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.

That Was Only Yesterday

Every time I hear War Pigs on the radio, I think, why is this happening?  Is that the best they can do?

I mean, I know Paranoid had an impact when it came out, and all that, but in my corner of suburban Canada, Black Sabbath enjoyed only a minor popularity.  There were many more copies around of records by the likes of Humble Pie, Spooky Tooth, Wishbone Ash, Spirit, Rory Gallagher, Savoy Brown and Uriah Heep.

Sure, Ozzy enjoyed an elongated solo career, and that allows for some revisionism.  And, no, I’m not a Sabbath fan, but really, check out some of the aforementioned bands.  There are far too many great bands that have had their entire canons reduced to one or two songs by classic rock radio.  And these bands don’t get any airplay at all! 

It’s a dreammare, brother.  It’s a ride on a hellbound train.  Those radio cats are withholding a lot of great music, and it’s got me feelin’ bad.

The Thrill of It All

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Gibson has an overdue list of 10 Guitar Greats Who've Been Unduly Neglected, the list being:

Terry Kath

Ollie Halsall

Luther Grovenor

June Millington

Phil Manzanera

Lenny Breau

Jimmy Nolen

Randy California

Robert Quine

Bob Stinson

Amen, especially for Kath, California and Manzanera.  I might also add Peter Green, Kim Simmonds and Rory Gallagher.

The article hints that maybe you need a larger-than-life personality to get all the attention.  Maybe.  Maybe it was the tunes, the bands, the PR, the hair …

It certainly wasn’t the licks

Walking Along A Dusty Road

The death last year of Hubert Sumlin makes Gibson's 10 Great Journeymen Guitarists all the more interesting. Here's the list:

Hubert Sumlin, Corey Harris, Eric Bibb, Guy Davis, Duke Robillard, J.J. Cale, Roy Book Binder, John Hammond, Johnny Winter, Keb' Mo'.

Gibson's reference point seems to be the itinerant bluesman, the Robert Johnson standing at the crossroads thing, which explains why it's a collection of blues guys. Works for me.

I have to confess I haven't heard of all of these guys, and for sure I'm going to check up on at least one of them. I mean, how cool is a name like Roy Book Binder? Well, trippy anyway.

Of the ones I know, the other thing they all have in common (other than their constant touring and hard work) is they are/were under-appreciated. Keb' Mo' would be my prime example. He's a gem.

Curious how Johnny Winter slipped from guitar god status down to this list, though. There was a time when he competed with the likes of Hendrix, Clapton and Page for the best guitarist title. Were Rory Gallagher still alive, it would be interesting to see if he would have been on the list too, because he also was an under-rated-journey-man kinda guy.

It might be a lonely road, but it's a crowded world for great guitarists.