Members Grant Harding Posted February 20, 2018 Members Share Posted February 20, 2018 Rather than focus on the negative stuff, what are some great things about BB King, Neil Young, Willie Nelson that made them household names? I think Neil's flat-picking rhythm style is powerful and interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Axisplayer Posted February 20, 2018 Members Share Posted February 20, 2018 Well lets see. Willie has written some of the defining songs of the last few decades. Neil young is a great songwriter, and you don't get in CSNY if you don't have talent. Not a great singer, and worse lead guitarist, but great songs. BB King????? Well, I like his bar! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members badpenguin Posted February 20, 2018 Members Share Posted February 20, 2018 BB was the first who showed that the notes didn't matter as much as the emotion behind the notes., that vibrato was a gift from the Gods, and that you could play ten notes, but why when 3 were perfection. Neil, has some great tone (at times) and anyone ballsy enough to do a 1 note solo, has my vote for greatness. Willy is still a great guitar player, who has wrote some of the standards that will be played 200 years from now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Grant Harding Posted February 20, 2018 Author Members Share Posted February 20, 2018 Like I used to focus on what I perceived to be technical short-comings with Keith Richards (or Jimmy Page, etc) rather than all of the cool music he's helped create. Thanks for helping me embark on this journey of emotional enlightenment folks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Grant Harding Posted February 20, 2018 Author Members Share Posted February 20, 2018 BB King had a voice like honey-coated thunder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sammyreynolds01 Posted February 21, 2018 Members Share Posted February 21, 2018 Willie wrote some of the best country songs ever. Not really a fan of Neil Young. BB King? Well he's BB King. To me he still has the best vibrato of all time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Grant Harding Posted February 21, 2018 Author Members Share Posted February 21, 2018 Neil Young is from my homeland and makes me nostalgic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RaVenCAD Posted February 21, 2018 Members Share Posted February 21, 2018 I got nothing for Willie and Neal, but without BB, there would be no BB Box! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 1001gear Posted February 21, 2018 Members Share Posted February 21, 2018 Way mushy for me. Wuttabout Dolly Parton? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Grant Harding Posted February 21, 2018 Author Members Share Posted February 21, 2018 Dolly is a great musician and a consummate professional. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jazzer2020 Posted February 21, 2018 Members Share Posted February 21, 2018 Rather than focus on the negative stuff, what are some great things about BB King, Neil Young, Willie Nelson that made them household names? I think Neil's flat-picking rhythm style is powerful and interesting. I agree it's wrong to focus on the negative stuff. If I were to point out the strong points of each of these artists: Neil, I would leave out ALL of his guitar-playing. Everything. Neil is a brilliant songwriter and has a very decent singing voice. Willie, I would leave out ALL of his guitar-playing. Willie's songwriting and voice are his greatest calling cards. BB. It's not the notes he played on guitar that were stellar, it's the ones he left out! Great guitar tone and feeling. For BB it was his voice that was his greatest forte. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sammyreynolds01 Posted February 21, 2018 Members Share Posted February 21, 2018 But people still don't understand the dumb blonde shtick is only an act. She ain't dumb. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WRGKMC Posted February 21, 2018 Members Share Posted February 21, 2018 A discrimination ears hears the good and the bad. They are two sides of the same coin. What you choose to promote is an indication of the persons character. If a person needs a hand up promoting the good can sometimes help. It can also become a crutch to many and give them a handicap they didn't have before so beware of how you use praise and determine if its what a person really needs. On the other hand you have many musicians where praise has gone to their heads and they stop advancing because they already think they are the best they can be. This is where tough love can play an important role. "Someone" has to tell them when they are slacking and why shouldn't it be someone who actually cares. You may have to tell them their talent has come to a grinning halt or regressed because they are obsessed with getting pats on the back instead of earning respect through quality work. Music is a very difficult career path and often times the people making judgement simply haven't got a friggin clue to what they are actually doing. Its not their fault of course, they are just doing unto others like they'd like to have done unto themselves.They don't know the music business and don't know what makes musicians tick. Its really no different then someone whose been in the service. People who haven't been there cant relate no matter how well intentioned their efforts are. It takes other soldiers who've learned to cope and know where all the buried secrets hide in order to shine a light and exorcise the ghosts haunting peoples souls. It takes a discerning mind to know when praise is due and when its better withheld.Of course in a forum like this I already expressed a positive opinion in the Negative thread so I suppose I'm doing the same here by throttling it back here. I'm a believer people contain both good and evil and you cant simply judge a person to be all good or all bad. You can appreciate their works separate from the person but that devalues the life of the person that built that work. Here's a thought for the conversation. Why is it when we have athletes thrown under the bus never to be heard of again when they are caught doing drugs but the biggest dopers in music are set on the highest pedestals? Does that indicate a double standard when we judge the person vs their musical works? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted February 21, 2018 Share Posted February 21, 2018 She's anything but dumb - in fact, I'd say she's pretty astute and clever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members catscurlyear Posted February 21, 2018 Members Share Posted February 21, 2018 rk. Here's a thought for the conversation. Why is it when we have athletes thrown under the bus never to be heard of again when they are caught doing drugs but the biggest dopers in music are set on the highest pedestals? Does that indicate a double standard when we judge the person vs their musical works? i think if an athlete does drugs he is reaching a potential he would otherwise have maybe never ever reached and it`s because it is set in a competition where all are supposed to be equal . in music it isn`t realy a competition so it doesn`t realy matter how you come up with the goodies be it booze ,dope or a bar of chocolate, but stealing melodies or ripping off other peoples work and claiming it to be their own work is also claiming a false potential or standing and when caught out the same applies as with any other cheat i suppose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Chordite Posted February 21, 2018 Members Share Posted February 21, 2018 This was probably the song that convinced me that you didn't have to practice being Malmsteen to make a musical impact. [video=youtube_share;S0nlygb1Qfw] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Grant Harding Posted February 21, 2018 Author Members Share Posted February 21, 2018 You mean didn't? We used to do that song and I agree. Crowds love it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Grant Harding Posted February 21, 2018 Author Members Share Posted February 21, 2018 I used to be critical of Joe Perry because I thought using studio musicians was lame, but he's a legit rock star and a solid player. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GAS Man Posted February 23, 2018 Members Share Posted February 23, 2018 Thanks for posting that, I had not seen it before. I learned to play that song years ago, but listening to it again, I realize I've been missing that rest in the arpeggios that's an important element to the song, so I'll work on that some more tonight. ;^) But yeah, I used to work at the Spokane Opera House and worked one of her shows back in the late 70s. I was really impressed that she was a damn good picker. They did this thing where "what is you played a 33RPM record at 78RPM". Her fingers flew on that bit and she did it with fingernails on her fretting hand that would make it seem implausible if not impossible. I was surprised to see her back stage and note what a tiny thing she really is, aside from her enormous attributes. But she's a treasure. I was always a rock fan, but early on had to make room in my heart for some DP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GAS Man Posted February 23, 2018 Members Share Posted February 23, 2018 Love that song. One of 3 IP tunes I love. Unfortunately for me, I couldn't get my lame band to follow my suggestion on that one. I love the live version of it with the tail hanging out the back of his pants. "I LIKE this music" he says. And so do I. I try to emulate the keyboard part when I play it. On a good day my fingers can keep up with it. I'll post it below so you can maybe see what I'm referring to. It's like something off a carousel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GAS Man Posted February 23, 2018 Members Share Posted February 23, 2018 [video=youtube;d1_nvFAeKJg] Right around 0:58 is that keyboard pattern I try to emulate on guitar.Fun stuff.My other 2 faves are Lust For Life and Real Wild Child, which is 4 chords of fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Grant Harding Posted February 23, 2018 Author Members Share Posted February 23, 2018 How could anyone not want to play a song with that much cowbell in it is beyond me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GAS Man Posted February 23, 2018 Members Share Posted February 23, 2018 I never thought that picking on Neil Young's guitar playing was anything more than a boorish cliche. I remember my guitar teacher back in the early early 90s saying "Neil Young isn't much of a guitar player". I mean, that guitar teacher was a pretty good player, but at the time I still thought, "yeah, and how many hit songs have you produced?" So being a kid of the late 60s/early 70s, naturally I loved his hit tunes from Harvest (Old Man, Heart Of Gold, etc). Explored some more and brought to my guitar instructor "Ohio" which my instructor was able to figure out by ear was double drop D tuning.[video=youtube;hkg-bzTHeAk] What a cool riff and not exactly "pedestrian". And then you listen to some of his more raucous songs like Hey Hey My My and you can bathe in the truckloads of harmonic overtones, maybe somewhat discordant, but a pleasurable assault on the senses if you're as cranked as his music. With songs like that, it's no wonder he became he Godfather of Grunge to a younger generation.[video=youtube;2SdikywAcaM] Often times I'll just find myself picking out a simpler tune of his that has both lyrical and melodic charm. [video=youtube;7JTy-GCfmvw] With enough ice in the glass, filled with amber libation, there's no need to even draw that song to an end. LOL Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Axisplayer Posted February 23, 2018 Members Share Posted February 23, 2018 Actually, I used to think Neil TOTALLY sucked, but that suckage makes his playing unique. I can't tell you how hard I think it is to play Woodstock and get it to sound right. Timing is so odd, and tone is so screechy, but it fits the song so perfectly. In the end, sometimes suckage makes your songs brilliant, hard to duplicate, and instantly recognizable. Isn't that what stardom is all about? I still think he sucks, but that doesn't make him a bad musician by any means. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mikesr1963 Posted February 23, 2018 Members Share Posted February 23, 2018 Willie wrote this. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QEDb3xzdec and these: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_songs_written_by_Willie_Nelson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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