Top 25 Guitarists of All Time: # 23 Bo Diddley

27 Apr

Bo Diddley, Long Beach Blues Festival (1997). Photo: Masahiro Sumori.

Bo Diddley was born Ellas Otha Bates on Dec. 30, 1920. He was called “The Originator,” for he had a key role in changing the trend of blues to rock and roll. He has influenced greats such as Buddy Holly, Jimi Hendrix, and Eric Clapton. The driving rhythms and harder guitar sounds he produced became well known. He would often employ a technique in his music in which there were no chord changes. In other words, all excitement was generated by rhythms rather than harmonies and harmonic tension. Because of his musical inventiveness and skill, Bo has won many awards. They have ranged from a Grammy, Lifetime Achievement Awards and the most prized Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction. His work impacted the music scene so powerfully. And, of course, he also had that trademark rectangular guitar.

Bo Diddley’s orginality, musicality, and impact on so many musicians has earned him an immense level of respect in the music community. With an extensive discography and an even more extensive fan base, Bo Diddley has definitely shown the public who they love. For his powerful impact on music, his amazing musicality, his wonderful originality, and that unmistakeable guitar, Bo Diddley finds himself as #23 on the Top 25 Guitarists of All Time list.

Don’t Forget….Who Do You Love????

SWOD (Song of the Day/Word of the Day) #17 Empyrean

27 Apr

Today’s Word

Empyrean: The highest heaven, in ancient belief usually thought to be a realm of pure fire or light. Paradise.

Musical Example:

Wow! That is a large picture. But, because it is supposed to resemble something heaven-like, I am going to keep it an enormous size. There are numerous songs about paradise. Heck, if I decided to document a Christian Rock song, I probably would be swarming in messages of heaven. But, I thought it would be a little more effective if I talked about a song that is a little more vague.

The Lighthouse Family – one of those great bands many have never heard of – were a British duo consisting of vocalist Tunde Baiyewu and keyboardist Paul Tucker. They became popular in the mid 1990’s and remained active through the early 2000’s. Their brand of soul/pop was both infectious and bubbly. One of their better songs is entitled “End of the Sky.” Baiyewu sings:

Would you like to go somewhere unbelievable?
Where the great big blue sky seems to last forever
Cos I feel like I’ll leave it all behind
Living’ in the sunshine, that’s where I’m going
And I don’t think there’s anything here that I’ll be missing, do you?
No, I don’t think there’s anything else to do

It sounds like he is singing about the Empyrean. I would assume that is what the end of the sky brings. Unless, similarly to the universe, it brings us an atypical restaurant; which to some may be considered an Empyrean. Anyway, the song is quite hopeful and Baiyewu’s voice is just wonderful. More people should listen to this band. Here is the video:

Usher: Justin Bieber is a pop craze like The Beatles.

26 Apr

I have spent several minutes this morning wondering if I should even entertain this statement by Usher. In an interview, Usher stated, “You haven’t seen the best of him. He is a pop craze like The Beatles. They started out as pure pop artists and look what they became over the years.” He went on to say that Bieber is a more talented musician than he was when he was a teen performer. I appreciate the honesty Usher. I really do. But, just no. Listen.

Article: http://www.3news.co.nz/Usher-Justin-Bieber-more-talented-than-I-was/tabid/418/articleID/152845/Default.aspx

Since the boy band craze hit the United States in around 1997, there has been a teen idol dependence, much like the one that hit with performers like Frankie Avalon and Fabian in the early 1950’s to mid-1960’s. Bieber is simply another pawn in 12-year-old girls’ game. He is lucky because he is 16. Would I be surprised if Usher’s predication holds some water in 10 years. No, maybe this kid will become something of a Justin Timberlake. But, I doubt it. Timberlake is about as rare as a musician as they come. He changed with the times extraordinarily and has truly thrived in a popular niche. Bieber may grow and be like Timberlake, but, statistics show it is just not very likely. Now, on to my next point.

I understand that Usher was not implying that Bieber was at all better than the Beatles. He just said Bieber is a similar pop craze to the Beatles. Yeah, so was Ricky Martin. The Beatles had staying power. They were exceptionally talented and after their pop stage they moved on to complicated rock n’ roll that maintained an infectiousness that just latched into listeners. They were above and beyond every musician out there and they still are today. So, putting Bieber in the same sentence as John, Paul, George and Ringo, is both asinine and silly. Please Usher, stick with comparisons to Justin Timberlake. He is much more similar.

Photo: Michael Ochs Archive/Getty

E street band guitarist and former Soprano’s star, Ronnie Van Zandt, loves The Rascals. Who can blame him. The pop quartet banged out numerous hits in the 1960’s before dissembling. This past Saturday, for the second time time in 40 years, the Rascals reunited at the Kristen Ann Carr benefit at New York’s Tribeca Grill. The event honored Van Zandt and his wife, Maureen. The Rascals played 14 tracks, highlighted by a performance of “Good Lovin,” that included Bruce Springsteen. Springsteen cannot sit through a show without playing music with someone.

Setlist:
I’ve Been Lonely Too Long
In The Midnight Hour
I Ain’t Gonna Eat Out My Heart Anymore
You Better Run
It’s A Beautiful Morning
Love Is A Beautiful Thing
Groovin’
A Girl Like You
How Can I Be Sure
Come On Up
What Is The Reason
People Got To Be Free
Good Lovin’ (with Bruce Springsteen)

Wow. That sounds like an amazing concert. The Rascals, led by Felix Cavaliere, had enough of a falling out that guitarist Gene Cornish stated, “I speak on behalf of the band when I say all the money offers in the world could not entice the Rascals to reunite,” he said, “but four phone calls from Stevie and without hesitation we enthusiastically and immediately agreed to both support this wonderful cause and honor Stevie and Maureen.”

Article: http://consequenceofsound.net/2010/04/26/the-rascals-reunite-for-charity/

Hear the Concert: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=NLHPOWZ4

An Emotional Apocalypse of Sound

25 Apr

Picture yourself driving down a dark road without another car or street lamp in sight. Don’t worry this is not the cliché plot of a horror flick. You are driving, headlights a faded bright yellow illuminating a small stretch of plain road in front of you. Your radio is on and the beginning, haunting arpeggio of Funkadelic’s “Maggot Brain” starts playing. It repeats without fail as your structured reminder of reality, because, just as you are starting to get lulled into a false sense of security by its comfortable sound, Eddie Hazel begins making his guitar cry. A sharp screech knocks you out of your hypnagogic state and tosses you straight into a dream. A dream of insane sound. A wacky, at times chimerical, dream that involves such a smorgasbord of sound that your car begins to slowly veer off of its straight path, but the soft background keeps you temporarily on line. Hazel’s guitar played through a Fuzzbox and Wah pedal hits you on so many levels that the guitar solo becomes an odd amalgamation of sound; a declarative answer to an unanswerable question. It bemuses you but intrigues you. And, as the guitar fades and the arpeggio dies in sound, you find yourself on the side of the road with your car mangled in a tree, with absolutely no clue how you ended up there.

Yeah, that is what “Maggot Brain” can do to you. I stand by my opinion that “Comfortably Numb” is the greatest guitar solo of all time, but, it is simply a crime that “Maggot Brain” does not get more credit. Hazel’s playing, that legend has it was inspired by funk legend George Clinton telling Hazel to imagine he had been told his mother was dead but it wasn’t true, is a pure masterpiece. It is at times chaotic but always seems to come back together to form this wonderful piece that truly is, as one reviewer called it, “An emotional apocalypse of sound.” It is an amazing song and if you have not listened to it before, please check it out below. It would be a shame if this song continued to go unheard. Sit through the entire song and listen to Hazel’s playing penetrate you. It is certainly worth the adventure. Just don’t listen to it in the car at night.

“Maggot Brain”:

Musician Amalgamation

22 Apr

What do you get when you combine The Killers’ drummer Ronnie Vannucci, Mumford and Sons’ banjo player Winston Marshall, Noah and the Whale’s fiddle player Tom Hobden, Keane’s keyboardist/songwriter Tim Rice-Oxley and bassist Jesse Quin? My best guess would be an odd ode to Indie country music with an electronic twist and a maraschino cherry on top. Seriously, I have absolutely no clue what to expect from this interesting combination of musicians that have collaborated to record an album under the name Mt. Desolation.

Their album will be released sometime this year, but, information outside what has been provided by their official blogspot account has been kept mum. What we do know is that the group will perform at the Luminaire in London on June 4. I am psyched to hear how this combination will sound. I am a fan of each of these individual musicians and their larger projects, and a conglomeration of their talents has potential to be extraordinary and fresh.

Link: http://www.nme.com/news/the-killers/50726 and Blog: http://mtdesolationofficial.blogspot.com/

Deb Tallen and Steve Tallen do not only have similar last names, but, after a chance encounter, they have married and become a fantastic musical group called The Weepies. They are yet another example of musicians combining to form a great band. Of course, they are established. Their fourth studio album is rumored for a May 25 release and my friends and I are excited. Their melodic brand of folk-rock is soothing and just a pleasure to listen to.

Link: http://all-aroundsound.blogspot.com/2010/03/weepies-announce-release-of-new-album.html

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