• Registered: 2007-04-25
  • Posts: 551

Topic: Under-used talent

Looking particularly at the Beatles, I think that quite a few bands from the really early rock n' roll days had guitarists whose talent wasn't made much use of.  Listening to a song like "Revolution", you'd think that they could have done more with this sound.  Maybe this was too "heavy" for most listeners?  George Harrison's acoustic work on "Here Comes The Sun" is great as any.  In addition to this, Paul or John could have made good rythym guitar players.  Also, The Who could have probably done more with Pete Townshend's guitar skills, but you only hear a little bit of his playing on any given song.  Then you look at a band like the Rolling Stones, and their music seems to have more of an emphasis on guitar, leading up to guitar-driven rock bands like Zeppelin and AC/DC.  My question is, why didn't these great bands do more with their guitar players? I'm thinking that it's because this was at a time in music history when guitar solos were just beggining to gain popularity, with Jimi Hendrix's playing and influence.  What does everyone think?

"A steering wheel don't mean you can drive, a warm body don't mean I'm alive"
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  • From: A black hole in deep space
  • Registered: 2007-10-28
  • Posts: 7,865

Re: Under-used talent

I think guitar solos were already present and popular before the beatles or the rolling stones,the early rock and roll songs featured the likes of Chuck Berry.James Burton( Ricky Nelsons lead player and Elvis) Bo Diddly, Duane Eddy and lets not forget Les Paul and altho he wasn't a rock and roller his guitar playing was unequaled in the mid and late fifties,and there was Bill Haley and the Comets guitar solo on the hit "Rock around the Clock" but guitar solos changed with the popularity of drugs and other mind altering agents on musicians and exacted a toll,disco came and went, and music keeps changing with each generation but like the old styles of clothes it recycles and regains popularity again smile

"Growing old is not for sissies"

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  • upyerkilt
  • upyerkilt
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Re: Under-used talent

Good question 06.

I tihnk you might have answered your question. I tihnk lots of guitarist could do things really heavy, even before the likes of Led Zep and jimmy Hendrix.
I tihnk the reason we never heard it before was because of the sound that was going about then, I dont think any producer was ready to unleash the heavy distorted guitar with long mad fantastic solos. I think for live performances anyway TheWho could have been one of the firt heavier guitar bands.
If you look at when chuck Berry Eddie cochrane etc were about in the late 50's, their music was seen as rebellious and heavy( for its time) yet we see it as very tame compared to Led Zed, sex pistols, even sounds like Revolution and helter skelter from the beatles.
I see all music changes from the easly 50's up to late 80's as gradually getting introduced slowly through the years.
Chuck berry to the Who to Black Sabbath to sex pistols to Metallic to Slayer

Just an example, I am sure folk could add more or make their own up. It is just a progression of music through the years.

Also ye mentioned revolution which made me ( for some reason) mention helter skelter, Motley Crew done a cover of this and I tihnk if that if the sound or the rightproducer was about at his time wen he beatles done it, they would be sounding like motley crew's version.
Also whie still thining,lol, souixe and the banshees done a cover of "dear Prudence" again , would the beatles have made it sound like this in a different time?


Ken

ye get some that are cut out for the job and others just get by from pretending

4 Reply by kramdar (edited by topdown 2009-07-10 11:15:53)

  • Registered: 2009-07-10
  • Posts: 6

Re: Under-used talent

Stop looking at the popular works if you're thinking of analyzing heavier guitar styled bands from that era. There's loads of stuff that we haven't even caught up to yet going on - and more we probably don't know about because they were isolated and maybe never recorded - like Indonesian psychedelic from the 60s- even Japan had some great [stuff]. Anyway - take a look at The Monks, 13th Floor Elevators, Velvet Underground, Zappa - after The Beatles, John and Yoko and Ringo did heaps of crazy experimental stuff too. 

Peace.

Moderator note - Edited for language

  • upyerkilt
  • upyerkilt
  • Unofficial king of Scotland
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Re: Under-used talent

kram
yer boring me digging up old threads.
and also i tihnk you should read the forum guide lines, particularly the part about profanity, and if ye dont know what that means then i suggest you look it up

Ken

p.s. it was I that reported you.

ye get some that are cut out for the job and others just get by from pretending