  And David Gilmour at #82 and Angus Young at #96?  Forget it.  That's just wrong.

Where is Bonnie Raitt?  Where is Mike Campbell?  Where the hell is Albert King?

It could have been worse.  At least Tony Iommi and Van Halen are in the bottom half of the list.  I'll count my blessings.

Now, about Jimi versus Eric ...More  

Gibson's Top 50 Guitar Solos

Gibson published a list of Top 50 Guitar Solos, and so here we go on another list.

OK
Hard to quarrel with most of the top 10 songs.  You could fuss with the order, but it's mostly right.  Bohemian Rhapsody, While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Comfortably Numb, Hotel California, All Along The Watchtower and Stairway To Heaven all belong up there.

As the review states, though, Johnny B. Goode sets the path for everything else that follows, so it would be my #1.

Should Be Higher
Whole Lotta Love - one of Page's better efforts at fitting in with the song
Crossroads - #30?  Really?
The End - terrific trading between three guys who were the best at everything except being guitar gods, but showed they weren't to shabby at that role either

Should Be Lower
All Slash and Randy Rhoads work.  I mean, they're good, but  ...
Like a Hurricane - Neil Young beats Stevie Ray Vaughan?  Mark Knopfler?  Hendrix?  Clapton?
Layla - great tune, but Clapton has done dozens of solos better than this
Free Bird - don't get it.  Never did.  Never will.
Eruption - Van Halen's solo is technical prowess, not music
Heartbreaker - this nonsensical solo demonstrates why Page is only a minor deity in the pantheon of guitar gods

Thank You
No Santana or Vai.

Interesting list.  I would have had a few more on there from SRV, Knopfler, Clapton, Gilmour and Young.  But I missed the poll.

Favourite Songwriters - Part 2

Going back to a previous post  ...  whenever you cut a list short at 10, you start feeling guilty about who you have omitted (well, I do, anyway).

So, some honourable mentions:

Influential blues greats:  Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, Howling Wolf, Leadbelly, Willie Dixon.  See?   There are too many to squeeze into a top ten.

Pete Townshend.  You could say he's uneven, but his best material is huge, and massively influential.

Paul Simon.  Ditto.

Neil Young.  I mean, Neil Young is Neil Young, and even if he didn't make my top ten list, he should be on yours.  Who said this had to make sense?

David Gilmour, Mark Knopfler and Warren Zevon.  My holy trinity of under-rated songwriters.  You can decide which is father, son and holy ghost.

Yikes!  And so I just remembered I forgot - completely forgot - about Bruce Springsteen.  Too late to revise the top ten, so let's put him in with Neil Young and say he should be on yours.

Take A Sad Song And Make It Better

Listening to a good sad song can be cleansing, cathartic experience.

I got to thinking the other day about sad songs and started wondering which ones are the saddest ever.

It all depends on your individual experience, of course, which will influence how you react to any given song, but here’s my partial list:

I Can’t Make You Love Me, by Bonnie Raitt is right up there, maybe #1.  It just aches.

Sticking with Bonnie, Matters Of The Heart, should also be on the short list.

Romeo And Juliet, by Dire Straits is either a close second, or maybe even #1.  Whenever I see Knopfler perform it live, my reaction is "I hope I’m never unhappy enough to be able to write a song like that."

You’re Missing, by Springsteen gets me every time.  So does Father and Son by Cat Stevens.  Not sure why, but so does Hysteria by Def Leppard.

Two Blues classics, Love in Vain and St. James Infirmary, deserve consideration.  Anyone’s version.

After that, I’m not sure.  Yesterday?  Yes It Is?  For No One?  No.  The Beatles could do melancholy, but they were masters of juxtaposition, and so even their sad songs feel upbeat.  Springsteen’s pretty good at that too.

Maybe John Mayer’s Gravity.  Nah.  Too pretty.

Fast Car?  No.  That’s depressing, not sad.
 

Lots of emotional songs, lots of downer songs, but not many sad ones come to mind.  Hmmm  ...  maybe we could use more.  The catharsis might be good for us, and then maybe we wouldn't need so many pissed off songs.

Best Guitarists Ever

Well, here's my version anyway:

1.  Eric Clapton.  A dedicated student, inventive interpreter and astonishing improviser.  Quite simply: the best.

2.  Stevie Ray Vaughan.  Incredible speed and energy - and man did he beat up that guitar!  But always musical.

3.  Mark Knopfler.  Rockabilly, country, spanish, folk, blues, rock.  Knopfler can do it all.

4.  David Gilmour.  His music is the furthest from the simple blues and rock that I love, but can Mr. Gilmour ever make that Strat sing!

5.  Bonnie Raitt.  No, she's not Duane Allman or Sonny Landreth, just the slide player with the tastiest licks, period.

6.  Angus  Young.  Biting solos, amazing speed, and the best vibrato going.  Angus rocks!

7.  George Harrison.  Strong as they already were, was there any song that George's guitar playing didn't improve?

8.  Jimi Hendrix.  The quintessential guitar hero, a huge influence on everyone that followed, Jimi's power to surprise and astonish is unsurpassed to this day.

9.  B. B. King.  Simple.  Powerful.  Perfect.

10.  Mike Campbell.  Never a show off (well, not on record anyway), Campbell keeps his licks simple, to the point, and 100% aligned with the song.

There is a big range in styles, and, some might say, technical prowess in this list.  But each one of these fabulous guitarists share one important trait:  they are musical.  Their guitar work fits the music.

And that's always the point, isn't it?