Music You're Listening To:

[Thumpalumpacus]

One of the songs I jammed to earlier this afternoon:

What the heck is their instrumentation at the beginning?  Not only guitars and bass, surely?  Is there like a violin or something in there?  Also. . . thanks for reminding me of Cream.  This is going to send me on a long marathon through these guys, White Boy Blues, and a bunch of other great stuff I haven't listened to in a while!  btw WBB = Cultural appropriation. . . fuck YEAH!

The intro and interludes are harmonized distorted electric guitars, independently tracked in single notes, spelling out the chord changes Dm-C-Am-G. The bass lays down the root notes. To my knowledge there is no other instrument on the song other than, obviously, drums. It sounds like violins because Clapton's using a wah-wah which both pushes the gain and sculpts the envelope -- through the intro and interludes, he's not working the pedal, but using it as a notch-filter. It's not called a "Cry-baby" for nothin'. You can hear the effect better in his fills where it really does at times cry.

And yeah, I got over cultural appropriation when I first heard the "Beano" album over thirty years ago, because Mayall/Clapton et al took the blues and put their own stamp on it, never mind they hadn't done time on Parchman Farm or lived Ray Charles's life.

While you're checking out WBB, don't forget Savoy Brown and Cactus -- rock though they are, still burning the root.

[Aegon]

[bennyboy]

I dunno, dude, that gating effect makes me want to throw stuff.

[Thumpalumpacus]

I dunno, dude, that gating effect makes me want to throw stuff.

Yep -- it's a digital replacement for musicians who'd know how to play behind the beat already, and not sound out beforehand. Great groove in the song, but shitty frosting can ruin a good cake.

Being a Luddite guitarist, I detest the digital influence on music most of the time. I like techno as a mood-thing, but I much prefer music to be organic, whether it's rock, hip-hop, classical, or whatever. I'll make exceptions: Kraftwerk, Jean-Michel Jarre, Prodigy -- but whatcha gonna do if the power fails? Can you play this stuff on an acoustic?

[Sal]

[Kernel Sohcahtoa]

[Kernel Sohcahtoa]

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

The first time I heard this was on a Roger Whittaker album when I was a lad.  This version brings all kinds of new levels to it.

Boru

[Kernel Sohcahtoa]

[Crossless2.0]

I've been on a cello kick lately. This is what I'm treating (tormenting) my office mates with this morning:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSNlw6fQ...87elmNSeIj