One of the mose underrated voices in Rock is that of James Dewar. He was a Scottish Bass player/Singer that was in a relatively unknown band called Stone the Crows and later with Robin Trower. For my money, one of the best singers in the history of Rock!!!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Dewar_(rock_vocalist)
What a great voice! Soulful. Powerful. If you can track down the first Stone the Crows Lp, simply entitled Stone the Crows, you will be pleased. It's kind of a weird combo of Big Brother and the Holding Company mixed with soulful blues. James alternates with a Janis clone named Maggie Bell, and they compliment each other perfectly! I can't find the tracks I need to put on the list, so I will give you some of his finest work with Robin Trower. In particular, "Daydream" is a classic!!!
Do yourself a favour and grab the Robin Trower lps..Twice Removed from Yesterday, Bridge of Sighs, and Long Misty Days. You will be treated to some great guitar and some fantastic underrated singing!!!!
Enjoy!!!!
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Album of the Week 12/17/09
Ah…an underrated classic, Manic Frustration, by Trouble. I first heard the song “Memory’s Garden” on a local hard rock station in 1991. I can’t remember which. I heard it was Trouble, and went to by the lp. I was not disappointed.
Here is the Wikipedia entry on them..Chicago boys!!!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trouble_(band)
After a couple of independent albums, they got with Rick Rubin, basically the Ultimate Producer in the late 80s early 90s and whipped out this classic.
Me and my buddy Dan would always wonder why this album was not a smash hit for them. It has all you want in Heavy Metal, along with some wild psychedelia! Unfortunately I can’t post any songs on my playlist because Playlist.com is VERY limited in what you can find. I will remedy that in the future. If you are a metal nut, just trust me and go and get this album!!!
Now on to the songs!
1. Come Touch the Sky- Starts off the lp with a riffin’ bang!!!! I love the fact that they go with the fuzz type distortion for the most part. Classic metal structuring here!
2. ‘Scuse Me- This jam starts as though it is being heard from a faraway, poor reception, half broken, AM radio, then kicks you in the face as it kicks in proper. TBJ all the way!
3. The Sleeper- No rest here. All riffs. All jams.
4. Fear-The singing through the megaphone effect done to perfection here. Fuzzy, wah-wah, loud. A must listen! I love that they can put in a totally melodic bridge amidst the crunch!
5. Rain- Time to break it up with a ballad. I LOVE this song. I think that every song entitled “Rain” is good. Uriah Heep, The Beatles…..um….other bands…..
6. Tragedy Man-False start acoustic opening into hard ass riff…the way to my heart. I’m easy that way. Take me to dinner, have your way with me….
7. Memory’s Garden- The one that started it all for me. A perfect blend of 60s/70s psychadelia and Heavy Metal. Impossible to listen to if you don’t have a volume control that goes past 6…(and who would have that anyway?)
8. Manic Frustration-The title cut is a solid number. Ironically one of the weaker tunes here, but still a good one
9. Hello Strawberry Skies- Flowery 60s hippie title…complete TBJ. Nuff Said.
10. Mr. White-This could have fallen into the “Should have been a #1 Hit” category. A good solid groove.
11. Breathe- An epic ballad that goes right into the coda for Donovan’s “Atlantis”. Fucking awesome.
Go and find this album and buy it now. Crank it loud and make your cats hide. Maker your significant other ask you to turn it down, and you say…no.
Here is the Wikipedia entry on them..Chicago boys!!!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trouble_(band)
After a couple of independent albums, they got with Rick Rubin, basically the Ultimate Producer in the late 80s early 90s and whipped out this classic.
Me and my buddy Dan would always wonder why this album was not a smash hit for them. It has all you want in Heavy Metal, along with some wild psychedelia! Unfortunately I can’t post any songs on my playlist because Playlist.com is VERY limited in what you can find. I will remedy that in the future. If you are a metal nut, just trust me and go and get this album!!!
Now on to the songs!
1. Come Touch the Sky- Starts off the lp with a riffin’ bang!!!! I love the fact that they go with the fuzz type distortion for the most part. Classic metal structuring here!
2. ‘Scuse Me- This jam starts as though it is being heard from a faraway, poor reception, half broken, AM radio, then kicks you in the face as it kicks in proper. TBJ all the way!
3. The Sleeper- No rest here. All riffs. All jams.
4. Fear-The singing through the megaphone effect done to perfection here. Fuzzy, wah-wah, loud. A must listen! I love that they can put in a totally melodic bridge amidst the crunch!
5. Rain- Time to break it up with a ballad. I LOVE this song. I think that every song entitled “Rain” is good. Uriah Heep, The Beatles…..um….other bands…..
6. Tragedy Man-False start acoustic opening into hard ass riff…the way to my heart. I’m easy that way. Take me to dinner, have your way with me….
7. Memory’s Garden- The one that started it all for me. A perfect blend of 60s/70s psychadelia and Heavy Metal. Impossible to listen to if you don’t have a volume control that goes past 6…(and who would have that anyway?)
8. Manic Frustration-The title cut is a solid number. Ironically one of the weaker tunes here, but still a good one
9. Hello Strawberry Skies- Flowery 60s hippie title…complete TBJ. Nuff Said.
10. Mr. White-This could have fallen into the “Should have been a #1 Hit” category. A good solid groove.
11. Breathe- An epic ballad that goes right into the coda for Donovan’s “Atlantis”. Fucking awesome.
Go and find this album and buy it now. Crank it loud and make your cats hide. Maker your significant other ask you to turn it down, and you say…no.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Secret Jams
Imagine you are sitting at your computer minding your own business..you are typing a paper, or perhaps working on an Excel spreadsheet. You sip your Coke Zero. You eat a chip. You tell your kids to stop fighting. You stop…you look at your speakers in amazement. You know the song that was playing, but then you got hit with a brick wall of JAMS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! When did this happen?!?!?!? How!?!?!?
My friend, you have been attacked by a Secret Jam.
There are many kinds of Secret Jams. Some are actual jams. Jams that you know. All of a sudden, there is an element you discover that converts it into a TBJ!!!!!! There are others that you realize halfway through the song that there are jams happening. They lull you into a false sense of security, then the guitar creeps in and attacks you like Godzilla!!!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!!
Examples:
1. The King Will Come: Wishbone Ash-This is from the immortal Argus lp. I have gone over this one before, but it starts out rather inconspicuously, then before you know it, by the middle you are surrounded by guitar solo jams!
2. Love is Only A Feeling: The Darkness-From Permission to Land. It starts rather plodding. Hell, they even have mandolins going at one point. Then they get to the chorus. The first 2 lines…fine, rocking to the groove of the riff, then the last line is when you realize you have been rocked as the riff just takes you to the end of the chorus in that third line….wow!
3. Fight the Good Fight: Triumph-What? You say that already is a jam? Sure, they give you dynamics at the beginning, but by when the chorus actually kicks in the riff FORCES you to play it loud and band your head to it. There is no other choice.
4. Everything’s Alright: Jesus Christ Superstar-The Original 1970 cast recording. This whole album is a secret jam. It’s a musical, right? Listen to this song. Oh, it starts out sweet. Isn’t that nice. That first verse is lovely. Lovely little background vocals. Then comes the next verse. Drums come in telling you that this is not to be trifled with. Then comes Judas…he brings it home. Then we bring it down, then Jesus, then a build up to stop you from breathing! The same could be said with “I Don’t Know How To Love Him”. Listen to how the drums sneak up on you by the second bridge!
5. There Goes Another Love Song: The Outlaws- Country rock, yes. Vocals aplenty, yes. By the last solo into the chorus, you want to mount a horse and run it as fast as you can to the next town!!!!
These are to start. I will post as many as I can onto the playlist, but there will be more to come!
My friend, you have been attacked by a Secret Jam.
There are many kinds of Secret Jams. Some are actual jams. Jams that you know. All of a sudden, there is an element you discover that converts it into a TBJ!!!!!! There are others that you realize halfway through the song that there are jams happening. They lull you into a false sense of security, then the guitar creeps in and attacks you like Godzilla!!!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!!
Examples:
1. The King Will Come: Wishbone Ash-This is from the immortal Argus lp. I have gone over this one before, but it starts out rather inconspicuously, then before you know it, by the middle you are surrounded by guitar solo jams!
2. Love is Only A Feeling: The Darkness-From Permission to Land. It starts rather plodding. Hell, they even have mandolins going at one point. Then they get to the chorus. The first 2 lines…fine, rocking to the groove of the riff, then the last line is when you realize you have been rocked as the riff just takes you to the end of the chorus in that third line….wow!
3. Fight the Good Fight: Triumph-What? You say that already is a jam? Sure, they give you dynamics at the beginning, but by when the chorus actually kicks in the riff FORCES you to play it loud and band your head to it. There is no other choice.
4. Everything’s Alright: Jesus Christ Superstar-The Original 1970 cast recording. This whole album is a secret jam. It’s a musical, right? Listen to this song. Oh, it starts out sweet. Isn’t that nice. That first verse is lovely. Lovely little background vocals. Then comes the next verse. Drums come in telling you that this is not to be trifled with. Then comes Judas…he brings it home. Then we bring it down, then Jesus, then a build up to stop you from breathing! The same could be said with “I Don’t Know How To Love Him”. Listen to how the drums sneak up on you by the second bridge!
5. There Goes Another Love Song: The Outlaws- Country rock, yes. Vocals aplenty, yes. By the last solo into the chorus, you want to mount a horse and run it as fast as you can to the next town!!!!
These are to start. I will post as many as I can onto the playlist, but there will be more to come!
Should Have Been a Number One Hit
Sometimes you listen to songs that rule so much in a pop sense, and you think. “Why wasn’t this a #1 hit?” Most of the time the songs had zero radio airplay. I have compiled a partial list of songs that I put in the “Should have been a #1 Hit” category. I will periodically post more as I think of them, but start out with these!
1. So Sad About Us: The Who-This is from the album A Quick One. Not even a hit, just a catchy-ass tune that you NEVER forget!!!!
2. Perfect: Alice Cooper- This is from the 2005 lp Dirty Diamonds. Just one listen and you will be confused that it was not on the Billboard charts!
3. Between Heaven and Hell: Zakk Wylde- This is from the 1999 gem, Book of Shadows. If you don’t have this lp, find it. Mostly acoustic with jammin’ solos, this leadoff track is the stuff of Allmans!
4. Come On: Whitesnake- From the appropriately titled Whitesnake album. A pure harder edged pop ditty…yes, I said ditty!
5. Feelings: Uriah Heep-From the 1980 album, Conquest. No one bought it. They were on there 3rd singer. It sounded nothing like they did before. The rest of the album is….questionable, but there is no doubt that this is a toe-tapper..80s style!
6. Too Young To Know: UFO-Virtually ALL of UFO’s songs should have been # 1 hits! This is one that didn’t get even that much FM airplay. This is form the album Phenomenon.
7. I Only Want My Love to Grow In You: Strawbs- From the lp Deep Cuts in 1976. This actually did get radio airplay but did not chart well. It should have. You can’t get more poppy than this!
8. We All Die Young: Steel Dragon- Yeah, they aren’t a real band, they are the band in the movie “Rockstar” with Mark Wahlberg, but Goddammit, they did it right here! This would have been a big hit in the 80s with the rest of the hair metal!
9. I’ll Be Your Sister: Motorhead- From the lp Overkill, you will disagree with me, you are wrong. This should have been a #1 hit!
10. I’m In Disgrace: The Kinks- From the VERY overlooked lp, Schoolboys in Disgrace. Yeah, they already have a shitload of hits, but this one got by everybody!
1. So Sad About Us: The Who-This is from the album A Quick One. Not even a hit, just a catchy-ass tune that you NEVER forget!!!!
2. Perfect: Alice Cooper- This is from the 2005 lp Dirty Diamonds. Just one listen and you will be confused that it was not on the Billboard charts!
3. Between Heaven and Hell: Zakk Wylde- This is from the 1999 gem, Book of Shadows. If you don’t have this lp, find it. Mostly acoustic with jammin’ solos, this leadoff track is the stuff of Allmans!
4. Come On: Whitesnake- From the appropriately titled Whitesnake album. A pure harder edged pop ditty…yes, I said ditty!
5. Feelings: Uriah Heep-From the 1980 album, Conquest. No one bought it. They were on there 3rd singer. It sounded nothing like they did before. The rest of the album is….questionable, but there is no doubt that this is a toe-tapper..80s style!
6. Too Young To Know: UFO-Virtually ALL of UFO’s songs should have been # 1 hits! This is one that didn’t get even that much FM airplay. This is form the album Phenomenon.
7. I Only Want My Love to Grow In You: Strawbs- From the lp Deep Cuts in 1976. This actually did get radio airplay but did not chart well. It should have. You can’t get more poppy than this!
8. We All Die Young: Steel Dragon- Yeah, they aren’t a real band, they are the band in the movie “Rockstar” with Mark Wahlberg, but Goddammit, they did it right here! This would have been a big hit in the 80s with the rest of the hair metal!
9. I’ll Be Your Sister: Motorhead- From the lp Overkill, you will disagree with me, you are wrong. This should have been a #1 hit!
10. I’m In Disgrace: The Kinks- From the VERY overlooked lp, Schoolboys in Disgrace. Yeah, they already have a shitload of hits, but this one got by everybody!
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Album of the Week 12/09
The album of the week this week is Badfinger’s Straight Up. Badfinger was one of the first bands to sign on the Beatles’ Apple Records. They are known for four hits. “Come and Get It”, “Day After Day”, “Baby Blue”, and “No Matter What”. That only tells a small portion of their musical story. I submit to you that 90% of their albums are great! I am focusing on this one because it was the first full album I got by Badfinger. They kind of represent the pop side of where the Beatles might have gone, had they stayed together..Maybe. All I know is that they are damn good songwriters and know their way around their vocals!
Let’s get to it!
1. Take It All-A great starter. Ringing piano to haunt you in it’s first notes, until this unbelievably catchy song invades your psyche!
2. Baby Blue-You all know this one. Not one note out of place. Not one sound imperfectly executed. One of the greatest songs of all time. I will not take discussion to the contrary
3. Money-This reminds me of something off an early Paul McCartney album, what a great tune! Perfect dual vocals, and it goes right into…
4. Flying- A perfect companion piece to the last tune. Beautiful vocals here. Perfectly blending the piano right into the guitars here.
5. I’d Die Babe- A sort of change of pace. More McCartney influence here. You know what? There’s nothing wrong with that.
6. The Name of the Game- This would be the 11 O’Clock number on this lp. Just a beautiful “epic” 5 minute plus tune. This is why we listen to music.
7. Suitcase- Normally this would scream “filler” but after the last song, I’m still in ecstasy, so I can dig it!
8. Sweet Tuesday Morning-Good acoustic tune here. Beautiful melodies. See? Everything doesn’t have to be all distortion for me!!!!!
9. Day After Day- Another MASSIVE hit, and with good reason. George Harrison played leads on this. Couldn’t ya tell? If you have never heard this song, I can’t help you!
10. Sometimes- A nice little rocker, kind of like a Monkees tune here. Bop till you drop!
11. Perfection-Just some Goddamn good songwriting here! They should be fly fishermen they’re so catchy!!
12. It’s Over- Another great riff and guitar/piano/vocal blend. What a great closer. This lp is so solid from top to bottom , it’s not even fair. I LOVE when albums give you a great song to close it out.
Well, that’s it! I’ll throw some of these songs on the playlist.
Other Great Badfinger lps:
1. Ass
2. No Dice
3. Magic Christian Music
4. Wish You Were Here
Enjoy!!!
Let’s get to it!
1. Take It All-A great starter. Ringing piano to haunt you in it’s first notes, until this unbelievably catchy song invades your psyche!
2. Baby Blue-You all know this one. Not one note out of place. Not one sound imperfectly executed. One of the greatest songs of all time. I will not take discussion to the contrary
3. Money-This reminds me of something off an early Paul McCartney album, what a great tune! Perfect dual vocals, and it goes right into…
4. Flying- A perfect companion piece to the last tune. Beautiful vocals here. Perfectly blending the piano right into the guitars here.
5. I’d Die Babe- A sort of change of pace. More McCartney influence here. You know what? There’s nothing wrong with that.
6. The Name of the Game- This would be the 11 O’Clock number on this lp. Just a beautiful “epic” 5 minute plus tune. This is why we listen to music.
7. Suitcase- Normally this would scream “filler” but after the last song, I’m still in ecstasy, so I can dig it!
8. Sweet Tuesday Morning-Good acoustic tune here. Beautiful melodies. See? Everything doesn’t have to be all distortion for me!!!!!
9. Day After Day- Another MASSIVE hit, and with good reason. George Harrison played leads on this. Couldn’t ya tell? If you have never heard this song, I can’t help you!
10. Sometimes- A nice little rocker, kind of like a Monkees tune here. Bop till you drop!
11. Perfection-Just some Goddamn good songwriting here! They should be fly fishermen they’re so catchy!!
12. It’s Over- Another great riff and guitar/piano/vocal blend. What a great closer. This lp is so solid from top to bottom , it’s not even fair. I LOVE when albums give you a great song to close it out.
Well, that’s it! I’ll throw some of these songs on the playlist.
Other Great Badfinger lps:
1. Ass
2. No Dice
3. Magic Christian Music
4. Wish You Were Here
Enjoy!!!
Monday, December 7, 2009
The Namesake
You are probably wondering why I named this blog “The Mesmerization Eclipse”.
You may or may not know of the classic band Captain Beyond! They are an early 70s band comprised of former members of Deep Purple, Johnny Winter, and Iron Butterfly. They have three albums. The first one is a masterpiece, the second one is an underachiever when compared to the first one. The third one has a different singer, but is pretty good.
I am going to focus on this first lp simply titled Captain Beyond.
What is peculiar about this album is that they list 13 tracks, when in actuality there are only 5 with certain songs having different sections named for them.
Here is the technical running order:
1. Dancing Madly Backwards (On a Sea of Air)
2. Armworth
3. Myopic Void
4. Mesmerization Eclipse (OOOOH!!! See what I did there!!?!?!?!?!?!?)
5. Raging River of Fear
6. Thousand Days of Yesterdays (Intro)
7. Frozen Over
8. Thousand Days of Yesterdays (Time Since Come and Gone)
9. I Can’t Feel Nothin’ Part I
10. As The Moon Speaks (To the Waves of the Sea)
11. Astral Lady
12. As the Moon Speaks (Return)
13. I Can’t Feel Nothin’ Part 2
You see, most of these tracks are simply parts of one song. Here is the REAL track list.
1. Dancing Madly Backwards/(On A Sea of Air)- (jam…no debate….none)
2. Mesmerization Eclipse -(Still a fucking Jam!!!!)
3. Raging River of Fear- (TBJ to the highest degree)
4. Thousand Days of Yesterdays (Time Since Come and Gone)-(Three parts of love!)
5. I Can’t Feel Nothin’ (A perfect closer…keep all breakables away!)
Nevertheless…still complete jams! The lead singer for the first two albums was a guy named Rod Evans. He was the first singer for Deep Purple. You might remember that he is singing the classic hit “Hush”
Listen to the namesake for the blog in the playlist. It’s in 6/8 time..and still jams hard…and will make you hard!!!!!!
You may or may not know of the classic band Captain Beyond! They are an early 70s band comprised of former members of Deep Purple, Johnny Winter, and Iron Butterfly. They have three albums. The first one is a masterpiece, the second one is an underachiever when compared to the first one. The third one has a different singer, but is pretty good.
I am going to focus on this first lp simply titled Captain Beyond.
What is peculiar about this album is that they list 13 tracks, when in actuality there are only 5 with certain songs having different sections named for them.
Here is the technical running order:
1. Dancing Madly Backwards (On a Sea of Air)
2. Armworth
3. Myopic Void
4. Mesmerization Eclipse (OOOOH!!! See what I did there!!?!?!?!?!?!?)
5. Raging River of Fear
6. Thousand Days of Yesterdays (Intro)
7. Frozen Over
8. Thousand Days of Yesterdays (Time Since Come and Gone)
9. I Can’t Feel Nothin’ Part I
10. As The Moon Speaks (To the Waves of the Sea)
11. Astral Lady
12. As the Moon Speaks (Return)
13. I Can’t Feel Nothin’ Part 2
You see, most of these tracks are simply parts of one song. Here is the REAL track list.
1. Dancing Madly Backwards/(On A Sea of Air)- (jam…no debate….none)
2. Mesmerization Eclipse -(Still a fucking Jam!!!!)
3. Raging River of Fear- (TBJ to the highest degree)
4. Thousand Days of Yesterdays (Time Since Come and Gone)-(Three parts of love!)
5. I Can’t Feel Nothin’ (A perfect closer…keep all breakables away!)
Nevertheless…still complete jams! The lead singer for the first two albums was a guy named Rod Evans. He was the first singer for Deep Purple. You might remember that he is singing the classic hit “Hush”
Listen to the namesake for the blog in the playlist. It’s in 6/8 time..and still jams hard…and will make you hard!!!!!!
12 Bars of Immortality
The 12 bar blues song…we’ve all heard it… a million times. Think of every Chuck Berry tune, or perhaps any number of 50s tunes by Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, or hell, even the Beatles did it!
It’s time honored, for all guys in bands, you all know it as the I-IV-V pattern. It is the single most used formula in music.
It is also the laziest!!!!!
Hell, I’m always up for a good 12 bar tune, but Goddamn, there’s only so much you can do with it.
Sometimes it’s an excuse for a guitarist to say “Hey, look…I can do hours of solos!”
Other times it’s an excuse for pulling out the acoustic and slide and bringing things down a bit.
Sometimes, your just too damn lazy to write an actual song, so you write lyrics and just put it to any 12 bar key. Try listening to every Bob Dylan lp in the 60s and early 70s. For every “All I really Want to Do” there are 57 “Black Crow Blues”. I mean, yeah, we know the guy can write lyrics, but damn was he lazy back in the day!
This is my issue with a lot of great 60s and 70s bands. When they play some straight up rock tunes, they are excellent, but then they bog down ¾ of the lp with 12 bar blues excuses for solos with “feeling”.
Some notable examples:
1. Cream-One of the very first super groups. Great Jams such as “NSU”, “White Room”, “Tales of Brave Ulysses”, “Badge”! Yeah, I know you get “Crossroads” and “Strange Brew” but Goddamn..there’s a lot of “Sleepy Time Time” and fucking “Spoonful” HOW MANY TIMES ARE YOU GOING TO PUT A 30 MINUTE VERSION ON AN ALBUM!!! IT’S NOT A GOOD SONG!
2. Ten Years After- All jams, but lotsa 12 bar filler…and yes, I know they are a blues band, but their straight rock and roll tunes are so good!!! Songs like “I’d Love to Change the Word” “Positive Vibrations” “I’m Coming on” kick my ass! I will tell you that this is the one band that keep the 12 bar thing sustainable for long periods of time because they understand variation. I will get to that in a bit
3. Rory Gallagher- Perhaps the biggest offender of this phenomenon..no wait…that could be Eric Clapton’s solo work…anyway, this guy jams so hard on songs like “Bad Penny” “I’m Not Awake Yet”, “Follow Me” “Tatoo’d Lady” and such, but man can he bog down some albums! His first band The Taste is another primo example. Complete jams like “Blister on the Moon” and “What’s Going On” then 8 songs of LedBetter impersonations!
4. Eric Clapton’s solo work-Especially lately, the pure definition of lazy! Dude! You used to write the hardest jams ever!!!! Why?!?!?!?!
What I enjoy is when bands take the 12 bar and beat it to within an inch of its life!!!!!
Examples:
1. Led Zeppelin-“Since I’ve Been Loving You” –They take the 12 bar and bash it into submission, but it’s still there. It creeps up on you, then before you know it, you are being fetish raped by Jimmy Page’s solo!!!! I get hard just thinking about it!!!!
2. Cream-“Strange Brew”-Yeah, I know I just complained about them a little, but this one fools you. You are caught up in the whimsy and Psychedelia , that you forget the blues!
3. Black Sabbath-“Warning”-This is what I call “Punch you in the face Blues” …no thinking, just a good smack…and you like it! Yes, Aynsley Dunbar wrote it and recorded it first. Sabbath showed them how to do it Koreshly!
Now I’m not knocking the Blues…it’s just that it has a finite window for listening in one sitting. Like right now! I’ve got the Blues!!!
It’s time honored, for all guys in bands, you all know it as the I-IV-V pattern. It is the single most used formula in music.
It is also the laziest!!!!!
Hell, I’m always up for a good 12 bar tune, but Goddamn, there’s only so much you can do with it.
Sometimes it’s an excuse for a guitarist to say “Hey, look…I can do hours of solos!”
Other times it’s an excuse for pulling out the acoustic and slide and bringing things down a bit.
Sometimes, your just too damn lazy to write an actual song, so you write lyrics and just put it to any 12 bar key. Try listening to every Bob Dylan lp in the 60s and early 70s. For every “All I really Want to Do” there are 57 “Black Crow Blues”. I mean, yeah, we know the guy can write lyrics, but damn was he lazy back in the day!
This is my issue with a lot of great 60s and 70s bands. When they play some straight up rock tunes, they are excellent, but then they bog down ¾ of the lp with 12 bar blues excuses for solos with “feeling”.
Some notable examples:
1. Cream-One of the very first super groups. Great Jams such as “NSU”, “White Room”, “Tales of Brave Ulysses”, “Badge”! Yeah, I know you get “Crossroads” and “Strange Brew” but Goddamn..there’s a lot of “Sleepy Time Time” and fucking “Spoonful” HOW MANY TIMES ARE YOU GOING TO PUT A 30 MINUTE VERSION ON AN ALBUM!!! IT’S NOT A GOOD SONG!
2. Ten Years After- All jams, but lotsa 12 bar filler…and yes, I know they are a blues band, but their straight rock and roll tunes are so good!!! Songs like “I’d Love to Change the Word” “Positive Vibrations” “I’m Coming on” kick my ass! I will tell you that this is the one band that keep the 12 bar thing sustainable for long periods of time because they understand variation. I will get to that in a bit
3. Rory Gallagher- Perhaps the biggest offender of this phenomenon..no wait…that could be Eric Clapton’s solo work…anyway, this guy jams so hard on songs like “Bad Penny” “I’m Not Awake Yet”, “Follow Me” “Tatoo’d Lady” and such, but man can he bog down some albums! His first band The Taste is another primo example. Complete jams like “Blister on the Moon” and “What’s Going On” then 8 songs of LedBetter impersonations!
4. Eric Clapton’s solo work-Especially lately, the pure definition of lazy! Dude! You used to write the hardest jams ever!!!! Why?!?!?!?!
What I enjoy is when bands take the 12 bar and beat it to within an inch of its life!!!!!
Examples:
1. Led Zeppelin-“Since I’ve Been Loving You” –They take the 12 bar and bash it into submission, but it’s still there. It creeps up on you, then before you know it, you are being fetish raped by Jimmy Page’s solo!!!! I get hard just thinking about it!!!!
2. Cream-“Strange Brew”-Yeah, I know I just complained about them a little, but this one fools you. You are caught up in the whimsy and Psychedelia , that you forget the blues!
3. Black Sabbath-“Warning”-This is what I call “Punch you in the face Blues” …no thinking, just a good smack…and you like it! Yes, Aynsley Dunbar wrote it and recorded it first. Sabbath showed them how to do it Koreshly!
Now I’m not knocking the Blues…it’s just that it has a finite window for listening in one sitting. Like right now! I’ve got the Blues!!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
