Friday, June 16, 2023

Return of the Son of Weekend Listomania: Special "Pluck Your Magic Twanger, White Boy " Edition

[I originally posted this back in 2008(!), when the world and this blog were young. As is my wont in these cases, I've done a bit of re-writing, and swapped in a song that wasn't in the original list, just so you don't think of me as the sad slacker I quite obviously am. Enjoy.]

Well, it's Friday and you know what that means. Yes, my Saudi Arabian PGA/LIV-certified caddy/ball-retriever Salman bin Blowme and I will be heading to beautiful Bedminster, New Jerey to attend the tee-off of Donad Trump's Make America Golf Again promotional tour.

Consequently, posting by moi will be sporadic for the next few days.

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

Best Slide Guitar Work On a Pop, Rock or Soul Record 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. Not to be confused with ---

7. Al Wilson -- Lodi

The John Fogerty song, of course, and as I have mentioned on numerous occasions, one of the great lost singles of the 60s. I should add that to this day there has been no definitive accreditation of who exactly is playing those amazing guitars, although given the year (1969) and town (LA) when and where it was recorded, the betting is on either Ry Cooder or Jesse Ed Davis.

6. The Beatles -- For You Blue

George Harrison: "Elmore James' got nothin on this baby."

5. John Hiatt -- Riding With the King

The unbelievably amazing Sonny Landreth on slide. Seriously -- I've seen those guys do this live, and it was the closest thing to a psychedelic experience I've ever had without drugs. Those notes seemed 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 Kottke's slide solos don't make you cry, I don't want to know you.

3. Mick Jagger -- Memo from Turner

The aforementioned 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. Pretty cool, no?

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 ever committed to magnetic tape, 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. Brian Jones, ladies and germs, let's really hear it for him!

Awrighty then -- what would your choices be?

And have a great weekend, everybody!!!

22 comments:

Gummo said...

Any Road - George Harrison

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8fFdc-karA

Before he died, George left us one of the best songs he ever wrote with some of the sweetest slide anyone's ever done.

getawaygoober said...

David Lindley - Mercury Blues
Rolling Stones - No Expectations

Allan Rosenberg said...

Mick Taylor:

The live version of "Love in Vain" from 'Yas Yas' melts my heart, brain and soul!

Overheated Captain Al

Alzo said...

Arguably not pop, rock or soul, but if you want slide guitar...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hziq6PRwKpE

Dave Leonatti said...

Chris Rea- "Road To Hell- Pt II"

JD Goldberg said...

Midnight In Harlem - DerekTrucks
Lipstick Sunset - Ry Cooder

Jim G said...

Never head that version of Lodi before but that IS some tasty slide and his version is better than CCR's IMO. Nice.

mistah charley, sb, ma, phd, jsps said...

bonnie raitt - thing called love

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTzDrB16y5E

pete said...

Lowell George on Little Feat's "Rock and Roll Doctor"

cthulhu said...

Walsh has tons of great slide all over his catalog (love “The Bomber” from James Gang days), but I’ll tout the late great Kim Simmonds of Savoy Brown, and their song “Tell Mama” (not the Etta James song). Great stuff.

And for acoustic slide, Chris Whitley did some amazing stuff; check out “Phone Call from Leavenworth” from the first album.

M. Bouffant said...

Plunk it!

M_Sharp said...

Duane Allman, "Statesboro Blues" on the Live At The Fillmore East album

Ry Cooder on Jagger's "Memo from Turner" from the "Performance" soundtrack

Lowell George "Snakes On Everything" on the first Little Feat album

Muddy Waters "Feel Like Going Home" on the "Folk Singer" album

M_Sharp said...

Whoops! Missed your "Memo From Turner",not sure how, duh

Anonymous said...

Only recently found out that Joe Walsh plays slide on Andy Gibb's #1 single (Love Is) Thicker Than Water. It's a damn good record, not a guilty pleasure at all.

Also there used to be a video of Johnny Winter killing it on "Highway 61" on the Bob Dylan 30th Anniversary show, two drummers can't keep up with him.

Anonymous said...

Captain - agree on Ya Ya's Love In Vain and Simels' Memo (who wouldn't)

Derek Trucks - Sahib Teri Bandi (clocks in at 9:54)

Hendrix - All Along the Watchtower

Jeff Beck - Beck's Bolero

Jeff Beck - Evil Hearted You

Rory Gallagher - Who's That Coming? (Irish Tour)

Jimmy Page - In My Time of Dying

Leo Kottke - Vaseline Machine Gun

Robbie Krieger - Moonlight Drive

Jimmy Page - What Is and What Should Never Be (nice sweet and oh so tasty solo in the middle), You Shook Me

Lowell George - Hamburger Midnight

Mick Ronson - My Baby Is a Headfuck (most punk slide ever - pretty raw for a Mormon boy).

Derek Trucks - Instrumental Illness, Desdemona (and any of his solo endeavors)

Warren Haynes & Derek Trucks - Old Friend

Johnny Winter - Highway 61, Mojo Boogie, I'm Yours and I'm Hers

Duane Allman - any time he plays slide on At Fillmore East even when it's more than ten minutes long; Don't Keep Me Wondering

Ry Cooder - Feelin' Bad Blues, Sister Morphine, Memo from Turner, 44 Blues-How Long (Little Feat), Vigilante Man

BTW, there are three different versons of Memo From Turner. Winwood & Capaldi played on the inferior one from Metamorphosis. I always thought it was Jerry Scheff on bass with Gene Parsons on drums on the Performance version. But I could be wrong. Whoever it is, nasty bass and popping rhythm section.

Rick Derringer - Show-Biz Kids

Indian Ed with Taj Mahal Statesboro Blues (inspired the Allman Brothers version) & Watching the River Flow - Dylan (nothing fancy just the notes that matter)

Gary Rossington - Free Bird (I know), Travelin' Man (not crazy about the latter as a song, but Rossington does slide breaks you wish were longer.)

VR


If so inclined enjoy some Silver Wilburys with Jesse Ed, and know this, I was there :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r23DKWvFb3k

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CM80gMCHdI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0HUXUthipo

Anonymous said...

Peter Green - Show-Biz Blues

Keith Richard - Jigsaw Puzzle, Salt of the Earth, You Got the Silver

Mick Taylor - Stop Breaking Down, Soul Survivor

VR

Anonymous said...

Some deep cuts there -
Wanna liste to the slide...try Roy Rodgers

Tob1

Anonymous said...

Roy Roger's, my correction, corrected spelling
The Sky Is Falling
He went from early Porter Wagoner to Willie Nelson

Anonymous said...

Joe Louis Walker - Slide Her Up and Down

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G00ly99btfc

VR

Anonymous said...

RE: "Memo From Turner"

I understand there are "technically" FIVE different versions. Got my bootlegs out and listened to three alternate versions besides the "Performance" and "Metamorphosis" versions. A slow demo was recorded with Winwood and Capaldi and is only available on various bootlegs. Winwood plays all instruments except drums. You can hear his style on piano.

(winwood capaldi slow demo version)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmWiKwKuPtg

There are also two versions of the Metamorphosis backing track with alterenate Jagger vocal takes. These two versions and the one on Metamorphosis, supposedly feature Brian Jones, Al Kooper on guitar, Kooper on keys, Wyman bass and it sounds like Charlie on drums, but uncertain.

(version 2 alt vox) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dd-sl9Q55zE

The single version (the best one) features Cooder (slide), Russ Titelman (gtr), Jack Nitzsche (organ), Randy Newman (piano) Jerry Scheff or Bobby West (bass), Gene Parsons drums.

Keith is not on any of the versions.

VR

Duane Allman - Dreams

Gary Moore - Dust My Blues

Big Star - Take Care

George Harrison - Badfinger's Day After Day

-------------------

We're home tonight because we scrapped plans to see Elvis Costello & the Imposters in Vegas. We were gonna go to two shows - last night at The Greek and tonight at The Pearl. Nick Lowe with Los Straitjackets were opening. But last night's Greek show was disappointing. Elvis' vocals were off and not very powerful. Some of the new arrangements I liked, others not very much at all. It's been a few years since I've seen him and, though he still has the tunes and adventure, his voice and spirit were lacking. To be sure, he played a lot of his early classic stuff but ... I don't know. It wasn't something to rave about. Maybe he's just getting too old. Drunken louts hollering out song requests during the quiet, sensitive, acoustic numbers didn't help. He did a couple of sorta new numbers ... but he and the band just weren't gelling.

So, just chilling at the ranch with bottomless cubas libres.

Anonymous said...

George Harrison: "Elmore James' got nothin on this baby."

John Lennon slide and lap steel on "For You Blue"

Anonymous said...

Tommy Malone of the Subdudes - Late at Night from the Annunciation album

VR