Retro Chicken

Once I mentioned the Stone’s Classic Gimme Shelter in a previous post you knew it was only a matter of time before I found an excuse to write something about it.

Check these guys out - I mean wow.

I don’t think they are lip-syncing (the version in this video is different from the album and missing the ridiculously amazing backing vocals), though I don’t know how to explain the harmonica that no one seems to be playing. But who cares - this is classic Stones, when they were in their prime and at their best.

For those with a keen eye for Stones history, this video is Stones 2.0 with Mick Taylor (guitar) replacing founding member Brian Jones. Mick is the dude playing the black Les Paul.

I think I am too young to appreciate the massive impact the Byrds had on pop music, though judging from the audience frenzy in this video clip they were obviously huge (David Crosby, from Crosby, Stills and Nash was one of the original members). Killer harmonies, Rickenbackers jangling and meaningful lyrics from the Bible - what more could you ask for?

Possibly the Byrds’ most important legacy stems from the relationship between singer/guitarist Roger McGuinn and Keith Richards from the Rolling Stones. It was McGuinn who introduced Richards to open tunings, transforming his songwriting and inspiring incredible classics like Gimme Shelter and others. (Open tunings are when you tune a guitar to a chord instead of in the standard way; most typically an E, A, D, or G major chord. They are traditionally used by blues players and are a basic feature of slide guitar. Open tunings are also Dolly Parton’s secret weapon - enabling her to play guitar without having to trim her long fingernails.)

AC DC is the ultimate music of teenage rebellion (at least they were when I was a kid). True, they were industry darlings – mass-marketed on a major label and now Rock N Roll Hall of Fame inductees – but your average eighth grader lacked the sophistication to find out or feel duped. They were a voice for the suburban adolescent to innocently lash out at authority, parents and school (although the only thing radical about AC DC is how great they sound loud).

Below the surface lurks the subtle sophistication that is AC DC. Classic gimmicks include leaving the bass out until the first chorus (giving the music bottom and fatness when it enters), double time after the last chorus; plus bells, cannons and wild Australian-style backing vocals.

The guitar parts almost always use open chords (as opposed to power chords) – inviting in thirds and interesting chord motion not normally found in power rock. Angus (lead guitar), in spite of the school boy uniform and striptease, actually has a killer vibrato and simple but tasteful leads.

AC DC is great live, write great songs, and have consistently produced great music for years – and I always get goose-pimples when they fire the cannons (though when I saw them in Worcester, the city wouldn’t let them set them off indoors – I was so bummed).

Lola by the Kinks - this may be the most amazing video I have ever seen. The band is so serious, the song so ridiculous, and the people dancing with total late-sixties abandon. Wow - what else can you say?

Steve Morse is easily one of the most amazing and versatile guitar players ever. This is the Gina Lola Breakdown - a country twanged burner - and Steve shows off his complete mastery with unpretentious ease. Unfortunately the sound quality of this clip isn’t the greatest - you need to crank it to really hear it properly.

As incomprehensible as it may sound, Steve Morse is now touring with Deep Purple - how incongruous.

Child in Time - this is classic Deep Purple, back when they were young and extremely sixties. I first heard this song on their classic “Made in Japan” album, but I think this performance is better (although it could just be that the added element of “seeing” it is making me emotional).

Watching the video, I don’t understand how the audience can respectfully sit there when the energy starts to build and Ian Gillian (vocals) hits high notes way up in the stratosphere - but this was before the days of arena rock and it was a different world. Today, the crowd would be a sea of cigarette lighters, leather, and drunk aging bikers looking to party.