It is currently Tue Mar 17, 2020 4:23 am

All times are UTC - 7 hours



Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 2 posts ] 
Author Message
Post subject: Defining the Iconic, Blackmore, Santana, and Frampton.
Posted: Sun Feb 01, 2009 6:58 pm
Offline
Amateur
Amateur
User avatar

Joined: Tue Jan 27, 2009 5:22 pm
Posts: 141
As a 13 year-old, my violin got shelved when I heard "highway star" for the first time.
The man in black became an icon that drew crowds through more than 3 decades, 3 different bands and still counting.

You don't become iconic unless you push the envelope.
Besides Clapton(competent in all styles, it took years for him to bring his voice front and center)
Page(That funky trebly rock-a-billy you can't hide) part of a supergroup that dominated the airwaves for a whole decade, you might notice that he grips his neck with his palm,...
Beck(early fusion defined) this is one guy who is plain scary when it comes to yanking geniis out of the bottle.

What I remember from the seventies, everyone wanted to play like Hendrix and Santana.
Blackmore was definitely unique in the same way that Santana and Frampton were.
These three were very liberal when it came to the basic scale.
Most people will notice that a lot of players use three fingers, yet they don't know why.
The reason is that pentatonic scales, if you slide, you hardly ever need to use that 4th finger.
Those that don't will find themselves in a situation like that of the San Francisco bands, the footage from the 60's show one particular guitarist struggling with a lateral scale, poor guy...

Keeping all of that in mind, you can't toe the line when it comes to deciphering this latter generation of icons, if you are only used to pentatonic scales done only one way, these three guys will drive you crazy.
Blackmore does triplets, his tone is a public menace, Gates of Babylon is an example of a melody gone wild.
Santana, he started with the violin. The mariachi skill is that of finding the key while adding simple fills in the background. Looking at his apparent boundless imagination, you just know that sooner or later he would have wanted something more challenging.
Frampton, is an example of a proverbial pied piper unaware...
This guy was a child star, he was the face of 68(teen idol), and he learned jazz. Is it any wonder that some of his melodies have a way of driving guitarists nuts?

The only mega icon that could play, write and even sing, hats off to Peter Frampton.

Looking at the past, you can see how going beyond the horizon pays off, you have to adopt that winning attitude that makes you competitive, and if you are willing to push the envelope, whether it places you in front of thousands or in front of impressionable students, you will be a star.


Top
Profile
Fender Play Winter Sale 2020
Post subject: Re: Defining the Iconic, Blackmore, Santana, and Frampton.
Posted: Sun Feb 01, 2009 9:42 pm
Offline
Rock Star
Rock Star
User avatar

Joined: Mon Jun 30, 2008 2:52 am
Posts: 3840
Location: Colorado Springs
rdclmn7 wrote:
... The only mega icon that could play, write and even sing, hats off to Peter Frampton ...

What about Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, SRV, and George Harrison? Now those dudes are mega-icons. Besides Peter Frampton is not even a normal icon in my book. For instance, the best stuff by a huge margin that ever came out of Humble Pie was all written, played and sung by Steve Merriott, not Frampton. And as a solo artist, the only song that is even tolerable is the live version of "Do You Feel?". As a guitar player, he was ... pretty good. But, my God, is there anything on Frampton Comes Alive that is anywhere in the guitar-greatness ballpark of Led Zeppellin's (live) The Song The Remains The Same?? Ummmm, not even close. And that is why Jimmy Page is a mega-icon, and Peter Frampton is lucky to do insurance commercials. Oh, and let's not even go down that fiasco-laden road with the BeeGees and Sgt Pepper...

Just my opinion...

_________________
Laughing out loud with fear and hope, I have a desperate plan ...


Top
Profile
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 2 posts ] 

All times are UTC - 7 hours

Fender Play Winter Sale 2020

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum

Search for:
Jump to: