Is it just me or does it seem like every band is getting back together this year? Is reuniting all about the money, or do these guys actually miss the
The Ronnie James Dio-led version of Black Sabbath has recorded an album and will embark on a world tour as Heaven and Hell. It’s a different type of H &
I sure was getting used to all those three-day weekends. This weekend just flew by, so let’s get back into the workday groove with the following tasty stories: The Police Reunion
Welcome to the end of another working week. As usual on Fridays we try to keep you entertained with the following links: Apple Computers and The Beatles’ Apple Corps may
Back in November I posted a B List plugging 13 of my favorite instrumentals. This week, we revisit that concept — here are 13 more great ones to debate. I tried to be a little more obscure with this list, so check out these nuggets:
1. Groove Holmes – The Beastie Boys: This great Beasties tribute to acid-jazz legend Richard “Groove” Holmes was featured on 1992’s Check Your Head.
2. Freeway Jam – Jeff Beck: Jeff Beck solos over Max Middleton’s funky keyboards on one of the best tracks from 1975’s Blow By Blow.
3. Moti Mo – Medeski, Martin, and Wood: I get chills every time I hear MMW’s arrangement of this King Sunny Ade track. Chris Wood lays down a solid bass line, allowing John Medeski, Billy Martin and the horns a chance to build the theme to multiple climaxes. Just like a woman.
4. Star Wars Theme Song – Meco: Also Sprach Zarathrustra wasn’t the only symphonic song to get the disco treatment in the late ’70s. Meco Menardo, a famous music producer, attended the Star Wars premiere and was so impressed he rushed into the studio to make a dance version of John Williams’ theme song.
5. The Happy Organ – Dave “Baby” Cortez : Cortez entered a studio in 1959 to record a song called “The Cat and the Dog.” He was struggling with his voice and decided to just jam out with his band on an old standard called Shortin’ Bread. The recording engineer pressed record as Cortez turned the song into one of the first funky grooves. The rest is history: The improvised song that was recorded in one take hit number one upon its release.
Read on for eight additional instrumental classics from The Commodores, Santana, Joe Satriani, Tea Leaf Green and more…
This week’s edition takes a look at bands as they hit their strides and delivered their best performances. Sure, determining when a band has reached its peak is totally subjective, but in this case I’m right, and there is no other correct answer.
Talk around the Internets are heating up about a possible Police reunion tour this summer. In order to help you prepare, check out this incredible show from a Outlandos D’Amour tour stop in Bahston. Not many people had heard of The Police in 1979, and you can feel the energy as the band tries and succeeds in winning over the audience. By the end of the show the crowd goes nuts anytime Summers starts a solo, Copeland plays a luscious fill, or Sting steps to the mic.
Highlights of this show captured from WBCN radio include a jammed-out So Lonely and a desperate-sounding Roxanne. I’m a little confused as to why Born In The 50’s is performed twice, but I guess their repertoire was small at the time. I’m putting together my dream Police reunion setlist as we speak.
Read on for more peakariffic downloads from the likes of Alice in Chains, Jane’s Addiction, Jerry Garcia Band and Keller Willams…
Welcome to another short week — as usual, we’ll kick it off with some links to interesting shit from around the information superhighway: Billboard posts a look ahead at Robert Plant’s 2007,
Congrats, folks, you’ve made it through the first full work week in what seems like months. And if you’re lucky like me you have off on Monday for Martin Luther King’s birthday: I love
This week’s edition of The B List takes a look at the 10 best songs that feature double-lead guitar harmonies. Rock artists in the ’60s perfected the use of vocal harmonies, but as the ’70s began, bands started to use their instruments to provide distinct harmonies. The Allman Brothers Band was the first to use the double-lead technique in songs such as Hotlanta, Les Brers, and In Memory of Elizabeth Reed. Other bands quickly followed the Allmans’ trailblazing, and soon artists from many different genres employed the double lead. So check out the list, and make sure to watch the accompanying YouTube video for each entry.
10. Bodhisattva — Steely Dan: When I came up with the idea for this list, my partner Ace Cowboy was thrilled Bodhisattva made the cut. In fact he called the Dan’s masterpiece “one of the most underrated songs in music history.” The guitar interplay on the album is terrific, and any tune with lyrics like “Can you show me, The shine of your Japan, The sparkle of your china” is okay by us.
[Video: In 2002 Toto began playing Bodhisattva with terrific success — check out this video from a recent show]
9. Miss Tinkle’s Overture — Umphrey’s McGee: In September 2004, my friend decided to throw on the studio version of Miss Tinkle’s Overture from Anchor Drops. I hadn’t heard the album — or anything the band had done since 2001 for that matter — and my ears immediately perked up. I’m a huge fan of the double-lead, and it was terrific to see a new band create such incredible harmonies.
[Video: Langerado late-night show from Ft. Lauderdale’s Revolution]
8. Rebubula — moe.: Written by bass player Rob Derhak in 1994, Rebubula has since become the most popular piece in the band’s repertoire. It’s no wonder the song is popular with its quirky lyrics and incredible double-lead guitar harmonies. One of the most important features of a double-lead guitar riff is a great bassline to play underneath, and Derhak’s slap line really accentuates what guitarists Chuck Garvey and Al Schnier play throughout the song. For years the song was a staple of the band’s set, playing it nearly every night. More recently the band has shown some restraint, hitting it every third show or so. I must admit, I wouldn’t mind hearing Rebubula at every show.
[Video: Footage from moe.’s set at Vegoose]
Read on for the rest of Scotty’s double-lead favorites from Television, Iron Maiden, the Allmans, Skynyrd as The B List continues…
Welcome to yet another weekly edition of Grousing The Aisles. This week we have some great audio and video from established legends with five letters in their last names like Frank Zappa, Warren Zevon and Bob Seger, as well as up-and-coming acts Brock Butler and Rose Hill Drive. Check it out:
Rose Hill Drive 12/30/06 DAUD (FLAC)
Rose Hill Drive continues to make fans of some of the biggest names in rock, like Roger Daltrey of The Who. On December 30th, the boys started their concert with a tribute to Jimi Hendrix by playing Band of Gypsys in its entirety at the Boulder Theater. RHD tears through such classic tracks as Who Knows, Machine Gun, and Power to Love with brute force. Daniel Sproul does a fine job of channeling Jimi, who is not exactly an easy musician to cover.
Covers weren’t the only showstoppers of the night for Rose Hill Drive, as they also played driving versions of Cool Cody and The Guru, amongst other original songs. The interplay between the Sproul brothers and drummer Nathan Barnes is incredibly tight, leaving the impression these boys have played together for decades. I expect big things from these guys in 2007, as do we all.
