Bakers Dozen is one of my favorite online features, and it has been the source of some great music recommendations. This particular Bakers Dozen is titled "The Reinvention Of The Guitar in 13 Albums", although some of Reynolds' choices are compilation tracks, EP's, and (in one case) a Youtube video of a live Bo Diddley performance from the 1980's.
I decided to assemble a mix from "The Reinvention Of The Guitar" (without realizing that the author had already created a Youtube playlist of his selections).
In my defense, his playlist includes three dozen songs, whereas mine is just 13. He shortened the Bo Diddley video that begins his Baker's Dozen, and I shortened one of the lengthy guitar pieces from the reissue of Allan Bryant's 1977 album Space Guitars.
Here's a cool thing about Simon Reynolds (who once wrote that he will never stop blogging): he creates a blog to organize his thoughts, links, and overflow material as he works on a new book. You can go back to the first month of his blog for Still In A Dream to get an idea of how the ideas for the book were conceived, and how they evolved. His comments on his Bakers Dozen choices are also worth reading.
ELSEWHERE ON THE BLOG: three sets of instrumentals with some fiendishly inventive guitar work -- compiled by me, Richard, and readers like you!
Reinvention Of The Guitar: https://pixeldrain.com/u/hshUW3Dh
ReplyDeleteA confession: this playlist won't fit on a CD unless you delete a track. I recommend dispensing with "Space Storm" (track 7).
Your nominations for other musicians who "reinvented" the guitar (with song recommendations) are welcome!
PS - in the description of his Youtube playlist, Reynolds writes:
Delete"The most interesting musicians of the late 80s and early 90s hungered to do something new while simultaneously being acutely conscious of history. Their music was in dialogue with the 60s and – increasingly, as we head into the 90s – in dialogue with early 70s rock. When I started writing Still In A Dream, listening again to the records I had raved about when I wrote for Melody Maker, what struck me was how selective groups like Loop, Dinosaur Jr. and Butthole Surfers were in their understanding of pre-punk. They focused on the noisiest and most chaotic groups of the 60s and early 70s: The Velvet Underground, The Stooges, aspects of Hendrix, Black Sabbath, the wilder side of Neil Young and Crazy Horse.
"Vast swathes of pre-punk still remained off limits: anything that was too flower power, too steeped in the blues… folk rock, Soft Machine and the Canterbury sound…. anything on a path towards the proggy or sophisto or fusion sounds of the 70s. Even though pre-punk excess and majesty was steadily getting rehabilitated, there was squeamishness still about the overtly virtuoso."
PPS - in writing about Royal Trux for his Bakers Dozen, Reynolds comments that he considers some albums "singular" and others "sessionable". Twin Infinitives is a singular Royal Trux album. It's a landmark, but you can't listen to it all day long. It's like a triple IPA with a high ABV. By contrast, Cats And Dogs is a sessionable Royal Trux album, one that you could put on repeat while working your way through a six pack of lager, or knocking back a few pints at the pub with your mates.
DeleteAndy Gill, Keith Levene, John McGeoch: without them The Edge wouldn't exist. They reshaped the role of the guitar in a band, esp. Gill & Levene.
DeleteBo Diddley's Diddley Daddy is so great. I saw him live in a small midwestern bar with a country band backing him. Like Chuck Berry, he didn't have to tour with a band, because EVERY band knew his music.
DeleteAnonymous: agreed 100%. The version of "He'd Send In The Army" from Urgh is brilliant, with Gill completely free of rhythm and melody during the breaks, and then the band drops back in completely in synch.
DeleteJohn McGeoch has been featured here by me and by my esteemed friend Nathan Nothin:
https://jonderblog.blogspot.com/search/label/John%20McGeoch
And I did a guest post at Nathan's blog on Levene: https://nathannothinsez.blogspot.com/2016/08/hope-is-purpose-in-life.html
Stinky, that is exactly what happens in "Diddley Daddy" -- a pickup band that took awhile to get into the groove (according to the Youtube poster who recorded the show), but they follow Bo wherever he wanders on "Diddley Daddy". The audience is enthusiastic, and I love how toward the end of the song Bo himself exclaims, "I like that!" Cool to hear that he was still exploring and innovating in the 1980's. One of my favorite choices of this Bakers Dozen, along with the Kevin Ayers and Seefeel tracks.
That's such a great version! The beginning proves that I WANT CANDY is a total rip-off.
DeleteThanks Jonder, I have read a few of Reynold's books, excellent author. As for "reinventing the guitar'", how about John Martyn with Big Muff?
ReplyDeleteAnother great nomination, thank you! And I agree, Reynolds is a compelling writer. "Rip It Up And Start Again" was (and is) a fantastic read. He actually stopped by here once to suggest a song from the glam era for our Talk Box series! I was "chuffed", as the British say.
DeleteFirst Derek Bailey comes to mind too much music to pich just one. A good song to illustrate the New Guitar (of 50 years ago) might alo be At home he's a Tourist (John Peel Session) Gang of Four. One other re-inventer of the guitar is Steve Hillage who brought guitar into techno in the 90s
ReplyDeleteIt is wonderful and a great joy you choose a member of M.E.V. I saw them once in 1991.
It was Simon Reynolds who chose Allan Bryant (member of MEV). All credit must go to him for these choices. Excellent recommendations, Richard! Seems like Fred Frith and Glenn Branca might deserve a mention as well.
DeleteWe can go a long way with innovative guitarists. Arto, Jacques Palinckx, Terrie Ex, Lee & Thurston (Glenn Branca's kids) BC Gilbert, Jad Fair.
DeleteOh and Sonny Sharrock, James Ulmer
My personal Holy Guitar Trinity from those Post Punk years of everybody's post-adolescence, long long ago: Andy Gill (The Gang of Four); Vini Reilly (The Durutti Column); Greg Sage (The Wipers).-- Do I hear someone, mumbling: "and what about Stuart Moxham"?--
ReplyDeleteWhen I saw "Reoccurring Dreams" on Simon Reynolds' list, I thought "What about 'Youth Of America'?"
DeleteAs a YMG fan, I never thought of Stuart Moxham's playing as extraordinary -- maybe because it's understated. I need to listen again. Thanks, Chairman!
"Rip It Up and Start Again" is indeed incredible. I strongly recommend getting the UK edition, if possible (and if you live in the U.S.). The American edition was cut down by something like 100 pages, or close to it. I've heard conflicting stories as to why, but the most common one was to save money on the price, and avoid overlap with Michael Azzerad's book This Band Could Be Your Life (which is also excellent). I bought the UK edition, first printing, on import when I learned of that.
ReplyDeleteI'll vote for Tom Herman of Pere Ubu. In his playing, you can the roots of the blues (especially Chuck Berry), but he's playing something new, post-Velvets, that influenced what came next.
Maybe not well-known enough to be declared a game changer, but Mary Timony (of Helium, Ex Hex and solo records) is one of the best live guitarists I've seen, with a style I can't quite place, though she has roots in the DC hardcore scene (via Dischord Records). If mixing DC hardcore, UK folk and psychedelia is possible, that's her style.
THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A SAUSAGE FEST, JAMES
DeleteI saw Jimi back in 1967. That was reinventing the sound of the guitar!
ReplyDeleteToday I nominate Bombino, his sound his tone reminds me of the change I felt listening to Jimi.
Boy, I am old!
You've had some enviable experiences -- Hendrix in 67! Will check out Bombino. Thank you!
DeleteNice one, Jonder.
ReplyDeleteIt's not meant to be definitive list of reinventors of the electric guitar - you'd probably need a Baker's 300 to do that properly. These were all people who seemed to me to somehow connect to the groups of the Still In A Dream era. (Although with Bo Diddley and Kevin Ayers I'm stretching it a bit to be honest - I shoved Bo in there really because that YouTube clip is probably the favorite thing I've heard in the last few years). And the second half of the list is just some of my faves from the Still In A Dream itself.
The Allan Bryant album has actually - with eerie timing - just been reissued on cassette by the label Death Is Not The End. The guy behind it, Luke Owen, is working his way through the electronic releases originally put out by CRI, a now defunct label originally founded by modern composers to put out some pretty out-there recordings. Another good one he's just put is Synthesized Voices by Charles Dodge.
Thank you, sir! Hopefully no one saw it as an attempt at a definitive list -- the format of the feature restricted you to 13 entries. Kevin Ayers was a pleasant surprise for me, as he isn't often described as an innovative guitar player (or maybe I'm just not reading the right people). I realized just yesterday that The Church included "Decadence" on their covers album "A Box Of Birds".
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