Friday, August 29, 2008

Weekend Listomania (Special Bend Me Shape Me! Video Edition)

Well, it's Friday and you know what that means. Yes, my Oriental rentboy amanuensis Hop-Sing and I are off for the Republican National Convention, where in a gesture of solidarity with the Republican base, we'll be staying in that parking lot owned by adulterous senile gigolo John McCain's wife. John himself doesn't remember it, but we here it's very tastefully appointed and that the office fridge is well-stocked with six packs of Bud.

In any case, posting by moi will thus be sporadic for a few days.

But in the meantime, here's a fun project to tide us all over:

Best Slide Guitar Work On a Pop, Rock or Blues Song Under 10 Minutes Long!!!

Okay, here's my totally top of my head Top Eight:

8. Canned Heat -- Let's Work Together



The great Alan Wilson.

7. Smashing Pumpkins -- Spaceboy (audio only)



Anybody counting how many consecutive Listomania's I've managed to work Billy Corgan's angst-in-your-pants routine into? Frankly, I've lost track. Worse, I'm not even sure why I bother.

6. The Beatles -- For You Blue



George: "Elmore James' got nothing on this baby!"

5. John Hiatt -- Riding With the King



With the unbelievably amazing Sonny Landreth on slide. Seriously -- I've seen these guys do this live, and it was the closest thing to a psychedelic experience I've ever had without drugs. Those notes seem to literally hang suspended in time and space.

4. Leo Kottke -- Louise



The definitive version of this oft-covered folkie classic, I think. Actually, If the slide solos don't make you cry, I don't want to know you.

3. Mick Jagger -- Memo From Turner



That's the very young Ry Cooder on guitar, absolutely dripping menace and mystery. Incidentally, I recently discovered who the rhythm section is (courtesy of Rhino's 2007 Jagger solo best-of): turns out it's Stevie Winwood and Jim Capaldi. Who knew?

2. Joe Walsh -- Rocky Mountain Way



Walsh may be, in Don Henley's famous phrase, "an interesting couple of guys," but one of them is clearly an absolutely monster slide player.

And the numero uno most concise slide guitar work on a pop record,, hands down it's so totally obvious if you try to argue with me I swear to god I'll harm you so just don't, is ---

1. The Rolling Stones -- I Wanna Be Your Man



There's tons of slide all over the Stones catalogue, obviously, but this cover of the Fabs song was the first use (1964) of slide on a pop hit ever so I think it deserves the top slot.

Awrighty then -- what would your choices be?

[Shameless Blogwhore: My parallel Cinema Listomania (special Blade Runner For Morons Edition) is up at Box Office. As always, if you leave a comment over there, an angel gets its wings.]

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

George Harrison: "My Sweet Lord"

TJWood said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
TJWood said...

There are all kinds of choices out there and I know I'm going to miss some good ones, but here are five random ones:

1)"Statesboro Blues" by the Allman Brothers Band.

2) "What Is And What Should Never Be", Led Zeppelin (Jimmy Page, of course. Original choice was "In My Time of Dying", but that clocks in at over 11 minutes.

3) "Thing Called Love", Bonnie Raitt.

4) "Going For The One", Yes. Steve Howe is actually using a Fender pedal steel on this track, but this track just burns.

5)"Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth)", George Harrison. George has already been mentioned with "My Sweet Lord", but I actually prefer this one.

Plus, I may be mistaken, but I believe that's John Lennon, and not George, playing the steel slide guitar on "For You Blue".

steve simels said...

John? I'll have to check that out....

Anonymous said...

David Lindley on anything from Jackson Browne's "Running on Empty" album. Going to see him next week with Hot Tuna baby!

Most online sources confirm that it's John playing a lap steel on "For You Blue" who knew?

Anonymous said...

Yeah, I remember that from the Let It Be movie -- John's playing the guitar lap style and both he and George look like they're having a great time.

But one of my all-time favorite slide guitar parts -- it doesn't even sound like a slide guitar, it sounds like a friggin' jet plane taking off -- is played by Robby Krieger on The Doors' version of "Who Do You Love" from Absolutely Live!

TMink said...

Gummo, you are so right about Krieger, he could play himself some slide. My favorite slide on a pop song is Moonlight Drive.

Around The Plynth by the Faces has Ron Wood playing some wild slide. There is a live version with Gasoline Alley that is jaw dropping. If I could play slide like that, I would not do anything else. Well, not much else.

Trey

Anonymous said...

Robert Johnson "crossroads"
Eric Clapton "crossroads"
Jimi Hendrix " all along the watchtower"
john hiatt "thing called love"

Anonymous said...

LOVE IN VAIN ,,Mick Taylor, (rolling Stones)

MJConroy said...

3 words:

Hound Dog Taylor

e.g, see:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RA8NyvzIWk

Noam Sane said...

Yup, that's John playing slide on 'For You Blue' - check your Beatles Anthology booklet for details.

"Last Night I Had A Dream" - Randy Newman. Ry again.

"One of These Days" - Pink Floyd.

Who Am Us Anyway? said...

Since I just drove this road this morning from La Crosse to Red Wing, I’ll go with Johnny Winter’s cover of Highway 61, and speaking of “My complexion she said is much too white …"

Anonymous said...

Elmore James: Anything!

ROT(Plumber)

Wendy said...

"Duane and the Allmans live at the Fillmore ... introduced by Bill Graham.

The Kenosha Kid said...

"Late Night" by Syd Barrett, probably David Gilmour on slide

tjwood already mentioned the Zep songs.. so..

Burden in My Hand by Soundgarden