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:

  1. 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.

    ReplyDelete
  2. getawaygoober6/16/2023 10:15 AM

    David Lindley - Mercury Blues
    Rolling Stones - No Expectations

    ReplyDelete
  3. Mick Taylor:

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

    Overheated Captain Al

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

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

    ReplyDelete
  5. Dave Leonatti6/16/2023 11:59 AM

    Chris Rea- "Road To Hell- Pt II"

    ReplyDelete
  6. Midnight In Harlem - DerekTrucks
    Lipstick Sunset - Ry Cooder

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

    ReplyDelete
  8. bonnie raitt - thing called love

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

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

    ReplyDelete
  10. 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.

    ReplyDelete
  11. 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

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

    ReplyDelete
  13. 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.

    ReplyDelete
  14. 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

    ReplyDelete
  15. 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

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

    Tob1

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

    ReplyDelete
  18. Joe Louis Walker - Slide Her Up and Down

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

    VR

    ReplyDelete
  19. 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.

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

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

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

    VR

    ReplyDelete