Although this is not a theme I could pull a list out of my back pocket, I was able to pinpoint a representation of the style of guitar that I find most appealing in songs. I know that this is a topic I will continuously think about in the future; “shit! this song should have been on my guitar list!” A majority of my list is narrowed to studio records, however, I feel the live setting is where the magic comes through. A long time ago I read a cool article/interview with Keith Richards referring to a particular show, pondering on a specific guitar solo he did in the Sympathy Of The Devil in the 60’s, stating he never had been so “on” or sounded so perfect since – a magical statement.
A lot of my favs didn’t even make the list; Thurston Moore, Terrie Hessels, Sonny Sharrock, Keith Richards, Michael Schenker (could delicately hold a song together with his guitar playing), Steve Albini, Jack White, Fred Cole, Bob Mothersbaugh, Tony Iommi, Peter Hook, East Bay Ray, the list goes on…
Below is my ever changing list, touching on different guitarists for different
reasons, but it feels incomplete. I start with a big one, which really only begins at the 7 minute range, and peeks somewhere around 15 minutes, but is a jawdropper.
“Sister Ray” – Velvet Underground (Lou Reed, Sterling Morrison)
“Rock and Roll Suicide” – David Bowie and The Spiders From Mars (Mick Ronson) Mick Ronson added a significant contribution to the Ziggy Years of Bowie, and then later played a key role with Bob Dylan. This particular guitar solo was a no-brainer for my pick, the finishing melody still brings tears to my eyes on the right occasion. listen
“Free Your Mind And Your Ass Will Follow” – Funkadelic (Eddie Hazel) Eddie’s work with Funkadelic molded all the craziness and loose ends together. His guitar would was never anything less than inspiring. listen
“Sin In My Heart” – Siouxsie and The Banshees (John McGeoch) What John McGeoch was able to accomplish in the studio had the ability to melt a person’s soul. Listen to the entire album Juju. listen
“Shield for your eyes, a Beast in the well on your hand” Melt-Banana (Ichirou
Agata). I have seen Ichirou Agata play live on numerous occasions, and he could have easily been the catalyst for my love and interest with guitar pedals, multiple guitar pedals. listen
“Buick Mackane” T-Rex (Marc Bolan) Being life long fan, Marc Bolan was an obvious names that came to mind when this theme was said. What stood out was his minimalism. listen
“Amazona” – Roxy Music (Phil Manzanera) The more I discover, the more I love. listen
“Revolve” – Melvins (King Buzzo) King Buzzo is one of my favorite guitarists, composers, writers. I could have picked a number of tracks here, but this is one of the first I fell in love with. listen
“Marquee Moon” – Television (Tom Verlaine & Richard Lloyd) Simply brilliant! listen
“The Little House I Use To Live In (Live)” off Burnt Weeny Sandwich – Frank Zappa and The Mothers Of Invention. (Frank Zappa) It was very hard pinpointing which track to post, but for the chosen topic, this is one of the best. listen part 1
next up 2013
Music Corner w/ Archive 