The forerunners of today’s alternative scene, Ireland’s U2 provided an early glimpse of the alternative approach in the 80s with their unique brand of textural colorist/minimalist rock. Sunday Bloody Sunday, a classic track from the classic 1983 U2 album, War, ranks high as one of the finest cuts the band has ever recorded. A veritable showcase for the sonic imagery of The Edge (guitarist Dave Evans), it teems with anti-traditional elements: guitar sound effects and vivid musical colors which paint mental pictures in the listener’s ear. A masterpiece of textural rock Sunday Bloody Sunday is an important piece in rock history that unerringly points to the developments of the 90s. (more…)
Oasis has it. Call it attitude, call it the X-factor, call it rock ‘n’ roll… Sporting the same sort of insolent British swagger as their forebears (the Beatles, early Stones, Kinks, and the Who), the Manchester-bred, working-class band is currently spearheading the latest assault on the world’s pop charts. The hot sophomore release of 1996, (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?, is an eclectic mix of diverse, acoustic-tinged pop rock in the distinctly Anglo tradition of the 60s British Invasion, and has similarly taken America by storm with such prominent hit tracks as “Wonderwall,” and “Champagne Super-nova,” and much-requested album cuts as Roll With It. Yep, Oasis has it, and it’s abundantly self-evident on Roll With It. (more…)
Chuck Berry is the father of rock guitar. Though the elements were in the air, no one before him had hit upon the formula that put it all together – boogie-woogie piano style, jump blues rhythms, and Chicago-based electric guitarwork – or packaged it so neatly. Berry’s accomplishments are now imbedded in the core of rock music. Anyone picking up a guitar post-1955 has been influenced by him, directly or indirectly, and that includes the Beatles, Stones, the Who, Yardbirds, Jimi Hendrix, Angus Young, Ed Van Halen, or the latest kid on the block. Chuck was “discovered” and brought to Chess records in 1953 by none other than Muddy Waters himself, the Father of Electric Blues. Between the two, you have the essential DNA for practically all rock music to follow – but that’s another story. Today’s story is No Particular Place to Go, one of Berry’s biggest hits (No. 10 in 1964), a career-defining statement, and an immortal piece of the rock guitar legacy. (more…)
Grunge moved into the acoustic realm with the 1994 release Nirvana Unplugged in New York. MTV’s Unplugged is generally considered to be a songwriter’s forum, and Nirvana’s set was no exception – only many of the songs were covers of other songwriters near and dear to Cobain, and not the expected lineup of Nirvana hits-sans-juice. Taped on January 10, 1992, the repertoire contained no Nirvana standards (except “Come As You Are”) and included numbers from the Meat Puppets, the Vaselines, and David Bowie. Run-throughs earlier in the day were plagued with sound problems and mistakes. Bowie’s The Man Who Sold the World was a particularly sticky situation. The band never got through the song in rehearsal (after a few abortive tries), and Cobain even announced it at the show by saying, “I guarantee I will screw this song up.” (more…)
Foxy Lady is one of Jimi Hendrix’s most memorable tunes on an album of memorable tunes – the monumental 1967 debut record, Are You Experienced? As a piece of music, it is beyond important, it is groundbreaking. As a piece of rock history, it is immortal – the biggest, most furious noise from one of the era’s leading musical spokesmen. If a classic is defined as that which improves with age, then Foxy Lady defines classic rock. A brilliant amalgam of proto-metal, r&b, and Jimi’s own inimitable brand of innovative avant-rock, it remains essential – forever imbedded in the core of contemporary guitar lore – and is a must-know selection in every self-respecting guitar player’s repertoire. (more…)
After three platinum albums, a string of hit songs, a Grammy win and five years of unqualified success, Stone Temple Pilots need no introduction. Nor does the Stone Temple Pilots classic Plush from 1992’s Core album. This is the song that broke the band and unleashed the ubiquitous, must-know modern rock guitar riff of the new age, a riff that is deemed by many to be the Smoke on the Water or “Stairway to Heaven” of the alternative generation. But there’s a lot more to Plush than just a cool guitar riff. Under the surface, evocative dissonance and unorthodox harmonic moves abound, delivered with the gritty, distortion-laden but coloristic and well-crafted stylings of guitarist Dean DeLeo, and held in check by the solid bass work and arranging savvy of brother and leader Robert DeLeo. Aspiring to the rock compositions of the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Burt Bacharach, and Brian Wilson, Stone Temple Pilots promises to be around for some time. (more…)