James Burton: Chicken Pickin' Master

As I post more on this lil' ol' blog of mine, I've come to realise that I have a soft spot and great respect for sidemen. Those players that more than often are to be found, not on the front cover picture of those classic albums, but, if they are lucky, somewhere in the dense liner notes of the album's insert. In the annals of great rock 'n' roll, there are only a few players that have managed to gain a reputation of their own, away from the spotlights of the superstars they back up. James Burton is one such picker. To get us underway, let us have a listen to one of his earliest, and still gnarliest, recordings.

James Burton was just 18 years old when he lay down that iconic riff on rockabilly star Dale Hawkins' biggest hit. He had begun playing guitar early in his childhood, going semi-pro at 13. He soon moved west to Los Angeles and started finding work in the studios, playing on some of the most enduring rock 'n' roll hits of the late 1950s and early 1960s. He joined teen idol Ricky Nelson's band in 1958, playing smokin' lead on his records until 1967. Here is one of Ricky's biggest hits.

In his time on the mid 1960s L.A. session circuit, James played guitar for The Everly Brothers, "Mama" Cass Elliot, Randy Newman, Joni Mitchell, Buffalo Springfield and The Monkees. He was a regular member of the house-band of pop show Shindig. Country legends Merle Haggard and Buck Owens utilised his chicken-pickin' Telecaster sound on some of their mid 1960s records,  His picking style, a highly-skilled combination of plectrum and finger plucking, known as hybrid picking, is the standard left-hand technique now employed by country players. Also, his use of the Fender Telecaster with a razor-sharp clean tone created the archetypal twangy country electric guitar sound we know today. Here is some of that good ol' country twang in action.

His most high profile gig came in 1969. Elvis Presley, basking in a post-'68 Comeback Special resurgence in popularity, was easing back into the live environment he had forsaken in favour of schlock flicks and novelty records. He needed a new band to back him in the Las Vegas hotel venues and concert halls that would soon be his home. James Burton, fresh from leaving Ricky Nelson, accepted the gig and set about putting together the band for Presley. Along with drummer Ronnie Tutt, rhythm guitarist John Wilkinson, pianists Glen D. Hardin and Larry Muhoberac and bassist Jerry Scheff, he formed the core Elvis group, the TCB (Takin' Care Of Business) Band. This group backed The King until his untimely death in 1977. While not regarded as Presley's finest musical years, Burton's rippin' Telecaster playing would always shine through even the most schmaltzy song choices Elvis would throw at him. Here, however, is the exception to the rule. This tune just plain rocks. James is in the back somewhere, sporting his signature Pink Paisley Tele.

In between rockin' out with The King, James was a vital element in the formation of country rock. When Gram Parson left that genre's foremost pioneers, The Flying Burritos Brothers, he called upon Burton to add a even more countrified sound to his new solo material. James, being a good man to form a band around, formed the core of Parson's studio band, playing on both of Gram's influential solo albums, GP and Grievous Angel. Here is one of my favourite Gram solo tracks."Pick it for me, James!"

The harmony singer on that track was one Emmylou Harris. After Gram's death in 1973, Emmylou formed the Hot Band, of which James was a founding member. He played on her first two solo outings, Pieces Of The Sky and Elite Hotel. Here they are on The Old Grey Whistle Test in 1976.

James Burton continued to work with various legends throughout the late 1970s and 1980s. MOR superstar John Denver had him in his touring band in this period. The other Elvis, Costello that is, asked him to play on his first post-Attractions album, 1986's country-tinged King Of America, as well as a variety of other future projects. Roy Orbison, on the comeback trail in the late 1980s, asked Burton to be part of his Black And White Night TV special. James, alongside his TCB bandmates, fitted in nicely with the galaxy of stars that turned out to back The Big O on that gig. Here is a sample of this fine concert. See how many familiar faces you recognise.

As you can see, if it's country twang and consistently face-melting playing you want, James Burton is your man. The unassuming mustachioed gentleman, in the background somewhere, will hopefully continue to twang that Tele for many more years. Here is one final track, uniting the two Elvises in one rockin' little package. Happy Twangin' y'all!

Recommended Listening: GP - Gram Parsons - 1973
http://allmusic.com/album/gp-r14895
Some James Burton Twangy Classics: Susie-Q - Dale Hawkins, Boulder To Birmingham - Emmylou Harris, Brass Buttons - Gram Parsons

Sweet Jesus, That's Smooth! The 1970s Guitarists of Steely Dan (Part 2)

Welcome to Part 2 of this brisk jaunt through the guitar world of those smart-alecs of the 70s rock scene, Steely Dan. We take up the story in 1975.

This track, with fine guitar work from Walter Becker himself, is the opening gambit from Katy Lied, the album where Becker and Fagen really began to utilise the talents of session players from the L.A. studio scene. Most of the these musicians appeared on many of the classic albums of the period. These players brought with them a level of professionalism and musical expertise favoured by the priggish pair of songwriters, capable of producing the goods take after take. In Becker and Fagen's eyes, these instrumentalists could also inject each tune with his or her own personality, thereby giving the songs a distinctive identity and making for a varied album overall.Let's have a look at some of those great players that showed up on the albums Katy Lied, The Royal Scam, Aja and Gaucho. First up, Denny Dias' return to the fold after the dissolve of the touring Steely Dan lineup. On Katy Lied, he provided this eye-watering little number.

As I mentioned before in a previous post, Dias is more than capable of injecting a dollop of bebop-influenced lines over the sometime complex chord runs constructed by Becker and Fagen. It is in this role that Dias would be deployed in future. Any tricky chord changes that needed a solo over them, Denny was the man. Here is his cameo from Aja.

Another man who would return to the fray to provide some storming guitar work was Elliot Randall. Randall was the soloist on the band's first hit single, Reelin' In The Years and would be ask to contribute to the Katy Lied and Royal Scam sessions.

Randall's playing style on these albums is characterised by wild fuzztone, chancey licks and fearless soloing. His guitar work seems to combine rock-solid blues phrasing with off-the-wall flights of fusion-esque riffery. Here is one of my favourite Randall-assisted tracks, taken from The Royal Scam.  
 

Studio man Dean Parks has featured on some of the most celebrated albums of the last 40 years. Thriller, Innervisions, Songs In The Key Of Life and Let's Get It On all bear traces of his versatile playing. He was another early addition to Steely Dan sessions, first featured on Pretzel Logic, playing acoustic guitar on many of the tracks, as well as talk-box guitar on the band's cover of Duke Ellington's 'East St. Louis Toodle-Oo'. He returned to the scene on Katy Lied, adding a solo to Rose Darling. Parks would feature prominently on Aja, playing rhythm guitar on Deacon Blues and Josie. However, it was on The Royal Scam that he made his most celebrated contribution.

One new player on the scene who would go on to make a huge mark on the Dan's future guitar sound was one Larry Carlton. Carlton had been on the LA. studio radar since the early 1970s, getting his big break after providing simmering guitar work to Joni Mitchell's 1974 commercial highpoint, Court and Spark. His first appearance on a Steely Dan album was as featured soloist on the Katy Lied tune Daddy Don't Live In That New York City No More. Carlton peppers this tune with slinky blues licks and a gritty tone, a combination that would reappear in a larger capacity on the subsequent album, The Royal Scam.

It was Carlton who provided one of the most memorable and awe-inspiring guitar highlights in the Steely Dan catalogue. I am, of course, talking about The Royal Scam's opener, Kid Charlemagne. With his trusty '69 Gibson ES 335 plugged into a tiny 1950s Fender Champ amplifier set to crunch, Larry ripped into the instrumental section, only needing one take to produce the snaky, lyrical solo and funky outro heard on the finished product. Kid Charlemagne continues to feature highly whenever the subject of great rock 'n' roll solos come up in musos' conversation. This is probably down to the fact that the solo largely steers clear of the pentatonic cliches normally favoured by the rock guitar fraternity, as well as for the high singable nature of the passage. It also showcases how the Dan injected a good dose of jazz into the contemporary rock scene without ever slapping people around the head with it. It was just another flavour to add to their multi-faceted songs. Alright, enough waffle.

Carlton's fingerprints are all over The Royal Scam and successive albums. Larry recorded some great solos on tracks like Don't Take Me Alive, I Got The News and Third World Man, as well as laying down rhythm parts on most of the Aja and Gaucho albums. He even acted as Becker and Fagen's musical director on sessions, filling in the other musicians as to what was expected of them. All in all, Carlton became an important part of the latter day Steely Dan sound. Larry is one of those perfect session players that seems to constantly produce just the right part to suit the song, only drawing attention to himself with his breath-taking flights of jazz-infused bluesy soloing. Here is a final Carlton special, from The Royal Scam.

Walter Becker, himself, began to contribute guitar more and more to these Dan albums. His trademark style is a jazzy take on blues rock. Here is a fine example of Becker's guitar work.

A glut of other great players graced the grooves of late 70s Steely Dan long players. Here is a few worth mentioning.

Rick Derringer, most famous for his Johnny Winter's assisted rock 'n' boogie hit 'Rock 'n' Roll Hoochie Koo', as well as for writing WWF superstar Hulk Hogan's entrance music, first showed up on Countdown To Ecstasy, adding dirty slide guitar to Show Biz Kids. He also played lead on this Katy Lied cut.

 

Jay Graydon's only appearance on a Dan track was this next one. Becker and Fagen had employed half of L.A.'s guitar-wielding population in an effort to get the perfect solo for the track, only cracking it when Graydon adding his wild shred to to the song. Here it is in all it's pop perfection.

Other axemen that featured on these Dan albums include future Billy Joel rhythm player Hugh McCracken (Katy Lied), jazzers Steve Khan (Aja and Gaucho) and 'Captain Fingers' Lee Ritenour (Aja), even Dire Straits leader Mark Knopler on this Gaucho highlight.

 
Thus conclude this overview of Steely Dan's many guitar high-spots. Now, away with you and purchase the back catalogue, 'tis pretty, pretty good.

Recommended Listening: The Royal Scam
http://allmusic.com/album/the-royal-scam-r18951
Some Great Dan Guitar Moments: Josie (Aja), Haitian Divorce (The Royal Scam), Throw Back The Little Ones (Katy Lied)

Sweet Jesus, That's Smooth! The 1970s Guitarists of Steely Dan (Part 1)

This latest blog posting will be covering a group of players very dear to this reporter's heart. The music of Steely Dan in the 1970s, as well as being some of the most melodic and aurally-satisfying  pop music one can come upon, can be seen as a potted history of the electric guitar. Across a series of seven long players, Messrs Becker and Fagen provided the platform for a host of the era's axe-wielders to show off their enviable skills. What follows is an brief introduction to some of these talented muthafuckas. Let us begin with a familiar air.

Steely Dan began in New York as a songwriting vehicle for two slightly snobby, highly-talented, jazz-obsessed misfits, Walter Becker and Donald Fagen. Both had gained experiences working in the lower echelons of the  Brill Building, the legendary songwriting factory that produced most of the iconic pop tunes of the 1960s. Having grown tired of the Brill Building slog, the two writers hooked up with the precocious jazz guitarist, Denny Dias. Pretty soon though, Becker and Fagen got songwriting work on the West Coast, only calling on Dias when this work dried up. It is in Los Angeles that Steely Dan really came together, with Jeff 'Skunk' Baxter and Jim Hodder joining on guitar and drums respectfully. With temporary lead vocalist David Palmer, the group recorded their 1972 debut, Can't Buy A Thrill. Even at this early stage, Becker and Fagen's perfectionist tenancies would come to the fore, with the employment of session-head Elliot Randall to rip it up on tracks like Reelin' In The Years and this next one when Baxter or Dias was not cutting the mustard.

After the release of Can't Buy A Thrill, Steely Dan went on the road. However, it soon became apparent that the natural habitat for Becker and Fagen's sarky material for the foreseeable would be air-conditioned L.A. studios, full to the brim with the latest in recording technology. By 1974's Pretzel Logic, it was also clear that they would be handpicking instrumentalists to suit their songs, rather than depending on a consistent band lineup. While they would employ Denny Dias and his formidable jazzy chops on future albums like The Royal Scam and Aja, guitar wildman 'Skunk' Baxter and his winning handlebar mustache was shown the door. He would find himself part of another band of West Coast smooth merchants, The Doobie Brothers. Here is one of Skunk's last hurrahs with the Dan. Remember him like this, guitar nuts.

For good measure, he is a track that showcases Dias and Skunk's contrasting solos styles. Dias could out-bop any jazzhead you care to name, while Baxter was a rock 'n' roll animal, injecting the Dan's music with some welcomed fuzztone. Denny goes first while Skunk takes the outro.


Stay tuned kids for some more Dan-related postings in the future. G'Luck.

Recommended Listening: Countdown To Ecstacy (1973)
http://allmusic.com/album/countdown-to-ecstasy-r18941

Some Great Early Dan Guitar Highlights: The Boston Rag (Countdown To Ecstacy), My Old School (Countdown To Ecstacy), Parker's Band (Pretzel Logic)

Underground Rock Warriors, Pt. 1: J Mascis

This week's post is courtesy of a suggestion by my little brother Stephen. Being the alt rock fan that he is, he has gone for Dinosaur Jr's head honcho J Mascis.



Joseph Mascis is a native of the small college town Amherst, Massachusetts. In the early 1980s, he became exposed to the underground sounds of hardcore punk. Bands like Minor Threat and Black Flag would pass through town, inspiring young musicians to start their own hardcore groups. Mascis was no different. He and a few high school buddies formed Deep Wound. Initially he was a drummer, an instrument he would return to intermittently over the years. As Deep Wound petered out, Mascis and fellow bandmate Lou Barlow started Dinosaur. This band would combine the uncompromising sound of hardcore, with the classic structures of 70s rock, as well as the chiming dissonance of New Wavers like Joy Division, The Birthday Party and The Cure. This attention to the classic forms of writing and love of a good guitar solo allowed Dinosaur to really stand out from the crowd of noise-merchants emerging from the U.S. underground scene. The group produced three great albums before founding member Barlow left in 1989. Dinosaur continued for a few more albums before disappearing in the mid 1990s. Barlow's presence seemed to have act as the friction J needed and allowed him to produce his best work, dealing as it does with frustration and non-communication. Before Barlow left, Dinosaur released this absolute stomper on their Bug album, which perfectly distilled their sound into 3 and a half gloriously noisy minutes.

As I said before, J Mascis started out as a drummer, coming to the guitar relatively late. However, he quickly developed a highly personal style, mixing the classic rock playing of Neil Young, Tony Iommi and Jimi Hendrix with the drone style of 80s New Wavers Robert Smith and Bernard Sumner. His sound was a full-on feral blast of squalling feedback and virtuosic outbursts of Jazzmaster lead, perfectly summed up with the phrase "ear-bleeding country". He also had the knack for composing a catchy alt rock anthem. Here is one of the best.

J has lend his instantly recognisable sound to a variety of other projects in recent years. He has recorded with his solo project The Fog and drummed with metalheads Witch. Sonic Youth, Mike Watt of Minutemen, Broken Social Scene and The Hold Steady have all requested his services. He even got the old band back together, touring festivals and releasing great albums like the 1990s never happened. Mascis is the prototype for underground guitar hero, balancing unhinged lead work with a love of uncompromising punky riffage. He ccontinues to be a vital presence in today's music scene, creating great tunes in the process. This final track is from one of the Dinosaur reunion albums, 2007's Beyond.

Recommend Listening: You're Living All Over Me (Dinosaur Jr.)
http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:wzftxqesldse
Some Key Dinosaur Cuts: Sludgefeast (You're Living All Over Me), Start Choppin' (Where You Been), Feel The Pain (Without A Sound)

Bill Frisell: Mr. Atmospherics

One of the things I adore about music is the way it can alter one's mood in an instant and take your brain on a trip to who knows where. Some musicians have this ability to conjure up a time or place in a listener's mind with the merest stroke of their instrument. Bill Frisell is such a player. That is not to say he is just provides background mood muzak for the weary yuppie. Rather his elegant playing is an evocative presence in whatever setting he appears, creating wonderful pictures for the listener. While he is considered a jazz artist, he is the consummate musician, able to turn his hand to any genre you could care to name. However, his signature ethereal sound remains constant. Once you listen to a bit of Bill Frisell, you can pick him out in a plethora of musical situations. For starters, let us hear one of his best themes, Poem For Eva.

Bill Frisell began his musical life playing clarinet in his high school band. He took up the guitar in his early teens, quickly developing a love of the jazz playing of Wes Montgomery and Kenny Burrell, as well as psychedelic rockers like Jimi Hendrix. His musical career did not really kick start until the early 1980s when he joined the legendary European jazz label, ECM Records. This company, synonymous with progressive, crisply-recorded jazz, proved a fertile training ground for Frisell's early avant-garde leanings. As well as producing some solo albums, he played on sessions for the likes of saxophonist Jan Garbarek, drummer Paul Motian and bassist Eberhard Weber. He also played far-out noise rock with the saxophonist John Zorn in the band Naked City. He is a sample of them live. All I will say is that it may not to be everyone's taste.

In the early 1990s, Bill Frisell released a string of albums exploring his fascination with the American popular song of all shapes and sizes. On albums like Have A Little Faith, Nashville and Ghost Town, Frisell, as well as presenting his own eclectic compositions, interpreted classic American tunes from a wide variety of genres. These include tunes by Hank Williams, Thelonious Monk, George Gershwin, Sam Cooke, Bob Dylan, Aaron Copland and Madonna. He also began to incorporate traditional country, folk and bluegrass licks into his graceful jazz style with seamless effort. A great example of Frisell's uniquely fresh take on the pop song is this number, from The Wizard Of Oz, taken from Elvis Costello's Spectacle TV show.

His use of effect processors is worth noting here. With an array of reverb, delay, modulation and fuzz pedals at his feet, Frisell can go from pure bebop tone, to Byrds-esque jangle, to pedal steel-like twang to harsh heavy metal distortion at the flick of a switch, sometimes all within the same song. Whatever the setting, Frisell has a sound to go with it. Here is a perfect example of his use of colour in sound. This is his tribute to the celebrated jazz bassist, Ron Carter.

While he has produced several fine albums himself, he continues to add his stately playing to records by many legendary figures in all musical walks of life. As mentioned above, Elvis Costello has employed him for numerous musical projects, including The Sweetest Punch, an interpretation of material Costello composed with Burt Bacharach for the album Painted From Memory. He has lent his talents to recordings by Paul Simon, Marianne Faithfull, Rickie Lee Jones and soprano Renée Fleming. He has contributed to the soundtracks of movies like Finding Forrester and Million Dollar Hotel. Here is Frisell at his ambient best.

As you can see, Bill Frisell can and has turned his hand to a glut of varied projects over the years. While he has built a reputation as an artful impressionist on guitar, he is also swinging, harmonically fluent jazz player when the occasion warrants. Hopefully, his effervescent sound will continue to float across the musical landscape for many years to come.

Recommend Listening: Have A Little Faith (1992)
http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:0vfexqygldfe
Some Key Frisell Cuts: Just Like A Woman (Have a Little Faith), A Change Is Gonna Come (History Mystery), Go Jake (Nashville).

Adrian Belew: Lion Tamer Extraordinaire

There are players who wow us with great feats of speed and endurance. There are those who blind us with their melodic erudition. Then there are those whose musical outpourings of pure emotion knock us for ten. Finally there are those who make us giggle by making funny noises with their guitar. Adrian Belew falls into the latter category. That is not to take away from Mr. Belew's obvious instrumental talents. However, any person who can make elephant noises on their guitar is eh-ok in my book.



In 1960s Kentucky, Adrian Belew was a teenage guitar obsessive listening to the experimental rock sounds of Hendrix, Beck and The Beatles. He began to emulate their studio-created sounds on his solitary electric guitar, soon developing a very personal and eccentric style. In the late 1970s, he was spotted by Frank Zappa playing covers in a bar band. Zappa offered him a place in his touring act, which the eager Belew accepted. He describes his short tenure with the notoriously demanding Zappa as a crash course in music theory.

The experience he gained from Frank served him well when he joined David Bowie's band for the Heroes tour of 1978, subsequently added demented lead guitar and backing vocals to Bowie's Lodger album of 1979, the last of his Berlin Trilogy. Here is a select cut from that album, a perfect encapsulation of Belew's freaky noise workouts.



Talking Heads were the next legends to come knocking. He joined them in the midst of the arduous recording sessions that produced Remain In Light. Tracks like The Great Curve are taken into another rhelm thanks to Belew's heavily-processed solos and led to his addition to the expanded touring version of Talking Heads. He also featured on the band's off-shoot project, Tom Tom Club.  



In the early 1980s, he joined the act with whom he is most recognised. Belew and Robert Fripp had both worked on albums by Bowie, but never met. They eventually bumped into each other at a Steve Reich concert (why doesn't this surprise me?). They hit it off, and began a new project together, Indiscipline. This would eventually morph into a new lineup of Fripp's legendary prog godfathers, King Crimson. This new lineup would resemble some bizarre Talking Heads tribute act rather than the heavy-riffing art rock monsters of the mid 1970s. Here is sample of this new direction, complete with Belew's animal noise guitar.



As well as serving as King Crimson's frontman for nearly three decades, Belew has been a popular session man. Pau Simon, Joe Cocker, Cyndi Lauper and even Captain Kirk himself, William Shatner have requested his services. He has also released a steady stream of Beatles-inspired solo albums and noise experiments.

 As you have seen from these clips, Belew is naturally drawn towards bizarre noises and outlandish sounds. He seems to take great glee in washing over conventional pop songs with his distinct guitar style, the weirder the better. To finish, some more animal noises. I never get tired of this.

Recommended Listening: King Crimson - Indiscipline
http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:kvfrxquald0e
Some Choice Belew Craziness: Oh Daddy (Solo Hit), Flakes (Frank Zappa - Sheik Yerbouti), I'm Down (Beatles Cover)

John Cipollina: Quicksilver’s Whammy Bar King

The psychedelic era produced it’s fair share of remarkable guitarists. Jimi Hendrix invigorated the blues with a cosmic twist. Jerry Miller of Moby Grape injected some country licks into his band’s early power pop masterpieces. Jerry Garcia and The Grateful Dead captivated the hippy generation with seemingly endless jamming marathons in legendary auditoriums like The Fillmore. One of the most singular talents and instantly recognisable players to emerge from this era was Quicksilver Messenger Service’s John Cipollina.

John Cipollina and Quicksilver Messenger Service were one of the house bands of the San Francisco acid rock scene. Their music is indubitably linked with this period, with flower-child lyrics and extended space-blues jams. The guitar playing of Cipollina was what really set them apart from the crowd though. The best phrase to describe his playing is left-of-centre. His style was a striking amalgamation of blues, jazz, classical and thumb-picked rock, all delivered with extensive wiggling of his Gibson SG’s whammy bar. His intense vibrato style would influence many future guitarists like Tom Verlaine, Nels Cline and Richard Thompson. Check out this video from Cipollina’s solo career. Please excuse the mooners near the start of video, they mean no harm. 

Quicksilver is not one of the more celebrated bands from this period. This could be down to their inconsistent recorded legacy. Having said that, the band did produce some interesting music that is worth a listen. What makes most of their stuff interesting for me is Cipollina’s idiosyncratic guitar style, incorporating jazz and classical licks with a unique blues-rock vocabulary. He is one of Quicksilver’s signature tunes, Gold and Silver. The use of unusual time signatures and elongated instrumental sections make it an early example of jazz-rock.

Recommended Listening: Happy Trails – Quicksilver Messenger Service
http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:g9fpxqt5ld6e

Some Top Quicksilver Moments: Who Do You Love, Mona, Gold and Silver.

Funky Cuts, Pt. 1: Eddie Hazel: P-Funk’s Fuzzmeister

I turned to my sibling Declan for our next entry. He’s the funk fan amongst us and has chosen that acid-fried Strat freak, Eddie Hazel.

The P-Funk collective, consisting of Funkadelic & Parliament, was bandleader George Clinton’s distilled concept of the ultimate funk act. Clinton believes that a life without “The Fonk” (I am using the vernacular here) is a life not worth bothering with. “The Fonk” is the answer and the solution to all of life’s worries and strife. The P-Funk universe has played host to a number of colourful and talented individuals over the years. These include bass legend, and permanent inhabitant of “The One”, Bootsy Collins, keyboard maestro Bernie Worrell, and nappy-wearing musical director Garry Shider. For guitarists though, the mysterious man in the bug-eye shades and occasional cape manhandling his Fender Stratcaster is the focal of our interest. Dear cats and kittens, I give you Eddie Hazel.

Eddie first came in contact with George Clinton in the late 1960s, when the young guitar hotshot joined Clinton’s Parliaments, an up-and-coming soul combo based in Plainfield, New Jersey. This act eventually morphed into Funkadelic, losing the matching suits and dance routines along the way and gaining a more psychedelic rock sound and look. Combining the spaced-out rock of Jimi Hendrix and Frank Zappa with the burgeoning funk of James Brown and Sly Stone, Clinton had created an outfit that could jam like a rock band, as well as lay down the groove like no one else.

Eddie Hazel was key to the early Funkadelic sound. He co-wrote legendary P-Funk tunes like Free Your Mind And Your Ass Will Follow, Standing On The Verge Of Getting It On and Ret Hot Mama. His screaming, echo-drenched fuzz guitar solos washed over these tunes like a psychedelic blanket of stars. His signature tune is, without a doubt, is Maggot Brain, the title track of Funkadelic’s 1971 magnum opus. The track is, basically, a ten-minute guitar solo, with only sounds of wars and a lightly plucked rhythm guitar to accompany it. The legend goes that Hazel was locked into the studio and told to play like his mother just died. Did he achieve the desired effect? You be the judge.

Eddie, as well as recording a fine solo album “Game, Dames and Guitar Thangs”, continued to contribute to various P-Funk related recordings throughout the 1970s and 1980s until his untimely death in 1992. What I like most about his playing is that he seems to be taking a great sound (In my opinion, Hendrix’s Band Of Gypsies record) and running with it. That is not to say Hazel was a mere Hendrix copyist. Rather he took up the torch of insane funky guitar soloing for a new generation, putting his own stamp on the sound as he went. He influenced near contemporaries like Ernie Isley of The Isley Brothers and Ron Asheton of The Stooges, as well as modern funksters like Prince. If you are a fan of rock music, give Eddie and Funkadelic a try. Consider them a gateway drug into the murky world of “The Fonk”

Recommend Listening: Funkadelic - Maggot Brian (1971)

http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:jifixqy5ldfe

Some Choice Hazel Grooves: I Wanna Know if it’s Good to You, Red Hot Mama, Funky Dollar Bill (All Funkadelic tunes)

Please do check back soon for some more Funky Cuts.

Barney Kessel: The Wrecking Crew's Chief Axeman

Barney Kessel (1923 – 2004) is one of those players that millons have heard, yet few would recognise. At least they think they don't recognise him. You know the intro to Wouldn't It Be Nice, right? Y'know, "jingle, jingle, jingle, etc"? That's Barney. Those cool licks in Julie London's Cry Me A River? That's Barney. The riff on I've Got You Babe by Sonny & Cher? That's Barney.

Barney Kessel was one of the first post-Charlie Christian bebop guitarists to make big waves on the jazz scene. He appeared on records by Charlie Parker, Ella Fitzgerald, Sonny Rollins and Billie Holiday. He also held the notoriously high-tempo guitar chair in the Oscar Peterson Trio during the early 1950s. In parallel to this, he recorded albums under his own name, featuring selections from the Great American Songbook reworking in his own unique style.


In the 1960s, he found steady work as an in-demand session guitarist in the Los Angeles recording world. It is there that he worked on dates for The Monkees, Phil Spector and The Beach Boys. In the 1970s, he presented seminars on the art of guitar playing and even ran his own guitar shop in L.A. for a time.

What I really like about Barney's jazz playing is that, while it is sophisticated and complex, he stills retains a great respect for the melody. This is especially true of his intrepretations of popular tunes, where he combines piano-like block chords and elegant single lines into an original presentation of the standard. By doing this, he keeps the songs fresh with inventive embellishments. Listen to his version of that old chestnut, Misty.



While Barney should be remembered as an innovative jazzer, his contribution to the popscene of the 1960s is worth considering too. He is a class act, worth further investigation.



Recommend Listening: The Poll Winners (1957)
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:wxfpxqrgldde

Some Standout Barney Tracks: Satin Doll, A Foggy Day, Love Is Here To Stay

Download:

FLVMP43GP

Download:

FLVMP43GP

Welcome to the blog.

This the first of, what I hope, are several millon posts highlighting those guitarists the general public seldom consider. Rarely considered in those 100 greatest lists, these players still warrent further investigation by the curious music fan.

I will be posting two to three different entries each week. Some of these entries will hopefully be feature guest contributions, so if there is a particular player that you feel needs a bit of exposure, let me know.

Right, on with the blog.