I just picked up "The Best of Pete Townshend, Cool walking, smooth talking, straight smoking, firestoking" today. These are modern renditions of some of his older songs. They do not have the wild resonance of concerts played at race tracks, stadiums or in large auditoriums in Pigsville, they are more intimate recordings. No Roger on vocals Townshend sings them all. There are even a few tiny solos, I have never considered much of Townsend's rythmic offerings to be solos as such. There was a music series on television called "Story Tellers." If anyone has seen some of the small concerts on the series, this is what the CD is like. One song on the CD "Uneasystreet" was previously unreleased. Kind of interesting to hear what an old guitar wildman is doing (sounds like) recently ,released in 1996. I also finally got a copy of The Eagles "Hell Freezes Over" CD that someone mentioned a while back in another thread. A lot of their old giutar work, but not as drugged out as before. Really good playing IMO.
Greatest Guitar Band
I thought just before Christmas I'd get a good thread going. IMHO,the greatest guitar band was the Yardbirds, not because E Clapton,or J Beck, or J Page was in it but because Chris Deja, and Paul Samwell-Smith were great rhythm and bass guitarists that could rock and keep up with the above. Plus Jim McCarty the drummer could keep the group in line and fine harmonica work from Keith Relf(ok not the greatest vocalist, more of a finesse singer).They had it all, I cannot think of another band that had three great guitarists in the band at one time(J Beck, C Deja, P Samwell-Smith). In 1967, when J Beck and J Page were in the band togther as co-lead guitars, they were the lead in band for the rolling stones, they just blow them away,ok, that is not a fair comparison considering the rolling stones still cannot play their instruments very well. But in comparison to say Led Zepplin, LZ did not have a rhthym guitarist(except J Page would overdub that part on recordings). That made them sound not as well rounded live as far as guitar work is concerned. I am not saying LZ was a bad band on the contrary,they put on probably the best show ever, but I do not consider them a guitar band per se. Besides, J Page stole vitually from his former band anyway. Remember "How Many More Times" is a repackaged version of the YBs "Smokestack Lightning", a Howlin Wolf tune. YBs version is in my mind the best rock song ever. So what do you think????
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- 93 posts total
- 93 posts total