Time for a little fun.
I spent about 15 years on the radio in and around Western New York, and I did mobile DJ work for many more years. I tend to lose myself in music. It is something of a passion of mine. I probably have one of the most esoteric collections of recorded music you'll ever see. Being in the radio business from the middle 70's forward meant, for one thing, never having to say "I have nothing new to listen to".
Example: I've got some Cecilio and Kapono playing as I write this. If you've never heard of them, think of a more folk-accented early Hall and Oates, with a Hawaiian accent. Okay, I'll give you a sample. They never really caught on here on the mainland because they never wanted to leave the Aloha State. Can't blame them, but as big as they were there, they'd have gotten downright huge here if they'd toured to support the albums.
See what I mean about passion? Sorry, I tend to get carried away just talking about this stuff.
Anyway, I see Chris did his desert-island records list. Very cool. I might follow suit in the next few days, but for the moment, his piece inspired me to pass along something I have had in storage for a while, and I thought I'd share it with you. I'll give you a twist on the “desert island” theme — here are my top ten favorite guitar solos, in no particular order. I included links so you can hear the songs.
Clapton. What can I say? There’s a mess of ’em, but for me, it’s a toss-up between “Old Love” on Unplugged for pure blues (perhaps the best acoustic blues solo I’ve ever heard ) and “Cocaine” off of one of the live sets.
Leslie West of Mountain, for “Stormy Monday,” as recorded at the Atlanta Pop festival. It’s 19 minutes of as good a musical description of a thunderstorm as I’ve ever heard: bluesy, powerful, musical, playful, and nearly jazz-like at times, yet never forgetting to rock and roll. You can tell it's live and without much isolation between the instruments. Listen close, and you can hear Felix Pappalardi's bass messing with the snare wires on Corky Liang's drum kit. It’s one of my favorite all-time recordings. It’s also a bear to find anymore. The track was available for a while (in ’76) on a package of demo records (a nice three-disk set, as I recall) that Radio Shack used to give you when you bought a new turntable from them. That's what's playing in the link; I recognize the disk.
Pete Carr’s bottleneck solo on Bob Seger’s “Like a Rock.” A studio overlay from thousands of miles away, sure (I gather Carr laid down his track in LA at The Record Plant, while the rest was recorded at the Muscle Shoals studios), but that solo and the lyrics made the song. As I get older, I find myself really listening to what Bob was saying there, and the emotions that Pete layered into that solo. I don’t play, and therefore, I can’t tell how technically perfect someone is (though I can spot someone who is technically bad), but I do know when someone’s playing has emotion in it, and that does.
Santana. Here again, this is a target-rich name for this kinda stuff, but “Europa,” off Moonflower, recorded in Europe in '76. Santana has reinvented himself many times over the years, but I keep coming back to his early stuff.
Grand Funk Railroad’s Mark Farner on Live At Jacksonville Coliseum (1970 / Remastered 2002), doing what is perhaps the quintessential Grand Funk opener, “Are You Ready.” Here’s a band that nobody would ever accuse of being subtle. What Farner misses in technique (there are flaws even I can hear), he more than makes up for in what made Grand Funk a legend: raw energy. Strictly speaking, the solo itself isn’t much, but (and this is the point) this track (and “Into the Sun,” on the same LP) is a primer on what constitutes guitar playing in a power trio. That kind of playing means you have to be bloody well incredible to be able to pull off a solo of ANY kind, much less one memorable on its own. Grand Funk's early critics never quite understood that, back in the day. They never could figure out why the On Time LP, released about the same time, was such a huge seller.
In that same vein, “Cold Shot” by Stevie Ray Vaugn. 'Nuff said. Sad that he died when he did — he was finally getting back to solid ground.
Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour, “On the Turning Away,” from the concert recorded in Atlanta. That flying, soaring solo at the end of the song could have gone on a LOT longer; I doubt anyone would have minded. That recording is one of the very few where a live version actually blows away the arrangements on the studio version. (I suppose I could mention Frampton, similarly.)
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Seventeen-year-old Erik Brann’s performance on Iron Butterfly’s “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida.” It’s a period piece, of course, but it’s a favorite. That boy knew how to handle an effects kit; that much is certain. Remember, this was in a time when pedal effects were still fairly new, and people were just catching on to them. The track was laid down just weeks after Brann snuck into the Whisky A Go Go on Sunset in LA (quite the place — I've been there) to speak to Doug Ingle about landing the lead guitar slot with the band. It’s without a doubt one of the most recognizable riffs in rock, then or since. Brann died back in July of 2003 at age 53. He was supposedly working on a solo disk at the time. I doubt it was ever released. I've never seen it. Sad.
The Outlaws’ “Green Grass and High Tides”, off the first LP. One of the best examples of back-and-forth between really great players. The whole album simply exudes confidence and raw power. The lot of them should have had fire extinguishers nearby at all times while playing. Sadly, the group’s leader, Hughie Thomasson, passed on in 2007 at the too-young age of 55. They're still touring without him.
The Isley Brothers’ Ernie Isley, on 1975’s “Hope You Feel Better, Love.” Here’s someone who leaned quite a bit from Hendrix and sounds it. Hang onto your speakers with this one; the bass is incredible.
Here's a bonus: Tommy Emmanuel doing Mason Williams’s "Classical Gas" and "Walk Don't Run," by the Ventures. This one is an insane cover. He's still touring.
That's it for now. What are your favorites? Let me know in the comments.
