McMore of McGeoch

A lovely surprise appeared in the inbox just t'other day. Dear auld friend Nathan McNothin' crafted his own John McGeoch compilation, again eschewing the big hits in favor of his own favorites where the late guitarist really shines. 

Nathan starts with the 1980 Peel Session by The Skids, where McGeoch sat in for Stuart Adamson when the latter couldn't make it to Maida Vale. McGeoch would soon work again with Richard Jobson on the latter's solo album The Ballad Of Etiquette, and yet again in The Armoury Show.

Between 1980 and 1983, McGeoch played with Magazine, Visage, Gen X, the Banshees, Ken Lockie, and Jobson. He also became a producer.

Nathan shares a 1983 single by The Wise Men (which McGeoch produced), as well as McGeoch's appearances on Matthew Sweet's "Brotherhood", The Sugarcubes' "Gold" and Peter Murphy's remake of "The Light Pours Out of Me". Nathan's own repatriation from the West coast to the East is reflected in his choices of PiL's "Seattle" and Magazine's "Philadelphia".

Ach, so much McGeoch! Almost tempted to make another set of my own. Thanks for sharing this one, Nathan!

The Best of John McGeoch

From Magazine's first single in January 1978 until PiL's hiatus in the mid 1990's, John McGeoch was one of post punk's most innovative guitarists. As a member of Magazine, The Banshees, The Armoury Show and Public Image Ltd., and on sessions for artists ranging from Generation X to The Sugarcubes and Matthew Sweet, John's sound was unmistakable.

After McGeoch's death in 2004, guitarists ranging from Jonny Greenwood to John Frusciante acknowledged his influence. Writing for AllMusic, Eugene Chadbourne called McGeoch "one of the greatest musicians to ever come out of Scotland" and "one of the great instrumental voices in the new wave rock and punk scene, genres admittedly not especially known for featuring soloists."

As a founding member of Magazine, John McGeoch helped Howard Devoto throw off the shackles of punk and journey "to the outside of everything". With Siouxsie And The Banshees, McGeoch codified the sound of goth rock, ranging from brutally dissonant riffs to ornate and delicate finger picking.

Lydon poached McGeoch from The Armoury Show, Richard Jobson's effort to replicate the success of Big Country (led by Jobson's former Skids bandmate Stuart Adamson). From 1986 to 1992, McGeoch anchored Public Image Ltd.'s most stable lineup and paid tribute to one of his own inspirations, Keith Levene.

McGeoch was also a member of Visage at the beginning of the New Romantic movement. He was no more afraid of digital instruments than he was of punk's most imperious vocalists, and he played guitar on records by BEF, the Human League, and Propaganda. One of Propaganda's "p:Machinery" remixes features several minutes of McGeoch tearing up the fretboard. It is included today in an edit that skips the intro and goes straight to the fireworks.

He hasn't been forgotten, as evidenced by this recent article and this one. (Photo: McGeoch in shades with Allan Dias and Mr. Lydon, 1992.)