Sunday 19 August 2007

Why I play guitar the way I do (youtube update)

I'm a fan of youtube; yes, I know there's some distasteful stuff out there, but I love the way I'm continually surprised by what I can find. Anyway, recently I wondered if I could update my guitar playing post with actual video referenecs and of course I could .... so here goes....

5 reasons why I play the way I do

1. Let It Be - the Beatles
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67J_66hdN-I
the first guitar solo I ever learned note for note

2. Suffragette City - David Bowie
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3dQDPNHtbY
the first solo I payed live back in 1975 (yes I did start playing quite late) and I think I played it better than this (and had better trousers)

3. Live and Dangerous - Thin Lizzy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FmPhJkdTwU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsIubn5Pp6s
Still probably the greatest live album even and I learnt the whole thing, from track1/side1 - Jailbreak right through to the close of side4 - The Rocker. The only trouble was that I learnt the whole thing half a tone down so "Ab" instead of "A" as I never knew they tuned down by a half when playing live to help Phil Lynott's vocals. Still it taught me some interesting shapes :-).

4. One more for the road - Lynyrd Skynyrd
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlCMZ5AlNys - T for Texas
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GyOgVFDocs - Gimme 3 steps
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1140NzFo5A - Freebird
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvzfOgQGM9Q&feature=related

I went to the "One more for the British Road" tour and saw one of the last shows before the fateful plane crash that prematurely ended the lives of singer/songwriter Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist/vocalist Steve Gaines, and vocalist Cassie Gaines, as well as seriously injuring the rest of the band and crew.
Anyway, in the late 70's the band I was with had a local residency where the Landlord was a huge Skynyrd fan and insited on our set being closed with Freebird. Gimme 3 Steps, Sweet Home and T for Texas occasionally made their way into the set but Freebird was always the close or encore

5. Strangers in the Night / MSG - UFO/ Michael Schenker
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aatjerFCRP8 - Lights Out
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrRBHO28iLY- into the arena
A hugely underrated talent, many of today's uber flash players owe a huge debt to Michael Schenker who with his trademark flying V (or arrow as he called it), Marshall 50W stack and use of wah wah as a tone effect completely change my ideas of melodic soloing.

Beyond these "five reasons", here are some other awesome guitar talents that I wish I could get close to.

Joe Satriani - just the absolute best - bar none
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6yc8xyL0Xxo - always with me always with you (still my favourite)

Gary Moore - fastest (and most emotive) right and left hands I'd ever seen
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWp-Mazmf88 - from the Montreau jazz festival (a Roy Buchanon number that sounds like an inversion of Parisian walkways)

Eddie Van Halen - wrote the book on tapping, the first and the best
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULEBSxP725w - Eruption (from 1994)

Mike Petrucci - Dream Theatres wonder player, probably the best of the techno players and does just about everything
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsRatZykj8M - hollow years
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4WEAHRLorM - Erotomania

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Hey Coe62, great links. I'd forgotten how good these guys were. You're right youtube's great for this stuff. keep posting