I try to not spend too much time on Youtube. Most of the video I have seen there isn't worth the time. Last week, while wasting time looking for video of actual performances (it seems like most of what you find is music illustrated with lame homemade visuals) I stumbled onto this video of Steve Howe's "The Clap" and was immediately taken with it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KN2qvtosmM&a=0gLNgufmelQ&playnext_from=ML The first thing I noticed in this performance is that a lot of notes are played using the fouth and fifth fingers of the left hand. Anyone who has played a stringed instrument knows how difficult it is to make the two weakest fingers of your left hand move like that. The second thing I noticed is how quiet the performer's movements are. There is not a bit of wasted motion in the entire performance. That's another thing that anyone who has tried it will recognize as both very difficult, and very necessary for a performance like this one. One last thing is the way the video is shot. I don't think I have ever seen video of a guitarist with two separate frames, each showing a close-up shot of one of the performer's hands. The format makes it possible to watch the two hands independently as well as together. There are posted videos of other Steve Howe solo guitar pieces, apparently from the same source. I have not watched all of them yet, but the ones I have watched so far are also both captivating and instructive.
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So, I'm listening to my dinosaur rock source and I Like to Rock comes on. It's a track I had always found listenable, but I don't think I had ever realized what a classic of rock kitsch it is. It's basically a collection of cliches pieced together into a rousing three-minute blast.
What I didn't realize is that the band who made this track was not a one-hit wonder. April Wine was apparently a success in Canada (they started in Nova Scotia) before anyone had ever heard of Rush. I was also surprised to learn that I Like To Rock was released in 1979, much later than I thought. April Wine plainly had a penchant for cliche-sounding titles, as well as music: You Won't Dance With Me, a hit before I Like to Rock, is a title worthy of the Ramones or the Knack. The album I Like to Rock appeared on was called Harder... Faster, a title plainly reminiscent of AC/DC, or even the Tubes. Find I Like to Rock and give it a listen. I found it inspiring enough that I plan to search out other tracks by April Wine. Most great bands have a great rhythm section. Led Zeppelin wasn't great just because Robert Plant was unique. Jimmy Page was hailed as a guitar idol, but he wasn't really even that great as a lead guitarist. He was a dynamic rhythm guitarist, however. Page's rhythm playing combined with a very solid bassist in John Paul Jones and a brilliant drummer in John Bonham created a rhythm section that was the perfect backing unit to be matched with a groundbreaking vocalist and make music that changed the direction of rock.
John Bonham is worthy of special mention in this discussion. He was able to play very firm tempos, but with a laid back feel, better than just about anyone. My friend Mario once described him as sounding like he's playng in the next room. That's better than any description I have been able to come up with. Where can you hear what I'm talking about? You need only listen to The Lemon Song on Led Zeppelin II. Page starts with a great riff, Bonham completely overloads the mics with his first cymbal crash, then Jones joins in and they simply cook through six minutes at three different tempos while Plant wails in the foreground. After hearing that track you know why Led Zeppelin became superstars, and it wasn't just because of Robert Plant. In future posts I'll discuss similar characteristics of other great bands, and talk about how those characteristics cut across different genres. |
AuthorA lawyer who likes to write music commentary. Archives
January 2020
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