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Guitar Legends 109 (2009) Classic Rock

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Page 1: Guitar Legends 109 (2009) Classic Rock

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Page 2: Guitar Legends 109 (2009) Classic Rock

0|JrrARrr0t]tffiED TcRIALD REcToR tr.d r.un.r.lED T0R-lN-cFlEF J.rrrftrtExEcUT VE ED ToR chrirrcph.r!i..p.lllrlsEN oR E0 ToRir.dlrngL.

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0EslGN D RECToRlrdr.CskASS0C ATE ART DIRECToR Xkrr.L.R.u!.kPI]OTOGRAPHY D RECTOR JINIYII(!D'TdASS STANT PHOTOGRAPNY DIRECTOR JohnL.n'IoTdD 6ITAL MA6 NG SPECIALISTJ6II.PhIIU'.

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1969: THE GREATEST YEAR IN ROCKGuitar lacebds taLt6 ^ nonth-by-month look at

the albums ard erent! that shaped 1969, the mostpivotal reu in rock and mll.

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THE SEVENTIESWith BlacL Sabbath, kd Zeppetin,

Quen od Kiss at the heisht o{ their po*€E,it's no *!nd€. thk is remeDbe!€d d

the "cla!6ic" rock era.

, A.a'rTHE MAKING OF PINK FLOYD'S

THE WALLThe chrc cle of mck's eralldest concept slb|a

md how it nealy d6t!o]€d it! crestors.

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THE EIGHTIESFroE Metdli@ to Mittley Croe, {rom Van Halen to

Iror Maid€n... It f,'as the eoldeD as€ of viltuffo guitarplaying, thrasb meral, loog bair dd groupies.

36TIIE MAKING OF ACIDC'S

BACK IN BI-{CKCuit{ Le€end6 celebratls the enduring appeal of m

all"time cldsic &lbum that reuly wasdt mede.

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THE MAKING OF GT'NS N' ROSES'APPETITE FOR DESTRUCTION

Sla6h recdls the makins of the bmdb lmdrnalk llbuE.

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GREATEST GUITAR STORIESKeith Richads, Edward Var Hal€r, Ozry Osbo'lEe, Pet€

TowEhend and oth€r heroe6 tell inoedible t!1e6.

F a t)zPRIME CUTS

The tales of the tunes, told by the artists who wroteand recorded theD. FE TURI,,YG

52 ZZ TOP'S BILLY GIBBONS

54 JETHRO TULL'S IAN ANDERSONAND MARTIN BARRE

56 KISS' PAIJL STANLEYAND GENE SIMMONS

58 EDWARD VAN IIALEN

60 AC/DC'S ANGUS YOIJNG

bzINSIDE TRACKS

The stories behird classic rcck's geatest sonss.

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8 G U I T A R L E G E N D S

Page 3: Guitar Legends 109 (2009) Classic Rock

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Page 4: Guitar Legends 109 (2009) Classic Rock

INETEEN SIXTY-NINE WAS A MAD, mad year. Across theUSA, people protested silently or violently against the VietnamWar, racism and poverty. Men with crewcuts traversed the

moon's surface in giant leaps and bounds. Against all odds, the New York

But how is "achievement"gauged? on the one hand, there js

the mxtter ofdurability. Turn onany classic radio station tomorrow morningand you r.villfind anincredible array of songs recordedin r969 in regllar rotation.ledZeppelin's "whole Lotta Lovc"(Lea Zeppelil II). CreedenceClenrwater Revival's "Bad Moontusind' (crcen xiver). The who's"Pinball Wizard"(?ommJ). Thesesongs are not oldies, but:rs currentas the latest cdses in the Balkans.Another lneasure of greatncss,whether an album rvas issuedin 1969 or 1989, is its impact on

subsequen I generations of musi-ci:rns. where woulrt today's punkrockcrs be without lggy Pop's flreSfoojes and the MC5's iaicl Ou.rftcJdms? 50,000 rock and metalbands without thc tlvo Lcd Zeppclin albul11s of'69? The world with-orlt Let It Blee.1 and Abbey Roada

on a more speci f ic gui t r r lev-eI ,1969 was abonanza ofpowcrard glory. The arr ivalof the Al lmen Brothers B:rnd, u, i rh theirtrvin guitars fiom heaven. Thcnovel tunings and sweet rlrythnsofCrosby, st i l ls and Nash. Andrhe lantastic funL siylings of.lames Brown's unsung guitarist,J imm,v Nolen-

The moment which best represents all the fire and rain ofanDSt chaotic and creative tinebelongs to Jimi Hendrix, who onone July day atthe woodstockfestival forevel ensl ted a cosnicn1omellt in an incredible 1,s1.ttitthis majestic version of"The Star-Spangled Banner." It u-as 1969,and America rockcd.

------.,vvPA GE 1 0.r.,r---

Jets won the Suoer Bowl and the New York Mets won the World Series.

TN SCENIC BETHDL, New YCTK,

ajoyous crowd, halfa millionstrong braved the elements andpersonal discomfort to witnesshistory at woodstock. Outsidelovely Sa11 Francisco, California,at Altamon! Speedway, equallyjoyous crowdsjoined the RollingStores in wihressing murder.

1969 was thebest oftimes andthe wildest oftimes, so it shouldcomc as no surpdse that it wasan incredible year for music. Soincredible, in fact, tha!we arcuitdrworld believe it to have been the

8t€dt€st rock ard roll yea] ofthemall. Yes, that's abigstatement, the

kind ofproclamation onc associ-ates with boorish, opinionatedknow-nothings. Now, before wetale offense at such aharshcharac-terization, let us hestily male thispoint:we got the proof.

The prool so tospeak, is in thevinyl. The notion of1969's suprem-acyis, ofcourse, arl opinion untilone examines the incredible number oflandmark albums issuedit1 that glo ous year- True, minyfine records first saw the light in1968,1970,1979 and 1994, for tharmatter, but nothingcomparcs toMCMLXIX when itcomes to shccrvolurne of rock achievement.

Page 5: Guitar Legends 109 (2009) Classic Rock

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JANUARY Ld Zeppeli4* LED ZEPPELIN

IT WAS I]ARI,Y IN TID SUrnrnCI Of1968 and Jimmy Page was deeplypreoccupied, For several yearshe had worked Iike a dog to builda reputation as one ofEngland'sfinest session guitaiists, playingon many of the records releasedin Britain in the 1963-1965 era,including albums by the who,th€ Rolling Stones, the Kinks,Tom Jones and many others. Hethen par:layed his notoriety into ayear-long stint with the Yardbirds,whose previous guitarists, EicClapton and JeffBeck, had goneon to become full-fledged legends.Page, it \ras assumed,would benext in line. Unfotunately, due tothe pressures of touring the Yard-birds disintegrated just as he wasbeginning to come into his own.

with his band and career incomplet€ disarray, Page stood atacrossroads. He could resume hissession work, return to artschool,or try his luck at creating a newband. The gui[arist, determined totake a shot atbig-time rock success,decided to forge ahead. To thatend, he carefully devised a blue-pdnt for his idealband. That hewould actually see his plans cometo fruition and, in doing so, shakethe very foundation ofrock, wouldno doubt have surprised Page.

"The band that I envisionedwould combine blues, hard rocka]rd acoustic music and top it alloff

5 with hearry chomses," remembers6 Page. "Itwould be acombinationg that had never been done before.: Lots oflight and shade.": Ina strokeofcosmic luck, Page

"Mu5icallyil 5aurZeppeli4a5 amarriage of blueE,Iyzrd rocfua4dacou,tic muEic,topped uit[ lleavy'cllora.6e6. It vouldbe a combi4atio4tlyzt lpd 4everbee4do4e beforc. Lot5 ofIigfu a4d 6llade."-linnyPage

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quickly found just the right mento help him achieve his radlerambitious musical goals. JohnPaul Jones, one ofEngland's finestsession bassists, keyboardists andarrangers, was tircd ofthe studiog nd and asked to join Jimmy'snew band. Page, recognizingJones'talent and versatility, inmediatelyedisted the multi-insffumentalist.

Vocalist Robert Plant, recommended by two of Page's liiends,was also aremarkable find. Helooked every inch the lead singer,and his volcanic, androgynousvoice was suitable for everythingfrom the raunchiest blues to themost delicate ballad. But perhapsPage's greatest discovery wasdmmmer John Bonharn, whohad played with Plant in previousbands. Page had wanted a verypowerful drummer, but Bonhamwas "beyond the realms of anlthingI could have possibly imagined. He

was superhurnan. Besides beingone ofthe best drummers I've everheard, hewas also one oftheloud-est. He was the reason we had tostart buying bigger amps. And hisplayingwasn't in his arms; it was allin his wrist action. Frightening!Istill don't know how he managed toget so much level out ofa kit."

with his dream band assem-bled, Page was so confidenthedecided to record the band himselfand sellthe results to the highestbidder. The quartet, now officiallynamed Led Zeppelin, assembledin London's Ol).rnpic Studios inNovember of1968, with Pageproducing. After only a few weeksofreheaisal and a short tour, theycut their groundbrealing debut ina mere 30 hours, at a cost ofl,700

English pounds.But even on this tightschedule,

the band, just as Page had envi-sioned, produced plenty of"lightand shade." tr rom the ominoushea\y metal epic "Dazed andConfused" to the folky "Babe I'mGonna Leave You" to the quicksil-ver pop of"Communication Brealdown," Zep's power, versatility andimagination were undeniable.

with the album finished,Page enlisted former Yardbirdsmanager Peter Crantto take LedZeppelin to the bank. Usingtheguitarist's association with theYardbirds as bait, the ruthlessGrant worked out a five-yearworldwide distribution deal withAtlantic Records. Under its landmark terms, Led Zeppelin werepromised total creative control-their records would be producedindependently, without any labelinteference. The group wouldalso control alljacket artwork,press ads, publicity pictures andanlthing else related to theirimage. The basic outline ofthisremarkable contract later influ-enced the Rolling Stones, anotherAtlantic band, in their deal-ings with the label. Both bandsretained compl€te control over allcreative processes, leavilg onlythe manufacture and distribution ofalbums and, to a limiteddegree, promotion to Atlantic.

On January 12, the salne weekthe Beatles' "White Album" wasNo.l on the Billboard charts,Led Zeppelin was rclensed,. kentered the album charts at 99,from which itjumped to 40, then28.lts highest position was No.10, butthe album remained onthe charts for a remarkable 73consecutive weeks. While LedZeppelin's immediate impact wassurprising especially for a newband, itwas even more impres-sive considering the group'spopularity was achieved primarily through word-of-mouth.There were no singles releasedfrom their debut, they had littleradio exposure and practicallyno support from the rock press,who were caught off-guard by theband's overnight success.

JANUARY ALBUM RELEA6E6Odesn-The Bee Gees

Bayou Country-Creedence Clearwater RevivalErglis, Rose.-Fleetwood Mac

Yellow Subnairc (Soutdtrack)-The Beatles

GUITAR LEGENDS I I

Page 6: Guitar Legends 109 (2009) Classic Rock

FEBRUARY Eric Qlapto4a4d gteve Wi4tr6od forn BLIND FNTHWITH ITS I\{EI/BERS DRAWN fTomTraffic and Cream, two of themost popular groups ofthe era,Blind Faith was hailed as rock'sfirstsupergroup.

The band started when EricClapton, who hadjust Ieft Cream,reached out to Traffic's SteveWinwood in hopes of forming anew band. Inspired bythe tightarrangements and selfless inter-play of the Band, Clapton wantedhis next venture to include noneofthe endless soloing and ego-tismwhichhad been Cream'scalling card. But unbeknownstto the guitarist, Winwood had, inthe meantime, invited Cream'sGinger Baler to join the project.Despite Clapton's fears that thepublic would see the new groupas an extension ofCream, hedecided to soldier on.

Recording began in February1969 at Morgan Studios in Lon'don. The name Blind Faith hadnot yet been suggested, and thetrio booked studio time under thename Baker-Clapton-Winwood.Recording with engineer AndyJohns, the group put do\I,.n basictracks for tlvo songs, 'nvell AllFjght'' and "Presence ofthe Lord."

After a handful ofsessions,evbryone stepped back and evalu-ated their progress. It was decid-ed that a bassist should be addedto the trio and Fjc Grech, for-merly of the Family, was selected."We had run into [Ric cre.h] ona few occasions and he seemed avery sympathetic kind offellow,so he was in," winwood says.

Bylate May 1969, theband hadcome up with only two incom-plete songs, and both RobetStigwood, manager ofBaker andClapton, and Chris Black\rell,Winwood's label's chief, werebecoming increasingly exasper-ated. The two had organized amassive publicity campaign topromote the forthcoming album,as well as a crowded U.S. touritinerary. The pressure to capitalize on their lucrative reputationswas not lost on Baker, Claptonand Winwood. "It had becomeobvious during that era that artistscould be considered hot property,"

remaiks winwood.Such was the enthusiasm for

the new group, now known asBlind Faith, that on June 7, theydecided to male theh public debutin London's massive Hyde Park.The fiee concet drew in excessof100,000 people, an astonishingfeat considering that the grouphad yet to issue a single song.

Blind traith's uneven perfor-mance at Hyde Park, coupledwith the tenuous status of theirunfinished debut album, height-ened fears that the group mightnotbe ready. To salvage their stu-dio effort, Chris Blackwellturnedto producer Jimmy Miller, hailedfor his innovative work withTraffic and the Rolling Stones.Miller joined the band at Olympicand galvanized them with histrademark enthusiasm.

"l received a frantic call fiomChris Blackwell, asking me topull the situation together,"remembered Miller in 1993. "Iwent through those tapes theyhad recorded and knew that they

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"It hadbec6meobviou5durir1g tlptera thatarti5$ couldbe considercdIpt pdpertf-$teve Wi4tr6od

F EB RUAR Y ALBUM RELEAS EEBall-Iron Butterfly Dr. Byds & Mr. Hyde-The Btrds

Bless lts Poi ted Little Head-Jefferson AirplaneIt1stdnf R€pldl-The Monkees Krct Orr l,h€ Jarfls-The MC5

could do so muchbetter. Becauseofthe limited time available, weworked nonstop for a weekuntilthe album finally came together."

Miller called for retales of"Presence of the Lord," but noneofthe new efforts could matchthe intensity of the original Mor-gan Studios recording. However,an Olympic remake of"Had toCry Today''vastly upgraded theprevious effort.

The album was finally com-plet€d when the grcup replaced anelectric version of"Can't Find Myway Home" with a superb acous-tic rendition. Andy Johns, recruited by Miller from Morpn Studiosto record the session, captured thegroup performing live in ollrn-

pic's massive Studio A with justthree microphones. Led by win-wood's delicate vocal and Bakedsexquisite percussion accents, theresults were spectacular.

Released in July 1969, Bl indFdith instantly enjoyed enor-mous commercial successthroughout the world. A hugepublic relations flap over thealbum's risqu6 cover brought the"supergroup" additional notori-ety. Designed and photogaphedby Bob Seideman, the coverartwork featured Baker's bare-chested tt year-old daughterbrandishing a toy airplane builtbyBaker and crech. Amid howlsofprotest, Atco Records issued asubstitute cover, which featureda staid black and white groupphoto. The resulting publicityonly seryed to fuel the album'smeteoric rise to the top of theBillboard charts.

Their summer U.S, tour wasequally successful, but the groupquickly came apart. "It becamevery difficultwhen we went outon the road," explains Winwood."As soon as we got started, werealized that this really wasn'thappening we just fulfilledour commitments and decidedto have a rethink. Still, I enjoythat album and look back at thatexperience with fond memories."

e

5

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12 GUITAR LEGENDs

Page 7: Guitar Legends 109 (2009) Classic Rock

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on "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" wasadded to inject a bit of life to thealbum's long (7:28) opening cut."The little kicker at the end of thesongwasjust to liven it up," Stillswrit€s in the l991box set's linernotes, "because it had gone onforever and I didn't want it to fallapart.I said 'Now that we've sungall thes€ lyrics about one thing,let's change the subject entirely.'And we did. Even did it in a dif-ferent languagejust to make surenobody could understand it."

For "Helplessly Hoping," mean-while, the trio couldn'tfind a steelguitar player, so Stills mimickedthe soundbyusing a volume pedaland a cretsch with atonebar.

Released in May 1969, CrosbJ,Stills & Ndsfi made an immediate impact, hittingNo.6 on theBillbodrd charts and going coldin just a few months.It promptlykicked open the door for thesimultaneously gentle and urgentSouthern California folk-rocksound that would dominate theearly Seventies via artists suchas the Eagles, Jackson Browne,America and James Taylor.

MARCH Qro5bygtill5 & Na5hget it togetlprDAVID CROSAY, STEPHEN STILLSand Graham Nash had each fledfiom one ofrock's great mid-Sixties outfits-Crosby Fom theB]'rds, Stills from Buffalo Spring-field alrd Nash liom the Hollies.They knew of each other and hadeven met, but they didn'tbecomecollaborators until each had gravi-tated to Los Angeles. Nash recallsthe songwhich cemented theirpartnership-'You Don't Have toCry." "It tumed outtobe noth-ingshort ofmusical magic," Nashsays. "When we heard ourselvesfor the first time, it was bxlyastounding to us as musiciansthat these three people from suchdiverse backgrounds can meld andcome together with that sound-"

Soon aftet the rio landed arecording contract with AtlanticRecords and set to work making itsdebut album, CrosbJ, SftIls & Narhdu ng February 1969 at wallyHeideis studio in HollFvood. The

songs were strong, fiom "Suite:Judy Blue Eyes" through "Mar-ra}€sh Express," "Long TimeGone," "Blue Eyes," "cuinnevere"and 'lvooden Ships." And theywere infused with equally dynamicmusical ideas, such as the lead gui-

tar lines that snale tllrough "Mar-rakesh Express" and the backwardsguitar licks in "Long Time C,one,"which Stills came up with duringan all night session after everyonehad gone home.

The Cuban-fl avored outro

MARCH ALBIIM RELEA$E$ Goodbye-Cream Say lt Laud,I'n Black and I'ra Proad-James BrownThe Vefuet Underground-"1\e Velvet Underground Fron Genesis b newlatioft-C\er,fx,is

I

parts during rehearsals."No one was held to any rules,"

Freddie remembe$. "It wasn't nec-essarily about playing the tradition-al guitar part or the traditional basspart or the traditional horn line. Itwas about giving the musicians theiieedom to create a part that theythought was appropriate."

Planning, in facg usually workedagainst the group-as Freddieleamed while crafting his solo forthe insfumental "Sex Machine.""I sat at home and rehearsed andrehearsed it," he says, "and went tothe studio and couldn't play any-thing. I was there two, three, may-be four hours trying to play it Slyrealized I probably had rehearsedit and tried to make it someding;so he said 'Go home, tr red. co tosleep, man. Don't even drink aboutit. Come back tomorlow,'

"So I came back the next day

APRIL ALRUM RELEA6E6Naslni,[e Skyiirc-Bob Dylan

On the Thruhold of a Decn-The Moody Blues

and they tumed it on, and by thetime it got to my part everythingI'd rehearsed was gonc.I justplayed whatever I wanted to play,and thatwas it."

Graham's fondest memory ofthe albumwas the bass part for"Everyday People," a single c notewhich, chugling its way throughthe song, proved as effective as itwas unorthodox. "l'd never donethat before," he says. "Thesongjustfelt like that to me. Thafs where

Gra}lam, theywere accustomed tothe slow gro\l'th th€ goup experi-enced since former DJ Stone put ittogether in 1967.

"There was obviously gowth,"Graham says, "not just in the bandbut in Sly as a writer, too. Youcould hear the songs getting stron-ger, the melodies getting stronger.We were becoming a better band,better musicians, and he wasbecoming a better writer."

Sly had developed his ownway ofwriting, too, a less-is-moreapproach which left the band amelody and a basic rh)'thmic struc-ture to work with. The musicianswould subsequendy craft dreir own

APRIL ElJ.aryd tlp Famil5r$to4e * STAND!THIRTY ]'EAIrs IiA\,T PASSED sincethe album's release, but FreddieStewart (a.k.a. Freddie Stone)barely pauses when asked to pro-vide his assessment of Sly and theFamily Stone's Stand!

"Oh, man, thatwas the great-est-our greatest album, withouta doubt," says the group's guitar-ist and the younger brother ofleader Sly Stone. "It's my favodtebecause we were still fresh andhungry and sharp."

Still fiesh as a springbreeze,Sfdnd/ represents the Family Stoneat the height of their powers. Fora real sense ofStdndl's weight,consider its songlist: "EverydayPeople," "Sing a simple song,""You Can Make ItIfYou Try," thescorchingly political "Don't CallMe Nigger, Whitey," the title trackand-ifall that wasn't enough-theboom-shakalala revelation of theseminal Sly track, "I Want to TakeYou Higher."

But if modem listeners recog-nize Stdndl for the masterpiecethat it is, Family Stone memberssay they didn't recognizethis atthe time. Rather, says bassist Larry

GUITAR LEGENDS 13

Page 8: Guitar Legends 109 (2009) Classic Rock

the {ieedom of creatjvity came infrrr thc band. We would be allowedto do that."

craham also credits that spiritfor his bass overdubon "I Want toTake You Higher," for which heplugged into a fuzz pedal which,he notes, "was the kind ofthingreserved for guitar players backthen. But since I played guitar

before I played bass, plugginga bass into a fuzz or a wah-wahdidn't seem odd to me."

with four singles hitting lhe Bill-board charts including "EverydayPeople" at No. I for four weekstheStandj bum won Sly and theFamily Stone the embrace ofboththe pop mainsEeam and the coun-terculture. It was the group's firct

MAY TI9WITo *roMMYBDFORE TOl,trt4Y CAI,D OIrT in1969, the Who were a cult band inAmerica. Making their recordingdebut in 1965 and U.S. tour debutin'67, they had missed out on thebigB tish Invasion of'63-'64which had established the Beatles,Stones, Kinks and others in theStates. They'd pretty much fallenbetween America's two big Sixtiesyouth culture moments, Beatlema-nia and the Summer oflove. Andas Pete Townshend prepared forthe Who's fourth album, he wasfrankly worried:

"we were feeling quite out oftouch ald outofplace, thinkingcod, we're not sellingsingles any-more, and neither dowe fit intothis new psychedelic era. We'renot an experimental band like thePink Floyd. we're not aguitar-based blues band like Cream. Wedon't have the kind ofextremegenius ofHendrix. what do wedo?And I started to look at com-position as abigissue."

Always looking for ways toexpand beyond his ability to writeabsolutely brilliant three-minutepop sqngs, Townshend had alreadycomposed two 15 minute "minioperas" for the Who's second andthird albums. But, as early as '67,

he'd begun talking about a projecton a much gtander scale apiecethatwould be album length orlonger, like a conventional opera,with a fully developed story linebased .round what at the timeseemed to be a very unusual maincharacter: a deaf, dumb and blindboy whose reality consisted purelyof vibrations. Townshend hopedto convey this vibratory inner universe through music.

"I suppose what was diferentabout the approach of it affectedthe way I wrote it," Townshendsays of?ommy. "I was very meticu-lous about making sure that thecomposition and harmonies werevery structured and clean. I thinkit was the fiIst cohesive piece inwhich I used quite a lot of piano,really. 'Amaz ing Journey was writ-

ten on pirno and voiced for theguitar afterwards. And 'I'm Free'was actually written on a Loweryorgan and later voiced for guitar."

The latter two songs werearnong the first Townshendbrought with him when work onIommy begsn at Londoris IBCStudios, scene of many prior Whorecordings. Other early composi-0onsTor Iornmy rnctuoeo _we reNot Gonna Take It," "Sensation,""Amazing Journey," Welcome"and "Sally Simpson." Someofthesehad originally been wriften about

other subjects and subsequentlyworked into ?ommy's plotline. "I'mFree" and 'nv€lcome" reflectedTownshend's recent spiritualawakening as a follower of Indianguru Meher Baba an aspect ofPete's life that was to loom largein ?ommy. Other pieces oftherock opera were lifted fiom earlierTownshend compositions. Thenow-familiar "Underture" instru-mental theme was originally part of"Rael," the To*'nshend mini operarhat closed 1967's ?he l4ho sell out"Ifs a Boy''was originally the codato an earlier tune called "clowGirl," except the llric there was"Ids a girl."

The project ended up takinga long time to record, as frustra-tions mounted within the bandand Townshend struggled to tieup the threads ofhis ambitiousnarrative. He worked closely withthe who's manager and produceratthe time, Kit Lambert,who hadearlier tutored the youngPete on

14 GUITAR LEGENDS

million-seller, and footage fiom itsheroic middJe-of-the-night perfor-mance at Woodstock is still inc€n-diary enough to prompt lighter-flicking fiom crowds at occasionalmidnight showings.

It was also a plateau liom whichthe group would gradually fa1i.Increasing drug problems madeit notoriously unreliable on tour.

Members began drifting away, andby the mid seventies the damagewas imeversible.

"I believe in providence, man,"says Freddie. "I think that Sly andlhe Family Stonewas ordained- Itjust had something that wes greatand unique and possible onlywiththat group ofpeople at that par-ticulartime."

classical music, fine wines andother highbrow matters. In trueTownshend fashion, Tommy'smulti-layered story line reflectsmuch that was goingon in his lifeat the time-not only his spiritualinterests, but his growingdisil-lusionment with rock stardom aswell. Thework also deals withanother perennial Townshendtheme: the profound and oftendevastating psychological effectparents have on their children.

Pete ended up scrapping anearlier plan to overdub orchestralinstruments onto the tracks theWho had recorded for ?ommy.Bassist John Entwistle complainedthat time ran out and the bandcouldn't even complete the overdubs they had planned io do them-selves. Time limitations may evenexplain the piece's notoriouslyambiguous ending. Does lommy

revert to his earlier state of deaf,dumb and blind catatoniawhen hisdisciples reject him in theend?Ordoes that rejection touch off a newspidtual awal<ening? Happy ending,orsad?

Ultimately, ofcourse, it didn'tmatter. Tommy became a phe-nomenal success as soon as itwas released in 1969. Rock fansloved discussing and debatingthe ending. The relatively spareinstrumentation threw the boldinventiveness of Townshend'swriting into sharp reliefand madelommy more a bonafide rockand roll album than an exercisein high culture. Iommy securedtheWho's place inthe classic rockpantheon. Rock's first grand operahas been revived manytimes,onstage, on film and in numerousother media, making its creator avery rich man, indeed.

MAY ALBUM RELEASES (]O'lds Joni MitchellEleribodl Knou,s T/ris k NouAere-Neil Young

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colden Arches" and "Dog Breath,"and he also twiddled liberally \i.ithaVS.O. (variablespeedoscillator.)on "Project X" and "Nine \pes ofIndustrial Pollution." Then thereis the timeless classic, "KingKong"(presented in six different ar:range-menls), regarded as one ofzappa'sgreatest composlnons.

As Zappa states in the linernotes, {/ncle Medf had evolvedinto a film idea, indicating that thealbum represented "most of themusic fiom the Mothe$ movie ofthe same name, which we haven'tgot enough money to finish yet."He went on, "This is an album ofmusic liom a movie you will prob-ably never get to see."

The liner notes offer a slnopsisof a plot involving an evil scientist

each year, pushing the envelopefurther with each release.

By the time the tracks on UncleMedt werc recorded Qate '67early'68), Zappa's vision had expandedto the point where it was full-blown "music as cinematography,"interclrftingdoses of real-life dia-logue and musique concrate-real-world sounds and events withscripted and improvised dialogue,daring modem classical composi-

ingly unrelated images."The late Sixties were an incred-

ibly creative time for Fradr,"recalls Gail Zapp4 the guitarist'swife and administrator of his enor-mous catalogue. "Fjght around thesalne time as Uncle Medt, Frankhad done the Captain Beefheartalbum, Trout Mdslr Rephtd, plusAn Eyening with Wildman Fisher,the GTO's album and, ofcourse,his own Rulren and tIE Jets. He was

JUNE Fn4lQappa * UNCLE MEATFITANK ZAPPA'S MASTERrMORI(,Uncle Medt, is the rock album thatdestroyed more boundaries andshattered more "pop music" p.econceptions than rny album thatcame before or since, More thantwo hours in length, the albumtales its listeners on a swirlingjourney through an incredibleworld ofmusical styles, sounds,dialogues and studio-manipulated

' FnnlzapraliwattLwFrt,D6g :

h--:*r;The sixth album featuring the

Motherc of Invention, Zappa-soriginal band, Uncle Medt is theblossoming ground ofmusical con-cepts first investigated on the Zappa/Mothers 1966 d€but, Fredlr OudIollowingtrreaft Outl, the srtistregularly chumed out two records

tions (featuring densely complexorchestrations of woodwinds,percussion and tape effects) andhandfuls of bouncy, Fi{ties-inspireddoo-wop, wrapped up in one massive aural collage. Even the album'scover designed by Cal Schenkel,depicts a striking collage of seem-

generating a tremendous output-itwas a cmzy, intense time."

Uncle Medt was recorded at NewYo*'s Apostolic Studios. Zappaused loads of overdubbing to cre-ate expansive orchestral arrange-ments, as heard on "Uncle MeatMain Titie Theme," "Legend ofthe

named Uncle Meat, who createsan equally evil mutant rock bald,Ruben and the Jets. This mutantrockin' combo emits sound wavesthat "attack the glandular slstemofthe victim, destroying his willand forcing his body to quiver help-lessly, while crazed fantasies racethrough his mind."

what does all ofthis mean? "Itspretty obvious, isn't it?' laughs Gail."First ofall, he talks about theirnoses expanding in other words,er€cf e tissue as a governing force,I think you know what that means!Ifs about the manipulation of peo-plewhoaredsleep unconsciousand not aware. Social engineeringnot to your advantage, which is theway the real world worlq unfortu-nately,Iranl was very aware, andwanted to wale people up byjar-ring their senses."

JUNE ALBUM RELEAEE$Aoxomoroa-The Gratefi.rl DeadAr Sar Qlerin-Johnny CashDeep Pl'I?i€ [I-Deep PupleA Saity Dog*Prccol Hanrm

GUITAR LEGENDS 15

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JULY cTIp Door6 * THE SOFT PARADE"aYTHE END oFt968, we hadrecorded thrce albums featuringthc Doors 'n their truest and pufest essencc," sal6 keybo:rrdist Ra]'Manzarck. "ltwas time io featur€the Doors with augme[tation.That was the rvhole idea behind

The band's fc'urth.rlburn, Tfi.,.soft Pdrddc featured the quartctof Manzarek, gui tar is t RobbyKriegcr, drummer John Dens-more and s ingcr J i ln Mofr ison"augmented" by bassist Han cyBr-ooks and, on several songs, bvstring end horn scctions.

"I \\, rs skeptical," Kricgcr.rdlnits. "I thou€lht tbat the Doors$,ould be lost ard itwolrldjustbecome Jin1,rnd the Aig Band.Iwas u,rong, end I really dicln't real-ize ituntil I firstheard the horls on'Touch Me'boomirg through thebigstudio speakers. '

Crcdit for the idea ofbolsteingthe Doors' souDd with rdditionelinstru mentation bclongs to l\,lanz:r-rck, \r4ro says he was inspired rotby thc Bcatlc's brt b,vsome Americrn giarts. "I was knockedoutbythe firstBlood, Srveat and TcaIsrecord lchild Is Fatherto the Mrr(/e68)l," he says. "I llnr )jrzzerard have always loved holns. ButwhatAl Kooper didwith Biood,Slveat and Tcalls illustmted howthose same idcas could successfullvbe applied to rockand roll. Thrt'snhat I u'anred to do. Jimsaid,

'Sure, man, that souncls !{r-eat. Let'sgive ;t r try."'

'Ihe So,/i Pdrddc u'ould prove tobe the most difficultnoors albumto record, takingover a -vear ioconpletc an enormous amountof time for.r bancl which releasedtheir firs! two.rlbums in one ye(1967)- The long recording pfoccsshad nothingto do with the rdditionel musicians.

"It *,as a lcngthy process for avariet-v ol reasons," says Manza-rck. "None olthose songs existedbcforc. \ rc $erc writingand creetingthen right thcn and there, and,as :lhrays. some sorgs car]leveryqLrickly and othem needed to beworked out and fc\,r'orked untilthey fellint0 pl.rcc. \\'e u'ere onthe ro:rd, then $,e $'erc fch.'arsing.rnd wr-itinfi, then \\'e u,ere recording, all ofit sort ofor.er'lappingSowe'd lay dou,n sorrc tracks, goback to our rehearsalspacc, and tnto \\,(Jrk olrt anothertune. On ourprevious albums, thc materi:rlwrstogether before $.c hit the studio.

"And rt thit pointJimbcginhis drirkingbinge. Not that hchadn't been drinkingbefore, butit was no\l.taken to a lvholc ncrvlevel. fhisu'as no longer I youngman's drinking; it was a tull-grou,nn1an s drinking. There werc a lotofdays rvherc rve had tojust say,'Jinr's umblc to do anl'thing,'sou'e u'ould *,ork sont+j outwith-outhim. But h is vocal l i rcs of tcn

"cflye Door6vere a balaryci4gact betueeL Lelig\t a4d tlyedarll If uO didrl'tbala4ce tlp dar\vmL ilLe light, uEu6uld l1ave bee4foo15. A4d v6vGrc 4ot fool6."-RayIIa4zarell

rtvrtltlt\wrtrtrtchugcd thc arrangements a lor, sothet also draggcd things out. Andthere started beingperiods wherenc didn't see bim for five days orewcck atatirnc. Then he'd shos,up andgo, Okay,lcts gctback to$(nli.' It wasn't an en\.iro rentconcluci\-c to gefting things donereal quickly."

Most tracks bv the corc quar-tet (and bassist ltrooks) \a'ere cuttogcther li\'e, u,irh the strirys ardhorrs addcd in just a day or twort the end ofthe sessions.'t'hchom plal.crs rl,ele top'shelfjazz

musicians "we knew r,r'ho to call,mal1," notes Marrzai:ck while thestringsection was put togethcr byen€iineer Bruce tsotnick's fathcr,Not.man,u,ho plal'ed violin andviola. Thc Jrorn and stringarrangements $.erc donc by a 6iend ofproducer laul Rothchild's, PaulH ris, who also worked on ts.ts.Kings stling-hear'v breakth roughhit, "The Thrillts clonc."

The results p(rduccd a llit singlr("Touch Me') and rn elbum whichl11ade itto No.6 on the charts,provingthat fals wcle not tlrnedoffby the Doors' temporary chargcindircction.

"lthink thc album fits righr inthere with our other oncs," savsManzarek. "lt's just the DooIswithhorns and strings, man.I al$,ayshatcd thc notion that ne werejust a drrk, spookyband. fic,sofParadc shoq,ed rhatu,e could doother tliryas, too."

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1 6 G U I T A R L E G E N D S

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AUGUSTTITe $tooge5 * THE STOOGES

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WHILE THE I.ATE SIXTIES AR.Eremembered fondly as an erawhen artists ofall kinds strove to"male a difference," the Stooges'were not at all inspired by oreven interested in the changingtimes around them. Young, loudand snotty, these four degener-ates from Ann Arbor, Michigan,were interested only in feedback,tucking and getting fucked up,and their debut album reflectedthose concerns. "l was sayingnoto organizations, no to assholes,no to ideals otherthan personal,"Stooges {iontman Iggy Poprecalls in his 1997 autobiography,I NeedMore.

The Stooges were not onlyflippingthe bird to the politi-cized pop ofthe day but werealso showing a total disregard foraccepted notions ofsong struc-ture, melody and musicianship."I really didn't have use for ratio-nality or harmony," Pop statesin his autobiography. And thesinger isn't exaggerating one bit:Ihe Stooges is abrutish, primitiveassault on the senses-a masterfulmanipulation of monotony.

"The first thing to rememberabout Stooge music is that it

is monotonous and simplisticon purpose," observed rockc tic Lester Bangs in 1970. "TheStooges work deftlywith musi-cal ideas that maynotbe highlysophisticated (cod forbid) but arecertainly advanced... A trainedmonkeycould probably learn toplay the two-chord line under-neath ["]969'1, but no monkeyand very few indeed oftheir cous-ins half-a dozen rungs up on theevolutionary ladder...could thinkofusing it in the vivid way it ishere, with a simplicity that's sobasic it's almost pristine."

while it was virtually ignoredat the time of its release, the albumforetold rock music's anarchicnear-future with bull's-eye accu-racy: it is without a doubt thefirst punk album.Iggy Pop's JimMonison-on-crack vocal duringthe extended outro of"No Fun"sizzles with the manic energy ofa possessed preacher, and RonAsheton's fi lthy, fu zz-and-wah-drenched toneon "I Wanna BeYour Dog" is still the benchmarkbywhich all deliberately lo fi,shitty guitar sounds are measured.

It took a few more years to killoffall the shaggy hippies, but ?fteStooges is the album that drewfirst blood.

AUqU'T ALBUMREI,B'EEs

Barabajagal-Do ovarrOrr Tirne-Crrand Funk

RailroodP/eft erlo/ Yor-Alice C,oopei

Srntara-SantanaSfard Up-Jethm Tl l

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TIp Ba4d * THE BANDSEPTEMBER

IT's HARD To BELTEVE THAT dreBand dre grcup that tumed outthe memorable, literary but plain-spoken song evocations of theAmerican experience in their 1969self-titled second album werefour-fifths Canadian and educatedin bars and honky-tonks. Thenagain, ifs probably that combina-tion, alongwith their impeccablemusicianship, that helped makethem so great. From longyears onthe road backing Arkaisas rocka-billy singer Ronnie Hawkins, theBand Robbie Robertson, LevonHelm, Rick Danko, carth Hudsonand the late Richard Manuelevolved into the most fea$omelyaccomplished rock rnd rollbandin Canada. Their next backinggig with Bob Dylan, was close torevolutionary, and after ig theywere ready to step out and maketheir own gnnd musical statemenlThey accomplished that in spadeswith their 1968 debut, Musrc-fomBAPlnk. Containing "The Weighf'and "This Wheel's on Fire" and"I Shall Be Released" @oth co-written with Dylan), BrE Pinft was atough act to follow.

Remarkably, they retumed in1969 with a follow-up that was

equally as strong. Titled simply?he Bdnd, it was a masterpiece thatdripped with originality. Channel-ing a rural l9th century sensibility,tracks like "The Night They Droveold Dixie Down," "Rag, Mama,R g" and "Up on Cripple Creek"(the Band's first 3nd only Top 30release) stood out hom the psyche-delia and politicized musical clap-trap so prevalent in 1969. h)thingresembling the album today wouldbarely male a ripple, but in 1969The Bdnd rode to the No. 9 spot.

It was the Band's lead guitaristand songwriter, Robbie Robertson,who said that ?he Bdnd could havebeen called Amenta, not only for itsrustic Americana imagery but forthe divercity of musical influencesrepresented in the songs: Robert-son's blues count{' guitar, Danko'sMotown-infl ected bass, Manuel'sgospel piano, Helm's booming, offbeat drum and Hudson's eccent cand endlessly inventive heyboardsand s&r. Small wonder that EricClapton, the Band's longtime fiiendand admirer, said ofthe record, "Ithought, This is it; there's a grouphere that has finally amalgamatedall the influences-the black influences, the country influences-andput it all into one thing, with song-uriting and musicianship, and thisis what it's all about."

SEPCTBMBER ALBUMfEL',454S

Abbey Road-The BeatlesFile Izaves fuf-Nick Drake

Gel Do fi to It -Jemes BrownTfter Phy Orr-Fleetwood Mac

GUITAR LEGENDS 17

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Love" were forceful enough, itwashis blisteringcover versions ofChuck Beqls "Johnny B. coode"and Bob Dylan's "Highway6tRevisited" that madc him alegend.

"we'd been playing'Highway6l' in clubs, and we knew ourarrangement was a killer," Wintersays. Along with the playing of theAllman Brothers' Duane Allman,this electrifj'ingslide-guitar show

crse catapulted Johnny into therealm of rock's b'Lle elite.

Perhaps the most unusualthing aboutSecond Winter is thatitwas released as a three sidedalbum. Packagcd in a double-pocketwith two discs, its s€conddisc was blank on one side. Anyself-respecting cost-consciousrecord label would c€rtainly havebalked at such an idea, ifonlybecause of the expense inherentin producing a double, as opposedto a single, album-

But as winter explains withsome residual amazement, "lt'shard to believe, but they nevercomplained.In fact, they thoughtit was a really cool idealThe linernotes explained it all.We simplywanted to put out everything we'drecorded, and what we producedfilled up three sides ofvinyl. Sothatwas that."

WHEN JOHNNY WINTE& AN

unknown guitar slinger fromAustin, Texas, signed with Columbia in 1968 for arrunheard of$600,000, people immediatelywanted to knowwhat allthe fusswas about.It didn't take longforthem to find out.

Described by RollingStonemagazine as "a cross eyed albinowith long, flcccyhair, who playssome ofthe gutsiest, fluid bluesguitar you've ever heard," Winterboasted a ftenky appearance andstellar chops that made him thetalk of the town. With its howl-ingvocals and mercurial, stingingguitar, the Texan's debut album,1968's JohnnJ Mnt?r, more than

(John French), and The MascaraSnake (Victor Haydon). ,{ssimi-latingthe sound ofhard drivingAfrican rh''thms, Appalachian folkmelodies and cadences, sea shanties, Deltablues licks and free-form atonaljazz, the Magic Bandprovided the pedect backdrop

to Beefheart's wailing^arking/spewing stream-ol-consciousnesssinging. 'lhe cumulative effect isan explosive assault on the senses.In later years, this music proved tobe highly influential on such bandsas Pere Ubu, TalkingHeads, Devoand Public Image.

And what of those crazy bandmember names? "Zappa hadgiven Don the name 'Captain Beef-heart,' " explains Harkleroad, "soDon bestowed those ofus in theMagic Band our own nicknames. Ithough! Oh,whatever-l'm in theBeefleart band and this is the coolest thing on earth."

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O CTOB ER Joly4ryrWi4ter* SECOND wINTERlived up to the hype and made itclear that this whiter-than whitebluesman was the real deal.

Butas good as his firstalbumwas, it was Winter's follow-up,1969's Second Winter, that cata-pulted him into superstardom.Trking his cuefiomJimi Hen-drix's Are You E4)eienced andCream's ,isrdc/i cedrs, Johnnyand his red-hot rhlthm section,consisting of bassist Tommy Shannon 0ater ofStevie Ray Vaughan'sDouble Trouble) and drummer"Uncle" John Turner, pumped upthe volume to produce a heavier,more rock-oriented sound.

'Tlerdrix and Cream reallyinspired us," Winter r€members.'ave weren't tying to copy drem-they just motivated us by example."

Butwhile such odginal Wintercompositions as "Iast Life Bjder"and the wah drenched "The cood

OC'fOBER ALBUM RELEAgEg Atthur (Or the Decline and Fall oJ the Bitish Drnpire)-The KinksBallad of Easy Rider-The Byrds IJot R4ts-Fmrk Zappa ln the Court oJ t € Crinso Kirg-King Crimson

kd kWelin II-l*d, Zappelin Unnra3lnrrzn-Pink Floyd

NQI/EMBEH^ Qaptai4Beflpart & Hi5 Magic Ba4d*TROUTMASKREPLICA

DENSE AS A RAIN FORXST, SOInE.times gating and often hard tograsp, Captain Bee{hearts best-known alburn, ?rout Masft leplrta,is the poster boy oflate-Sixtiesavant-garde rock- No other albumfrom that era brought together a.smany disparate influences in suchan ufterly original, aggessivelyconfr ontrtional and thought-pro-voking manner.

The man behind this watershedaroum ts uon van v et, a.i{.a, Laptain Beefheart, one ofthe moreunusual musical personalitiesto emerge fion the Sixties rockscene- As a teenager in Lancaster,California, he befriended highschool classmate trrank Zappa.Teaching himself harmonica andthe saxophone while playing andrecordingwith Zappa, Vliet spentmuch ofthe lat€ Fifties immersedin blues standards byHowlin'Wolf, Muddy warers and John LeeHooker. But it wasn't longbeforeVliet took a quantum leap beyondthe blues, envisioning a new kindof ambitious, experimental music,one that would perfectlysuit hisfree-associative poetry and quirky,

five-octave vocal sensibility.Bee{heart signed to A&M in

1964 as a blues artist, but wasquickly dropped for sounding"too negative." After 1967's Sdte asMill<, and 1968's Smcth PersonalBeefheart retired bri€fly liom themusic industry when the label triedto steer him in a more commercialdirection. It was Zappn that pulledhim back in, offering Beefheart aded with his new spin-offlabel,Straight, and-more impo.tantly-promising complete creative con,tlol.The fruit of that deal was thestunning Tro&t Mdsk Replicd.

Ieaturing 28 tunes, ?routMdskwas originally released as a doublealbum. The aibum features theMagic Band's most legendary line-up: Beeflreart, Zoot Horn Rollo(Bill Harkleroad), Antennae Jim-my Semens (Jeff Cotton), RocketteMorton (Mark Boston), Drumbo

NOVEMBER ALBUM RELEA$ES Let It Bleed-The Rolling Stones Lire/Deod-:fhe cratfJtul De dMan oJ Words/Man of Mlsic*David Bowie The Allnall Brathers Band{he Allman Brothers Band

Volnnteers-Jefferson Airpla e Willy .tnd the Pool Botrs-CrcedeDce Cleaprater Revi\d

18 GUITAR LEGENDS

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women and children from hispotent ax,

Chalpin and Capitol Recordsmay have gotten their album, butthey did notbreak Jimi's spiritor cause him to compromise hisartistry. The performances, in fact,were a stunningtriumph in theface ofadversity. And despite thecxperimenral nature ofthc music,Sand ofCypsys would become thesecond best sellingalbum in Hendrix's catalog, surpassed only byElectric Latlyland.

In the March 1999 issue ofcul.dr world, Billy Cox pro-nounced his semi mystical takeon Hendrix and the Band ofGypsys: "Jimi's talent came fronlabove, and, as a musician, he wasjust a vessel.I was a recipientofthe musical spirit that flowed

DECEMBER Jinn He4drix A. THE BAND OFfYPSYS mals tlpirlebutIN MID oc'l oBER oF 196s, JimiHcndrix wasjust another strug-gling n1usician who occasionallyhad to pawn his g.uitar in orderto cat and pay the rent. So whenhe was offcrcd a contract torecord with Curtis Knight andthc Squires, a small timc R&Bact, hejumped at the chance tosign. Littlc did Jimi koo\a, thatthe seemingly harmless one pagelegal document, drarvn up bylccord producer Ed Chalpin, wasa time bomb waitin€i lo explode.

And explodc it did. shorrly

album oforiginal material to Capi-tol Records for distribution.

W)rilc Jimi was unhappy withthe decision, he was determinedto make the best ofa bad situa-tior by attacking the projectwitha'loyous, creative posrure." Hisfirstdec;sion was to giv€ Capitolalive album which woultl kcephis production costs down to aminimum. N€xt, he chose to perform several new compositionshe'dbeen workingon, and wi th acomplctcly neu' band. Dubbed theBand ofGypsys, the gl oup consist-

only a few wceks' rehearsal wasgrert, Hendrix clearly knew whathewas doing. The music, whichcan bc hc:rd on Band o/Gypsys,aire df theFi??moreEdst, is stag-gering in scope and fiightening inits intcnsity.In frct, itcan safelybesaid, over the cours€ ofthose fourshows, Jimi capped the Sixti€s byplaying the greatest improviscdguitar music in rock history.

With Cor( and Miles layingdown an unshakably funky foun-dation, the guitarist was f.ee toroam wherc he wanted. While

Hendnr atth€ RoFl Alhert Hall,rddon, reDruary 24 1969

alter Hcrdrix had conquered thcrock world ir 1967 with Are You'xpcrienced, Chalpin rcsurfaced.With the 1965 conlract and adistdbution deal with CapitoLRecords in hand, the producerbegan releasingthe dismal CurtisKrightsessions as official Hcnd xalbun1s, causing mffs confusion inthe marketplace. Months oflitiga-tion ensuedbefore Hendrix andWamcr Bros., Jimi's U.S. label,rid ihemselvcs of the sitxat;on byagreeingto a legal scttlement tha!required IIend.ix to dcliver an

ed of Jimi, bassist Billy Cox, whoHendrix knew from his army days,and Buddy Milcs, a powerhouse,in-the-pocket drummer who madehis reputation workingwith R&Biegcnd wilson Pickett.

withthe trio in place, Hendrixscheduled four concerts at NewYork City's Fillmore East-trvo onNew Year's Eve 1969 rnd tlvo onNewYear's Day 1970. All oftheshcwswould be recorded ald thebest performances would be edited for the aibum- while the risk ofperforming all new material with

much ofhis p layingcan only bedcscribed as celestial, Jimi alsotook the time to dig deep intohis personal heart ofdarkness.on the disturbing masterpiece"Machine cun," he mounts afu l l scale at tack on the war inVietnam, wrenching the soundsofbombs exploding, gtns blaz-ing and the tortured screams of

throu€ih him, and wc rode thatmusical energy together."

Al though the Fi l lmore Eastconceats showcd so muchpromise and musical energy,th€ Band of cypsys fe l l apartwi th in a month. J imi Hendr ixdied later that year af ter swal-lowing a combinat ion of a lcoholand barbi turates. t l

D E C E M B E R A L B UM RE'8,,1S45(;rrrrr,i lnrrl Grand Funk Railroad

GUITAR LEGENDS 19

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F'705with BLACK EABBACYH, LED ZEPPELIN,

QUEEN and KI$$ at the height of their powers,it's no wonder this is remembered as

GUITAR LEGEI,/DS #109

F:[ER THE GREAT PSYCHEDELIC love fest of the late Six-ties, there was an explosion of rock subgenres. The early Seven-ties saw the birth of glam, progressive rock, fusion, southern boo-

gie, mellow country rock and, ofcourse, healy metal. Rock critics oftheday-not to mention devotees of glam, prog fusion and so on-regardedmetal as Neanderthal and moronic. Time has proven the critics wereright, but it has also shown metal to be the most enduring ofrock-basedstyles. (And who listens to critics an1'way?)

The roots ofSeventies mctallay in lrte-Sixiies power trios,such as Crean\ the Jimi HendrixExperience and Blue Cheer. Thegenre's name probably came fromthc phrase "hea\,1' metal thunder"in SteppenwolPs 1967 hit, "Bornto bewi ld." Thatsame year, psy-chedelic act Iron Butterfly namedthcir debut albumHeavr, making

perhaps the fiftt explicit conrrcc-tion betu,een the word and a specific rock sound (though itshouldbe loted thatjazzbos had bccncalling lheir own music "heavy"folyears before rock and rolJersappropriatcd the tcrm).

By the time the Seventies gotunderway, dozens ofbands weretaking a "heaq"'approach to play-

ing rock, including Led zeppelin(whose name, like their music,upped the ante on Iron Rutterfly),Decp Purple, Black Sabbath, UriahHeep, Humble Pie, Aerosmith,Mountain, crand Funk Railroad,Blue Oyster Clrlt, Judas Priestandthe Scorpions. The emphasis weson high pitched vocals, "unison"riffin€i-with guitrr and bass run-

ningthe same pentatonic scales indiffereDt octaves and plentyofsix-string histdonics.

Bymid decade, a rich and variedhard rock scene had developed.Old vets like the who were notonly hanging in ther c but alsodoing sonc oftheir most exciting work. Alice Cooperand Kissintroduced maleup to metal, He tpionccrcd chick metal and formcrAmboy Dukes guitarist Ted Nugentwas lau nch ing the gonzo-style ofAmericrn dumb-rock that liv.'s oDtodayvilracts like Kid Rock arldHellycah. Motdrheed, AC/DC anrlVan Halen were on the horizon(tut theD so u'Ls Ronald Reasrn).

Butthe mid Ser-enties rlso gavebirth ro a sryle ofrock thatw:rs, inmany ways, the antithcsis ofmctal.Pullk rock shared the loud guitaragliression of metal (as did itsnrore sociable cousin, power pop),but the tempo wlrs much brisker.

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Blues riffs .rnd showy guitrr soloswcrc frowned upon, aird the scenew.ts narkcd by a completely different look and lyrical sensibility.tsy the end ofthe Scventies, punkand metal had become rival ciaim-ants to rock's loud legacy. It hasbeen that way cvcr since.

It's Lhat vuicd mixofSeventiescra musicians and styles that isreprcsentcd in th€ followinglist.Join us as we look at some ofthedccadc's classic nxk milestoncs andihe stories bchind their creation.

PARANarlDrsTo)I]I,ACK SABBAI'IIMUCH OF I'ITHAT E!'ERYOIID loves,rnd hates, about hea\.f, metalcanbe rraced directly to Black Sab-bath. Cuitarist Tony Iommi waslhe first to tunc hisltuitar do*'rto Et, D rnd evcr C1, crertin€i theominouslydark and sludgy soundtb!t bccamc Sabbath's aurai signaturc and later cmpowered thegrun€ie and rap rnctal revolut;onsofthc Nineties.

And singer Ozzy Osbournewas rhe first to write lyrics onsatanic themes. Whilc this kind ofthing latcr-b€came e grert causeol conccrn for tsible-thumpingalarrnists and other right-wingconscrvatives, it was prctty muchecccpted as anorher bit ofrock and

roll shtick back in the "an)'thinggocs" carly Seventies.At its corewasn't much more than ahealthyworking class contempt for thehippie uropianism that had domi-nated late-Sixries rock.

"Black Sabbath were neverreally lO0 percent a satanic band,"Ozzy says, "although we did touchon topics likc Satmism and devilworship in ccrtair songs.It wasjust a different angle.Ifyou thinkback to the late Sixtics and earlySeventics, it was all fuckin'flowcrpower and how wonderful theworld is. Thatjust didn't seemtruc to us- The world was fuckcd."

Most elcmcnts of Sabbath'sapproach were in place on their1970 debut album,but things real-ly camc into focus on their scconddisc, Pdrdnoid, released the samcyear. Although thc album wasrecorded injust a few days, it hasstood the tcstoltime as a metalclassic. Il was originally!pingto be titled Wdr J'igs, aftcr theopeningtrnck. But when the song"Paranoid" bccime r U.K. top fivehit, the album's name was hastilychanged.Iy rny namc, it's one ofrock's definingalbums.

LEDZEPPBUNNogntLED ZEPPELINLED ZEPPEL|N pI"{yED a huge rolein 0sheriDr.in the hard rock cra'F ' : at the dawn of

thc Seventies,Thcir firsr rwo

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heaq', blues inflected rock music.fhey t()ok r surprising acousticturn on their ftird album amovcthat met with grudging acceptrncc

at best rmong hard rock audiencesofthc day.

All ofwhich put rhem in atricky position as they entered thestudio to rnake their fourth album.To rcturn exclusively to the hearyblues rock oftheir first two albumswouJd be a step backward anadmission ofdefeat. But to soldicron with mothcr predominanrlyrcoustjc album wouldbe courtingcommercia ld isaster .

Their solurion was to combiDcboth approaches in what provedto be a compellingDew hybrid.Many consider Led Zeppelin'sfourth album to be the group'sfinest effoft evcr.lts legendarystatus is enhanced by thc fact thatitdocsn't have a propertitle justfour mystcrious symbols tal(enfrom the bard mcmbers' interestin the occult and arcanc m!'thol-ogv. Lcd Zeppelin's nane wasdeljberately lcft offthe original

'l'hc album srarts and ends inZep's amped up blues vein. Kickingthe disc offis thc itchy,lusttul"Black Dog," which slidcs irto thejackhammer drive of"Rock and

v.'v.v.v.v

Roll." Ard th€ album closes withthe group's apocall?tic readingof Memphis Minnie's "When theLevee Brcaks." These three tracksalone contain scores oIthe mostimitated sounds in rock, includ-ing Johl Bonham's massive drumsound on "Lcvce," which wasachieved by placiDghis kit at thefoot of a lofty stai rcase atHcadleyGrange, the stately old Englishmanor house whcrc Lcd Zeppelinoften recorded.

But an entirely different nloodsets in on the album's third number, the wistful, mandolir driven"Battle ofEvermore." The lyricswere based on the popular Hobbit novels ofBritish scholar andauthor J.R.R. Tolkien. All thcscstrains the heaviness, the folkiness and thc old-English llricalwhimsy -come togethcr in the

album's besGknown song, thc cpic"Stairway to Herven." "That number gavc us the musical respectability we deservcd all along,"JimmyPage later noted.

Thc finished recording realizedPage's original ambitions andthen some. "Stairway" is thc mosFrcquested record in the history ofcommercid radio. Like the mysrerious lady in Plant's iyric, the songrnd album have ascendcd into themisty heights ofrock legend.

MAM{EHBNr0s72)DI]trP PT]RPI,FJMACHINE HI]AD WAS A LTAIE IN tITEsand for DeeD PurDle. It markcd

the end of theband's earlydabblings in

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ism of l97l's Fir€bdll, andit signified the start ofDeep Purplds new life asa hard rock act MdctrineIiedd mined the sameterritory as 1970's ,eepterritory as 1970's ,eepPu?Ie in Rock but withadded grir and swagger. IItwas the arrival ofthe IPurps as the world wouldcome to know tiem.

The lineup ofguitar-ist fuehie Blackmore,singer lan cillan, bassistRoger Glover, drummerIan Paice and keyboard-ist Jon Irrd had analmost telepathic musicalrclationship on Mdchinei{ead. Recorded in justover three weeks, thealbum was a cockail ofideas and attitude, thesongwriting of Glover andcillan dovetailing fiththe virtuosity of Black-more, Lord and Paice.

Machine Hedalwasscheduled to be recordedat the Montreux CasirDin Switzerland, but thisplan was foiled by thefamous fire that bothdestoyed the venue andinspired "Smoke on theWatet" the album's mostcelebmted cut Armedonly with a mobile studiqthe band and engineerMartin Birch set uptheir gear in the lobby ofMontreux's crand Hotel, whichwas closed for the winter, posi-tioning the recordrng tuck at theentrance so its cables could snalethrough the building.

Despite these conditions, orbecause ofthem, the music thatDeep Purple laid dowrr was thebest oftheir career. Blacknorewas firing on all cylinders on"Highway Stai' and "Pictures ofHome," and Lord's organ lines-fed through a Marshall stack foradded menace-were particularlypowerful on "Space Truckin -"

Released i March 1972,Mdchine liedd reached No. 7 onthe U.S. charts and hit the top spotin the U.K. charts. While it feltlike the start of something it was,in fact the beginning of the end.Though Purple produced othergreat albums with different line-ups, they would never scale theseheights again.

6ffir#rmQUEENTHE AVERAGE EARLY Seventiesmetalhead wasn't quite confort-able with cross-dressine and

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him bring it to life-"several years after

A Night at the opera,Queen lost some oftheirhardcore metal followingwhen Freddie Mercurycame out ofthe closet.But by that point, Queenhad transcended questions of sexual identity ormusical genre to becomeone of the bestlovedbands ofthe entire rockera. By uniting glam andmetal, Queen set the stagefor the hair bsnd explo-sion oftheEighties.

LED ZEPPELINDARING SPRAWLING

I ArvDenthusiastically'- eccent'ic, Physical Graf-

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sexual ambiguity. Thus, glam andmetal were two separate worldsbefore Queen came along. Theywere the first grcup to have suc-cess combining the two genres,thanks in no small part to theaggessive, hard rock guitar styl-ingsofQueen axman Brian May.An idiosyncratic and brilliandyinventive guitarist, May played ahomemade solidbody guitar-hisbeloved Red Special tlrough awall ofvox AC3o amps. ln thestudio, Queen and producer RoyThomas Bal(er developed a tech-nique for overdubbing guitar andvocal tracks several times to createelaborate, layered orchestrations.

MaYs unique sound proved

the perfect foil for singer Fred-die Mercuq/s flamboyant stageact and sfunningvocal acumen.This combination plus the solidrhlthm section ofJohn Deaconand Roger Taylor-made rockfans take notice ofQueen's fiIstthree albums.

But their fourth disc,A NiStltdf fie Operd, put them in anotherleague entirely. Mercu4y's campproclivities nrn wild on tracks like"Seaside Rendezvous" and "Laz-ing on a Sunday Afternoon," andMaYs stacked guitar orchestra-tions reach monumental heightson "The Propheds Song" and "GodSave the Queen."

But the album's centerpiece isthe five-minute,55 second, "Bohe-mian Rhapsody," a pseudo-oper-atic opus that manages to be bothhilarious and awe-inspiring. Thehistrionics ofgrand opera ideallysuited the mid-Seventies vogue forhard rock bombast and Mercury'sown penchant for stagey melo-drama. "Bohemian Rhapsody''was MercurYs composition, andthe singer took a leading role ingetting the song's various sectionsdown on tape.

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,'ti is one ofthe mostbelovedofall Led Zeppelin albums and alsothe most misunderstood.To many, its synthesis offunk and Eastem musicinto zeppelin's Hammerofthe cods thunder isthe sound of a band real-izing there ,re no limitsto its powers. To others,the album is dense andfr ustrating, stuffed withfiller. By any measure, it's

ar artistic gamble. full ofdetoursand momentsof supremetriumphand quirkyexpenmen-tahon. Butas guitaistJimmy Page

has said, "It just made sensefor it to be a double. There mayhave been double and even triplealbums by other bands at the time,but I didn't really care, becauseours was going to be better thartany ofthem."

elthough the bulk ofPhysr'calGra;fti resulted fiom recordingsessions at Headley Crange in1974, some ofthetracks had beenwaiting for a home for years, hav-ingbeen recorded during sessionsfor Led Zeppelin III ('Bror.-'{r-A\tt'' ), Led Zeppelin IV ("NightIlight'' and "Boogie with Stu')

"ndEouser o/tfie goly (The Rovef'and "Black Country Woman').Despite such gaps in time, thetracks, once assembled in a playingorder, seemed to meld together asifby some grand, magical design.

But Pfiysicdl Grd.fffi's signature

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track is the wondrous "Kashmir."with Page's tense, unyieldingDADGAD chord pattem, JolnPaul Jones' "Arabian string s)'rn-phony," John Bonham's steady4/4 beat agEinst the 3/4 fiff, andPlanCs surrealistic llrics, the songis a spellbinding monolith thatsends tend ls ofarxietyin alldirections. In many ways, it distillsthe essence ofLed Zeppelin: dra-matic, epic, bewitching and fierytill the end.

OEE?nO[8loszetKISSDESTRoYER Is rHE ALBlru thatestablished Kiss as superstars,but for that to happen, the bandhad to be willingto demolish itsold ways ofdoing things. At thetime, Kiss were under tremen-dous pressure to have notjust ahit but a smash. The album's pre-decessor,Alivel had been a run-

away success,with blister-ing live ver-sions oftheband's bestsongs, includ-ing "Deuce,""Strutter" and

"Rock and RollAll Nite." trortheir follow-up, Kiss knew theyneeded the strongest materialthey could come up with iftheywanted to hold onto whatthey'dachieved. They also needed acheerleader and a guru whowould push them to musicalgreatness. Enter Bob Ezrin, theCanadian-born producer whohad already made a name forhimself producing Alice Cooper.

In making their first threealbums, Kiss had simply \rrittenthe songs, then gone into the studioto record them before heading outon tour. But in Ezrin's world, therecording process was preceded by"preproduction." "Actually, brutalboot camp is more lile i!" says gui-ta stPaul Stanley. "Bob definitelyhad a whistle round his neck."

Not or y did the Toronto-borntaskmaster insist that the bandmembers learn to tune their owninstruments, he also arrangedthem in a circle, with the bandrunning choruses, verses andbridges up the flagpole in the hopeof an Ezrin salute. Only a coupleofsongs were nearly completed atthe time Ezrinjoined the sessions:"God of Thunder" and "DetoitRock City," which, though solidinthe chorus, still needed a lyricaltheme. The song's turning pointcame when Stanley told Ezrinabout a show where a fan hadbeen killed by a car outside thevenue. The producer encouraged

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Stanley to complete the l),.ric,making it a story about a kid whohears about his own demise. "codofThunder," meanwhile, was toprove a double-edged sword forStanley. Though he had written itfor himselfto sing, Ez ndecidedbassist cene Simmons shouldtake the lead vocal, and it swiftlybecame Simmons' signature tune.

The album's big surprise,however, was "Beth," a grandioseorchestral power ballad pennedby drurnmer Peter Criss and givena serious spdnlding of fairy dustby Ezrin. Originally the B-sideof"Detroit Rock City," $e songbecame a hit in its own right.

Yet for all his influence over Kiss,Ezrin could not persuade them togive the album a different name."He thought Destroyer soundednegative," sals Stanley. "Butformeit was too good not to use."

&l8tollfrrszetBOSTONWHEN BOSMN'S SELF.TITLEDdebut album was released infall1976, few industry insidersthought that a guitar-hea.,'y rockrecord could mate much of a dent

in the charts, much less becomethe best-sellingdebut of all time."Everybody thought that it wasimpossible, because disco ruledthe airwaves at the time," recallsBoston leader Tom Scholz. "Butwe stumbled onto a sound thatworked and soon everybody wasimitatingit."

It may have been unlikely that

an album dominated by bmwnyriffs, harmonized guitar leadsand multilayered vocal workoutswould capture the imagination ofAmerica's bell-bottomed youth.what was positively bizarre wasthe source ofthis blockbuster.scholz was a gangly project man-ager for Polaroid, widr a Mastelsdegee fiom M.LT. in enginee ng,who spent his off hours writingand recording in his basement."I was basically a dork," he says."But somehow I ended up onstage,playing guitar in front of every-bodyelse."

It's likely this very dorkiness-along with the fact that Bostonvocalist Bmd Delp had a goldenvoice with a stagBering range-that engendered Boston's success.Who but a dyed-in-the-woolbraniac could compose, arrange,record and perform most of theguitar, keyboard and bass partson an album-in his basement noless and produce such power-ful results? Even 30 yeals afterits original release, Boston is stillwidely regarded as one ofthebest-sounding rock albums of alltime, and when tracls like "More

Than a Feeling" and "Rock andRoll Band" come on the radio, fewcan resist indulging in fits of fleet-fingered air guitar and a spiritedfalsetto sing-along.

osmTHE SEX PISTOLS

IN I,ATE.SE!'ENTIES AMERJCA.punk rock was seen as a threat tobad, boring self-indulgent corpo-rate rock. But in England, punlwas regarded as a very real men-ace to home, family, government,the crown and every other sacrcdinstitution of British society.

The Sex Pistols perconifiedthat dreat. They insulted themonarchy, said obscene words onTV ard got bounced offtwo major

recordlabels in a matter ofweeks.Sex Pistols gigs were banned inmany English towns. Singer John-ny "Rotten" Lydon and drurnmerPaul Cook had been attacked atknifepoint on the streets ofLon-don by reactionary thugs who tookexception to singles like "Anarchym tne u.l!, ano -Goo 5ave tneQueen." By early 1977, relationswithin the band were strainedand chaotic, too. The Pistols had

fired their original bassisg GlenMatlock, and taken on Sid vicious,who could barely play his instru-ment and was rapidly developinga serious drug problem that wouldlead to his death two yeals later.

In the midst of all the furor, theSex Pistols somehow managedto hone their one and only studioalbum to razor-sharp perfection.Most ofthe songs had alreadybeen demoed twice by the timethe band entered the studio tocut tollocftr with producer ChrisThomas, who had worked on theBeatles' "\ryhite Album" and PinkFloyd's Ddrk Side ofthe Moon.He and Rotten didn't always seeeye to eye, but Thomas got anincredibly punchy and aggressivesound from drummer Paul Cookand guitafist Steve Jones, whoperformed on a Les Paul that oncebelonged to the New York Dollsand aFender 1\ ill Reverb thatJones had stolen fiom Bob Marley.

While Sid Vicious has becomeoneofpunl's most enduring icons,he played very little, or perhapsnot at all, on Never Mind the Bol-Iocl<s. Most ofthe bass parts wereoverdubbed by Jones. "Sid gothepatitis and had to go into hos-pital for a few weeks," Jones says."ltrhich was a godsend, really,because he was always fucked upand couldn't play."

The sex Pistols broke uply ^fter Neyer Mind the Bol-locls was released. But thebald and the album con-tinue to exet a tremen-dous influence on rock,"The songs still stand,"Lydon says. "I haven'theard anybody come any-where near it." gl

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Thirty years ago,

PINKFLOYDbuilt The Wall,

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ACTUALLY STILL HAVE THE DRAWING at home," says Roger Waters,recalling the first of countless sketches he made for Pink Floyd's opus,The Wall. The idea came to Waters in1977. "Sitting on a plane, or in a

bar somewhere," he remembers, "I got a piece of paper and drew a picture ofthis wall lrunning) across an arena, with a stage. When I did that I got veryexcited; I thought, Wow, what a great piece of theater it would be to do that-to actually construct a wall between the band and audience during a concert."

wATEBS'coNcEPr r(tRNED out to be muclmore than an interesting piece ofrock theater.Since its release, ?,te wdl/ has sold more than23 million units, makingit the thirdbiggescselling album ofall time.lt spawfed one oftle largest, most elaborate stage productionsever mounted in rock-so laryte, in fact,thai the show could only run for ahandtulofperformarccs in four cities and allbutbankrupted the band in the process.

wEffiEEAILWE,x,LOWFLII<E Mosr MUsrcAr- monuments, ?/re Wallwas notbuilt overnight. By the late sevenoes,Pink Floyd had been through more than adecade's worth oftrials and triumphs andwere on the verge ofcollapse from withinone ofBritain's first psychede]ic bands,they'd arisen out ofthe mid-Sixties SwingrngLondon scene and had maraged to su.vive

the descenr into madnes. and rubsequentdeparture of theiroriginal leader, thebrilliantguitarist, singer and songwriter Syd !arrett.

The void Barrett left was partly filled in1968 by David cilmour, who was to proveone oft he mort disr incr ive guiLar sryl ists ofthe rock era. Joinirgforces with founding?ink Floyd members Roger waters (bass/vocals), Rick wright (keyboards) and NickMason (dmms), Gilmour helped launch PinkFloyd's second incarnation. With albumsIike Dark side of the Moon (t973), wish youwere Here (1975) a\d Anirrdls (1977), the fourmen established themselves as the seventies'premierspace rockband, noted for theircosmic extended instrumental jams, evocativesonic textures and increasingly elaborate stageshows. over the years, however, the bandbecame less ofajam based collective and moreofa vehicle for Waters, who had come into his

own as Pink Floyd's major thinker. wateis'ideas had played a leading role in shapingDdrft.side, wrs,h andAnindls into multi-dimensionalconcept albums and in makingopulentspectacles ofPink Floyd's live concerts, whichfeatured increasingly elaborate stage props,

such as the infamous 4o-foot inflatable pigdevised for theAnimdls tour.

But waters' ascendancy had created nosmall amount ofbad feelilgbetween hinrseJfand his bandmates, who tended to view thebassist as an increasingly tyrannical cortrolfreak. Friction between waters and Giln1ourgrew particularly intense, asboth men vied,invery different ways, !o fill Syd Barrett'sshoes-Gilmour through gritaristic prowessand melodic songcraft, and Waters throughboldly experimental concep!s.

Born in a psychological war zolrc, The Wa?/strained Pink floyd to the breakirgpoint.

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26 curren LEGENDS.

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It proved to be the lastPink Floyd albumrecorded by the fu l l warers Ci lmourf l r ighrMason lineup and Waters' penultimate projectwith the group.

"There's always been tension," cilmoursays ofhis relationship with waters. "Butit was ail quite controllable until after thel,l/dll album. There's such a thing as creativelension. And then there's total egocentric,megalomaniac tension, if you like."

a qumBArvtBoDro0lrqTTNETHERE wlRE oluER tensions in the dr atthe time of ?,he Wall's creation-tensionswithin rock music itself. By the late Seventies,the punk rock revolution had heaped muchinvective on the decade's big stadium-rockbands such as Pink Floyd. Punk moved rockmusic back into small clubs, which permitteda c losef connccl ion berween bands and theiraudiences. Punk ideologues honed in on PinkFloyd's inflatable pigprop, in particular, as asymbol of the bloated, foolish thing corporatcrock had become.

What few punt rockers realized at the timeis that Roger Waters had come to the €xact sameconclusion hinsell As Pinkfloyd had moved{iom small psychedelic venues like London\UFO club into larger and larger arenas andstadiums, Waters had come to feel increasinglyalienated and isolated from concert audiences.

"It was m€ical in the early days ofFloyd," he says. "But the magic was eaten bythe numbers. Unt i l , by '77, when we weredoirg the Animdls tour-playing only bigstadiun1s and selling out everylvhere alleveryone was talkiDg about was grossesand numbers and how many people therewerc in the house. And you could hardlyhear yourselfthink. You could hardly hearanything fonstage] because there wereso many drunk people in the stadium, allshouting and screaming."

The situation reached a crisis pointduring a Pink lloyd concert at OlympicStadium in Montreal, where Waters spat atan especial ly obnoxious fan. eppalled by hisown behavior, the bassist began to ponderhow things had ever come to such a passthat he could feel actual hostility roward amemher of his audience. Shorr l1 efrer thrMontreal incident, waters came up with theaforementioned drawing ofa gigantic wall,a barrier between performers and spectators,

The incredible power of the image waterschose lies in its simplicity and universalityIt is an ancie||r . quasi-mysl icalsymbol rharcomes down to us from the dark recesses ofBiblical and classical antiquity. writers ftomMelville to Sartre have used the wall irnageas a symbol ofalienation.It hasbecomeparticularly identified with the feeling ofexistentialist isolation unique to the post-WWII era the latter half of the 20th century.In this epoch, we all live behind walls-political, psychological, social, self-imposedor otherwise. In applyingthis ch motiftorock the grert, late 20th century populist artlorm Waters found the basis for the mostambit iour proicrt olhis career. ln the pas(he'd pJayed an important role in creatingconcept albums for Pink Floyd- lut nowhe envisioned a concept album that wouldalso form the basis for a series ofconcertperformances and a feature film.

_l needed ro cons(ruct the whule piece.Waters says. "So I sta ed thinking, Well, whatis this wall, and what's itmade from? Then theidea started to occur to mc that the individualbricks mightbe from different aspects ofthehistory ofmy life and other people's lives. And Istarted to fit things together."

Back at his country home, Waterc beganwritingsongs for what would become ?heWdl/. He put together a demo tape "that wasonly43 minutes long, orsomethinglike that,"he recalJs. Duringthe same period he worked

up a rough demo for anotherproject, ?hePros dnd Cons ofHitch Hil<ing, which wouldeventually become his first solo album.

Initially, however, both projects werepresented to the other members ofPink Floyd.waters invited them to choose which of thctwo demos thcy wanted to make into the nextPink Ployd album. They opted, ofcourse, to doThe WalL

At thisjuncture, the band was on thebrinkofbankruptcy, owing to some ill-advisedbusiness investments. They desperatelyneeded another best-selling Pink Iloyd album,on the order ofDcrft Side ofthe Moon or,4nlmdls.It hasbeen widely speculated thatPink Floyd might not have stayed togetherto make flle wdll had they notbeen in suchdire financial straits. The situationbeingwhat itwas, Gilmour, Wright and Masonjoined forces with Waters to make whatwould become a fittingly grand last hurrah forSeventies rock, and a record that would setthestage for Waters and the other group membersto go their separate ways in the Eighties.Itwas deemed necessary, however, to bringlnan outside producer-rock vet Bob Ez n to\4 otk on , ne wdll . Lzf ln s role, ln part. $ as loact as a mediator, particularly between Watersand Gilmour.

"Itwas, for the most part, a typicallyBrit ish pol ire enn' iry rhar exisred ber$ eenthem," Ezrin recollects. "Th€y were obviouslyclose on many levels. And therewas anunadmitted mutual respect beneath allthearguing and bickering going on between them.But the tension was always present becausethere was a warbetween two basicallydominant personalities. Each one had a needto express himself in his own style. Andsometimes these styles were very different.Sometimes they approached the same pieceofmaterial from an entirely different pointofview. So myjob was often to be HenryKissinger and run back and forlh between the

two ofth€m, trying to arrive at aworkable middle glound-"

etrgY6rl|dpsPERHAPS BEST KNowN, at the tim€,for his production work withAliceCooper and Kiss, Ezrin had alsoproduced Peter Gabricl's first soloalbum (a particular favorite ofwaters) and had helped bringLouReed's bleah, difficult concept albumBerlin into being. Before sessions for?he Wdll began, Ezrin spentsometime with waters, massagingthe plotline. "lwent and spent aweekendwith him and reviewed his o ginaldemo," says the producer. "lntherewere the germs for I'd say halfthesongs that ended up appearingon thefinal album. From that, we refinedthe plot line and developed aslightly different story from theoriginal one that Roger had.We filled in holes, the wayyou do with a movie script,and built the album aroundthe story."

one of Ezrin's suggestiorlswas to chanlie ?he Wdl/ from a

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Page 22: Guitar Legends 109 (2009) Classic Rock

first-person nxrrative in watcrs'ou,n voicc tor t \ i - d 1 ' , - r ' r s t , , n f , n u r i n g , , r r r . h r r a L t < rnaned Pink l loyd. (This name cornes I roma long strndingjoke about the band's earli'days, when they'd turn up at gigs and bc askedby club managcncnt, "Okay, which one ofyou is Pink, then?") Pink's frther, an RAFfighter piloq dies in nlvlI when the bo! isstill in infancy- In the fiecc, war tunctions:,.x metaphor for what corporate rock hed, in

ir the storv a curious narrative omission-By midpo;nt in the piece ( the end of

thc first disc), Pink has bcconlc totallyr l icnatcd f ron the outs ide rvor ld. The nal lhe 'd begun erect ingin cbi ldhood is nowcomplere. Isolated in asol ips ist ic in l1clwor ld,hc bcconcs prcy to " the worns":h is ownanxieties, doubts antl ferrs- After receivin€lrn in ject ion to ro l rse him fron his catatonicstate so he can perform onstrge (the subject

same oncs who drove hin crazy in the firstp l : r u ? ' l u r r h r n r . i r . r o r r l u r v . e r s r h : r r l i n pyour heart against some mad buggcr''s wall("Ourside the wall").

As faras plot is concerned, i t 's hard notto notice ?,he wdll's mrnt' similarities to anerrlier rock opus, thc \ rho's lomn-v (1969),which also fonncd the basis for a doublealbun, a rock cuncert performance, a filmand years later-a sta€ie play- Tommy, likc

\4raters' view. become. Touring lock bands arelike soldicrs weariJy'' sloggirgfrom onc to*'n tothc ncxt, "doiDgthcir duty" for their corporatesuperior officers back at record companyIlQ. The indignitjes sufiered by strdium rockconcert l ioers fest ival -seat ingstampedcs,deafeDing P.A. syst€ms arc likcl1ed to the. u r f . r i r r 5 r i . . r , . d u n r i , r i n r . o f w 1 r . \ l r h i .n ighr seem r b i t of an over-exagger.r t ion. ( ) r

perhaps not. dependingon ho\r'nlany stadiLrrrrrock corcerts o11e has attended.

As the plot unfolds. i , !e see thr tsmothering, overprotcctivc lovc from Pirk'snmthcr irnpcdes thc bo1,'s pslchologicaldcvelopment. Hc bcgins to erect :r mentalbarr ier a rval l between himsel iand theoutside u,orld. As he grows to manhood, hc rsfurther traumatized bv a sadistic schoolmaster(enlb len1at ic of the repressive Br; t ish publrc. c h o n l . ) . , p m ) J r . d r h p ' n e J , l i n , , l l r , u i f t .Each ofthesc bad cxpcricnces is "anotherbr ick in the wal l , " crusing Pink to wi thdrrwever fur ther into h imsel i Al l of th is, howcvcl ,doesn' t prevent Pink f rom bccominga locxstar, although his risc to famc is not tlcpicted

mattcr of"Comf0rtrbly Numb"), a strangetransfo|mat ion comcs ovel Pirk. He tums inton qurs i -Nazi . His conccrt performancc thateveningtakes the fom ofa fascist rally, r'ithPink s ingl ingout "queers," Je\ \ 's rnd "coons"in the ludience, s inging"I f l had m,vway,I 'dhr i 'e you al l shot" ( " In the Flesh") .

with this rathcr strorg netephor, lvhichsomc have foLrnd in questionahle taste, \\'rteNi r J r r n r r r ' " i r g t \ e l e e l i n g . r h i t l { d r r i n t , ' . t : ron lhc audicnce mcmbcr at thc '77 Montrealsho$.. But i f l ink is hard on his fans, he's evenhardel on himsel l The f inr l scencs of?f icWall take the form ofa trial cnactcd withiiPink 's own psychc. A "wolrn judge" presides.rht , r . l i ,L i t , .hu. lmrsrer anLl fa i rh le!s wi 'ereturn rs witnesses rvho testifu ngainst Pink.'lhe verdict is to tenr down the {.all Pi*has built arouml hirnself But the endingis ambiglous. ls the u 'a l l 's col lapse a goodthing r return to reality for thc troublcdPink? Or is it abad thing a flrfther trauma lbrthe alread,v unbalanced protagonist?

The f inal I ines of the piece sound r notcof synpath,v for those chsc to Pink. (Thc

Pink, has a British fighter pilot for r fathcr,and as lorrnJ opens, \,! c learn thattheprotagonist's fxther is missirgin action,plesuncd dcad, in the *,ar ($Tr'I in ther l b J r , \ L r . i o n , w W I I i r r \ e f i l m ) . c l - l i L ,Pink, ' lomny wi thdraws into h inrscl fas aresul tof psychological pressurcsbloughtro bear bvhis mothcr. Pinkbecomes a rockstar. fLr lnybccones a messianic guru, notunlike a rock strr- Tommy aDd Pinkboth turn

"urhor iLrr i . l r on tL. i r fu l luurrs r"*arJ rhccnd ofthcir respective stories. Pink undergocsan awakening ofsorts $,hen a \r'x11 is torndou'n. Tommy undergoes a sirrrilerjolt toconsciousness u,hen a rrirror is snashed.

Waters' plot gcts few points, ifany, loroiginllity. Butwhatsets ?hc wdll apart liomTomm:v is its tone. ?ommyis nuch lighter inmood, reflecting the spiritrisl aspirations ofrtsauthor, Pete Townshend, as much as his doubtsrbo.rr r^ck . r r rdo'n. Pirk. : l icnr rJ p ' r .he i . al - e l l i . l r . u , ' . r ' n l , - r . l

f l a c e T o r n n ' y . i - o l r t ' o nis "a quictvibration land," a quasi-meditlltivestate ofpeace and slillness. The villxins in?orrny-Cousin Kevin, Unclc Emic, ctc. arc

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28 curr.qn LEGEN D s

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"O4gome 5ubco4gciou5 level, I fek tfipt IITad IQIIed my'Tatlyer:I w65 bor4a4d fte died.'

-RogerWate6

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traumas and purpofted childhood abuse ofband leader JonathaD Davis. The image ofachild's battered cuddlytoyused in the cover artfor Korn's 1999 album,Issues, bears an uncanlyresemblanceto a similar image that graphicarlist cerald Scarfe creatcd 20 vears earlier for?he I4lall's albumjacket and motid pictureanimation. Consciously ornot, Marilyn Mansonalso seemed toborrowheavi]y from lhe trVallon his AnricfirisaSuperstdr album- A "worm"mori r f igures proninenr l l in that *or '1. , t -its protagonist also develops a Nazi alter ego,just like Pink.In fact, the album's cover photou ' A n r : . h r i . r S u p e f . r a r : n N d z i s r y h r e g r l i r i sstrikingllr similar to the costume, makeup alrdhairst-vle used bl' Bob GeJdofduring the "fascistrally" scenes irthc film version of?he wal/

There Anybody Out Thc.e. 'A lot ofrh€ stuf fobviously developed after that. I remembersifting in a room $'hile the tracks were beingrecorded and writirg'In the Flesh,"Nobod_vHome' and 'Comfortably Numb. ' "

The latt€r song, one ofthe best knownand lor.ed picces ftom ?he Wal/, marks one ofDaviJ Ci l rnoun f . q ' , , rgu r ' r ingcol l "borat ion.u-ith waters on the album. (Hc also co-wrote"Run like Hell" and 'ryoung Lust.')

"Bob Ezril1's desire was to make rhc lvdlla ?ink trlovd record rather than Roger's solorecord," Gi lmour recal ls . "Roger wantedi t to be al l h is solo project ;he didn' t wantanyone else to contr ibutc to the u,r i t ing-But Bob though! lhere should be otherpeople 's wr i t ingon the album. So he said to

me,'What havc you got?'And I playedhim my demo for 'Run Like Hell 'andwhat became 'Comfortably Numb.' Bobsaid, 'Oh, they're real ly nice. We shouldinclude the - 'Roger said, 'wel l .r .alr ight. '

I twas a long hard process makingthat record: throwingbits away, toughedit ing, going to meerings..."

A brilliant evocation ofthenarcotized, desensitized, late-2Othcentury consumerist malaise we all livein, "Comfoltably Numb" combines thebest of Waters' ly cal inc;siveness withsome ofcilmour's finest music. It is oneofseveral songs on l/re Wal1to emplol'a lush orchestral arrangement, writtenby Ezrin and composer Michael Kamen,which further enhances cilmour's musicalthemes. Though few in llumber, Cilmour'ssongwriting contributions to T,he Wdllimpart a welcome element ofmelodicism.They contrast effectively with Waters'owncompositions, many ofwhich are sung ina styie that \['aters developed especiallyto portraythe character Pink acrabbed,stagily strident setofvocal mannerisms abit reminiscent ofthe Kurt Weill/EertoltBrecht operas ofl92os Berlin. When"Comfortably Numb" comes along midwaythrough ?he Wall's second disc, its effect

is not unlike that of an operatic aria a burstofsubiime melody that momentarily liftsthe listener out ofthe creaking mechanicsofplot development. The chord progressionand some melodic elements for "ComfortablyNumb" came fiom a songideathat Gilmourhad deveJoped for his first solo album,DalldGilnour (1978), the gxitarjst discloses:

"l'd recorded a demo ofit when I wasat Superbear studios previously, doingmyfirst solo album. we changed the key oftheopeniDg sect ion l rom E to B, I th ink. Thenwe had ro a ld r couple ul r \ r f r bar. .o Rogercould do the line, 'I have become comfortabiynumb.'But other than that, it was verysimple to wr i te- And i twas al l done beforethe orchestratioD was added. But there werearguments about how it should bc mixed andwhich backingtrack should be used.I th ink i tt,as morc ofan ego thing than an\thing else.We actually went head to head overwhich oftwo different drum tracks to use. lfyou putth€m both on a record today, I don't thinkanyone could tell the difference. Bu! ir seemedimportant at thc time. So it ended up with ustaking a drum fi11 out ofthe one version andputting it into the other vers'on by editingat6 track tape splitting it dou'n the middle soy o u h a v e r $ o . t r i p s u f r a p r ' . , r r ' - i n c h n i d e .

lThis is called o'window edit' Ed.lTcmpers flared during the nljxdown

of"Comfortably Numb" in Los Angeles. Aparticularly heated confrontation betrveencilmour and Waters took place over dilncrone night at an Italian restirurant in NorthHollywood. "lIhere was no screaming,though," says Ezrin. "It s,as allver-vEnglish, very direct:'You're a fuckand you have l1o rcason to live.'That sort ofcold, head on Englishconfrontation. And I was right in themiddle of i t . I was f ightingat that pointfor the introduction of thc orchestra :lnd

4'" .w Ny .v .w .v.v.v.v.v.v..v\w\VNgNy

presented with a note ofbroad, albeit dark,comedy. But there's nothing funny aboutPink's tormentors. They have the cruelstench of real human beings.

It's no secret thatWaters wasprofoundly influenced by the raw,painfully confessional approach that JohnLennon had pursued on his first soloalbum,Pldsfic OnoBdnd (1971). Much likeLennon, Waters was traumatized by theearly death ofa parent. And unlike PeteTownshend, Waters'father really did diein the Second World War.

"when I was three or four," Watersrecalls, "suddenly there were these menin uniform picking the other kids up fromkindergarten. My fatherwas missing inaction. So there was always that feeljng of'maybe one day...' You know? I've w ttenlots ofpoetry about that, apart fromal l th is stuf f in The wdl l . I th ink that ismaybe one ofthe things that mak€s peoplepcdormers.I think it engenders in you atendency to jump through hoops.'Maybeif I jump through this hoop, my dad willcome back. ' I know i t sounds crazy. But Ireally think that.

"A few years ago I had a kind ofenlightening moment in my therapeuticprocess: I suddenly was able to expla indreams that I had had periodicallythroughout my life.I used to have this veryvivid, recuning dream that I'd murderedsomebody and I was goingto get caught,get punished, whatever. And I came to therealization that, on sone subconscious level,Ifelt that I had killed my father. I was born andhe died. I haven't had the dream ever sincethat realizaiion. So I don't know maybe thatwholc experience has provided me with partofwhatever it is one needs to empathize.That's partly why a lot ofmywork focuses onthe impotence ofthe innocent victim."

It is this aspect of?hc Wdllthat speaks mosturgently to the post-grunge generation ofrockfans. Korn, for instancc, hit a tremendouslyr€sponsive chord in jts young audiencebydealingwith the earlylife psychologicat

BNIN9CIEE N)YEBACKEOffiAROUND AIRIL 1979, the members of PinkFIoyd did a liftle recordiig for

"he wall

at their own studio, Britannia Row, inEngland. But after a few sessions they wereinformed by management that, owing to taxissues stemmingfrom their recent financialdifficulties, they would have to make thealbum outside ofEngland. So the quartetmoved operations to Superbear studios inFrance and then completed the album atPloducers Workshop in los Angeles. Thcalbum was st i l l only part ia l ly wr j t ten whensessrons got under\\'ay.

"Some things were kind ofcomplete onrhc n- ig in:r l demo. waten nr a l ls . - inc l r rd ing'Waiting for the Worms,' 'Mother,' 'Another

Br ick in the Wal l , 'par ts 1, 2 and 3 and ' Is

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IIgettingupforaihowattheLor

An3€l€s sPorts arena, D3o

the exparsion of the l ink l loyd souni l in tosolnethinla lhat \r'!rs more thcrtrical, nrcrefilnlic. tsut Da\.'c rcall) sau''ConfortaLrl_vNunb'more as abare-borres t fack lv i th justb.rss. drums and $ritaf Roger sided *,irhnlc on that pxrr icular point . Whl l twe endedup ivirh is thc bod,v ol the song being mor-cheavi l ,v orchesira l , and then the end c learsout sonre\r ,hr t rnd is molc rock aud r .o1l . Su'Confotabl l ' NrLrrb ' is . r tNc col l iborat ionbccruse i t 's Div id 's ntusic, Rogcf s i , l r ics rn l lmv olchcst la l chart l "

c i lmour cor l | r ibutcd en especia l lyc\pressive g! i tar solo on Comfort : rb lyNunrb. Al though i t is beert i fu l ly st ructLrred.the liuitrrist savs r.eN Iittle folethought, ifany,i r !cnr into i t : "As far as I rcmember, T just scntoLrt into the studio rt Supclbcar', bunged fiverrl six solos r-lou'n and then just pickecl thc bestbi ts f ron each onc."

Other lspccts of tho pr-o jecl weren' t soranclonr. Given their finallcial p|cdicanrent,I'ink l'lo1cl badl_v neeried r hit single. Thcgtoup had nevcl lcal ly re leased s ingles orcatcred to that nrrket ind scre re luctant todo so rou' . But Bob Ezr in heard considcrablemelodic Lrotcnt ia l in Anothel Br ick in thewal l , ' r \Vcters comp(is i t i (m rh:r t is restatedat three di f lefent poir ts i r tho nrrrat ive, eechtimc i{ ith r diffefent nrusical arrangcnrcnt

. tnd di f fc |er t ly | ics. "Another tsr ick in thcW.r l l (Paf i - ] ) " contained the memolablc l i l les.' 'we don' t necd no cducat ion, \ !e dor l tnecdno rhought cont fo l , 'but d idn' t hrve enoughvcrses io conlin ln to the convcntidr:rl popsinglc format. Ezr in h.rd had glcat succcssLLsing.r chi ldrcn's chorus on Al ice Cooper 's"School s Out," ! sLrng snlilal in subject

atter ft) 'Another lirick iD thc Wall (Pat2) ." So wofd \vas sent becL to l , inkt ' lo)d 'sBritaniia Row studios in Eng-l.ll1d. EnginccrNick r ; f i f f i ths arrrnged for some chi ldr .enf fom ls l ington crccr School , jLrst r roLrncl thecorncr f iom Br i t . rnnia Row. to cLrInc into thestucl io. cr i f l i ths set up sonre nikes rnd thc' j r ' l , l | e r ' , r r J < r ' r l r r . r i | L . r , , r n f r l , e ' f , r u . i .tc ichcf , s : l l rg the lyr ic to 'Arothcr Bf icL in thewal l (Part 2) ," inDrrr ing pr f t i (u lar 1]1 lsto tothe l iDe. He\ ' , tcachcr, lcave us k ids ! lone! '

' ' l \ ( ' \ ( r q J r P r u . l u , \ r . $ . , r 1 { . h n f l r h ctime," \V:rters recalls. "1 rcnlcmhL'| serrding therlulti |Iack rape ro Nicl criffiths ir Londonrnd rski l1g him to copl rhe backi | ! i l fack,rccorcl the kicls, stick it all togerher end send itback to us. \ re jusr haLl one convcrsat ior . Thet.pe crme back in a FeLleral Erp|ess p.rrcel-anLl I rerrrember savirg, oh, lc t 's have r l is ten. '

' ' l fcelshiver\ r row remenbcr ingthc fcol ingofl4rat it *'as Iike herling those kids singingthr t son8. I knc\r i rwls n h i r record. Therc

'$,er-e r lot olglee! rloments likc thar, rvhen rreirefe \vofkirg_ a! Pfoduccrs Workshop."

On a lcss cheerful rrote, Rick \\'right,rvho'( l l rccn wi th Pink Flo ld s ince rhebeginnirg, was disnl isscd b! $hre| ls dur in6thc Drnkingof?fie i{'dll. Watcls fclt thckel boald is t rvasn t pul l inghis ueight . nadfeelirgs first alosc or,cr'[rrighfs u ish to bca producer of fhe r l t runl , r l (n lg$ i rh \Vater : ,

''We xgreed .rt rhe begirlning that if ltickr r r l l r , l r . l l r " l 1 r i ' l h e 1 . . r l t . . r i , r l c . , , r . . .theu cal l h imscl fa proclucer ancl get crecl i t fori l . ' s i rvs W:r ters. "So Rick $ 'oulc l s i r in on t l ,cscssions f rom rnorrr ing unt i l n ight cvcr .v day!nd nevcr lc f t thc stuLl io. At : r cef t r in poinr , rremember Ezrin gttting irritalcd becaLrse Riclisaid he dic ln ' t l ike scme idci . Ancl I rcnlcml)r fEzr i r sa,v i r€ i rbolr t Rick, wh) does he s i thcfe a l lLtay?' I saict , Donl !ou undefstdnd' iHe th inks hc 's p loducine rhe record. Ezr i r ls : r , Don t be r id iculons. ' To $ 'h ich I fepl ied,' I p l .onl isc ro l r . You rsk Rick. But $,r i t ' t i l lhrot herc l 'Hc askcd him and crme back . rncl :sr id, 'You're:rbsohtc lvr ight . ' fhr t 'scxrdl ! 2\nllar hc thought.' So T srid, Havc you told :h i r t l? And hc s i id, 'Ycxh- I to ld h in rhNl 's not !u h : r p r ' , , u . r L i r r ; r r ' . ' r . . i . . s " , , r , ' e - . ' " j

Rick e! i . r in. Thst \ \ . rs i t . Hc disrppcalecl . " :

$Jatcfs :rlso lell out with graphi,: dcsiglcr .'

30 GUITAR LEGENDS

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Storm Thorgerson, who'd been creatingPink Floyd album covers and other artworklor years. Sarir icr l cartoonist cerald Scarfewound up collaborating with Waters on thesleeve design for ?he wdll. Scarfe's artworkwould beconre an integral part ofthe liveconcert presentation of The Wall and thesubsequent film as well.

Released on November 20,1979, the Wallalbum was an instant commercial success, ButWaters and the surviving members ofPinkFloyd had scantleisure to savor thei.triumph.They plunged almost immedistely into thenext phase ofthe project.

Ntrffintr6nT}IE Wa& }rAD initially been conceived asa live performance statement. Before he'dwritten a note ofmusic or a single scrapofplot, Waters had becom€ obsessed withthe powerfulvisual image ofa huge u'allstretching across the proscenium ofan arenastage. ln transformingPink Floyd's conceptdouble album into a concert spectacle,Waterc finallygot to build hiswall-orrather a fullcre\r'ofstage hands did,brick bymrssive cardboard brick. on a nightly basis.Tbe gigantic 130-feet-wide b),- 65-feet-highedifice was raised at the lip ofthe stage asPink Floyd played the album's music. Bythe time the colossal edifice was completed,midway through the show, Pink Floyd werecompletely obscured from the audience'sview, hidde[ behind the r.vall-an epic-scaleenactment of Pink's, and by extension w'sters',moment of greatest alienation.

Duringthe second halfofthe show, the bigcardboard wallbecame the single biggest propin the entire history of rock and roll. Brickfaces swungopen to disclose sets and scenes:Pink (played by Waters) in his hotel room.cerald Scsrfe's nightmadsh animations lvereprojected onto the wall. David Gilmour stoodon top ofthe wall,like the conqueringhero rna Hercules movie, to play the 'Comfortably

Numb" solo. And in the end, of colrrse, thewall came tumblingdown, like its Biblicalpredecessor in Jericho.

Everlthing about the production was big.There rvas even a surrogate band: guitaristSnowy White, bassist A[dy Bown, drumnrerWillie Wilson and keyboardist Peterwoodlntended to represent Pink's band when theprotagonist has entered his psychotic fascistalter ego, this quartetcame onstage beforethe actual members ofPink Floyd to playthe openingnumber "In the Flesh," wearingmasks ofthe four Pink Floyd members'faces.White, Bown, Wilson and wood then acted asauxiliary musicians throughout the rest of theshow- Bown's presence freed Waters ftom thebass, so he could act out scenes in character,as Pinl-albeitwith a bigpair ofheadphoneson. (Thiswas before the invention ofin-earmonitorsJ At the time, Waters alsogrousedthatWilson end Wood were necessarybecause Nick Mason and Rick wrighr couldn'tplay well enough. Although Wright wasofHcially out ofPink Floyd at this point, andhad been excluded from the band's businesspannership, he did play the l.l/all tour on asalaried basis. Consequently he is the only oneofthe four who made any money off the tour.

7 \!gEr gtr ttET w .g =ttl v v .g \cltr. Elr \ry !F IIEZ u7

The other three sunk their own funds into theenormous ptoouctroD.

And truly enormous itwas:,t5 tons ofequipmentand a 45,O0O waft P.A.lt wasquickly determined that many venues justcouldn't accorrmodate so biga sho\r'. Fora few mad, SpinalTap moments, the bandconsidered designing and buildingtheir ownportable concert venue-a kind ofhigh+echcircus tent shaped like a giant slug.

Ultimately, however, the "slug" idea wasabandoned. Realizing $at the show was too big tobe a conventional mck tour, Pink Floyd decidedto do ertended runs at venues in four majorcities: the Irs Angeles Sports Aren4 Nassau

and set lightto it. I was singingaway and Ikept hearing this noise and I thought, cod,the P.A.'s going off. 'Cause I could hear thisstrdnge noise. Eventually I looked up and sewone ofthe riggers, a guy called Rocly,leapabout six feet through the air, with no safetyharness or anything on him, fiom one drapeto another. He had a fire extinguisher in ooehand and he was Fying to put the thingout.And then lumps ofburlingdrape the size oftennis balls started hitting the stage all aroundus. And the auditorium was beginning to fillup with smoke.l made a decision that thiswas notcool. So I stopped singingandjustshouted 'stop!' through the P.A. Throughout

"Lump5 of \u.rfir1B: drape tlp 5ize of reqryaD3il6 $tarted ryfttqg tbe Etage ail afouwd u6.A4d tlye auditorium u65 begi44irlg to fill upvltlls:molc.'-watc6

Coliseum just outside New York, Earl's Court Inlandon and Westfallenhalle in Dortmund WestGermany. While all these venues are large arenas,none are the huge spor6 stadiums that Waters sohated playing a hatred that moved him to $Titethc wall in the first place.

The scope of the show enabled Waters toinclude a number ofsongs he had *ritten forfte Wrrilbutwhich didn't make itonto thealbum. The job ofcoordinating the l ive mus;cwith all the elaborate stagingelements felltoDavid cilmour, whowas appointed musicaldirector for the show.

"For me the Lli.dll show was terrific fun,"says the gxitarist. "Really an achievementfor everyone involved, particularly Roger.But I had to take on the role ofmusicdirectorend dealwith a lot ofmusicaldetails onstage so that Roger didn't haveto think about thar. l l was real ly tough arfirst. Later on it got a little easier, once weall got into it. But I had a huge cue sheetup on my amps, because we had all thesecues comlngup on monltoas or on screen,and there were different DDL [drgifdideldylsettings which I had to transmitwith very primitive equipment to all thedelay lines onstage. Very tricky. Except forthe'Comfortably Numb'solo, there werevirtually no moments where I could say,'Forget every'thing. Just play.'You know?

"It was eery rigid. On allthe previoustours-Itrsft You trl/ere Here,Dark Side oftheMoon-there were moments thatcould beextended longer or made shorter ifyou liked.?ie I\ldli, quite reasonably, because it was adifferent kind ofproject, didn't have that."

After a rehearsal in nearby Culver City, theshow opened in Los Aogeles on February 7,1980. As ifthe spectacular effects planned by theshou/s organizers weren't enougll the openingnight audience got a litde bonus excitement-efire onstage early in the performance.

"Andy Bown and Snowt, and fiose guysdid their thing" Waters recalls, "And thenthis drape went up to reveal us. Fireworkshadgone offbeforehand and one oftheRornan candles had gotten into this drape

rehearsals, the g]lys out at the nlixingconsolewere so used to me constantlv yel l ing srop - i fsomethirgwasn't right, you know. So when Idid it duringthe actual show they must haveallthought they were hallucinating. 'Cause

theyjust carried on. So I shout€d'stop!'again. This time, theysaid,'Okay, he reallydoes seem to be sayingstop- I guess we haveto.'And I said, 'Look, we're going to have tolowerthis drape, because we've got a 6re.Everlthing's cool. We'llput it out, go back fiveminutes and pick up from there.'which wedid. But it was quite a hair-raisingbeginningto the first show."

uxrrLEawrcilrwRocER WATERS' working relationshipwith David ci l our and Nick Masonlasted through one more album after ?leWalI:1983's The Final Cur. Not long afterthe making of that record-a difficultprocess by most accounts*Waters partedcompany with his two former colleagues onsomewhat less than fr iendly terms- Waterslater lost a legal battle in u'hich he soughtto prevent Gilmour, Mason and Wrightfrom recording or performing under thename Pink Floyd. Though the four ofthemreunited in 20O5 for the Live 8 concert rnLondon, there were no plans for a followupalbum or tour, and any hope ofa futurereunion was mooted by Rick Wright'sdeath in Septenber 2OO8.

Unlike Pink Floyd, ?he I4lali hascontinued to live on, inspiring even itscreator to look deepe. into the meaning oflife and identity. "What happens ivhen youtear down the wall? And what's out there?l lrad no fucking idea back then," Waterssays. "Maybe whrt I've discoveredis that the answer to the question'Is there anybody out there?' isultimately no. That's not whafsimportant. What's important iswhat's inside you. Ofcourse, contactwith other people is important. Butfundamentally, it's what's going oninside that's most important." eL

31

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F'&osFrom ME.TALLICAT MO.(LEY QRiEanaVAN HALEN

to IRON MAIDEN, the Eighties was the golden age ofvirtuoso guitar playing, thrash metal, long hair and groupies.

GUITAR TEGENDS #109

HE STATE OF HARD ROCK WAS particularly precarrousas the Seventies turned into the Eighties. Led Zeppelin hadcrashed in the wake of John Bonham's death, and the Who,

still on the rebound from the passing of Keith Moon, were anlthing butall right after the deaths of tt fans at a December 1979 show in Cincin-nati. Ozzy Osbonrne had been expelled from Black Sabbath, Deep Purplewere in the deep freeze, Aerosmith were in the ruts, and AC/DC front-man Bon Scott was a couple of months from making his bigbon voyage.

WHO COULD I'A!E CUESSDDthat out ofsuch seemingdcspairand decaywould rise hard rock'smost ambitious, prodigious andpopular era.ln hindsight, it wasprobably inevitable. 1 he Eighticsbrought forth a new roch and rollgeneration, thc offsprinlt of thosewho went gaga for Elvis P].esle)..(lhuck Rerry, the Beatlcs, thc

Stones and Jimi Hendr;x. Rockwas no longer a gap at homej it r\,:rsthe music kids $e!v up listenirgto,indoctrilating them, est.lblishingthei.tastes and scnding them ins€ ch ofmusic to call their own.

That phenomenon helpedvault hard rock into previouslyun;magined territorics, includingTop40 radio and multi Platinum

sales. ln thc process, it madesuperst$:s out ofthe likesofDefLeppard, Mtitley Criie, Poison,Scorpions, M€trllica, Bon Jovi dndGuns N'Roses, while it providednew rvenues for Seventics veteranslikc Acrosmitb. Alice Coopcr andKiss-

The advcnt ofnusic videosonlybolstered thc sizc ofthat

audience. MTVop€ned a portalfor musicians to male a greaterimpactwith their fans, and thchard rockcrs responded in kind.Manyof thcm Mdtl.y Criie,Poison, Tvisted Sistcr shoveledon the mascara and the mouss€ inan cffon to glam themselves up formess consumption, even atthe riskof being tagged girly men Iiom theheavier quarters of their genre.

But thc Eighties were not all,bout slyle; there was plentyofinnovrtion as well. cuiterists likcthe htc Randy Rhoads, Steve Vaiarld Joc Satrimi followed EdwardVan Halen's virtuoso lead andstr€tched the ;nstrument into thcsonic ncthcrworld- Bands likeMetallic!, Mcgadcth, Slayer andDanzigbrought their fury irtothrash, sp€ed and derth metal,whilc gr0ups like the Criie andGuns N'Roses knitted togctherthe realms ofglen and punkwith

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people didn't want me playingkeyboards because they thought Ishould onlybc a'guit hero,"'VanHalen said ofthe song. Even so,"Jump" vaulted to No. I and gave.1984 an instant multi-Platinumlaunch when it was released onNew Yeals Eve.

"Jump" wasn't entirely adeparturc for Van Halen. Thegroup's catalog was alreadybrimming with melodic, hookyradio hits, including "Jamie'sCryin'," "Dance the NightAway"and "Litile Guitars." And Eddie,who learned pianobefore glitar,had employed keyboards onprevious albums. "I saw noharm in my playing keyboards,as long as I do itwell," says VanHalen, who recorded "Jump"on an OBX A s).nth€sizer whi le5150 was being constnrcted. "Ijust knew which soundI wanted to noodle with;not necessarily for'Jump,'butjust to noodle with."

"I'll wai!" i98,1's secondhit, was another keyboard-led song-one Van Halensays his bandmates foughthard against in tie studio.But there were still plentyofguitars on -I9a4: FlyingVs on "Hot for Teachef'and "Drop Dead Legs," andSuatocaste$ on "Panama"and "cirl cone Bad.""Top Jimmy," meanwhile,marked the album debutofthe Ripley stereo guitar,which allowed the playerto pan each of the guitaisstrings to its our place inthe stereo spectrum.

One year afterl984's release,Roth left to launch a solo career.He was replaced by SammyHagar soon afterward. Van Halenbecame the rareband to changelead singers and not only maintainits popularity but better ii. But thatwould not have happened without198,1, the album that pushed Van

Halen {iom rock and roll fameto the rarefied world ofpopsuperstardom,

SexfrAlrcwDwU.09fB)MOTLEY CRUEMar.rLEY cRilD wnRE Nor the fi rstrock band to wear maleup, to singleeringly about women or to invotcsatanic imagery But tlre quartefssecond album, a Top 20 smash

that sold morethan threemillion copies,announcedthe affival of

ofSouthern

California hard rock, openingcommercial doors for the likesofPoison, RaG scores ofwannabesand, later, cuns N'Roses.

.qiout dt theDeyll alsoestablished the Criie 3s rock'sleading purveyors of bad-boydom(or bad-boy dumb-take your pick).Any satanic reference was likelyto get the attention of right-wing

roiling celebration of life in theultra-fast lane hom guys whowere maybe a bit too geen tokeep control ofthecar- BassistNikki Sixx, in fact, crashed hisinto a telephone pole duringtherecording of the album, dislocatinghis shoulder and forcinghim torecord his parts for "Red Hot'while wearing a ma.ssive cast andpopping lo Percoda$ a day.

But the outer chaos only fueledthc Criie's creativity. Sho.lf dt tfteDevil was the battle cry straightfrom the L.A. streets: par-t metal,p t punk and part hook-filledpop, supercharged by MickMars' searing guitar licks, thedriving thunder-bottom of Sixx

and drummcrTommyLee and frontmanVince Neil's howl-at-the moon vocals. Thedecadence championinganthems "Looks ThatKill" and "TooYoungto Fall in Lov€" got theband on the radio; ozzyOsbourne put them in{iont ofthousands everynight as the suppoft acton his 1984 tour.

And thanks to.Sftout dt theDev 's success, thc Criie's self-released debut, Too Fdstforlove(reissued by Elektra), belatedlyhit the char:ts and earned its ownPlatinum album. The parentsmay have been scaredto death,but the little girls andeventheboys understood.

more classic conventions for theirown instantly copied sounds.

Some were dding the lightning,others were rocking like ahurricane and still others wantednothingbut a good time. Butwhen it came to giving hard nxka firm foothold in the commercialmarketplace, Poison had theultimate word when it posited that"lt don't get better than this."

effuga-rrVAN IIALEN

OI'ER THE COTIRSE OF FIVEprevious albums, Van Halen hadestablished themselves as hsrdrock's new heroes, due in paitto David Lee Roth's vaudevilliantheatrics. But it happened mostlybecause Edward Van Halen hadstepped forward as a guitarist fora new age, with fleet fingeredtecbniques, a fiesh arsenal ofsounds and an inventive sensibilitythat was redefining the way peoplewere approaching the insffumenlHe was already riding high fromhis cameo guitar solo on MichaelJackson's "Beat It." And when amillion people showed up to seethe Southern California quartetheadline hard roch day at the 1983US Festival, it was clear VH wereready to explode even biger

Imagine, then, the surprisewhen the first thingwe heard liom1984 was not some trend-settingguitar riffbut rather the sustainedsynthesizer hook of"Jump." "Ids apretty well knowr fact that certain

and parents goups, and the Criie'spentagon-shaped logo certainlydidn't comfort those who fearedthe band was in consort withBeelzebub. To top it off, the bandindulged in a hearry ration ofrock'straditional vices: sex and drugs-

That lifestyle is reflectedthroughout S,qout di the Deril, a

NIBA'WI{$fXl/Y[lSrros+rMETAILICA

METAILIC{S sophomorealbum, drummer larsUlrich once observed,"Thiswas a turningpointfor the band. This album

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xK.wreg.wrufocused a lot on melodies andnotjust guitars crashing. It was areally cool album."

For the loquacious Ulrich,that was a rare moment ofunderstatement Ride tft e LiStltningis more than cool; it's a masterworkthat not only demonstrated marked

$owth over 1983's attention-grabbing debut ril Em,{[butalso alerted the world to the tuecreative possibilities of the thrashmetal subgenre. Before Ride tfieLigfitninS came ou! tlrash wasregarded in some quarters as rockand roll's latest batch of noiseplayed with impressive speed andintense energy drat acknowledgedits sources in the New Wave ofBritish Hea\,y Metal. Metallicachanged all that with its greatersense of d).namics, employingwhiplash tirning, crisp on-a-dimechanges and precise arpeggiatedriffingby Kirk Hammett andJames Hetfield.

L8itningwas recorded at SweetSilence Studios in Copenhagen,Denmark (Ulrich s homeland),at a time when the band wasexperiencing tumult in its businessoperations.Those problemshelfredto create a dark mood, from whichHetfield-newly invested in hisrole as Metallica's fiontman-mined the album's songs. Thethemes included the tenth plagueofEg)?t (death ofthe first+om)for the anthemic "Creeping Death,"drowring for "Trapped UnderIce," nuclear holocaust on "FightFire with Fire" and death byelectrocution in the ferocious titletrack "Call ofKtulu" is filled withmltiic grandeur, but the track thatreally raised eyebrows was "Fadeto Black," a rumination on suicidethat dared to be a ballad-tempodirge in a field that eschewed suchsongs as wmpy,

Metallica s creative ascent oilycontinued ajler Ride tIE trgfirning,$owing more sophisticated sndferocious on subsequent releasessuch as Master ofPuppets and, ...A nd Jusnce/or,{ll before hittingmainsbeam pay dirt with themulti-million sellingtriumphofl99l's Metalhtd (ek.a. "The

34 GUITAR LEGENDS

Black Album'). llgtrtniag was thebeginning of the ride, however,the album that gave thash itsfirst strike above the healy metalunderground-

ETBilT/d'6n(Eqlfl&lSlrussztIRON MAIDEN.You KNow WHEN astrologers talkabout a planetary lineup?" IronMaiden's foghorn-in-chief BruceDickinson once mused. "Lile, 'this

conjunction only happens once ina blue moon' sort of tiing? Whatyou have with Number ofthe Beasfis the musical equivalent" Themetaphor, while extravag5n! wasand is absolutely righl Released in1982, Maiden's third album markedtlre moment when all the pieces fellinto place for the British band.

?rior to its recording IronMaiden were a band in transition.Paul Di'Anno, the group's volatilefrontrnan, walked out after theworld tour for Maiden s secondalbum, KiIIers. Dickinson, thenthe singer in Samson, had beenwatching Maiden fiom the piton their tours-and thinking thathe could do a rather better jobof fronting them. Word of hist lent and aspimtions reachedMaiden's manager, who trackedhim down at the Reading I estivaland subsequendy signed him to theband's lead singer slot

with Dickinson in place, Maidenbegan recording what manyconsider the most important metalalbum ofthe decade. ?he Nurnler o/the teast combined agg ession withimagination and an awareness ofculture. The tide track, for irlstance,was based on Tdm O'Shdnter, a

Robert Burns poem that Harrishad read at school. ''The Prisone/'was inspired by the cult sixties TVprogram ofthe sarne narne, and thereflective "Children ofdre Damned"combined lyrics irspired by theclassic horror film \{ith Harrij loveof prog-rock time signatures.

Even with no airplay and litdemarketing, rhe Number otfheBeast reached 33 on the Br'llbocrdPop charts, eaming a cold disc thefollowing year and going Platinuma few years later, setting up theband for the hallowed position theyoccupy to this day.

lkllf$fl9lfiB8t6s8oyJUDAS PRIESTJUDAS PRIITT'S l98o masterprecewasn'tjust the aftheq'pal metalalbum; it was also a powerful socialcritique. written as the nation'ssteelworkers began a generalstrike, Bnhsft Steel was a reflectionof the growing discontent at thedawn of the Thatcher years. Fromthe mission statement of "Breakingthe La\ /'to the confrontationalrabble-rousing of "United," thealbum's tlack listing reads lile acall to arms. The songs are lacedwith empathy and aggressior!

KXrebound together by the theme ofdefiance in the face ofmisfortune."It was definitely a statement " salsguitarist Glerin Tipton.

Priest were aheady respected,but they needed a tuly classicalbum to match their visual flairand live prowess. They finally gotone in early 1980, as the band andproducer Tom Allom headed intothe Starding Studios at TittenhurstPark. Located within the formerBerkshire estate ofJohn Lennon,the studio was rented out asrecording space by Lennon'sformer bandmate Bjngo Starr,who'd purchased the estate in 1973.

As it tuned oug Tittenhurstiselfwould play a major role in therecording ofBnfith Steel. Havingdecided that the studio wasn'tworking, the band took over thehouse itself, recording the drumsin the marble entrance hall and theTipton and LL Downing's duelingguitar par'ts in a huge room thatcreated an arena-like reverb, Soonenough, the group's imaginationwas running riot: "Metal cods"featuring the sound of doors beingslammed and trals of cudery beingdropped, and "Breaking the La\/'inciuding the sound ofsmashedmilk bottles and a police sirenemulated on a guitar. "In thosedays, we used to invent everytiingwe could," says Tipton. "It was afun album to do."

Bnnsh Steel was the tumingpoinL It marked the moment whenJudas Priest broke America (thanlslargely to the airplay of "LivingAfter Midnight') \.vhile stayingFueto t}eir parochial Midlands roots."After Britisfi Steel," notes Halford,"things just notched into anothergear. It just exploded." It

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SeyrnourDdncan

Tread LightlyJust plug in a\loodl)" pickup. And hear the gloriouszibrations of uood and stringr. Tltaf t it.Sitnple and rrantparenr. Likp Nature.

For aJrce boclrure call Bo5-764.96a or uiit uuuteytnoarduuan.cont

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Forwhotn theBeIIiToII "

Guitar Legends celebrates the enduring appeal of AC/DC's

.. .B4CK..IN BLACK,.an all-time classic album that nearli wasn't made.

baskins in the hard-earnedsuccess of their first U.S. million-selling album, Highwayto Hell. Singer Bon Scottwas gettingdrunk and gettingIaid, guitarist Angus Young was getting married, and thegroup was in the early stages of writing its next album. Allwas rightwith the world.

EARLY 1980, AC/DC WBRE IN BRITAIN and on Vanda and Ccorlie Young, rhe elderbrother ofAng]rs and Malcolm- Alnrost sinrultaneorrsly,they acquired a powerful rcw,nruager, PeterMensch, an rggressile, no nor1ser]se Ame.r-can who had heJped develop the careers ofAerosmith and Ted Nugentand u,ould go onto crea!e the n1iilhlv Q-Prilne, whose biggestc l ient is Metal i ica.

As spring arrived, AC7/DC flew to Miamitbegin recording HrStrwd:y to Hrll { ith prod uccrEddieKramer, who had workcd *'ith JimiHeDdrix, Led 7-eppelin anrl Kiss, arnong others-Unfortunateiv. it was a rather unproductiv€three rveeks. "KIamer was abitofn prrt," Mal-colm.ecails. "He lookcd at Bon and srid ro us:'Can your guy sing?' IIe lr] ighfve sat bchind theknobs for Hendrix, but he's cel.tainly not Hen,drix,I can tell you thrt much."

Frusrrrred h\ rhe lick ofpr.,grc{s ACi/nCle{i Florida and retulned to the U.K. There,thej,decided to tr_v their luck *.ith an up al1dcomingproducer. RobertJohn'MutC' I -angchad a ferv studio cledits underhisbclt includ-ingthe Boomtown Rars, City Boy, the Motorsand crahamParke. but his \rork \\,ith AC,/DC would prore lo be rh. rurning pni j ) r in h i :career- Afterwa.d, he $'ould go on to create hit

l , l t \ l l l l l , H ' , N l r ' \ 1 . 1 . . \ \ l f 6 o m A C / D C sman irlier. He \f is at King's Colle€ie Hospiirl,Lordon. iJenr i fo ingrhe br . rdy ofa 33 lerr .n ldman s ho J been forrrd in r puddle ul r omit i r ra car.It was Bon, hecorfirnred. He'd drunkhimselfto death.

As the nc\,r,s sunk in, AC/DC went fromstunned disbelief to emotional devastation.Three months earlier, theyhadbeen open-ing for cnd up. t rg ing-Chcup Tr ic l rn,1 TedNugent in the United States. Now, in a colcl

aDd tdm South London winter, the:/ were justashadow ofthe band the/d bten. "wew€reso depressed,'said Malcoln Young, Angus'brother rnd coguitarist. "We werejustwalkingaround insilence- Because there tr,fl-s Dothin€t-"

_,<^.r\,1r^,1_rrJlr ]\Jw_JUsr oNt !t,tri ririfoRlt thcre seemed to beevcr"vthing. Rewind to 1979 a rernarkableyear in AC/DC's history. As it began, AC/DCrnnounced a plan to ruake their first albumwithout their longtime producers Harry

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records with DefLeppard, Foreigncr, thc Cars,Bryan AdanN, HeartaDd many others, includinghis wife shania TwaiD.

Soon aftcr AC//DC and Langc bcgan record-in€itracks atthc Roundhouse Studios in NorthLondon, itbecame clcarthathe wanted to refillethe gr oup's dynamics.'l'he rcsult was that AC/DC still sounded in your face but their choruseswere more lnelodic and strudured. Llngr didrn admirahle iob, ' ld i "n l l ing rnd .harpening rh,band's songs wifiout losingth€ rau,edge thatwas thc source oftheir appeal.

Ifthere was any price to Lange's method, itw:Ls paid in studio timc. ACi/DC were accustomcd to polishingolTri albun in three weeks;under Langc's tutelage it took thrcc months."He's very nuch thc sound guy," fu1gus roted.- ! i r h c . D C r h a r w d s h i . h i g r h t n g . l t e $ d .always hl,ing to get tuned h on the sound quality. Wc wcre always ones for the groove qualityand the song quality."

}Irghudy to Hel/$'as released in rhe summer. Thegroup rouredbehind itin the U.K. andEurope with up-and-coming New Wave ofBrit-ish Hea\.], Metalbands such as DefLeppard andDiamond Head, as wellas the moreestablishedJudas priest. From there, they wcnt to the U.S.,where they werc the tough act Cheap Trick nndTed Nugenthad to follow. R€turnjngro tsitlxr,AC/DC were specialguests to theirown favorlteband, the Who, ata one-offshow at WcmbleyStadium on August 18.

AC/DC ended their ,qrgfiwd! to Hell to:urwith six shos,s at London's old HanmcrsrnithOdeon (now the Apollo) durin€i Christmas'79and a couple ofreschedulcd gigs in Newcastleand southampton the follownrg January.tsut r-cll before then, Hrgfrwdy to Hell was an

unqualified artistic and commercial success. Ithad hit Number Eight h the U.I{. and becomctheir'first chart album in the U.S., whele itpeaked at Number 17. The title track was alsoaTop 50 single inthe States. The successesscernedjust reu,ards forAC/D(l's hard workand well crafted career moves, and 1979wasdestined tobe rcnembered as a pivotal year xrthe group's futurc.

^-.^^ _A_/\ ^ /rlN [[IjRUARY l9r]o,Argus a]rd Malcolm, thegroup's core songwriters, chcckcd into Londonrehearrr l . ruJin [ -Zee I I i re ro hrAin {1,rn|o:ing mater ia l fof r l r r FT, ,uf . ne\r a lhdm. lh, .Jhad plenty ofideas already:thc songwriringprocess for their new record hadbegun the pre-vious year ir hotcl rooms and duringsnatchcdmoments backstagc ard on the tourbus.

cngu s arLJ M aL oJ m ul re strr m -n ing a s r)energc'tical]l' when Bon w.rlkcd into th€ studio."Need adrumncr, fellas?" heasked. tnthc years

frior tojoiningAC/DC, Bon had often beell bothdrummer and vocalist for \.aious smrll-rime Australienbrnds. "I like ro keep my hand in,fknorv."

The Youngs were glad for the assistanc ,ard Bon jo ined in on a ncarby drum ki t . Aloosc, l ight-hearred session commenced, butsoon Angus and Malcolm began to pummelout a mightv, distinctive riff. Bon allicd hirn-scl f to rhe beat , and swi f t ly ard surely, a songthat woulc l cventual lv be t i t led "Have a Dr inkon Me" took shapc. Larer, Bon helped formu-late the drum intro t (J asecond song, one ofMalcolm's that would gain thc moniker " r ,etMe Put My Lov€ Into You."

At the end ofthe rchcarsrl, Bon suggestcdncctingagain the follownrg t eek. 'That'llgive

nlc timc ro irvrite some lyics. Thcn u'e can have

anothergo etthc songs." Then he srid hisgoodbyc's and left the studio.

A few clays lxter, on Wednesday, Fcbrualt'20, the tcrdblc news reachedAngus, Malcolmand the restofthe AC/DC camp: their frontmanu,as dead. The band members wcre stunned,but their mournin€iwas notonly forBoni itwllsalso lorAC/DC. Surel)', people specuiated, thcycould never recovcr liom the blow oflosing suchakeynrember, a man whosc roughhouse inage,raucousr.ocals and lewd lyricismwcrc such keyelemerts of their success.

-,--1/!^L JVV!tu1^relN l rrri DAys and wccks aftcr February 20,wlilcthe British rocl press publishcd triburesurrJ, 'h i rurr ic" rhnur \ . i [ rc , l ;unr m]r . r l -crenlaining bLlnd mcrnbers prepared thcmselvcsdisconsolately forBon's tuneral senice.It wasto be held on March I in Frcmantle, the harbortown where he'd grown up,.just south of theWest AustraliaD citv ofPerrh.

spenkingto cuitdr world,25 yesrs after thetuncra], Angls Young clearly lecalls meeting upwith tsor's parents in Freemantle and whattharf:rtefu I encountcr mcaDtto the future ofthcb ld.

-WF lew ha( l lu Au,nr l i r . rnd sperr .nmetinle widl Bon's mum |Isal alld dad lc'harlcs, alsolnown asChr'c{.I rememberBon's dad sayingio Malcoln und mc:'You mustcontimre withAC/DC. You're youngguys, you'rc on the br;nkof major success and you can't afford to givc upnow.' tsut we wcren't really listening we welc sr; !wrapped up in ourgriei eon's dad [eprreperting !his assurances. He told us time ard again: You tshoulcl kecp going, you've still got a lot to givc.' " "-

De.ni te rh( r r r 'uurr t i n, r r r . crgusandVrlcolm weren r in rhc rr l ruJ r , r l r ink r l 'o . r tcontinuing. "We u,ere heartbrokcn," says Angus 3

38 GUITAR LEGENDS

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,r\w\w\whlunrlt. 'okr\'. !r'c krc$ thc rvollcl h.rd lost ll' i . r l . r , , , , . 1 , , . . , . r . , . , l | t , r . $ , r , , 1 , \ r ,

tiricd. But !\'c haci l(rst r u(h n1ore. nrc hrd l(^r rtiiend r very closc hicncl. I krrrestlv. rve rlirln'tl,lrow \vlr,rt to do lvith oLrfsch'cs at the tinre."

(lmfl-.rN b so|rc chjms. r\CiiDC didn t. r . r ' l r ' . , 1 \ f r . , r , l i r i . , : , - . i , , : - t - . . r Ld.rys .rftcr ts(nis dcnrise. Notes \,lNkolm, 'Pcfcr

Nlersclt approlchcd us rm thc tl.rne on lhlr flight- , i . 1 . r , , r 1 , . . t k , , i i , , { , ' , } , . r , t . 6 r L r , r / 1 . . \ r g

hc b.rd a list ofsing-rrs ,r.rnres firl us to krrli rr.. . , . , ' i r . l , r l ' ' , 1 r ' l . l r i r r L r r r r ,' t t l r r r " r ' : I , r r ' r . r . i i r l i r r i r . r , , r l l , , rright, vor knou'?

Bui rs llxrch slo$lv t.rssed, An$rs tlnd X1., ' , r , t , r l l . ' l r ' , , r - t , ^ r , . i " , 1 r " . i , , , , , u r l rcflin t ct \\'hrl wrs still:rn Unccl.tein rlbunr

I n , i ' ' I R { . . , 1 1 . \ r ^ r . . u l , r $ , ; , , 1 . . . 1 1Lont rn aitcI thc frncrrl, rve dicln't rcallygcttoittthcr too nruch. llut irfter.r couple 0f$ecks

orso, Nlr lcolnr cr l led me up. lnd srnt , lnstc.rdofthc tivo ofus just sittirg rlr-;unrl aml moping.doilrg rr(,thin$ $'h) Llon t \r'e do sonre n'ork'i Atlc.Nt th;rt lllieep us toitrthcr.'"

'l hc blothcrs c loseted tlrenselvcs au ay intheif reh r.rrs.rl stucl io rnd rdopted a siegc urent:rlin'. Srys Arrg!s, "We just hiLl oullselves rwa\'ancl uor l ier l on our songs. Avci lofsccfecyquicklv dcsccndcd. There wcle a Lrt oflumorsgoirl|ilround atthc dnre. Peopk'urnted to kno$.uhrt sc uere upto andwhrrour phl ls $crc.A1ot ofjounr.rlists iverc callingup oul reco|d conrpunv rnd .rsking f0r' in te r'!ieu,s. ltut it wis mlrcht(!)ecfl!. r\t ihe dnlc we rvercn't really capablc ofdcr l ingu i th rerr much. Wc'c l lost sonreone rc,rclosc to Lrs rncl we wererit thillkingvcry clerrlr'.rnrt we dcc cd lvofking$Ns bcfter than si||inlithcre, st i l l in shock ibout l lo | l "

Irr this !vr\',id.k h,Bld.l bcgan Lo cometogcther.In rdditioo b thc songs thc Youngs h.rd

w tten \r'ith tson rt ['Zec ] Iire, \hlcoln1 hrdconrpleted what u'oLrld bccome the nc\! albunfsdtlc rack.Ilut thc futLrre ofAC,/D(] r':rs still lenmuch LD in the rir. srvs,\l]glrs. 'wc cliclft rertt\

r , r i i t l r , r r r r . , r . r l u , r . . . 1 " r , , 1 . . ' r r r , r , r 5 r .Wc didrr't h.rve nruch ofr pcfspcctive on thirllrs.So $ hat lioprusgoir)g'a \\ell, Xhlcolnr and nrehad staf tcdthcb.rnd Logelhe.rnd,suhconscioush l sup|osc,wc didn t \ r ' . rnt i t to e]rd. We didn t\rint to le!!e thing\ urfinishcd. wl]tl s!' ked on: , f , \ \ - n g \ $ i L r l l , I j . r , r h , ' , , f . l r ' . , 1 , . , r h . r l l ,r l l . And his dad srnted us to crrryon. S(nncho$we coLrkln t bcal to nun :rfound.rrxl s.r\': 'l h.rt'si t , $,c ' re r rot doirg do i rarv lnorc. '

As it bocrme e!ide l thlt AC,/DC wouldr t lcnlpf to ( .ufy on, the quesl ion of$ 'ho $ oulc lf ront lhc gr-oupruosc. ' \ { 'hen we le l t $e r i 'c lcc lose to hNvingal l thc songstogrther, we krc$$c had to conl i oot thc qucsr i (n ofa no\y s i r ,Ber," sxvs Angus- 'BLrt it \\'asn t likc wc put.rnrdvert isemcnt in amusic fatef th said, AC,/D(l u,.rnt r new frontman.'That srrLrld hrvcbccn t ixr ovcr thc lop. l t ry ls subt lcr than thet .I 'eople l ikc Bon i r r uniqLrc, they' re spcci l l , and\ !e d idn' t $ ' l ln t sonrc(nrc to conre in rnd cop,him. I f rnythi rg, $ e $.rnrccl srrnrconc i rho s arthoir own chNrrcter ."

Nunrcrous rnd vrrn'd flonhnen \{erer r r r , , r , ' I t 1 r I , r ' r

! , r l , , . r . , . r , ' : , , r , r , .Ilon Scott s rcpl.rccnrcnl. Anr(nrs theru $ efeSlc\.ic $rfight lronr the BN\te.rts, ihc Austrl-lian rock grtLrp irrrr the si\lics fi,undcd by C/r)C s nos, fomcf pfocluccrs I Irn) vi,rda. ' r r r r - , ( ' i s \ ' i . r ; : L | l ; l i , r . r r : r . r ' B r r r ' ' ,thc gT|rvel loiced singcr'\\fio fronrccl the st:rffightcfs, rn act lirturingAnrnrs xnd Mrlcolnr scousin Stcvic Young: xnLt Teff\' \'\llson Slcsseru,ho lurd l i runt l tame in Bach shect ( l r r$, ler , lhebrnd ionned trl er lfcr: $irrrist Prul liossolf.Nlafc Sror:rco ol S\!iss b,rnd KIokLrs clanls h.*,as o ffcrcd thc A(],/DC position: " I $ lsn't cvc 11tenrpted," hc sa1's, "bccausc I bclieved Iirrku.wofe going_ to conlilnre to itrt bigscr. But blckdrcn I * ,as cocl l rnd rur lvc. '

Spcaking tocl : r ! , Al r l ius Young is sr i l l cagc\ .rbouf thc audi t ion t rocoss. , \ l l I c l | r srr isthr t lotofpcoplc $ 'erc bcingsuggcstcd. Olc li r i , r , l .

" r r ' , ' 1 1 r ' . r . r r 1 r r r . r . , \ i r . | \

I knot l solncone \ r ,ho could do thcjob Andpeople r f io vrm'rc fanr i l iar u i rh, * ho v,- , r rl {nos qLr i te wel l vou do invi ic thcm .r lorg.rndgir 'c thcnr a l is te l r , do| '1 vou' i "

(hrcofthosc in|ited rlcnrg !v.rs l sto(k) flllo$iD a c loth c.rp: Br i . rn.kf insor. I I r i l i r rs . . f i orn CoLrnt\ l)urhrnr in thc northcasi of trngllnd,.Iohr)so\ F | ' , I i l . r ' t , ' . . u J 1 r 5 r " r h r r l r ' i .sclcntics bind ccordic.one hir s'rnde|s in ti,cL.K. lvhosc sinslc "All Bcc:ruse ofYou" rerchcdNlrnrberSix in thechrf i incar l ) '7 .1.

Twcnt_v-llve !erfs (lo\\r the line, it's rowclearthat Bon Scott hrcl a posthLrmous elli,ct inpick inghis soccessor. 'We ccr t r i r lv kne\v I ] ( , r rwff a Lrn of ltdr!r Johrsoll's," says An$s. -Bon

hrd seen Bfi.rn in Enshnd fnr te7Jl rnd bccn' r r r r r r r , r ' - ' l l r r r i r . B . r $ . , , r ,

" " i r - . i r

:r b)nd he wrs ill bcfirrc AC,/D(] callccl Irrr-icrnit_v, end thl]! opcrred up tin {icofdic.

ijir.ltt'.:';;l' ; K39a grc.rt rock and roll singer in the Littll]Richrrd nrold."

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Recalling those fond memories, Angus andthe boys agreed to try out Johnson as AC/DC's new singer. "Jonno," as he would becomeknown, got the call to come down to London andrehearse with tJrc band on March 29, 1980. Longafter his appointed hour, Johnson was nowhereto be found. AC//DC eventually located hiln hewas downstai$ playing pool with their roadies.They couldn't help but laugl! Brian sounded justlike the kind of down-to-earth guy they needed.

Johnson sang "lvhole Lotta Rosie" at hisaudition. It was a brave move to tackle a trackso intimately associated with Bon Scott. RecallsAngus, "I think Malcolm asked hinl'Tell us

commenced at the end ofApdl at Compass PointStudios in the exotic city ofNassau, the BaIa-mas. The recording ofBacft in Blacft would con-tinue through May, with Robert John "MutP'Lange once again at the production helm.

+r'\ /vw\^n/^^r1]+DDSPITE THEIR NEI4T'OUND forwald momen-tum, AC/DC still had the option to abort therecording process if they felt the album wasn,tworking out as intended. "There was a litde bitof pressure to i!" says Angus, "a cornmitrnentthar we had tocomplere the record by a certaintarget date. But equally, we could've gone in andrecorded some tracks and said. 'No. we don't like

doing on the record."The song's tide was i]Jnored to be a line

Bon Scott had originally used in an argumentwith his landlord, but Malcolm set the recordstaight "The song was about London's oldMarquee Club when it was in wardour StIeeL Itwas in a built-up area and there was this wholething about noise pollution in the news, thewhole environmental health thing. That's whereit came fiom."

What about the remain der ol Bock in Black'sllrics? Angus admits: 'A lot ofideas, choruses,song tides and lyrical snippets werc already inplace beforc Brian arrived." RumoN persist that

which songs you feel comfortable with.' AndBrian said he knew nvhole Lotta Rosie,' so weplayed dnt. Brian also wanted to tly'Highwayto Hell.' Malcolm said, vyhat else do you want totry?' And I think we played a rock and roll songmaybe a Litde Richad one or sometling."

How much time elapsed from the auditionuntil Brian J ohnson joired AC,/DC officially?'nve, therewere some other people we hadto see, so I suppose it was a few weeks," saysAngus. But Malcolm apparently made up hismind on the spot "Brian sang great It Uoftn,son'saudihbn] put a little smile on our face-for thefirsttime since Bon."

Johirson recalls his reaction upon beingoffered the job: "I remember thinking to myself,Oh, Brian, what have you got yourself into? Iwasn't scared, though-I was excited. I looked atit like, Well, ifl do get fired,I can tell me rrates Iwas in AC/aDC for a couple ofweeks and I'd hada nice holiday in London."

Johnson's "holiday'-now 25 years long-

them, it doesn't feel right.' "After a couple ofweeks rehea$ing their new

songs with Johnson in London, ACAC flewto the Bahamas. They arrived during a lull in astorm that raged across the islarld for the nextthree days. As Johnson recalled: "It wasn t aEopical pamdisq it wasn't all white beaches. Itwas pissing it do\.m. There was flooding and a1lthe electricity went oul No television."

Itwas not the most auspicious start, but theinclement weather had one benefit: it provid-edthe inspiration for the openinglines to Baclrin rldcli's first track, "Hells Bells": "I'm therollingthunder, the poudng rain/l'm comin'on like a hurricane."

Says Angus, 'nve pretty much had all theEacks together. The last hack we completedwas 'Rock and Roll Ain't Noise Pollution,' whichMalcolm and me actually wrote there lin fheBdfidmds]. We feh that we were a Eack shortand we spent a few days writing it in betweenguitar overdubs and the otler things we were

ACTDC took the majority ofBdck in Bld.k's llricsfrom a notebook Bon Scott had left behind afterhis death, but Angus denies it vehemendy. "No,there was nothing fiom Bon's notebook- lA-frerhis deathl all his stuffwent direct to his motherand his family. It was percorul matedal-lettersand things. It wouldn't have been right to hangon to iL It wasn't ours to keep,"

The recording ofrdcft in ,Bldck continuedapace, but the studio in Nassau wasn t all it wascracked up to be. Johnson recalls, "This big oldblack lady ruled that place with a rod of ironWe had to lock dle doors at night because she'clwamed us about these Haitians who'd comedor,r.n ar night and rob theplace. So sheboughtus all these six-foot fishing spears to keep at thefucking door! It was a bit of a stretch fiom New-castle, I can tell you."

Reports of a machete-wielding tourist killerprowlingt}e beach nearby added co the tension,bucas Malcolm pointsour. ir wasn tal lsress."It was the best Dlace to do that album because

-

=

;

40 GUITAR LEGENDS

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z .v NY .v .v \SY .v .v\Sry'.vN{gZNrEr/W

- - - ^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^-^

"cThe u6rld had lost a bis talent, but uGIoqia frie4d.'We d"!d4't lQgud,iiat to dor4,4t4 Ourgelve' at tne ttme." -A4st5 You4s

Itudthere u,as notilil]g goingon. we'd sit rhroughthe nightwith a couple Lrfbottlcs oflum (,ithcoconut milk and work. That's uhcle a lot ofthelyric ideas camc from."

The band polished off; Iack in Black inabout six weeks, a lightning fast turnaroundbv "Nlutt" Lange standards. The exper-ie[ccwas, savs Argus, "verJ good-for both us andhjm, I think. After he m ade Highway to Hellhe uas in b igdemand, but I thought i t wasgood for him fto record.tith AC/DC againl,especiall]' after u,hat had happened to us.It's to Mutt's creditthat he still $'anted to beinvolved u,ith us after Bon's death."

At the end of the recording session, John-son wes mightilv relieved. "It was aboutthree in the af ternoon," th€ s inger recal ls . " I t* -as a beaut i fu lsunny day and I went outs idedown to where the huts were. I sat on th iswall and I got a ciggie out and sat among thetrees. I \,r'as so happv that I'd done it." Still,he savs, even at that point in the recording,he hadD't yet heard one song al l the wayrhrough. " l 'd go in ard do a couple ofverses,pop back and do a chorus. That's the wavMutt keepsvou interested, you know." Ul t i -matc ly, Johnson's only complai l , I t conccrnedth< high nutrs on " :hr le : Leg. -Oh. thr .u'as fucking way up. Some ofthose notes willnever be heard by man again."

Rr: ' .r^sI 'D rNArrERrcA on Ju]y 21,1980, and rnBritain and Europe l0 da].s later,Bdcft inBld.ftsiormed to the Number One position in the U.K.

albumchart.It reached Number FouI in theU.S. where it stayed in the chart for l3l weeks.

Bacl in BIacft has silce passed the DoubleDiamond-2o miliion-mark for sales in rheStates alone, a record beatenbyonly 6r.e otherrecords: the E€les'Cr€d.esf tlics (28 million),\4 ic\ael Jack.on . I f i . i l t r r (2n ni l 'onr . l inLFloyd's

"he Ivcll (23 million), Led Zeppelin Iv

(22 million) and BillyJoel's createst Hits (21million). On a u'orldwide basis the albumhaspassed 42 million sales. "Those are incrediblcfigur€s," says Angus. "Mindboggling. Allwe'veever done throughout our career is rccordstuffwe hope oul fans u-ill Iike. Nothinghasbeen prenreditated. That's howwe've alwaysapproached it. we've been that way since thebeginning. When we first started pla).ing live, it'ivas always a case oi what do the people who'repayrng money to see us lvant to hear?"

Bdclr in 3ldcft also pays tribute to Bon Scott."Well, thatwas the u,hole idea," says Angus."The cover was black and the album beganwith the sound ofa tollingb€11." But it ain't alldoom and gloom. The album is fu l lofseduc-tive partJ tunes like "Shoot to Thrill" and"You Shook N{e All Night Lon!]." "Yes," says

Angus, "because you have to remember thatBon enjoyed a good parF-'. when someone diespeople often hold a wake, somethingthat'srnore ofa celebration ofa person's life. Bondidn' t dwel lon thc meaningof l i fe too much.He lived for the mon1ent."

Twent_v-five yerrs after its release, Bdcl inBldcl still stands th€ test oftime remar'kablywell, Moreover, it continues to work on tu,olevelsr To the occasional rock-record buyerunconcerned about the f in i te detai ls ofAC/DC history, the rlbum retains a commandingpower and presence. To dyed- in- the-woolAC/DC fans Bdcft in Bldcl is a vital linkbetween the Bon Scott era and the band'srebirth. The album is a turbulent mix ofanger over Bon's untimely death and deter-mination to carry on.

When askedwhat nTakes him mostproudofBdc/r in Blacft today, Angus replies sornberly:"It's the fact that we were strong enough at thetime to keep ou$elves together and see ourwaythrough anajor tragedy." pl

__-_.,v!wwvt ,^..urrThanks to Philip wilding and Ldura Catryon

for thcir help with this story.

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7'w\ItrYy.ry-ctg.w.w

ofSLAS H recatts the making oy affi io, Drll#l'io,,

GUITAR LEGENDS #109

HE GUNS N'ROSES LEGEND IS FILLBD WITHas many cautionary tales as rock and roll victories.There's the time DuffMcKagan's pancreas burst

from alcohol-induced pancreatitis. There's the timeIzzy Stradlin was arrested for relieving himself in anairplane gailey, and the time Axl Rose incited a stadiumriot because someone in the audience took his photo.

BU'l FoRAcurrAxrs'r', thefe's perhrps nostor\' n1c,re grucsome aDrl ccliiying rhan theone to ld bv the harrd s longstanding producer,M i k c c l i n k .

'Whcn I fir'st rret dre band, Slash \vas pl:ry-ing a Jackson l iu i tar . t tu,as Decerrber. xnd i t$as crrld in the fehesrs.rl r-oon nt Hollsvood s

: S. l .R. Si l ios. And s lash hadn' t chal lceclh is3 srrings in I clon t knorv hou, loug. So i said.9

'Yr)Lr kno$,. vour st r ings rre dcacl , a|d he suid.: Okav. I l lchang-e theor. 'So he gocs of f into r! corner, ant l he cuts of ia l l thc sbings at once.

And the nerkjust t$'caked. And fron1 ihat Ino,nrent on. tht tgrr i tar uever \ , r 'ent ;nto tunc evcrigain. It wrs prett-- Ilorrcndous."

Apparcntly, this is horv k:gerrls ale c[o,ited, tbr rhis ercnt rrrnspired at the sesshns{or Appetitafor DestrLtcrion, rhc rlbum rhatwor ld becoDre cuns N Roses debut and oneofro(k's nrilcstoncs. I\'lore thin 2{) verrs lnrcr.Sl ,Nh's l ,outhful insuuciance comes thnrughloud :rnd clcxr. Appetilelir,csrnr.lio'r is northe soun{l of a i{uitirist th.rt rvoukl patientlyreplace onc str ing:rr a t i e- i t 's rhc sound of

r I Iu i t^r is t ( t$,oof fhem. actual ly) that \v i l l L1ol hatever- it trkes to gct back to playing hisinstrumcnt sooncl than l : r tcr .

Coincidental l r " , s l . rsh and Stradl in, thebancl s underr;recl rnrl unfrrrtunrtclv prcss-shy rh\ thnr gui tar is t , were j r rnnr in i j tugethcrl ( ) r the l i rs t t inre in l , rars when ue cont , rcrcdsl:rsh to renlinisce about the m.rking oi rlj)'p , r i r , . I I roLrgb {1.r . h . .n I , 'nr l , , r , l$ ' , l l : r lon p. tst succcsses, h is IeLlo io $. idr lzz) ' brdr t L ; n J l c J a n r p f l c . i ' r i u r f n r - r r d r n r l ! . i ,of the rare rnd exquis i te chcDrist rv thr t the\ ,captLled on dre r lbul1r . In th is exclusive in-ter'r'icrv, Slash jogs his ntenorl irbc'ut r-ecr;r'cl-ing the f i .s t i r l ld bcsr cur)s r lbum, fercr l int jrvbere i t a l lnent r ight-enc1r 'cq rvrong.

_ _*,\ /!^/!4,1 ?-

curlAr ucExDS Is it ssfe tu sr\ ther Appctir€is vour f . rvor i te CLrns N' Roses x lbuur?

sratH I l(^ e playinij, recording ancl touringso nruch thlt. for rrte, each tecord has its orl,n' \vhatevef" rbout i t . I hrd r bhst n l rk ingrhrtf ( c n f d . h u r I j u r r J i J n r r u r l i z , l r , ' r r o , ' l i rwm until rv:rl after the l.:ct. Wher, you nraker rec{rrd, it s rtllllv of--thc-nrome t. Afler ifsdone. l ncver ereD l is tcn to i t agr in. I justo| jov the t ime rhr t J nr in the stucl io. so reruv.

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the only reminder I have aboutany ofthe recordings is usuallythrough somebody else.

cL But itwas your debut al-bum. Didn't thatmake it special?

ILASH It was the first ex-tended studio effort that we'ddone collectively, so that initselfwas agas. At the sametime, there was so much else go-ing on.I was staying out till fourin the morning, getting to thesflrdio at leastby noon. And Iwasn't living an),.where, so I wasa complete vagabond during themaking ofApperite. There wasa lot ofcraziness and partyinggoing on all ofthe stuffthatcomes with being a rock androllband that has no ideawhereit's going. we did every'thingwe wanted to do andgot awaywith whatever itwas we couldget away with. So lookingbackon it now, it's like, yeah, thatwas totally cool. I wouldn't havemissed a minute of it.

cl Were there any templatesyou were holdingup back then,saying, "IfI could make analbum like this, I'd be happy"?

5ta'll No. Everyone elsemight have a different story,but I 'm only speakingon mybehall From the time theband started,,it's always had achemistry. Everybody playedwhat they thought needed tobe incorporated into the music;everybody always came upwith their own ideas. Nobody really askeda lot ofquestions. We just had an unspokenchemistry a natural feel for knowing whereto put a part. There wasn't a lot ofsittingaround and looking to the future as far ashow big a hit this was going to be. We justi nco rpo ra ted wha r we each l i ked as i nd i -viduals into the songs.

6! Did the band feel unified at that point?SLAIH We were the only five guys who

could have made up thatband in the wholeof L.A., especially at that point in time. TheEighties was probably one of rhe worsr decades ofall time for music. flaughs]

ct Disposnble pop and coohie-cutter metalbands.

tl,atH Exactly. We hated everything thatwas goingon everywhere, so we ended upfal l ing together. l t was sorr of a f luke ho$it happened. bur i t *ar inevitable, becauseindividually, we couldn't pair up with anyoneelse r! e e3ch had our own personal direc-tion. We all eventuallygot together, andthat was the o y combination that worked.Against allodds, we went headlong into thisthing. But it wasn't preconceived that's justwho we were. When we went in to do thealbum, we just wanted to mal(e our albumand be good atwhatwe did.

Gl But were you reactingagainst how plas-tic music had become?

sLAtH No, it wasn't that.It wasjust that,given the time period, what we did was very

much against the grain. And we enjoyed thestatic. [.rughs]

ct Yotlr playingwas more raw, melodic andbluesy rhan rhe fleer-fingered style thar domi-nated the L.A. hair-metal scene back then.what were some of the reactions to your style?

ILAIH I wasn't riding anybody's opinion.It wasn'tuntil much later that I got recog-nized as a half-decent guitar player. But in

started to get recognized as a guitar player, which was very flat-tering. I appreciate the fact thatI've done pretty well for myselfin the context ofbeingone-fifthofa coolrock and roll band.

cl, How difficult was it to getthe band's sound on tape?

sLASH Capturing it prop-erly was a hard thing to do,because it was very raw, andwe didn't want to use a lotof effects and other stufftoembellish it too much. Atthe same time, we did have acertain amount of professionalintegrity, and we wanted itto sound tight. There are alot ofbands that try to soundunhinged. We were unhinged,but we also liked to tie it to-gether enough to keep it fromexploding all over the place.So it always had that soundwhere it was just about to fallapart, but it was a little tightat the same time.

cl What was youl daily rou-tine like at that time?

SIAIH My existence has alwaysbeen that detached glpsy kind ofthing-very focused around mymusic, but as far as everltiingelse, very detached. I'd work untjlll or 12 at night and then hit thestree! find a place to hang outfind a place to sleep arrd then finda way to get back to the studio thenext morning. That was the mal-ing of the whole record.

c!Would you indulge at all when you wererecording?

SrAtH There was a little ofeverythingwithin reason [dughs],but it wasn't as ex-cessive during the actual recording process,because as soon as you couldn't play well,then the whole point ofbeing around ceasedto exist. So in the studio, maybe a liftle Jack

^^^^^^^^^^^-,^^^^^^..t^^^^^^^^^^

to do146S 116

vvthe Hollylvood scene, we were such a brashband that the whole thing was overwhelm.ing. Ijust liked to playwhat I liked to play. Aslong as I thought I was playingwell, I didn'treally give a shitwhat anyone was thinking.But I've always been very paranoid about thequali tyofm) playing. I m one oIthose guyswho always asks afterward, "Did I play okay?"But I wasn't judging my playing by anyoneelse's standards but my own. I didn't have anyconvoluted dreams about being a guitar hero.

Gl Butyou became one an),.way.5lA5H There wrs a point when I sraned ger-

ting phone calls to do magazine interyiews. Andthen at another level, me and A\l got the leadsingelead guita st combo thing going thatwas very reco$izable. From that point on, I

and coffee. [aug]rs] eut after a day's work,it was go-for-broke. And then the next day,1ou just showed up at rhe studio on r imeand no one had anythingto say, as long as itdidn't affect your performance.

cl So where did it staft to go wrong?tratH First there was Steven lAdler, tfte

band's first drummer, who was let go for exces-sive drug dbusel. Thatwas a big change, butwe suNived it. But that still had a big effecton the camaraderie of a bunch of guys who Ihate to sound clich6 really came from thegutter. But it was hard, because I was only20 and Steven was only 2l when the bandreal l) starred. we had professionalerhics.but at the same time, we were a crazy bunchofkids. Tryingto keep a tab on any one of us

44 GUITAR LEGENDS

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was difficult- [1aug,']sl we just knew whel1 rvchad to show up for-work, but af ter work. . .Godknorvs what was going on.

So whcn we buckled down to do Use )ourlilusion [l and lI], lformer Cult drummerlM J r s o r J 1 1 r ' , m ( r . r n d h c w r . j u . t l i k rthc fcst ofns, so that * ,es cool . Ard thenwe're t lo ing th is u 'ho1e double-record th i l1gbecruse rve had so much marer ia l . And thcrwc had al l these hr igc shows coming up. soi t 's l ikc nc were tou r i ng dur ing the rrakingof the record. Thcr-c u,as a lot going on, so wei{ere out tbr two plus ycars on those albums.

Then Tzzy lef t , . rnd a lot of that had to dowith thc r:xcessive shit happering on therond-goingol1 late, and f iots. and that k indofstu i f . we were a real ly s imple brnd f romt l r , . r r r r . \ l e r e r l l v l o . r l . J f o - u r r , l r , , s . . -

t ing up and playing €very n i€ iht- th l t 's whatu 'e ' re a l l about but when that star ied toget compl icated lor reasons that d idn' r hrvearything to do $ ' i th the rest ofus, i t put astr l t i r on thcband.

I t wasn' t a "succcss k i i ls" k ind ofstorvr i t 'sjust thar what Axlhad ol ig i l la l ]y p lanned forus startcd to become somethingthat ronc ofus kne*,anything about. lougfisl So uhenr\c Inur wr. or er . I lookr, l . r r u l - r r u r . goingon, and I r.ealized I felt very estrrrgcd. Whatbound us togethcr wrs really lacking as soonas we were missing a couplc gu,vs- You justcan' t re invent sonething l ikc that .

\ r'e tried to hrng in there !s lurti as pos-

s ib lc, but Axl wasgoingin a nusiceld i rect iorthr t none ofus could fathom. Eventual ly , i tjust wasn't fun for n1e, end I finally left. Andconscquently Dufileft, and Matt lilJt fircd.Nou'Axl is doing cuns on his own. I havc noregrets aboui thc whole thing, because it wasa slow, systemalic thing that wcnt on.

cL But musical lv , ! t least , sonlcth inggoodcalnc out of Axl 's tenrperanlental s ide.

s L A s H { ) l r } r r h . H p \ o n F o f r h e n r o . t h r r ll ;ant lyr ic ;sts. He 's got so nuch going on, andhc's lcally an intelligent, ,rmazing t'uy. It'sjust . . . i t dcpcnds how nuch of !h.r t [enot iondlba' ;axi r

"u u l r r r , . e\ fer :ence $ i rh h im.

A lot ofjt is stuff that rot evervone in theband necessar i ly understends. so you tN toundcrstand and you tr]' to be a good friendand bandnale as you go through it, but u,henit nefirtively rflects evclythingthe band is do-ing, it's real]y hard ro stand by hinl.

I 'm also i i r tcrcstcd io hear the new cunsrecord because so nluch )ras gonc on s incethis whole thing startcd r knorv he's got :rlot to sav- Even a lot ofh is stage pcrfonnanccis fueled by angst . And i t 's essent ia l to havethat sort ofsoul and crcrg.v for th€ music tocome across as €ienuinei that's ar intcgralp l r r t of rock and ro l l - But ; t just depends onhou' far you * ,unt to takc i t . I t 's l ;ke, i fyoLrcanget i i r l l out ofyour system in thc t l ! chours vou're onstage, great . As long as you'reonstrgc. [1dugfisl

c t You've bccn jamming u ' i rh Izzyagain.

[This interyiew tookplace in Spring 2002.) A:Iryrew pcrspectivc on r,'hy 1'orrr playing stylesn,ork so ivell together't

statH ICs rhe kind ofthirgwherc, ro rnattcrwho comes up wi th the in i t ie l idea, I Devefrcally havc to go, "Izzy, pJay this part this way."Hejust plays lis tlinghis own way, and rvenever really talk rbout it much.

Last n ight ,we went in and took besic chordchanges and u'orkcd them into tull songs.T l ' a t . o n u , ' i t h c r l r i r 6 , r h , ' u l n r J n J l z T lworking together: he kno\vs \\,here I'nl at,and I knorv u,here he's at. And that's the wavi t . r l s r r s h , " n . I m J k e u f c o m e r \ i n g r h r (accompanies his part and at the same time ac-cents ii, and he does the salne $ith llly parrs.We h .e that kind of chen, istrl'. We've rl*'aysbeerr good frierds, so for us to g€t in a roomrnd play is a veryeasy t l r ingto do-

cr Whrfs the strongest impression ),ou havcol,vour timc creatingA ppetit e for D e stru c ti an?

stasH You shouid probablyask the rentalcarcomprnies r\fio rcntcd us the \-ans we used todrive from the Valley to Ho1l1'wood al1d baclr.

[aug/is] rhcrc were a ferv damaged vans-we must hevc dropped offabolrt three orfour in the middle ofthe Dight. So any

5r5*[1.:ffii(4Sus againstth€ world. and itwas a reallvcool timc, bccausc wc pulled it oft $t

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xtr\ry*pr.xggr"ryyr

iqodfime$,BadTimeS

childhood

ID YOU HEAR ABOUT THE times Chuck Berry gave KeithRichards a shiner and set him on fire? How about when OzzyOsbourne mistook Randy Rhoads for a girl? And what of tl-reevents that drove Angus Young to \ /ear those velvet shorts?

The wor ld ofSxi tar is f i l lcd$. i th a i ] r i l l ion twisted stLr f ics, andin thc follou'ing pag-es *,e havc

corrpi lcd some ofour lavor i tes.Some arc linny, sonrc poignan!,others sick. buf all arc unforget-table. Black eyes, brokcr l imbs,unusual ercounlers i t 's thc stuf fth.rt myths anrl legends are m.rdeot And i t 's a l l in a day's work lorthe l ikes olRich,rrds, Osbourncand Young.. .not to ment ionEdward Van Halcn, . I imi Hen-drix, Howlin' wolf, Pctc To*-n-shend and.Ianes I {et f ie ld.

Without fufther rdo, GuifdrLegends prcscnts an incred-ib lc compendiunr 0f the mostbizalrc and often pivotalevents ir the anrals ofguitrr-

conccrncd,I neverreally slw anybody do it," says Ddwrrd V.rn Ililen."l'nr not sayirlg, 'Hcy, I'm bitchin', Icame up s,ith it,'but I ncvcrrcallysarv anybody do it before me."

Van Halcn \,',ill rdmit, ho!v.ever, thNt thc i r i t ia l inspirxt ionfor h is legendrry t rvo handecltcchniquc came frorr r surpr ising soLlrcc nanlc ly, Lcd Zoppe-1in 's J imnly Pagc. " l got the idca:r longt inre rgo whi le at fendinga 1971 Zcp concert , " F,dwardexplains. "Page wxs playinghis c lassic soio in the mic i t t lcof 'Heartbreaker, ' and. : l l of asudden a l ight bulb u,cnt of f inmy herd. I thought, Wai t a minutc, hc 's pul l ingoi f to.rn openstr ing that 's s in lp le. Now, $h:r ti f I use the f ingcr 0r my r ighth:rnd to pul l of f to a l ingcr onnly f fc t t ing lund? I could move

things around ancl clo a lot more." rhat was thc b€ginnin& I j sr

k ind of took the techniquc andran wi th i t . "

But how did Ed ke€p t.rppingasecrct in thc ).callshcforcVan Halenrecorded their debut? " 1 rcmcmbcrwheu we firstsrarted pl.rvingoriginal scis at thc whiskt' in Los Ange-les,l'd tum around ind kcep mIback to the audielce wher l tappcd.No one couldsee what I wus doinll!Mybrother, Al, nould al',r'rys say,'Ecl,Lrccool, lnnn- Don't let thosemothers rip yc'u of{' "

6HA7'qrEREDPETE TO\\'I{SHENI} Str'lASIIISHIS FIRST TiI]I'IATThad acquired a reputat ion rs themost vi{)lcntl_v aggrL'ss;ve guitaris t on London's music scene. Thervay he banged his Rickcnbackcrarouncl, scraped the nric standacross its strings and €liciredfeedback squeals from his ampshocked aud del ighred audier tesin an ela whcn rock bands st i l llvore suils onstagc. His cfcati\.clvrbusive \r,ay rvith the irstrumcntrcachcd i ts u i t imate and inevi tablc c l i lnax orc cvcning in '6s, at : r

HA.N{MER.ON.S OFTHEOODE

-VA"\ I IALTN DIS( 'OVERSTAPPING4AS FAR AS THE TAPPING thirgis

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gig in London's Railway Tavern-avenuewith a particularly highstage and low ceiling. There aremany versions ofthe story, butthe best is the one Pete himselftold to his friend and biographerBichard Barnes in the latte/sbook, The Who: Maximum R&B:

"I started to knock the guitararound a lot, hitting it on the ampsto get banging noises and thingslike that, and it started to crack.It banged against the ceilingandsmashed a hole in the plaster;the guitar head actually pokedthrough the ceiling plaster. WhenI brought it out, the top of theneck was left behind.l couldn'tbelieve what had happened. Therewere a couple of people from artschool I knew at the {iontofthe

Paul are lihe father and son; hesays he finds it virtually impossi-ble to perform without his "baby."He has, in fact, used the guitar onevery one of Skynyrd's albumsand at all their concerts- In 1977,however, he came close to losinghis beloved instrument.

'nvhen we were recordingStreet Surrirors in Miami,I gotlazy and left the guitar on a standfor the night," recalls Rossington."The next morning, I went toplay it, and the whole headstockjust fell right ofl Ir was held ononly by the strings." According toothers who were at the sessions,someone from the night cleaningcrew had accidentally knockedthe glitar over and broken it,then set itback on the stand to

and Ijustlaughed," he says. "Thething is not an investment it'spart ofmy arm."

SEl,yoptavROBERT JOHNSONSELLS HIS SOUL

Robert Johnsonwas "Kingofthe Delta Blues Singers," the art-ist who gotunder the skin andinto the soulofEric Clapton andcountless other rabid devotees.Part ofhis appeal is romantic:according to an enduring legend,Johnson sold his soulto the devilin exchange for the spectacularguitar playing, singing and writ-ing abilities that ultimrteiy madehim the most influential and ven-erated bluesman of all time.

Call itamyth, but the facts of

3

;

;

stage and they were laughing atme. One of them was literallyrolling about on the floor, ,nd hisgirlliiend was kind oflooking atme, smirking. So I just got reallyangry and got what was left of theglitar and smashed itto smither-e€ns. About a month earlier, I'dscraped together enough [money]for a 12 string Rickenbacker,which I only used on two or threenumbers. Itwas lying at the sideofthe stage, so ljust picked it up,plugged it in, gave them a sort oflook and carried on playing, as ifI meant to do it. The nextweek Iwentback lto the club] and therewas awholecrowd waiting to seethis lunatic break his guitar."

PAtlr.-vmwvGARY ROSSINGTON ALMOSTLOSES HIS BABYLmIfRD SKYNYRPS Gary Rossington and his 1959 SunburstLes

conceal the damage. Says Ross-ington, "I started cryin' like ababy. The whole band freakedout, we canceled the day's ses-sions, and I took offwalking. I gotabout a mile down the road whentwo friends carne by and pickedme up. They said, 'What hap-pened back there? Your wholeband is actinglike they're inmourning. They're all cryin' andmopin' around.'

"So I wentback, and the stu-dio's maintenance man said,'I gotsome glue-I can fix that guitar.'And I was like,'clue? Man, thisis a precision instrument, and it'sruined. You can have it."'Ross-ington wrs surprised when, at alater session for the album, themaintenance man returned withthe guitar. "And he handed memyLes Paul fixed perfectly."

Rossington still uses the guitar."I was offered 30 grand for it,

Johnson's career and life suggestthathe did, in fact, have a thingfor the Evil Onc. There is the song"Me and the DevilBlues," notto mention the terrifying "Hellhound on MyTrail." One ofthebluesman's acquaintances evenremembered that Robert died"crawling along the ground on allfours, barking and snappinglike amad beast."

But the most convincing evi-darce ofJohnson's alleged pactwith Satan was the supernaturalspeed with which he improvedhis guitar playingskills. Deltabluesman Son House recalledthat he and another bluesman,Willie Brown, often mockedJohnson, who at the age of20, in193t, was a terrible guitaristwhomade "such a racketyou neverheard." One day Johnson disap-peared, and when he returneda year later he had a surprisc in

store for the tlvo olderbluesmen.House remembered:

"All ofa sudden somebodycame in through the door.who but him! He had a guitarswingingon his back... I said,'Well, boy, you still got aguitar,huh?What doyou do with thatthing? You can't do nothingwith it.' He said, 'Well, I'll tellyou what.-.let me haveyour seata minute.' so I said, 'All ght,you better do somethingwithit, too,'and I winked my eyeat willie lBrown]. So Robertsat down there and finally gotstarted. And man! He was sogoodlWhen he finished, all ourmouths were standingopen."

: (kn)iFwho,PderMrh€ndhas.rfra3hine: sood iim; (beld) 8la.k sabb:th guitadtt lony: |mmlt dlgft.ltbnrfomatid

IUC[tg?{i eooorruiER5BIACK SANBATH'S TONYIOMMI'S DARKEST HOURrT SHOULD TIAVE BEEN ONC Of thEgreatest days in youngTony Iom-mi's life. His band, the Rockin'Chevrolets, had just landed atourofcermany, which meant that hecould finally kiss his odious fac-toryjob goodbye. Then, out oftheblue, disaster struck. on his lastday at work, the guitarist caughthis hand in a machine press, snip-ping the tips off two ofhis fingers

"l couldn't believe it," theBlack Sabbath guitarist rccalls ofthe 1965 incident. "I was furious,b€cause I wNn't even goingto goto work that day! My mom mddeme go. She said it was the'r€sponsible' thi ng to do.

"After the accident Ithought my playing daysn'*r K4?it.'Then a friend of minebought me a record by fazz

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8?irdrisrl Django Rcinhrrdr :rndtold me to hrve a listen. I said,'Hc's unbeliev,rble.' Then hc toldlnc that Djanlio was only able touse rwo firgers or iris freftinghand. It started rne thinking,Wcl l , i fhe wrs able t0playthr twel lwi th tu 'o f ingefs, I 'nr gonn.rhave r go r t i t . "

F i rst he creatcd two th imblesmade ofplast ic : rnd leethcr- toextend thc lengtb ofhis truncatedfingers. Next hc dctuDed his liui-tar. one h:rlf-step, to El', to makebending casier . F inal ly , hc bcganusingextrcmcly l ight st r inB-s tolnrx;mize playiDg colnfort. I ron i-cal lv , the combinat ion of thesethrcc thines gave Ionmi rr revo-lutiorraly rrcu' sound deep, d.rrkand ominous. I t wrs thc guirarsound that nould give bi r th toBlack Sabbat)r and, u l t imately,sowed the sceds for dcath metrl,thrash xnd grurrge.

BOOIITr NEHEWNDBOB DI L{,\ fi)ES EI-ECTRII'BoB DI'I-AN wAs KrNc ofthc folk-ies in thc car ly Sixt ies, a maD whomoved mi l l ions wi th nothingmore ihtrn h 's voicc, lydcs andac0ustic gltitxr. So it came as asbock to Dylar fans when, rt the1965 Newport folk lestival, heappcar-cd onsrrFie c,rtrying thehatcr l svrnbolofrock rnd ro l l e le lectr ic gui tar-

At first, the crowd simplystared as Dylar and his brckup,the Paul Butterfield tslues Band,focked the house. After thc thirdnumber, people began to hecklehim openly. "Cct rid ofthai liuitar l "someone yel led. "co backto the Ed.Sullirdn Sfion,"jeeredanother, rcferringto lhe television varicty sirowwhere BritishInvasion acts likc thc Beatles andthc Rolling Stor)es hrd nadc theirAmerican dcburs- As the derisive laughter swclled, Dvlan leftthe sta€ie. Pete. Yarrow, of $epopular fo lk t r io Peter PaulanclM,rr),, grabbcd the microphoneand pleaded for Dylan to comeback, assur ingthe audicnce tbatthc singer was'Just getting hisax." Whcn Dvlan rcturned afterseveral nlinutcs, he was aloneand carry inghis acoust ic gui tar .F,rcing the crowd, he deliveredr k iss-of f " l t 's Al l Ovcr Now,Baby Blue," h is own scornfultunc about nrovinlt on and starFingale*, . Thc i rony of i ts messafte !v:rs apparcntly lost on thenou- pacifi ed audience, which.lppl.rudcd wildly.

6IITTTOKILLAN(iUS ADOPTS l I tXST]HOOLtsOY LOOKSHORTS AND BI.AZER NccKtie andcap. Ang!s Young's schoolboyoutfit is as much a part 0fhis st_v,

l is t ic s igrr ture as h;s c ibson SGantl loaringlcad gritar work forAC/DC. Thc pcrfect conlplementto Young's di inutivc fiamcand r h i lar ious sendup ofmachonetal gxitar posturing, the schoolsuit is recogrized cveD bv peoplewho couldn't identifo a singleAC/DC song.

knon, i t nould be a great th ing i fAngus woulcl gct up onstag€ withthat school sui t . 'Cause Dobody'scYer done rnyihing Like that.'

"The schoo) suit helped peopleremembcr-who we were rvhen wewere first scatterirgout- lt gavca v isual s ide to the band. But i t 'snot a con. when I geC up there, Ibecolnc that schoolboy."

MRMOJOWORKINgTHE ROLLI\Ti S'[ONtrS \'lEETT{UDDY \\NTERSMUDDY WATERS, THE ELECTRTCbluesman from Mississippi andthen Chicago, gave birth to theRolling Stones, r group ofEnglishblucs u,annabes. Not only did theband love and piay Watcrs clas-s ics l ike"I Justwrnt to Makelovc t ( )You" and " I Can' t BeSatisfied," but thcy c\.cn nanedthemselves r f ter one c ' fh is songs,"Rol l in 'sron€."

ln l96s, rat i lc on their f i rs ttour of Americ'.r, tbc Stoues,already hugelt' popular ir England, \.isited Chess Studios in Chicago. I'his u,as thc plncc wherenot on1] Weters but othcr b luesand rock gf€ats, iDclLrding Hou,lin' Wolf, tsuddy Ciuy and ChuckBer l . 'v , made their seninal rccord-ings. The Stones wanted to recordr fe*,songs and also hoped thatthe) might catch a gl impsc ofoneof their idols .rt w,lk. .l.hcy suc

"It'5 4ot acoq, WIp4I get uptlyerc, Ibecome tllat5clloolbof-A4gag You4g

"lt was my oldcr sister's idea,real ly ," says An$rs of h is d ist inc-tive strge getup. "Whcr we wercgros, ingup,I 'd come home frorrschool every day and pick upmyguitar lvithout botherirg tochangc out ofmy school unifbrm.My sistel always remcmberedthrt. she'd come to cell mc to din-ncl and I 'd st i l i be in mv schoolsuit, pl.rying awav. She rhouliht itu':rs cute. SLl shc was the one whosaid ro Malcoln and mc, 'You

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ceeded on both counts, thoughnot as they anticipated.

Keith Richards later recalled:"We walked in and there's PhilChess and Ron Malo, the engi-neer, and there's this black guyin white overalls paintingtheceiling. As we walked by into thestudio, somebody said, 'Oh, bythe way, this is Muddywaters.'I'm dying, right? I get to meet?ieMdn-he's my fuckingcodand he's painting the ceiling!And I'm goingin to work in ftisstlrdio. Ouch!

"This is the record business,right? The highs with the lows!Ooh, boy.In thatone little meet-ing, in those few seconds, whenhe said, 'Ifs a pleasure to meetyou,' Muddy taught me every-thing," said Keith. "The look inhis eye was saying, nvel, youcan be paintingthe ceiling nextyear.'And he had no idea thatwe revered him we werejustanother bunch of creeps."

muwralEMETALLICA FIREDAVE MUSTAINEMETALLICA Al-wAYs KNEW howto party, but theyalso knew whento stop. Excep! that is, for leadguitarist Dave Mustaine, whopartied himselfout ofajob. OnAp l1r,1983, the band decidedthat it was time to fire Mustaine.The decisionwas made in partbecause ofhis increasing problemwith alcohol but also becauseMetallica had become interestedin a guitarist named Kirk Ham-mett, who was playing with theirthrash rivals, Exodus.

Dmmmer Lars Uhich remem-bers the split clearly. "we were

^ havinga wonderful time touring; the United States in our U-Haul2 whenwe rarr into some prob3 lems around lowa and Illinois] involving a drug called 'Alcohol

; & Dave.' Dave got really drunk.: He'd probablyhad 15 or 20 beers: and was drivingthe truck whileI we were crashed out in the back.i He almost killed us lo or 15 times!.i we stopped to get somethingtoE eat, and Dave and our tour man-

; ager, Mnrk Whittaker, got into a: hea\.y argument.It was obvious! thatDave was in no shape toP drive, so Mark made Dave crawl! in the back ofthe van where hee immediately went to sleep.= "The four ofus started talkingi about how Dave wasn't stablej enough to be happeningon the; road. He was a great guy, a greatN fiiend, but he just couldn't handleI his liquor. So that night,just out

= of Chicago, we shook hands andY decided this was the end, and that

1)

we'd get Xirk."The band members cringed at

the thought offiring Mustaine,but they felt itwas inevitable. Butfirst, they had to figure some wayto get him offthe tourand backto their home base in San Fran-cisco. Lars, who couldn't afford aplane ticket for Dave, boughthima Greyhound bus ticket, instead.The bus was scheduled to departat lOA.M., making it necessary forthe band to dismiss the glitaristat the crack of dawn-

"Everybody was bummedout," recalls the drummer. "Itwas such a weird scene. Wetapped him on the shoulder at8 e-u., woke him up, and said,

'We've decided you're not inthe band anymore.' Dave lookedaround the room and said, 'Oh,

no!'He probably thought he wasdreaming. After lO or 15 min-utes ofour telling him why wewanted him out he realized hewasn't gonna get us to changeour minds. And then he madethe statement ofthe year: 'Okay,

when does my plane leave?' "

eJ?:8nwt&E8eETHE BIRTH OF THE RAMONESoN JAI\ruARY 23, 1974 an unemployed, 22 year-old constructionworker named John Cummingsand his buddyDougColvin tookthe subway in from Queens, New

York, and walked into MannysGuitar Center on West 48thStreet, just offTimes Squarein Manhattan. There they pur-chased their first guitars, withJohn buying a blue Mosrite for$50 and Doug going for a 950Danelectro bass. John, who'djustbeen laid off, thought it mightbe fun to start a band with someofhis friends while collectingunemployment.

Most loud rock guitarists inthose days played with theirarms, but Cummings quicklydeveloped a personal guitrr stylethat relied onwhathe called a"limp wrist action"-all down-strokes and barre chords. No onewas around to teach him leads,arrd he didn't feel as if the reyved-up, three-chord.ock his bandwas writing needed solos any.,vay.

A few months later, on August16 and 17,1974-with their friendJeftsey Hyman on vocals andTommyErdelyi, who owned theirrehearsal space, on drums thegloup played its first gigs at adingy bar called CBGB, on NewYork City's Skid Row. Only now,they were usingtheir new stagenames-Johnny, Dee Dee, Joeyand TommyRamone.

Club owner HillyK stalrecalled, "They did their famousl7-minute set: 20 songs in 17minutes, performed very loudwith loads of energy, fiom one toanother to another. Nobody hadeverdone that before.It was likehitting people over the head, butby the time you were screaming,'I can't take itanymorel'theywere finished."

ntwSAE\,'onMJIMI HENDRIX SETSMONTEREY POP ON FIREAT THE 1967 MONTEREY Pop Fes-tival, Jimi Hendrix anointed him-selfkingofrock guitar and highpriest of spectacular showman-ship. The significance oftheseevents increase exponentiallywhen you consider that he hasnever relinquished these titles.

what was officially known asthe First International Pop Fes-tival in Monterey took place onJune 16 through 18 ofthat year.The lineupwas as stellar as it wasdiverse. The Who, the cratefulDead, Janis Joplin, Otis Redding,Ravi Shankar, the Paul But-terfield Blues Band, MikeBloomfi eld's Electric Flag,Buffalo Springfield andCanned Heat all were onthe bill, and several estab-lished their careers withtheir performances.

But no actwas as highly

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anticipated as the Jimi HendrixExperience. Hendrix, who hadmoved to England at the urgingofhis manager, Chas Chandler,formed the Experience with aBritish rhlthm section that con-sisted ofbassist Noel Reddingand drummer Mitch Mitchell.The trio had quicklybecome thesensation ofLondon and was nowreturning to Alnerica specificallyto play Monterey. He hoped thefestival wouldjump stait hiscareer in the U.S.

It was Paul Mccartneywhorecommended both Hendrixand the who to the festival'spromoters.In doing so, he inad-vertently touched off a backstage"baftle" betweenJimi and PeteTownshend over who would goon first- Ordinarily, bands vie forthe "headline" prestige ofgoingon last. But since both groupssmashed their instruments as afinal€ a routine that Hendrixhad appropriated from Townshend-whoever played second ranthe risk ofcoming offas a majoranti-clima-r. To settle the dispute,festival organizer John Phillips ofthe Mamas and the ?apas tosseda coin. Hendrix lost. He wouldhave to play after the lvrr'ho. "Ifwe're going to followyou," hereportedly told Townshend, "I'mgoingto pull out all the stops."

The Rolling Stones' BrianJones introduced Hendrix tothe audience, hailinghim as "themost exciting performer I'veever heard." Dressed in a frillyshirt, second-skin red pants anda featherboa, Jimi didn'tmake aliar of Jones. The assembled lovechildren had never experiencedan!'thing Iike his otherworldlyguitar tones or unabashedly sex-ual stage moves. Visibly nervous,yet comically loose, Jimi playedhis guitarwith his teeth, behindhis neck and between his legs,humpinghis Marshall stacks andoffering up tripped-out, streamof-consciousness raps betweensongs. The set was a mixture ofHendrix's own compositionsincluding "Iory Lady" (alreadya hit single in Britain) and 'The

wind Cries Mary"-and suchwell chosen covers as Billy Roberts"'Hey Joe," Bob Dylan's "Likea RollingStone" and the Troggshit, "wild Thing."

That last songclosed the set.At its conclusion, Hendrix flunghis colortully hand-paintedStratocaster down on the stage,straddled the instrument and,holding a can ofcigarette lighterfuel at crotch level, proceededto eject flammable flu;d all overthe body and neck. Once he'd set

50 curren LEGENDS

.wvvYgs^v

"Mrrsninb?!hr-KeitllNcllard5

fire to the guitar, he smashed itagainst his amp and threwbits ofcharred wood into the crowd.

Thc stunned hipsters luckyenough to be in that audiencewere the first Ame cans tobehold the Hendrix phenomenon.Pete Johnson, a los AngelesTimes reporter covering the fes-tival, wrote, 'lthen Jimi left thestage, he graduated from rumorto legend."

6trrwootrTHE ORIGIN OF BRIAI{ MAYSRED SPECIAL

eUDDN D@LoDED oNTo the rockscene in 1973 with adistinctivelook, abrilliant singer ard nrianMay, who produced an instantlyidentifiable sound with hisextremely unusual guitar- whilehis contemporaries all favoredfactory built Cibsons or Fenders,May's instrument ofchoice washis homemade Red Special.

"By the time I was t7," Mayrecalls, "I had already figuredout how to wind a pickup formysell I stuck it on this acoustic

guitar that I had, and I was off.When it came time to build myguitar,I knew what I wanted aguitar thatwould sing and havea lot of warmth to it, but also anice articulating edge. when mydad and me designed the guitar,we had that in mind. We triedto design a solidbody guitarthathad all the advantages ofa hol-lowbody-the ability to feed backin just the right way."

The Red Special is a living,breathing monument to May andhis father's inventive domesticcraftsmanship. The spring in thevibrato tailpiece was scavengedfiom a motorcycle kickstand,the fiet buttons were fashioned6om old pearl buttons and theoak body responsible for May'ssmoldering tone on such Queenclassics as "Bohemian Rlapsody"and "we Are the Champions"came from a 5OO-year-old fire-place mantel.

fimwwSim|rDUANE ALLMAN LEARNS HOWTO PI.A.Y SLIDEBEFoRE DUAxE AruuAN, electricslide playingwas mostly a matter of rehashing the chord-basedtriplet made famous by bluesmanElmore James in his signaturetune, "Dust My Broom." Duaneleft"Broom" in the dustwith hishuge tone, horn like phrasingand extended improvisations.lncredibly, he only learned howto play slideguitar in 1967 justtwo years before the release ofthe Allman Brothers Band's selftitled debut.

Duane's great bottleneckawakening happened when he

and his brother, Gregg, were liv-ing in West Holl).wood, Califor-nia, with their band, the Hourglass. One day, Gregg decidedto go horseback riding. Duane,nurs ing a bad cold, d idn' t wantto go, but Gregg convincedhim to come along. Duane wasthrown fiom his horse andsprained his wrist. The guitarist,cregg later recalled, went homewith a sore arm-and nursinga mighty grudge against hisyounger brother.

The Allmans did not speak forseveral days, and then Gregg, in anattempt to mend fences, boughtDuane some Coricidin, a coldmedicine, and a new album by theRising Sons, a band featuring TajMahal and Ry Cooder. Duane Iovedthe album, especially "statesboroBlues," a blues standard that featured Coodeis slide work.

"I heard Ry Cooder playingsl ide and I said, 'Man, that 'sfor me!" 'Duane said in a t97linterview. Using the emptycoricidin bottle as a slide,Duane began playing alongwiththe record. But, he recalled, hedidn't immediately master thetechnique: " I went around thchouse for about three weekssaying, 'Hey, man. This is a gas! 'But everyone would look at me,thinking, oh no! He's gettingready to do it again, and justlower their heads, as ifto say,'Get i t over wi th, quick! 'ThenI got a little better at it. Noweverybody's blowing my slideplaying out of proportion. It'sjust fine for me as a relieffromthe other k ind ofplaying. Butit's just guitar playing."

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FLYTNqHTOHAqNNOZZY AUDTTIONS RANDYRHOADSWHaN OZZY OSBOURNE wrs fircdlrofl Itlack Sabbath in 1979,he was suddenly folccd to puttogcthcr iris own band. "lt wasr shock because Srbbath hadalways been thcrc," ozzy recalledlatcr. "I had never auditilnrcdanyone bcforc, so I was petrified.

"The au d iti(nli ng processwff so embarrassing. Back then,everyone was tryingto clone JimiHent l r ix ; I heard nothingbut'Purple Haze' aDd' Ioxy Lady'riffs- Irwas r nightmarc!

" l had almost g iven up whensomebody told me about this

llreat €iujtar playcr in town namedRandy Rhords. Shortly aftcr,ward, Rardy cxme over to myLos Angelcs apartment. I le wasso fra;1, tiny ard cffeminate that Itho ght he was r girl. tsut out ofpol i tencss, I inv i ted hin to p laythe next day.

"Unfortunrte ly, when heturned up, I wrs stoned out ofmymind I ncan, I was on anotherplanel l Some guy wokc me upaDd said, 'He's hcrc. ' l looked upa:rd Randy star ted playingfrom

this tiny amp. Even in my semi-consciousness, he blew my mind.I told him to come by the nextday, ind that he had th€ gig.

"The next day I told somconer dreamed that I'd hired a guitarplayer. Thcy told me I didn'tdream it, and that hc was comingthat day. I thought, 'Oh Cod, whathave I done? I hope he can play. '

"Randy turnccl out to be veryinstrum€ntal in br inging meout of l rc . My f i rs t two albumswith him are by far the greatestth ings I 've ever done. He wastoo good to last . "

.rlralvtc rilrPi?6s5iro[JTMI HENDRIX } IEtsTSHOWLIN IV()LFTHE LEGENDARY CHICACOblues s ingcr Howl in 'Wol f andhis gui t r r is t , Hubert Suml in,cxerted an enormous inf lu-cnc€ on a wide var iety ofrockgreats, i rc luding Er ic Clapton(who recorded wol fs vers ionof "Spoonful" and "Si t t ing onTop of the wortd" wi th Crcam),the Rol l ing Stones ("L i t t le RedRooster") and the Doors ("BackDoor Man") . Suml in, master ofthe pcrfcctly placed bent notcand one of thc f i rs t exponents

ofdistor t ion, was a part icularfavor i te ofJ imi Hcndr ix, whoseversion of wol fs "Ki l l in 'F ioor"eppcars on both rive dt Winterldnd and Stdges. suml in recal lsthe f l rs t t imc hc and his impos-ing, s ix- foot s ix, 3oo poundboss met the youngJ;mi:

"He wasjust a l i t t le o l 'dudeIiving in Dngland. lt was bcforchis baDd, the Experience, hjt itbig Wc playcd in Liverpool, theBeat les 'home, and in walk€d th islittle ol'hip guy *,earing carringsand a bandanna. Woif said, 'what

the fuck is this gxy? I ain't sayingnoth;ng to that mothcrtucker.'

"He came right up t0 wolf andaskcd i fhe could play his grr i tar .\ /o l f just noddcd and Hendr ixpicked i t up, turncd i tover andplaycd ir with his reeth. Wolflooked at h imbig-eyed, and said,'You hi red, man, you hi r€d! 'J imisaid, 'No thank you, Mr. wol f .But l admire you and the blues.You gxys are l0O percent. Beaut i fu l , man." '

PLAVNqWTTHFNECIIT]CK BERRY TORt 'HESKEIT}I RICTIARDSTHE ROLI,TNG SToNES'Kcith Rich-ards is probably Chuck tserry's

ffi-6tu^^.

biggest fan. The feeling however, is not neccssarily mutual.In 1983, for instance, Richardswent to see his hero in concertat the tutz in NewYork City.Aft er performing, Berry waitedfor a car by the backstage exit.Richards approached, tapped himon the shouldcr and said, "Hey,Berry, don't rush off." Berryspunaround and promptly cold cockedhis haplcss disciple. Said Keithlater, "I was just proud I didn'tgodown." He did, however, receivea prodigious black eye.

Several months later, Keithtold Beggdrs'Sdnquet, theStones' fan magazine, "l flew toL.A. one night, and who do I seesittin' on his suitcase, waitin' forhis car, but ChuckBerry,who Ihaven't seen since he blacked myeye out at the Ritz. Chuck says,' I 'm sorry, I d idn' t know i t wasyou I hit, my nervcs were fly-ing, ' and we're ta lk in 'whi lc he'swaitin'for his car and he givesme his phonc number. At thesame time, he lights a cignretteand drops it down my shirt andalmost burns my stomach openlMy shirt's on fire!

"Every time him and me getin contact, I wind up wounded,whether it's intentional or not.But, I mean, ifsomebody's gonnado it to me, I'm glad it's him."

xurucnsWIIY B.B- XINTi CALLS ALL O[I I IS GUI ' IARS "LI ]CILI ,E"THEYEARWAS 1949, and B.B.King, then a 24-year-old buddingblues guitar star, was perform-ing at a bar iD Twist, Arkansas.Suddenly, two drunken patronsbegan arpJuing and soon cameto blows; their f la i l ing knockedover a kerosene lamp whichquickly set the bui ld ing ablaze.The bar's terrified patronspoured out onto the street-

King, who in his flight fromthe flames left his gxitar behindhim, realized that he could notsp.ire the $30 to purch$e a newinstrument, so he raccd into thebar to retrieve h;s weli worn rx.Although he did rescue fie guitar,the youngbluesman almost losthis life in the process; the building collapsed, killing two men,moments aftcr he escaped.

When King learncd that thebrawl had been over a womannamcd Lucille, he decided

*i;h.,,l#rh(5/foolish Iike that again aslong as I lived." $L

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Billy Gibbons rccalls three decades of Texas excess.By Alan Pau,I^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^-,

ad!in|,tE8,TRES HOMBRBS O93)"firAT Is A r9s5 srrAT widl a stoptailpiece straight into a 1969 Mar-

shall SuperL€ad too. Thatfuzz sound inthe lead and inthe front andback end ofthecomposition isjust pure tube

distortion. Pickup settings accountfor the different tones. The open-ing part was played on what weused to call the mystery setting' inthe dark da;s before the existenceofthe five way toggle switch,when finding that perfect 'tweener

[in-between setting ofa three-wa!picft up selectorl required dedication.

"That Marshall amp, which wasa Fusted friend through the firstsix records, was an import broughtover by Jeff Beck's tech at the time.I had four ofthose babies, and theywere my main road arnps {or years.I ran them through cabinets withthose lcelestion] Greenback speak-ers. They still retain a distinctive,rich, enjoyable tone and are wellworth owning. I must however,

advise anyone fortr:nate enough tofind one to beware ofthe vaiablepower plugs. The 22o[-volt] settingdoesn t work very well ouside ofthe 22O countrieg as I can tell youfiom experience. We had morethan a few paper-clip nights overthe years fdue to blown-faes]."

't6rFANDANGO! (1975),1OI.'R tr'IRST THREE AI,BIJMS WCTErccorded exclusively at the Robin

outside ofDal-las, and thespecial soundthat alwaysseemed tobe accessiblethere was due

in part to the fact that the equip-ment was nailed to the floor andnothing ever moved, so you couldalwa)'s count on a sound, Quite agood sound, I must say.

"'Tuslf was ?early Gates, mybeloved Les Paul, played tlroughthe stme Marshall Super Lead, andwe sure enough did stop and enjoythe c tuning for the composition'sslide elemenL This songwas largely

stnight guitar to amp, but I alsoutilized a real odd, esoteric devicecalled the Cooper Time Cube,which was a simplistic applicationofthe complex world ofphysics.In a srnall rack-mounted can sitsa small speakeg right up next tomalte 50 feet of one-inch rubbertubing, which is coiled, sprirgJike.The sound waves actually takeIonger to havel, having to makethese comers, creating a tlpe ofdelay which is quite unlike thefamiliar sound of a digital delay.Thatwas a real left-field piece ofgear which they had-and still have,Imightadd in that studio. Someof the guitar sounds that appear tobe doubled on the early albums areactually the bwroduct of that odd-ball Cooper Time cube."

ilaADTTIi,ltmllr'rFDEGUBLLO (I9?9)..wE wRoTE THIS about dle greatTexas bluesman Joey Long, aculf Coast lead-guitar picker whoappeared on a great number ofwonderful records by the likes ofSlim Harpo 3nd Barbara Lynrl Heplayed on Llan's great hit record

52 GUITAR LEGENDS

j

'IMe Got a cood Thing coing'which wss covercd by the Stones,and which was really one oftheimportant recordings that shapedmy understanding ofwherc it wasI wanted to go with my life. It wasgood. And so was he.

"Joey loaned me a multi-stringed mandolinlike instru-ment fiom lallal, Mexico, andI put itto good use on'Nation-wide.'Ifyou listen closely, youcan hear close-miked mandolin-sounding rhlthm accompani-ment. The lead track was playedon acustom-made, half-size, realshort-scaled guitar tuned to c.It was actually standard tuningcranked up a mi[or third, whichremained quite playable thanks tothe guitar's short scale.

"The song's tail end alternatesbetween three distinct effects cre-ated by two pedals: an Echoplexdoubler and a Maestro octavebox alternating every third barbetween having the octave up andthe octave down. The song alsocontains some Hohner Clavinet,which was owned by one of ourfamous Memphis pals, carlos DeMarlos. Ifs such an intercstingsound that it ignited Dusty's F{ill,bd$isd interest in learning somekeyboard skills, and it was he whosubsequendy handled all the tick-lingofthe ivories."

tErP5t[w[46i8ErDEGUELLO"TIns soNc wAs actually writtenduring a trip fiom the culf Coast

up to Austin,Texas. A brightspot ofcreativ-ity flarcd as wewere passmgthe haJlrlet ofLa Grange, andI recited all

three verses of'cheap Sunglasses'within the space of20 miles. Andthat's the way they stayed. Thoughthat may sound simplistic, thel).rics speal for themselves- 'Sim-plistic is indeed a word which maycome to the minds ofsome.

"The lead trackwas performedon a fake Fender guitar, which Iused for its wiggle stick-there isa litde dive bomb in the solo sec-tion. I played it through a ManhallMajor, a short-lived 2oo-waft beast,which had one blown tube, hencethe rather bulbous, rotund sound.There's also a litde bit of digitaldelay for that Bo Diddley impersonation at the tail out and a MaestroRing Modulator, which producesthe shange tag to each verse. Itappears the€ timeE and ifs a preFty funny sound. That is one insaneeffect put to good use." $l

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i,$$t, :

. 1 i . l r ' -

Exploring Jethro Tull's 40-year family tree of mysticalguitafists lan Anderson and Martin Barre.

tock greats with

/l-- ^ ^------^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^-,-,^-,^.-,^^

JETIIRO TULL'S ONGOINGstanding as a vibrant and enduringlive band is no doubt due to isremarkable ability to navigatecomplex song arrangementswhile maintaining a wildlypaganistic, theatrical edge. Howelse to explain the fact that, afterneady three decades as oneof rock's most prolific outfits,Tull continues to play to housespacked with loyal legions offans?The band's basketful of classicrock hits recorded during itshigh-water mark in the Seventiescertainly hasn_t hurt, eidrer: songslike "Aqualung," "Bungle in theJungle" and "Thick as a B ck"areall staples ofthe live show lndeed,Tull has talen great pains to onlyplay songs that work well in aconcert setting, as elfin {iontrnan

and troubadour non parer'l IanAnderson explains: "In most cases,my favorite Jetho T!11 songs willbe determined by how I feel aboutthem as live performance songs,not by the recorded identity."

While the band ismore often recognized byAnderson's signature fl ute-playing abilities and theaforementioned legendary tunes,an underappreciated facet ofthe Jethro Tull experience isthe guitar finesse exhibitedby founder Anderson andco-guitarist Mar:tin Barre, thelatterofwhom has been withthe band almost since thebeginning-a remarkable featconsidering that no fewer than22 different players have comethrough Tull's ranks. These two

exceptional guitarists are unsungheroes ofthe instrument, song-stalwarts whose trademark isto leave flashy, self-indulgentguitar pyrotechnics out of theirrepertoire and stick to thecomposition at hand.

Guitdr ,e8mds recendy caughtup with Tull's twin guitar pillarsto discuss the inEicacies behindtleir catalog ofgreats. As Andersonei.?lains, his oeative spark hasntwaned over the years; in facg ratherthan fall into stale songwritingpattems, he has never deviated fromhis own ruggedly individualisticpath-and ifthat mealls the hit-songdays are long gone, at least JethroTirll has stayed tlue to its vision.

"Most people, {iom their secondalbumon,find it much harder tobe as spontaneously creative as

they were with their first coupleofrecords," says Anderson, "andsome people only have one thingthat they do. Not to be mean aboutiq but some great rock and rollers,like Bo Diddley and Chuck Berryare pretty one-dimensional."

ryEWcocrp'rpvSTAND UP [969)

lAxAxoE Ol We hadn't playedthat sonslive since the Isle of

wight festivalin 1970, but

playing itagain recently.

in the studiorccordingit

and I strummed up my acousticguitar and Martin added his

zi

54 GUITAR LEGENDs

ffi\#tuffiffi\,ffir,6ilffi",ffir ,,R'ffi.,R"Rffi".rfiR.:ffi"-€

Page 48: Guitar Legends 109 (2009) Classic Rock

bit, it never occurred to me thatwhat we were playingwouldeventually form the basis ofkhetdglesl "Hotel califomia." Themelody is not anlthing like "HotelCalifomia," ofcourse, but whenyolr actually get to the chordsequence, the way inwhich thething harmonically progresses,it is actually the verse of"HotelCalifornia." The Eagles wereopeningup for Jethro Tull aroundthat time. However, "HotelCalifornia" is a very, very popularso[g and "We Used to Know"remains an obscure album ffack.

ARTIi EAmE we were goingfor something that we could use asa climax to tle live show, an encoreor the last number with a big solo.The guitar solo was all done inone take-Ijust went for broke.Inthose days I never really sat downand worked out tie implications ofchord changes. I just played by ear;sometimes I'd get lucl$. and hit anote that worked and on anothertate it might be a disaster. I supposeall that early emphasis on solos wasa hangover ftom the jazz era whereeverybody had their solos. ln someways, it reflects on how boring themusic was but we got away with it

wnwSTAND UP

AtlttCIsOX I was fortunate enoughto hear "Bouree" daily throughdre floor, because a music studentwas busy practicing on his classicalguitar downstairs fiom me, so itwas kind of stuch in my brain whenI was looking for an instrumentalpiece to play in 1969. We had quitea lot of different arrangements ofthat piece, but I don't necessarilyremember exacdy where it all fitsin, especially since some ofit is, shallwe say, improvisation. I'm reallynot convinced about ali that readingand writing stufl I suspect that itsthe same with a lot ofpeople whohave a temperament better suitedto just getting on witi it and plaingby ear and trial and error. Given theoptioq I think I would rather learnby ear than offthe page.

r?1'CnrYOaLiSi@WrBENEFIT (1970)

AXDftSOx I know Martin alwayslikes playingthat, but Martin likes

a lot ofthepieces {iomthe Senqftalbum- Heand I playedharmonyguitar on that.Basically, it

wasjust a riffpiece that I came upwith and said, "Here, Martin, thisis the riff" and just left it to him.

Haven't heard that one for quitesome time, acfually. It's not one ofmy favorite songs.

aARRE The in{luence for thatsong was Blind Faith's "Had toCr.J Today," altlough you couldn'tcompare the two; nothingwasstolen, it was just a nice riff The riffcrossed over the bar in a couple ofplaces and Ian and I each playedguitars on the backing tacks. It wasmore or less live in the studio witha couple of overdubs and a solo. Ianplayed my cibson SG and I playeda Les Paul on it. I was playing thesong on this current tour at a soundcheck and everybody sort oftumedarcund and said, 'a4rhafs that?" Theguys in the band don't know themusic from that era. It's lMountdin81rifdnstl Leslie West's favoriteJethro Tull song. I suppose ifthereis anybody that ever influenced meat all, west was the one. I felt if Icould play like he did, ld be veryhappy. Sfdnd Up was a bit nerve-wracking for me, havingjust joinedthe band and sort offeeling myway, but BenElt was more fun. I'dbecome more conndent by then.

Tf tlprc i5aryfiodftnat evefiifluencednie at ZII,Leglie We5tu65 tITe o4e."

-Matti4 Banx

tffiFsvofnBaBENEFIT

BATRE "Sossity" had two guitarparts andwas the firsttime Ianand I played together.I rememberitverywell and which guitar Iplayed-an old Echo acoustic. Weplayed together on that and on"Nothingto Say." We sat inthestudio I played fingerstyle guitarand Ian played with aplectrum.

.a(xga,'tn at,AQUALIING (19N)

BARRE In the case ofthatalbum, things were very difficult

and verytense, but atthe end oftheday, it wasan lmponantalbum. I thinkthe songs wereso good that it

yrxrgr.w/xfr

Ian wrote all ofit inasmuch ashe wrote the riff and the verses.The form wasjust verse-riffandhe had the lyrics. we needed aguitarsolo, so I said, "why don'twejustbase i ton the chords ofthe verse, butbreak itdown intohalf-time, then do a sort ofroundsequence to do a solo over?" Anditworkedwell. While I was doingthe solo, which was goingreallywell, Jimmy Page walked intothe control aoom and startedwaving. I thought, Should Iwave back and mess up the soloor should I just grin and carryon? Being a professional to theend, I justgrinned.

WASAgNd'PTHICK AS A BRICK {1972)

AI|DEISO That was somethingthatderived frcm thines I was

fiddlingaroundwithwhile I wason tour in theU.S.I hadjustpurchased myfirst Martinguitar, and

I'm playingit on the song. Asmall-bodied guitar lends itself-because ofits wider fretboard tothe style ofplaying that allowsyou space between the strings-they are easily picked. A lot ofpeople sort ofassunred that itwas a fingerpicking style, but infact, it was alljust played literallyas single notes from aplectrum.The album itselfwas a responseto the critical assumption thatAqualung had been a conceptalbum,which it was not, althoughclearly, there were a few songsthat did hangtogether. Ihiclr wasa deliberate attempt to come upwith what Saddam Hussein mighthave referred to as "the motherof all concept albums." It wasall delivered tongue-in-cheek,particularly in terms ofits liveperformance. We delivered it in away in which people were clearlynot quite sure whether itwas avery serious exercise or whetherit was a bit of Iight comedy. Intruth, it was both ofthose things.

EARRE There were a lot ofsongson that album that wejust tiedtogether. we would rehearse asong and then do a linkwhichwould go to the next song. Iremember staying up workingonthat album untilfour orfive inthe morning, getting a few hoursofsleep and then statingagain.Very often Ian would come in notknowingwhat the next piece ofmusic was goingto be and we'djust sit down and do it. He'd say,"Got an idea for the nextbit?"really carried the album through.

5!

Otherpeople added ideas and lotsof things that John Evan came upwith on Hammond organ becameclassic Tull bits.It was the mostdiflicult music we had played upto that point, as there were lots ofodd bars and time signatures.

WwtwMINSTREL IN TIIE GAILERY{1975)

aaRRE I'd write a guitai solo foreach vear. so I wrote one for the

Passion Pla!tourwhichended up beingtacked on atthe beginningof"Minstrel."

about thosesolos is that they got better as wewent along. It was all right for thetime, but I'm glad I moved on.

?6AT,,rAXDEf,TOO OLD TO ROCK AND ROLL(1976)

AIDEISOX It employs one ofthose hyb d tunings, not really an

open tuning,but it has anumber ofopen strmgswhich allowsyou to playthings thatyou can't play

with a regular E tuning. It wasone ofthe rare occasions whenMartin and I actually sat down ina studio and played live acousticguitar together. The only problemis that you don't have a lot of timein concert to fiddle with tuning up,because it isn'tjust the question ofdropping the pitch ofa couple ofstrings. Ifyou do that on any guitaryou have to re-tune everJ,thingyou change the tension o{theuntouched strings by virtue ofreducing the tension ofthe stringsyou are detuning. So it's not justa lo-second operation, you'relooking at 30-40 seconds to retunet\,vo guitars and our band is notverywellknown for being able tocover for each otherwhile tuning.

8Arft It's a very difficultpiece ofmusic. I remember Iansuggested we do it on a tour-I spent two whole days learningit , because i t 's an open tuningand I d idn' t hnow which oneit was. It's not a normalone.It took me hours towork out. I tried threeor four tunings beforeI got it right and thenI had to learn it. Theresult was the best thingwe did together. Ql

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,NWKrss (1974)

cflE$mflOi6 That was thefirst song I ever wrote for Kiss;

it was throwntogether inabout half anhour. I rippedoffthe lickftom "Bitch"by the RollingStones and

changed it so it starts in A andgoes to a C. I purposely set outto create a repetitive lick, like in"[(1 Cdn'r cef No)]satisfaction"or "Bitch." Lyrically, I had thesl ight thread ofa story l ine,but I was more concerned withconveying attitude than makingsense ofthe word "deuce." I'mnot quite sure what the line"You know your man is workinghard, he's worth a deuce!"means, but it sounded right.

5;?Z3tF !r8r,Ktss

PAUL StAtttrY This was oneofthe first songs I ever wrotefor Kiss. It started with an oldchord progression Gene hadwritten five or six years earlierfor a song called "Stanley theParrot," which, by the way,had nothing to do with me.[dug,hs] we sped the "Parrot"song up and gave it a stones-ishstrut, hence the name- At thatpoint I was using a Les Paul TVmodel. I was already real keenon vintage guitars althoughmy extremely limited financesmeant that I could only affordone guitar at a time. So I wentfrom a Les Paul SG that Ibought for $120 in a pawn shopto a double-cutaway Les PaulSpecial that cost about $200.

56 GUITAR LEGENDS

Gene Simmons and PauI Stanlev reflect on twodecades of Kiss klassics.

^ ^ ^^^^/l^^-^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

w0it,dpr,ovarvDRESSED TO KILL O975)

sla[LEY We were in L.A. onthe J{ofter fhan llell tour, and the

president ofCasablancaRecords, NeilBogart, cameto us afterthe showand said thatHotter than

-a]ell wasn't selling anymore. Hewinted us to go back to New Yorkthe next day and start workingon another album.It was a realinteresting concept-especiallysince we hadn't written any newsongs yet. [dughs] So we packedour bags and went home, andeverymorningGene and I wouldwflte. wnen ?erer lLrrsE drumsland Ace would show up, we'd say,"Okay, guys, here's today's song."Itwasn't unusual for us to wdte asong in an hour and a half.

The verses to "C'mon and LoveMe" were probably written inhalf an hour, and yet it's one ofmy favorite songs to this day.

&lfixftrgzsttr rcF We were at the peak

of our career when we recordedAlivel, andweknewit.Alivelwas real, andwas very mucha product ofitstime itwasn'tjust Kiss, itwas the mid

Seventies. People had had enoughofthe hippie, political thing andjust wanted to rock out and havea good time.

At that time live records didn'tsell, andwe knewwe were doingsomething that the industry

thought was stupid. ButAlirelchanged all that. Frdmpton ComesAlile was released shortly there-after, and then everybody startedputting out live records. But weweren't aware of it as a marletingthing, itwasjust real-a lot likeour first record. To me, ifs oneof the two or three records we'vedone that still holds up.

with anlthing good, there'salways more than ingredients-it's how longyou cook it andhow hungry you are when it'sready. As much as I'd like to takeall the credit for,lftvel, itwas alot more than just Kiss. All theplanets lined up, the fans were

ght, radio didn't matter andthere were great rock and rollmagazines like Creem. It wasjusta very pure, innocent time- Andthe music reflected that, which iswhy that album works so well. Alot of the musicians who are hap-peningnow wanted and neededwhatwe gave them then.It madehids want to pick up the guitarand put a band together-

It was recorded mostly atDetroit's Cobo Hall, as well as inwildwood, New Jersey, and Dav-enport, Iowa. "Detroit Rock City"was written as a result ofthoseshows, because we did threenights in an 11,000-seater. Peoplethought we were out ofourminds for playing there, becauseup until then we had been playingthe 5,500-seat Michigan Palace.But in those days we thought

trA lEY We didn't thinh thatany of the first three albumscaptured what we were about-beinga liveband. To this day,most ofthe studio versions palein comparison to those onAlir€JOurlive showwas akin to four

people leading12,000 in a churchrevival. Everybody there hadtremendous commitment.

The cover of that album was shotat the MichigEn Palace in Detroit.We did it in the afternoon whileour crew was seting up the st€eat the cobo Hall, which is wherewe recorded most ofthe album. Wewsnted the perfect live shot, so weset eve4thing up and played in anempty theater. We got our picture.

tnDf ?rmilDER,DESTROYER (1976)

wrons "By the end ofilDressed to Kill], we had gotten

very used toeach otheissongwitingstyles. Paul'ssongs werealways a littlesnappier andhappier, and

mine were always darker andgloomier. Sowe'd poke fun at eachother sometimes, and Paul oncesaid to me, "Anybody can write aGene Simmons son&" To prove hispoint, he came back the next daywith "cod ofThunder."I changedsome ofthe lyrics, and sangit.

When I first heard the song,I inrmediately had visions ofthescene in tr'dnfdsia where the moun-tain top opens and this big wingedthing is standing there-somethingfiom the dark shadows. But Paul's"cod ofThurdef' llrics totallymissed the point-they were allabout Aphrodite and love.

The sound effect ofthe littlekid was actually done by BobEzrin's two sons, who ran into thestudio wearing toy helmets andcarrying walkie-talkies and rayg!ns. The weird voice on the songis one o{the kid's voices com-ing through a helmet, which wemiked. lt wasn't planned, and wehad no idea what it all meant, butitseemed dght.It's real ?l' EhtZone stuff-very weird.

SIA IEY Iwon't say that Ceneis lying about "God ofThunder,"but it's in his nature to glamorize astory and make it more interestingthan it really is. Here's the realstory: I waote that song aboutmysel{ and the original lJ.ricswere almost identical to whatwas recorded. "Hear my wordand take heed" was originally'Itre mahe love 'tilwe bleed," butthat was the only thing that waschanged. when I wrote it I hadevery intention of singing i! butBob Ezrin thought that it wouldbe more appropriate for cene tosing. Although it became known asa Gene Sirnmons song, it certainlywasn't w tten for him or as a joke.

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;

<

,8?r#rm6r('1rI,'DESTROYER

SIAIIEY From the verybeginning, the people ofletroittook us in as one of their own.while we were still an openingact in most parts ofthe country,we were headlining there, andI wanted to write a songaboutthat. Then someone was hit bya car and killed outside one ofour concerts in ChaJlotte, NorthCarolina. I found it very strangethat somebody on his way to seesomething that would have beenso much fun, something that wassuch a testament to being alive,would get killed-which is wherethe song's car crash intro comesfrom. The whole song is reallyabout somebody getting readyto go to a concertto have a gTeattime and ending up dying.

1&Au.No'8 LwsROCK AND ROLL OVER G976)

t|flfiots This is gonna soundwarped, but "Calling Dr. Love":

started offwith thetitle, whichI stole froman eplsocleof The ThrceSlooges. I alsohad that silly

little word rhyme, "They callme Dr. Love/'ve got the cureyou're thinkingof." I went into

afld recorded the song as a demo,playing all the instrumentsmysell and lhen I took it to theband, and that was it.

ffisgn|r6fi1revLOVE GUN (Ig7a

$f[oi6 That song started asanother lrreat conversation with

Paul: "Youwrite dumbsongs!" "No,Jou writedumb songs!"Paul hadstolen some ofmy t i t les, l ike

"Black Diamond," and when h€came up with the title "ChristineSixteen," I s to le i t . I hadjustdiscovered Van Halen, so I hadEddie and Alex play on the dcmo.They also played on the originaldemo of"cot Love for Sale."

For the spokenpart in themiddle thatg)es "when I sawyou coming out ofschool that day,I knew I've got to have you-gorto have you!" I ahvays picturedmyself in a black car across thestreet 6om a school, watchingayounggirl. lsomebody cdll CftldProtecti|e Senticesn

,,. \w,. xg{ry \grgr" \Ergr. w'' wg'' \rytg'"\Crry \ry*grxrryrugr\S*Cr"xglgrxg*Er\ryfgr

qvtsnrwF&urwvwxFDYNASTY (T979)

SllIllY Dance music wasso big at that point that every

ffioErMUSIC FROM(r98r)

band fromthe Stoneson downseemed to behavinghitswith dancematerial. Iwould listen to

it in New York clubs like Studio54, always thinking itwas verysimple music and that I couldwrite songs like that. So I wenthome, set my drum machine tothe 126 tempo like every damnsong during that period-andworked on a chord progressionwith Desmond Child and VinnyPoncia. The first line of the songwas "Tonight, I wanna give it allto you," which is basically whatclub people were thinkinginthose days.

we stopped playingit live inthe early Eighties, but peoplestarted saying we should bring itback. We said, "Are you crazy?That's a dance songl" We finallytried it againwhen we were doingthe Monsters ofRock tour inEurope in'89. We were readytoput the guitars up in front ofourfaces to keep the tomatoes fromhiftingus, when, instead, we had asea offists in the air. And this wasin front ofhardcore headbangersl

which was aleft turn downa very darksti:eet for us.After that,we neededto get backhome and I

think we did it with Credtu,"es o/rhe Nkftf. It was a very heaw, darkalbum, and it was probably my firstreal declaration ofwho we were.There's a certain ferocity to a lotofthat material, like the tide track,"Danger" and 'nvar Machine."

,D(,'rrwREVENGE (1992)

5|Iflofa5 This songstarted outwith a bass lich much as "Deuce"

did. onceI had themeter do\rn, Istarted writingrhl.rmngwords, butwithout amelody, so it

was almost a rap. Then I talked thesong through with the lick, and themelody just came naturally. Themelody that came to me was thebass licla so I just shadowed mymetody with the tick on guitar. el

.avwLDwrriluter.THE ELDER"

${rcxt That started out as a

every bit ofmy heart, Ilove you andcan't l ivewithout you."I just wantedto throw up

in his lap. I thought the nusicwas cool, buthewasjust singingabout crap. So I said, "Youspineless excuse for a man,you'rejust drooling over thisgirl. Have some balls! Tell her tosuck your dick and fuck offl"

But I thought the chordchanges were fantastic, so Istarted fooling around with themelody. Bob Ezrin had flownLou Reed up, and we sat downto talk about some ideas. Louhad a scrap ofpaper with "aworld without heroes" writ-ten on it. I asked what it was,and he said i twasjust an ideahe had about how awful theworld would be if we didn'thave heroes like John wayne,Superman or King Kong. Thatgave me the idea for the lyrics:"A world without heroes, is likea world without sun, you can'tlook up to anyone, in a worldwithout hcroes."

ffiFas'c"oCREATUNES OF THE NICHT(l982)

SrAxtEY We were coming offthe Music from "The Elder" album.

Page 51: Guitar Legends 109 (2009) Classic Rock

.v\wN{y.w'v\gy

,":.J,.

i{ffis$;":,ttr'-+* -), St'suKing Edward on two decades' worth of Van Halen classics

.ERWTION'\ ' \ \ U \ l t . r \ (1978)

" I LIKTiTHE !vry 'Erupt i ( r l 'sounr ls. I d nevel heald a gui tar 'sound l ike that bciore l ike somechssical instrLrnlcnt .

' 'The stofy behind Erupt ion'is st r rnge. I twrsn t evcn sup

!rosed t0 be on Vdn Fldlen. \!hileue ivele recordingthe album,I showed up r t the studio car\ 'one d.rv and stertecl to ivrrm upbcc,ruse I had a gig on the u,eekcnd rnLl I $ al1ted to pr.rcticc mysolo r1 l i rar spot . Our pr 'odl lccr ,' I cd len\ tcmrn, happencd toivr lk by and hc asked'Wh:r t 'sr lur '? LL' t 's put i t on tapel ' l phyedi t nvo or- thrcc t imes for ' thcrec0rd, and \ r 'c kef t rhe one thatscemed ro f low. ' lcd and Donn

frandcc, cngrnccrl liked it, andereryonc c lsc agreed that rveshould thr0\{ ' i t on. I d idn t even

t ] : r i i t . is-ht . ' l herc 's a n l is take althc top cnd ol i t . \ Ihercver I hcar

nororrvoulc l a l rv. rys burn out ."'l hat filst :rlbum u,rs

recorded, mixed rnd masrclcdfor onlv $.16,o(X), r ,h ich \ ! rsl ike . rn.r l l t imc lou in the

, \ lone. ' cenc said, 'Hcrc 's $ 'h:r t

] { )u do in t l r r s tudir ) )0u t l r tIour-r -hythm prr ts on ore t r ' lck,ancl loul solo p.r r ts on rnother ' . '

" I lencmhel feel ingvcr lLrnccnnl ; f l ib le $ ' i th scparr t ingnr i lerc i : rnct f i l l pr l ts f lom mvfh)thnr perts. Onst.rge, Iil liottcnuscd to L i0 iDgboth s inrutr : rne-ousl) l i l jos l r (xx l le in bctwccnchord hrcs. l lecrLrse i t wLrs mvf i rst t imc in r rccorLl in l i s tudio, i td idD i orcuf to Inc to say, ( l | r r ' t l

th! j rs t rhc $.r ! I phv l ivc?'' '1hc dcmo didn' t rvork out ,

. rnvlvxv. \ l hcn wc f in ishedfccofrling !vifh Clcnc. \r'c nrc,ll r i th Xiss ' nr . r r r rgef , ls i l l Au(oin. !$ hcn s.c wcnt to h is o l lcc l r r .wrs get t ing r shocshinc anci r=s: l iL1. I don t see rnv cL) lnmerci r lpotent i r l . Bcsides th. l l . l 'yrgor t r \ hrnds fu l l becrusc I just :s igred r brnd cr l led Pipcr f i ,at r r r jir,,t d rhfn- urlnorl,n rlillv ^squir) l. :I t w.rs rcal l ! dcpfessing Nc u,crc i )

i t , I a l \ \ 'a !s th i rk, Nlan, I col r ldhr\,e pl!),ed that bcitcr.

" lor the r . r i lend, luscd aUnivox ccho ch:rrrber. lt had .tmini.rture 8 tr.rck cassrtte in it.anci dre rv.rv it uoLrltl aLljust $crate ofrcpcat $,lls by thc specd 0fthe nlotor , rnd notbv t rp€ he:rds.so if you recorded soncthing onthc tapc, the Lrster you phved thcmot0rb.rck, ihc fastor i t $ouldrepeat, rnd v icc vcr-sa. I l ikcd sonreof the noises I g) t our of i t , bLrt i ts

fecord indusi fv. Pcot lc coLr ldn rbel ieve i l . bec.rusc thc a!cfagccost o l producjng an r lbum .r tthat t imc w.rs afound $150.00t)| ) r S-200.00(1. BacL then, b.rndsl ike F leet \ !ood NIac and BostoDrvcrc spending sonrething l ikedrr-ec vcar-s on an elburn, so --oucrn jusf imrsinc thc cost .

" Efupt i (nr , ' l ikc n lost of thcothcr songs on the f i rs t r lbum.rvas pcrformccl pret t i nrrch l ivc.\Ve h,rd becn in thc stuclio lol rhel i rs t t inre ever rboot r yerr crr l icr$. i th ccnc Simnmns ol l i iss, rndI quic l l l lcarncd that I d idn' t I i tcoverduhbing. Si lnnrons Lrroduccda thrcc soDgdemo fof rs t l l r lconsistcd 0f l tunnin $ ' i th thel lev i l . f loLrse ofPain 'and a songr i r l lcd l l r t )e, r )oDt Lea\ .c t lc

58 GUITAR LEGEN Ds

Page 52: Guitar Legends 109 (2009) Classic Rock

totallybummeil. Gene gave us acoupie hundred bucks to makeour way home. We just kept play-ing the whisky and the Starwoodin Los Angeles, and about ayearlater warner Bros, came downand eventually signed us."

.ffiIFf lrAIflV'WTIgWVAN HALENII IAINTT TALKIN' 'BOUt

LOVE' wAS

originally supposed to be a punkrock parody. It was a stupid thingto us, just two chords. Ii didn't endup sounding punl! but that was theintention. I doubled the solo sec-tion with an electric sitar. lt couldhave been a Coral, but it lookedreal cheap. It looked like a Dan-electro. I never really knew it wasan electric sitar, because itdidn'tsound like one.Itjust sounded likea buzzy-fretted guitar. That thingwas real bizarre,"

ffiTmrwrVAN HALEN II (1979),.r HAD THE basic riff and Iplayed it for the guys before we

went into thestudio, andth€y didn'tlike it. Butthen I played

and he reallydug it, so we

worked on it and put it togetherin the studio. The songwasoriginally a little different, butwe cut the fat of fand said, 'Let 'scall it "Dance the Night Away."' I know i t 's not a very or ig inaltitle, but we wanted to cash inon the dance craze that washappening at that time.

"The main thing I rememberabout the second album wasthat I was feeling a lot ofpres-sure- we were in England tour-ing in support ofthe first album,and for the first time in my lifeI called a meeting and said,'Goddammit, we have anotheralbum to do. Let's start gettingtogether after shows or when-ever we have time on the roadand I'll show you what I've got.'I was really starting to worry.We weren't really working onany new material, and I wasafraid if we didn't have enoughstrong songs our second albumwould f lop.

"We recorded Vdn Hdlen IIthe samewaywe recorded thefirst one. We just set everythingup in abig room and record€d.I was really happy withthe wayitturned out.It sounds like VdnIJaien, but fuller."

.IITD'IflBGRA'{8WT,IEACKWOMEN AND CHILDRENFrRST (1980)"AL IALEX VAN EAI,EN, DRUMS]

and I jammed on the basic riff for'And the Cra-dle will Rock'

day for twosuaight weeks.[c&sfis] wedidn't reatly

do with it, but we were having funbecause it just sounded so wicked.Then, out ofnowhere, the choruscame to us and itwas finished.Sometimes you really have to workfor inspiration- But ultimately, ifsnot really work because my broth-er and I genuinely love to jam.

"The solo on that song is unusual.I do one short lick thafs very spon-taneous. It came outbecause I hadbeen listening to Allan Holdsworth,who I think is the baddest This wasafirsttake a bunch ofsongs on thatalbum were first tales.

"That was also the first time Iplayed keyboards in the studio. A lotof people dorlt know that because itdoesn t really sound like a keyboad.I had an old Wurlitzer electric pianoand I pumped it though my Mar-shalls. I just pounded on the lowerregGters and put it through an MXRflanger to get that weird sound.Ted said, avow! wlnt the hell ist}lat?' UdirSisl 'Oh, nothing, just me,

rf/f-Lrarar-r-r-rf'Weu64to a6llnontne ctarycecraze ilYt v654apperyt4gattLat ame.'

-&ldic Va4Halc4

screwing around,' So we recordedit That was my first encounter withthe band not wanting me to playkeyboards-when we did the songlive, Mike played it They didn'twant a guitar hero plaing key-boards onstage.

"l thought Women and ChildrenFirst would stdke people as adven-turous because ofsongs like thisand'Could This Be Magic' and 'In

a Simple Rhyme.' Everybody saysFair Warningwas a weird album,but I think this one is w€irder.Maybe Fdir WdminS.felt that waybecause the album cover was sobizarre. I think the music on it isactually very straighdorward."

ryNgNEr\Sgr\grxrrxltr\sgr

tnwatil''"FAIR WARNING O981)"I LOI'E THAT SONG. Ifs rare thatI can listen back to mv ov.rl Dlav-

mg anq gergoose bumps,but that's oneofthem. FairWdrnin8 iskind ofa darkalbum. westarted doing

things my way, and we all kind ofbutted heads-me versus thern. Iremember snea}ing down in thestudio around four o'clock in themoming with Donn and re-record-ing things the way I wanted themto be. The next day, they walked inand said, 'Hey, thads great! Whendid you do that?' It was kind of acheap thing to do, but I had to dosomething to get what I wanted."

law1984 (1984)'$rE R.ECoRDED 'Jump' live in thestudio with me playing keyboards,

and then I putme gurcF onlater. I used anOBX-Akeyboard, whichthey stoppedmaking.Ithink we just

recorded one take. Actually, thetape ran out at the very end, just intime. When Donn mixed it, he hadto fade it just righq otherwise, hewould have run outoftape.

"The glitar solo was punchedin, I'll admit it. I'm not proud.You can hear that there are twodistinctparts to that solo.I can'teven rememberwhat I playedoriginally.All l remember is therecorded, pieced-together versionthat everybody knows."

ffiww5150 (1986)

"srso wAs a very inspired record.The tunes are really fresh. There's

a lot of soulthere.'!VhyCan't This BeLove'soundsso elaboratebecause ofthernsuumenta-t ion.Iused

the arpegiator in the OB-8, soeveryone had to play thaL That'swhy it has Lind ofauniformeffecrThe song is more pop popular,but I don't see whafs wrong withthat I would love to have written achdstmascarol.

"SammyHagar's work onthis album is like nothing he'dever done.I think people were

afiaid that Van Halenwould startsounding like one ofSammls soloalbums. But I knew it wouldn'thappen because I'd bew tingthe music, and my music doesn'tsound like Sammy Hagar music."

ry&/(Iwunfcou8r2 [988)"ou8u wAs a lot easier to male.That's not to say that 5-I5O was

difficult, butSammy and Iwere jr.rst feel-ingeach other

fortable arrd

opened the doors arrd it all cameout.ICs more mature, too. Whenwe recorded avhen It's Love,' Iwas so focused,"

WArcFOR UNLAWFUL CARNAIKNOWLEDGE (1991),.WIIEN r cAr\.[E up with 'Pound-

cake,'it didn t really excite anyoneuntil AndylJohns, produc-er] suggested Iusesomeelec-tric l2-stringsto flesh out therhlthm tracks.It furned out to

be just the thing the song needed-All ofa suddet the llrics, the titleand everfhing came into sharpfocus. What you hear are twoelechic l2-st ngs doubled beneathmy usual dirty guitar. It's an oddsound. It wasn't really planned.

"The solo goes four bars,another fourbars, then two bars.Al kept insistingthat it wasn'tfinished. He likes to count, andI never do. I'm strictly feel. I'malways screwing around withtime, because I never count."

rupIrlpn|'FOR I]NI-{IIT'UL CARNAIKNOW-EDGE."rHE ol{IY nEAsoN we gave Pepsitlre music was because they weregoing to use the song,n) ray. Theywould have just recut it with studiomusiciang like they do for someTV movies b€cause drey can't usethe original. Ifthey use the originalrecording theYve got to pay, but ifthey don'! all they do is give creditto the artist and then pay thestudio cats. Pepsi told us theywere going to do that, so we

'No, go ahead, rip us off. Andkeep the money, too!"' eZ

fsffiKst

Page 53: Guitar Legends 109 (2009) Classic Rock

v\v.v.v.v.v .vvvvN

Angus Young expounds on a dirty dozen's worth of AC/DC classics.

. \ \ ( i l S \1) i . l . i ( ; UA\ B[ I snlx l lgu] , but hc phys thc biggest ,hrrdest lerd $i t r r th is s idc of.J immr Prge. I l r hct . rhefe hasn' tbcen a brnd s ince Lcd Zeppel inthr t l l rs rockcd as harc l fo l:rs lorg l]s ,^c/rl)Cl t hcy havcconsisteur lv del iverer l thc gurdsfhroLrgh a score of : r lbums, r l l r l fi i l t ich shoivc.rsc thci r penchantlor rau, st l r ight up, b lLrcs b:rsedhard r ;ck.

lo l or ,cr thrce r lecrdes.Angos.rrd [ r rother I l r lco]nrha\ ' r corr t r ised onc 0f thc mostfe locious gui tar r rnclenrs i r r lock,wi th N, la lcohr hold ing up rher l i \ thnr cnd of thc busincss orrh is brrr un 196- l Gfcts(h l i i rebirdarc l conplenrcnt ing his voungtr 's ib l ing s 1can. hook' l : rden lerdrxcufs io l rs c0rstructed on hispf izcd 196.r S(1. I s t r f ted pl rv ingSr;s bcc,ruse of r booh. rer l l r ' . '

se1's , \ rgrrs. An Amcr icrn buddr 'of mine hrd r b ig Cibron jxzz

3.uitr; :rnd he h.rd rrn old c,rrrLrg,

r lnd I Iookcd through i t . I r l$ ' rvslbcused on the SG.l fs got drcsrme neck. rer l lv , ds l r Les Paul ,rnd i fyol f ro r l i t t le $! , i t 's ers icrto p lay. becarrsc you ve got e l l th. r te\cess t f inmed of f i t . '

Gxildr /,c'.\'fnds (.rught up {'ithAusn r l i i 's l i reatest inprrr t inNeu YorLs posh Fo f Secsonshorel duf ing thc Ancr icrn legol the b.rnd s lnost recclr t w0r ldfour. ( l1. rd in denirn j rcket

.tnrl pauts, pulplc socks nndsneekers, Argus YoLrugl as thcr ,cr 'y cssence ofrocl , and ro l l .srr roki rg a c iozcn-plus c;g.uct tesin u houl rnd l : rughing e.rs i i irs he renin iscccl rbout rhcof ig ins olsorre ofAC/DC's mostnemorablc moruents.

.CI-HE ]ACK'

Hr(;H \1lt.TAt;E 0976), ,THEOIUCINSOF thr t i re 1f( ]mi l i 'sr Sr(1r ' .Story. Wc $.efef iddl ing rboul . nnd B0n Lr^cotr ,r?.d1s/ s, rs t rk ing thc s,ords

minor. l t thcn bccomcs oper i .I ' !e heard l 'he Jrck sung inRussi . r , in F.xrrce. r l l over. YLluplav i t ant l thcv s ing i t , rDd thelgct i t f ight . l t s surpf is ing."

.DIRWDEEDS DONEDIRTCHEAP'-DIRT} ' I ]EF]DS DONE DIRT( rrL,lr, [976)" ' l HAr 'sANO] HERONE vou carpick up on anr l s ing r long vr i th

\ ,f ro ln the song, 'x Iar i r . ' xnLls inging conorrhca. ' And thcnu.c rvele in the c lubs pla l ing aslo l b lucs end Bon put togethersonle ly f ics. l r 's : r good soirg.Arrother, s iDrple b lucs th ing intr . A lot ofour songs r fe i r E l l l ]dA, rnd a c0uplc in D. we mis-htstr r ) i r t0 r C. The kc! ofA is igreit kev for Itfirn Polrionl ft)s ing in. YoLr scc somc binds I r rdthe) ' rc p l r ) i r l t songs in somcodd lev rr rd t Ic pool st i f fs ingclhas ro s iD€t sorrcrhing in C shir f

I

q!

Hc rvouid pul l

Deeds, DoneI) i r t Cheap. 'We thought i t u. rs agoocl idex fof r song. ln Aust faLi l ,INT l l97sl rvrs r b ig:r lbunr r r rdsorrg f l r us. l t cxmc out rnd $,ethorrght i t had sone real goodsones. And rhen the thought r . r 'as,Ho\f can \ \ ,e get bet ter thr l r th is? '

:

6 0 G U T T A R L E G E N D S

Page 54: Guitar Legends 109 (2009) Classic Rock

?R(W&CnnryDIRTY DEEDS DONE DIRTCHEAP"MAL KICKXD THAT OFF. HC hAdthe chords and it was very toughsounding. We were messingaround and, once again, its thesame thing you take somethingand you just keep playing it urtilyou go, a\ahoa, that's happening;thafs good.'And then Bon had thelyric line, the 'problem child,' andhe kept saying it was about me. Bonthought I was abitofajuveniled€linquent. I think thafs how Iwas. l'm abit wild and woolly, upfront and direct, so that's why hethought, well, Angls is tough-youcan't shove him around. I alwayslaughed when he said that."

afirtrENFrerffiLET TIIERE BE ROCK (I97i)

"THE Al-BuM wAs let Tlrcre BeRock. and when we went to write

the tracks, myolder brotherGeorge wasproducing itand he saidto me andMalcolm,aVhat would

you really like to do with thisalbum?'And we said, nvell, youknow, we want more ofthe guitarthing up jlont.' So he says, 'Okay,'

let's do a guitar thing,' and out of itcame the title track. It was just oneof those songs, where you put a litdestory in it and ifs a simple song,but ifs got a groove. what it wasbetween me and Mal was that wewould say, 'Lefs blow away and doa jam,' and then you'd get the chordstructure. Then we'd sit down withceorge and trim it until it soundedlike it was just the raw edge, andthen we would work to get it to rockand sound nat\rral. You'd listen tothe trach and say,'cet rid ofsomeof that.' You crn \,!Tite songs thathave bits going dis way and bitsgoing that way, but you've got to getit to swing and sound like a bandand no!a bunch ofguys coming into do a slick session job."

wm'affilrA'p6,8'LET THERE BE ROCK"THAT wAs BoN's idea. We wereplaying a gig in Tasmania and, afterthe show, we were wandering thestreets. Bon went out on his o&Tland when he came back he said thisbig womar grabbed him and thather and her hiend were telling himhow many farnous people she'dhad. She said she'd had u g famouspeople tfrdf monfhl And then shedragged him offto bed. After theact she thought Bon was asleepbut he was just pretending to be

asleep,because he said he was soltofpinned against the wall-and sheleaned over to her {iiend and said,"29." He had the idea for the song'cause she was such a big girl."

wfilyaY.troN&t*HIGHWAY TO HELL (1979)'"IHAT CAME FRoM touring really.we'd been on a long, long tour and

it was like theactual name ofthe song camebefore thesong. Malcolmwas on thedrum ki! I wason the guitar,

and Ijust played the riff and Malsaid, 'Okay, let's do this.' lt startedwith this basic guitar riff and wehad sort oftlre verse and chorus'$.ith the guitar, and it was only amatter ofgoing {iom the verse tothe chorus. Everything you wentinto you sort of said, 'I[ell, thafsobvious, thafs obvious,' and it wasa case of 6shing. And then whenwe got to the studio, I just fuckingdid an E chord and it worked."

,B,dr,ilffAcr'BACK IN BTACK (1980)'avELL, THAT \dAs one of Mal'sdffs, and one that he had around

for quite a

and he camein and saidto me, 'I've

got this riffand I keep

playing it all the time.' That'swhen I first heard the riff, andI thought itwas great. And sohe kept i t 'cause he was goingtoditch it. He had a habit ofthat, hewould play something, and say,'No, no, that's gone.'He thoughtit sounded a bit hearry. We didn'twant to be in the Led Zeppelinkind of thing. our thirg, to us,was always the rhythm end, theswing, the $oove thing. Up tothen, the heaviest thingwe'ddone, to us anyhow, was'SinCity,'because the riffsounded alittle bit metally. The two ofuscame up with the chorus riff Iget a lot ofideas Iiom toilets. I'djust go and sit, smoke a cigaretteand contemplate. Sometimes youcan have som€thing, a tune orsomething, for years and you getso far with it, and then you can'tput it together and thenyearslater you comeback to it, and itfalls together. 'High voltage'waslike that. Malcolm always usedto say, I want a track with thechords A-C-D-C in it. So that'sq/hat we did."

n${*f \Crltr\Nrf \grC'.\S{gr\Srry\grSr\S{Y\g\v\Sg "w .v \qrgr \Ergr

q(nSKxxreAtLwffir.6{0!,BACK IN BI.IICK'.wE I'AD A coUPLE of riffs andMalcolm had the chorus idea forYou Shook Me,'but he thoughtit was abit corny. when we werefirst playing ig we didn't evenreally have the beat, and whenwe got into the studio we fiddledaround, doing different thingsto see which one was right. Andwe eventually came back to theone we had stafied with. Evenbroddcerl Mutt Lange was saying,'oh, we need to try that again.'Afew days later, he went, 'Go backto what you were doing.' we gothrough everything. I don't thinhwe've ever talen a song and said,'oh, that's it. There's nothing tochange.'we try to find things that,re not blatantly obvious."

Y&I^$rmtE'BACK IN BL{C("tD BEEN AT HoME and put theopening riff oI1 a cassette with anacoustic.I was playingit in E, andthen when we got to the studio,we changed it to A for the vocalthing. It was just one ofthoseriffs-it was simple yet spooky.It's not minorbut it soundsminodsh. we're not famous forminor chords. ln fact, Mal says,'We played all those fuckingsongs,and no minor chords. we alwaysavoided itbecause it's commonin songs when people want to getsomething sweet, allthese strangechords come into it. Some keysare very sweet, and you try toavoid them. Or some keys sound'count{y'-ifyou play a open cchord, it sounds like countryhonk.It's got that rururururin it.lt'sthe same for guitars. You've gotchoruses, like You ShookMe' isG-butyou try to keep it without itgoing rurururur, into country.lt'slihe ifyou play a songin F sharp, itsounds meaner in some respects-meaner and a bitjazzy. As for thebells, sometimes things just cometo you. That's a real churchbell inEngland. English church is kind ofweird at the moment, with womenvicars and all sorts ofthings, soI think some of them dont evenbelieve in what theYre doing.I suppose tlere's religlon andthere's farraticism."

"rorltRls8rmr"onry FOR THOSEASOfIT TOROCK (r98r)"THAT TOO

isabitofaguitar tinldingthing, and the

guihr is on the offbeat Someoneonce told me, 'Oh, thads very clever,you're playing four-four time andyour going three-four time.'AndI go, 'It's not fucking consciousl'It was a weird thing, because wehad been here on tour, and it wasBrian's first tour ofAmerica. wehad done Back in Blacft, but evenwith that album, we were justsort oftouring and playing thetracks and we just though! O\ it'sanother tour It wasn't until later-Ithinl< with me it was about a yearlater-I was in a pub with one ofour tour manage6 and he wastelling his mate how much it hadsold. I stopped him and said, 'Quit

bullshiting.' But it tumed out hewas righL So it was kind ofweird,you know. And then you come here,and there was such a big fuss aboutiL At times, you though! wait aminutel because we were aware ofthe tendency to overkill-they makea fuss about something and thenthey want to shoot it in the foot "

*wrnrDEwwwHo MADE WHO (1986){IIAT CAME TROM when wewere doine the soundhack for

Stephen King'sMatimumoverdivemovie. We hadthese ideasand originallyhe wantedto just use

a couple oftracks from differentalbums. But then he said it wouldbe great if he had a title track andhe wanted something around the\ame M&rimum Ol)erdrive. Hemust have been buying some guitargadgets. And we said,'Nooo, no.'So Malcolm had a few ideas, onewas '\rvho Made who,' and it was acase where we sat down and bashed .away and put it together. The moviewas about trucks, so Mal, on thedemo, was playing the rhytlrm likeit was tuck holns. we thought it

"Stephen King is an AC/DC fan...we didn't even have to pay himl wemet at that time, he was telling uswhat a big fan he was. Thafs whywe did it, really, you know. we hadbeen offered things and you knowlrcw they go through trends withputting different music in movies,and it was only because he askedthat w€ did it. when you'reworking with someone who'sthere because they wantto do i! ifs different ftomsomeone saying, 'I'm goingto pay you alotofmoney.write me a top-ten hit.'The song did $ea! but themovie didn't." $l

61

Page 55: Guitar Legends 109 (2009) Classic Rock

xggry" \Esy \w xrsr.v\Hrgr-ryp,..v

f,/a55icRocIC

mostJamous songs.

GUITAR TEGENDS #I09

trr UST HOW DID DUANE ALLMAN come to join Eric Clap-

t ton to record the Derek and the Dominos album larrla? Why did

J Lynyrd Skynyrd choose to attack Neil Young in "Sweet Home Ala-bama"? Who really wrote "Hotel California"?

The history ofclassic rock is filled with unusual anecdotes, odd coin-cidences and bizarre twists, not to mention some musical miracles.Through the years, the greatest rock guitarists have regaled GultarWorld's readers with their recollections ofjust how those brilliant soloscame to be played and how those monster hits came to be written. Theseinside accour-rts are far more than fascinating anecdotes. On the one hand,they often reveal much about the guitarist's creative process and theway he interacts with his fellow band members or accompanying musi-cians. They also open a window into the complicated world of the studio.Finally, the guitarist's reminiscences can be pretty hot stuff, as they oftencontradict acceoted historv.

Below, Guitdr tc8'cnds reprisessome of the best of those sportancous, fascinat ing rr ips downclassic rock merrorv lane.

DICXEYDtrfTS(AT TANBRO'TEERE)"JESSICA"BRO?ITERS AND SIS?tXS (1973)

"I KNEWWHAT I u'anted todo, but I couldn' t qui te f ind i t .

little daugh-ter , Jessica,crawled into

I just startcdplayjngto her,

trying to capturc the feeling ofher crawl in 'and snl i l in ' . That 'sv h v I . . l 1 p , l i i l p e < i . . "

**arn' t*"ARO"IJERS ^ATD SIST'RS

" IWROTE'RAMBLtN ' MAN' i l l

-------.,v.'PA GE 62trc'*-

Page 56: Guitar Legends 109 (2009) Classic Rock

Lbdssistl Berry Oakley's kitchenat about four in the morning.Everyone had gone to bed, but Iwas sjtting up. once I got start-ed, I probably wrote that songin about 20 minutes, but I'dbeen thinking about it for overa year or two. And i t just hap-pencd like t,Iidt [sndpsfngers]!"

5

xi

EElrrR&rrEASfinaMr.firfflwa"STREET FIGHTING MAN"BEGGAR'S BANQWT (196A)

"THERD,S No ELECTRTC guitarson there at all. Onlv the bass.

would have only wanted to dohis own stufl Can you imaginegoingup to Bob Dylan and say-

which r over-dubbed after-ward, is elec-tric. I played

gultar ancloverloaded it

into a really early?hillips Norelcocassette recorder, which I usedas a pickup.I miked into i t , thenplay€d itback in the studio with amicrophone through an extensionspeaker and put it on the tapethatway.It's picked up, but youstill have the drlness and feel ofan acoustic gritar. You've got thebest ofboth worlds."

1I CAN'T GET NO)SATISFACTION"ow oF ouR }.EADS (t965)"I DIDN'TLIIG IT; I drought thefuzz tone was a gimmick. But we

were shortone song forthe album, so Isaid,'well,I'vegot this one.'Itwas myblindspot. Hey, you

can't deny it was a great rock androll record, but at the time I didn'tthink it was a single.It w$n't theway I wrote it. It's like a MickeyMouse version to me."

n@rrru{ER.rtzEeone"LIGHT MY FIRE"'rHE DOORS 1t967)"THAT wAs THE FIRST song Iever wrote. I had no thoughts ofwriting songs, because Jim [Mor-rison, Doors singerl was the com-poser. Then one day he said,'Hey,we don't have enough songs. You

grys try writ-ing some.' Ithough! well,okay.

"whatreally amazed

t U- me was you,dthink that a euv of Jim's caliber

\

: . j - :

ing, 'Hey, Bob,I wrote this tunefor you?' That shows you some-thing about Jim. He wanted it tobe 'the Doors,' not'Jim MorrisonaDd the Doors'He was adamantabout that."

"TIIE END"TEE DQORS

"THA'r STAITED ouT as just Icute little love song: 'This is theend, my friend, mybeautifulftiend.'And I got the idea to doan Indiantuning, because I wasinto Ravi Shankar in a bigway-I ended up usinga drop-D, andfrom there it started gettinglon-ger and more weird. And everytime we'd play it, Jim would addmore weird stuffto it."

-HOTEL CALIFORNIA"HOTEL CALIFOENIA (r97 6)..THAT TUNE wAS WRI'ITEN byDon Felder, regardless ofwhat

l(Jrennl r]rey ano LUonJ l1enleysay. He brought that tune in withno tyrLcs- l1entey. l rey ano J. lJ .souther got together late at night

for a monthto put thosetog€ther butthe song'ssignaturedescendingchordprogres-

sion was all felder's. I thoughtup the lead parts, and was 75-80percent responsible for theirarrangemcnt. But ifFelder hadn't

G U I T A R L E G E N D S 6 3

U ;ffi!" ;ERr;ffix.ffiu ,R ffi!,R,ffi. ffi,R ffi" .R ffi^ ,R,ffi

'Money' more

pleted. Andwe just madeup middlesections, gui-tar solos and

all that stufl we also inventedsome new riffs-we cre teda 4/4progression for the g!itar soloand made the poor saxophoneplayer play in 7/4. It was my ideato break down and become dryand empty for the second chorusof the solo.

"l really wanted to make adramatic statement with each ofthe three solos. The first one isartifi cially double-tracked. Andthe third one is actually double-tracked.I think the first two soloswere performed on a FenderStratocaster, but the last onewas done on a differentguitar aLewis, which was made by someguy in Vancouver.It had a two-octavc neck, which meant I could: : ger up ro: lrop):K€hhRirhrik , notes that

in1953:(l€ft)Daid r^^.,t.t^.rGilmdr badcbs. et

: Ea&couqbftdon, : Dlav or1: M.yrsB , , sirt. r

' '' imagine Iused a Hiwatt, but I'm nottoo

Reverbs in the studio a lot, too.But I'm certain the effects con-sistcd ofa Fuzzface tuzz box anda Binson echo/delay."

&r!mfu,tftr{rRffix$,oirt't"MONETDARR SrDE Or THE MOON \1973)"IT'sRocERs RIFF. He cam€ inwith the verses and lyrics for

&inrnqsSirrt{iqolYd.rryxrD6rr1'lna/"FREE BIRD"PRONOUNCED LEH-NERDsro1ll-NtxD (1973)

"RoNNIE [vANzAN", Skynyrdrocdlistl didn't like it in the beginning. He complained that theopening chord progression was

been there kicking me in the butt,I would not have played like that.He is a serious guitar player, andhe's completely underestimatedand undervalued."

too compli-cated, and hecouldn't finda melody forit, Every oncein awhi lewe'd bring it

up again, and he'djusttell us toforget about it.

"Then one daywe were atrehearsal and Allen fCollns,Suitdrl started playirgthe chord

Page 57: Guitar Legends 109 (2009) Classic Rock

progrcssion rgain, and Ronr icsaid, ' l 'hat s prct ty. ' Al len plavedi t l l l ia in, and Ronnic s l id, 'okay, I

got i t - 'And he wiotc the lyr ics inthrce or four minutes-the wholcdimned th i rg l Hc came up wi th alot o i s tuf f that wav.

"So we star ted pl . ly i ig 'FrccBird ' iD c lubs. In i t i r l lv i t w.rsjust . r s lo$, bal lad. Then Ronnie s. t id, 'why don' t you dosomcthing at the end of thatso I cal1 takc a break for e fewminures?'So I camc up \ rv i th thecnding chord progression andAl len pla,vcd over then, Lhen rsoloed aDd thcn hc soloed. . . I t a l levolved out 0f . r janl onc night .we srnr ted pl . ry ing i i thr i way,but Ronnie kept sry ing, ' l t 's n0tlong en0ugh. Make i t longer. ' We\r ! ere playing threc or- four sets anight, anci he rvas looking to fill,*:1"""GIMME TIIREE STEPS'

.SKIN-]V'RD

"1HE I-YIucs tfo Climme ThreeStcps' r re based on a t ruc story.Ronnic wcnt inro a bar one nightto lookfor somcone. Al len andI [ 'ere too voungto gct in so wewaitcc l outs ide. Sudclenly, hecame running out u i th , r b ig o l 'guy chasing him. I t turned outthat Ronnie had srar tcd dancingwith th is chick. Unfor turatc ly,

she had a redneck boyfr icndwho u,as drunk and had a gun anrsty c0lnbinr t ion- Ronnie sa;d,'Jusl g ive me thrcc stcps and I 'mgone- Ifyou're going to shoot me,i t 's goingtobe in the ass or the inrhe elbow. 'Ald he took of f l ike.rb a t o u t o f h e l i .

"we got in the car and split. Hetold us what happened and welaughed, ard we k ind ofwrote thesong ri€ihr there."

NEAL 6CHON UowNEY)"WHEEL IN THE SKY"rNI.rNr"y 0978)"wn wxRE DRIVING through thcn1iddle ofa desert one nieht

n;ne ofus in astatron wagon,We pulled overto get somc gasand to stretch,I9 abbed rny

the hood of th€ crr and star ted toph) ' . ' l hat 's hor- I u ' rote i t ! "

TED NU9EN'T"CAT SCR.\'lClI I'DVER"cAT SCRATCE I'EVER (1977\

"That

f r om a I ick atsoundcheck-Mv wi fe had

this ant ique

64 GUITAR LEGEND s

f f i \ , ^ -R ,R ,R ,R /R ,R

, F.$r tE wE6c',MOAInTAN)"MISSISSIPPI QUEEN"MOU NTAI N CLI M Br NG (1970)"'MISSISSIPPI QUEEN' took overwhcrc Clapton left offwhen he

medical journal that l is teda dis l rase cal led 'cat scratchfevcr. 'My brain is l ike e computer j i t catalogs everyth ing.And when th is gui tar pat terncame up, rhe words'cat scratchfever ' just f i t perfecr ly ."

p laying di f ferenr invers ions ofD majc ' r i r unison.

"The song wasn' t a consciousrttclnpt to emulate RogerMcGuinn, l ike some peoplethink, but we wcrc hcavi lv inf lu-enced by the Byrds. We in i t ia l lywrote several songs with thet flavor, .rnd whcn I started workingwith Tom we wcrc both l is t€ningto the Byrds. But j fanything, wctried to rvoid that sound becrusewe knew that wc lcaDcd in thardir€ct ion oaturel ly . l t canc as ac0nplctc surpr ise when Rogercal le. lus up ancl said he u,antedto cut the sollg, Wc wcnt over lohis p lace and showed him howtoplay it. It was funny, because hesaid thr t when he heard'American c i r l 'on the radio hc thoughthc had wrirten it rnd forgottcnabout i t . \ re showed h;m theparts, and hc cndcd up usingrl2-srr ing."

,IIMMYPAqEO.ED ZBPPEIJII)"STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN"LED ZEPPELTN IV (r97r)

"I'D BEEN FooLING around withan acoustic guitar and came up

quit cream,To mxke upfol my lackofspeed tadded in alot ofvibratofiom thc blucs

guys Iike a chefadding ingrcdierts to a stcw and workedon my squerls ard piggrunts.

llarghsl And the tone was lat,just lik€ me. I used my Les PaulJunior ard two Sunn stacks wi ththe Col iseun PA hcads. Theyw€re Hendrix's o1d amps, rctolcxed and re-coned. I turnedboth the mic volume and themrstervolume al l lhe way up ando\-.rdrove the rhing like crazy."

MIKECAMPBEXL(ro$ Pfffcrv txp arutnia|n?ERE,|reRSi)"AMERICAN GIRL"TOM PETTY AND TEEEEARTBREAKERS (1976)

.A LOT OFpeople th ink\r-€ ' re using

12 str ings, b ti t 's actu! l ly

with severaldifferent sect ions, whichI mnrriedtogether. Iknew I wentcdsom€th;ngthat

would have the druns comc inat the middle and thenbui lc l tor hugc crcsccndo. Also, I knewI wanted the piccc to speed up,which is ag.rinst all musical...Imean, that's whrt a musici:rn

"So I had all thc structure, and

-

z2;

o

2

;"

Page 58: Guitar Legends 109 (2009) Classic Rock

-

I ran it by lbdssrsr] John PaulJones so he could get the ideaof it-ldrummer] John Bonhamand Robert lPldnt, singer] hadgone out for the night-and thenon the following day we got intoitwith John Bonharn. You haveto remember that at first therewas a hell ofa lot for everyone toremember on this one. Butas wewere sort ofroutining it, Robertstarted writing down these llrics,and a huge percentage ofthemwere written there and then.

"when itcame time to recordthe solo I warmed up and didthree ofthem- Theywere all quitedifferent fiom each othet but theone we used was the best, I cantell you thatl"

fiofflYlrmw8n"BRIDGE OF SIGHS"BRIDGE OF SIGHS; (1974)

"I IiAD Trs oPENrNc curTAR rifffor about sixmonthsbeforeI could comeup with theturnaroundsection. Iloved that

"TuG4tftl1rce rccordcomparyeEtur4eddouQ'ILove Roclla4d RolI.'"-Joa4Jett

openinglick so much that I wasdetermined to make the secondhalfjust as perfect. So I waitedand waited... Then it came to me.The band played it for the firsttime at the Winterland in SanFralcisco, and we received likea lo-minute standing ovation. Itobviously had magic."

4mrjt.6"?"I LOVE ROCK AND ROLTr Low RocK AND ROLL (rgar)

"I cu'r THE DEMo for 'I Love Rock

rnd Roll'inEngland withSteveJonesand Paulcook oftheSex ?istols.Twenty-three

record comparies turned it down;I have the letters. They all say,'This is interesting, butwe don'thear a hit"'

: iM!rt,!9& :

lnAjVl,AYflu[lD"WE WILL ROCK YOU"NEWS OF T'lE WORLD (I97A\-TIIAT IMAS A RESPONSE to a par,

ticular phase

when theaudience wasbecomingabigger part ofthe show than

we were. Theywould singall thesongs. Sometimes, they'd be sovociferous that we'd have to stopthe show and let them sing to us.So both Freddie and I thought irwould be an interesting experi-ment to write songs with audi-ence participation specifically inmind-everyone can stamp andclap and singa simple motif. werecorded that in an old convertedchurch with a good, naturalsound. There are no drums onthere. Ids just us, stampingonboards, with many primitivedelay machines, and clapping Abit of singing, a bit ofguitar play-ing and thafs it.

"It's amazing to go to sportsevents and hearpeople do it.It'svery gratii,ing to find that it hasbecome part offolklore. I'll diehappy because ofthat."

WflNDW.FOXY I.ADYARE YOUEXPERIENCED? (1976)

"t CAN'T wRrrD hap-py songs. 'Foxy Lady'

GUITAR LEGENDS 65

ffi,6fo.,ffis""ffi..rffi*rffi\,ffi.,,ffio.",ffir,Rffi.

ffi

n4c'aFrvrdal8lrrrctl$rc,"I-AYI-A."LAYLA (& OTHER ASSORTED LOWsorYcs) (re7o)-rHE At BuM wAs dre culminationof about a year of hippie living.

is about the onlyhappy song I'vewritten. And I didn't feelveryhappywhen I started writing."

we lived inmy house inEngland, play-ing non-stop,24 hours a day.

lotofdope andtaling a lot of different things, butwe were just playing all the time,just writing and rif6ng. when wewent into the studio we didn't actu-ally have too many concrete songs,but there was so much stored upthat itjust came together.

"Duane [Allman] hadn't evenbeen talked about at that point;that was very coincidental. Wewere in the studio in Miami andheard that theAllmans were play-ingnearby. we went to see themand theycame back to the studio,and we played them some stuffandjamrned together. Duane andme hit it off right away-instantsoul mates and I asked him ifhe'd like to come back to the stu-dio and pJay and help me out withthe record. Ofcourse, he agreed."

nrrdffiEA@,*8ffiPmnna).SMOKE ON TI{E WATER'MACHINE HEAD (1972)"srM"LrcrTY rs TrD key to thissong:s endurance. And it is sim-ple you can still hearpeople play

ingitatmusic

had the cour-age to wnteuntil I heardlthe whos] 'I

Can'tExplain'and 'My ceneration.' Those riffswere so straighdorward that Ithought, All right, ifPete Townsh-end can get awaywith that, then I

WTY,milE6twl,"L{GRANGE"?R'S I{OMA,RES

11973)"IIAEMONIC CITY. The soloon'La Grange' is one ofmybest.I like savage sounds,but my obscenity comes inharmonics rather than agrind for tone." fl

Page 59: Guitar Legends 109 (2009) Classic Rock

"0QMMIIMATION BREAKDOVW{r', LED ZEPPELINAs heard onLED ZEPPELIN (ATLANTTc)

word.s ond Music b! t,',amy I,age, John I,ar Jones ard John Bortham * ftonsc,,ibed,J Andy A.l€dort

E ro*o (o,oo)Moderrtety F|st J = 1?6

N.c.(E)Gt. I (w,4idt dist.)

don't play ltrst tine

E 13t Vere€ (010)HeyI don't

N.C.(E)

E,Htn

ffiTTTTN

thal I lillD

t l l 2 l l t . l l 2 4 l

N.C.(E)

lnou whal lt5lo!youD

0lrll$ aboul

AWor'l

D

wial youlE doln'iut I lllo lt r lol

N.C.(E)(repeat prerious trro bars)i

Hoy

N.c.(E)you let

rulnIO

letgirl

mc hold youD

l r .you'll d Yo mo

MC

D N.C.(E)

llz.losl yorrN.C.(E)

lovin' Gnalmt

12 P M t

?et @ thut b every tide this chod is plryed.

Bats repeats Rass FiB. I thrce tines

o re6, (RrNrwlD) FL^Mrs or

68 currAR LEGENDS

P.M.

Page 60: Guitar Legends 109 (2009) Classic Rock

lLl 1st ChoruB (0 32)Communicatiol broakdown

A7Gtr. I

Rhr. Fig. 2

'coM MUMCACII ON BREAKDOWN',

it's always tho samo

Cr 2 (w/lishr disr )

B^sGIr. 1 plays Rhy. Fia. J twi.e (see bar l)

E 2nd v€rse (o:ae)

HeyN.C.(E)Gtr. 1 plays Rhy. Fis. I eisht tines (see bar l)

Cir- 2

27 P.M. P M.

brsakdown

I wanna toll you that IA D N.C.(E)

me insane

thlnt you outla

love you s0

KnowD

Having a ncflous

Bass plays Bass Fia- I eicht tines (see bar 5)

HeyN,C,(E)

I got something ID N.C.(E)

drive

N.C.(E) N.C.(E)

gi.lD A

D A

T T I

T T I i l

31 P.M

GUITAR LECENDS 69

Page 61: Guitar Legends 109 (2009) Classic Rock

.CPM MUM CACII ON B REAKDOWN "

I wanra hold yeahN,C,(E)

35 P.M.

E 2nd chorus (1r1)

CommunicalionA7

gonna let youD

you a[ my armsD A D N.C.(E)

drlve me Insane(whoah)

y0ul onarms

ll's always lhe $amo

D A D

llkel 'm go yes IN.C.(E)

basaldown

Gtr. I plals Rhy. Fig. 2GE.2

Havinq a neflous breakdown s[cK

E cuitar Solo (1:25)

E

70 GUITAB LEGENDS

G r . I ( w d i q . e d w d h p e d a l u s e d 6 a 6 l t e ' . t o e d o M )

Rh!. FtA. 3- - -Gtr. I hcneat nPviotur .hot.L

Page 62: Guitar Legends 109 (2009) Classic Rock

. CPM MI]MCATI ON BREAKDOWN'

D A D D A D

B6s repeats Bass Fig. 2Jiw tines

E

cn-G3tf. . l fepeats Rhy. Fig. 3 six tines

E 3rd cborus (1:aa)Comnulicalion

A7breakdown It's always lho samo

GtN. 1 and 2 pldy Rhy. Figs. 2 and 2d (see bar 15)

havino a nervous D ve me insane

GUITAR LEGENDS 7I

Page 63: Guitar Legends 109 (2009) Classic Rock

.CPMMITMCATION BREAKDOWIV"

D A D N.C.(E)N.C.(E) D A DGtr. I plaw Rhy. Fig. I t'aice (see bar l)

*kiah-pitched nicrcphoaic suitat feedback

@ o,,*o 1r,*1

N.C.(E)

Gtr, I

Conrnunication brealdown0

D Awant yol lo love me all [i0hl)

D E 5GtL I repeats prcvioB two bds until fade

etl.2

D5(l want

A D 5

Bass plays Bass Fig. 2 twice (see bar 55)

Communicalionyou to love me)

N.C.(E)(ahD5

brcakdown(Whoa)

D 5 A D 5 E 5a)

8it

Bass plays B6s Fia. I tvice (see bar 5)

CommuIlcatlon(Whoa oh)N.C.(E)

Communicalion

wanl you lo

N.c.(E)(l wa you

A D 5

bloakdown0D5

love me)

lo lovc)E

tt t

trealdown

Communicalion trea*down

B6s ptays Bass Fis. 2 untilfade (see bar ss)

EConmunication breakdown

D A D

72 cur rAR LEcBNDS

Bass plays B6s Fis. 2 twice (see bar 55)

Bass plays Bass Fis. I twice (see bar 5)

Page 64: Guitar Legends 109 (2009) Classic Rock

.MOTHER'PIIVK FLOWAs heard onTIIE\IILLL (cAPIToL)

words and Music by Riogerw^terc + Trdnscribed W JefrPerrin * Bass trdnscrrltbn by Matt Scharfglass

Gsus2FFFFI'I

lllt+

. Dadd2FFFFI'I

ffitftn

bonb

m

I v"""oSlowly

l.

'GE. 1

1

(0:00, 0:57,3:21)

) =r leolher do youother should I

Molher do you

heflldrop lhelof Feddent6he'6 good enough

lhinkrunlhink

'+rcPeat Previous chot I

Bds (play 3rd Vse orly)Bass Fig. 1

(3.) lor me

llolher do yotllolher should Illolhef do you

Ctr- I

tEyI lih $eUE govemmenlshe's dangemus

son9

c

lhlnktlrstftink

3rdVerse: Rass repeats Bass Fig. I (see bar I)

(3.) to me

74 GUITAR LEGENDS

Page 65: Guitar Legends 109 (2009) Classic Rock

.MOCTHER'

my b€llsline

apanG

do you tt nk lt|ey'lllry lo heakwill they pul me in tB liingwill she tear your litle boy

ilotherolher

Molhefc

Gtr. 1

a Iallof llmemy head

ananan

ootroon0oh

other should lbuildis il iusl a nasteilother will she hesk

D CGtt.2 plays Rhy. Fi l on2nd ann 3rdVenes (see betow)

Substiute Bass Fill I on 2nd Vefte (see beloi,)

I st time, go back to E2nd Verce2nd ond 3 tines, continue ro @ Chorus

Rhy. Fi l \1141,4:05)Dadd2

*Gtr.2 is in "hish slruns tug!!ls. sr.nssO,@ 4d O are rcpta.ed by thinnet sttia|s tuaed oae octavehisher than norMl- Strins lt) h replaced br a hish E stnng.

Rhy. Fill2 lzg,a:sg)Dadd2

Bass Fill 1 11:41)D

CUITAR LEGENDS 75

Page 66: Guitar Legends 109 (2009) Classic Rock

"MOAHER"

@ chor,r" 1t,s+, rre1Hush now baby boby don'i you cry

G r . 2 G

( l.r lilama's gonnatlrmt s gonnalrama's gonmwonl l9l you

(2,) ilama'8 gonnalllama won'tlrama'silam

cr- r F21

make allput sllrcep you

ffy

checkoulld flyonegonna wail upwill aln ys

ol yourol llerrighlherc

all your

nightnarcs come truele9rs Into youuder her rim

but she might tet you sing -

gi lriend8 for youdirly gel lhrough

you s€l i0oul vrhe€ you've b€€nc

She

uniilSnd

ll$n8's gonna keep b.by

lilama's gonm ko€p b€byF

(r.) cozy(2.) t|ealthy

c

*Substitute cue-siz.d notes each 2nd and 4th titu.

an0and

(r.) ooh0oh

(2.) ooh0oh

D

ooh babe

0oh

babobobecoull€

babebab€

c

3d time on 2nd Chorus, skip ahead toD Ourc

gonna ielp bulld ll|e wall

q,Dg

of

you'll alwayr be a boby to me

Ctr. 2 plays Rht. Fill2 (see previous paee)

76 GUITAR LEGENDS

Page 67: Guitar Legends 109 (2009) Classic Rock

"MOCTHER"

@ cuitu Soto tz,solG C G

Ctr. 3 (elec. w/dist.i

Play Rh!. Fis. I twice (see ba.29)

sobacktow3 verse

Mo$er dld ll need to be so high

c

GUITAR LECENDS 77

Page 68: Guitar Legends 109 (2009) Classic Rock

"wHoLE LOTTA ROEIE', AADC,{s heard on LET THER.E BE ROCK aEplc)

Words and Music b! A^gns Young, Mslcoln Young and Bon Scott * Irdns cribed by JefrPerrin

NOTD: Recording sounds slightly llat of concert pitch (approx. 25 cents).To play along, tune strings slighfly flat.

D/Ff

ffi

G5FFFFFI

fFF+I

D5

FFFFtr 5fttrtrf

@ tttt"o 1o,oo1Moderat€ly Fast J =160

I Otrs. I aDd 2 (w/dist.)

c5 A5

@ kt v"."" 1o,r:ylvanna tell you a sloryAh come to lovin'She ain't enclly prelty

4 Gtrs. I dd 2

'bout a woman IShe steals

ain'l exactly

xn0wlhe showsmall

A5

{c5)D5c5

Rass plrlys Bass Fis. I twice (see bar 2)

Forty-lno lhidy-nine lifi y-siryou could say she got ft all

I ctr. | (Angus) B

A5Rhy. Fie. 2

N.c.(c5) (D5)

P.M. .

c1r.2 (Malcom) 3 Rht. Fie. 2a

Bars F li./ (0 48)

COPYRICHI O I'Z (R[N[VI/TD) BY J. ALB'RT & SON (PTY) LID

M U S I C S A L T S C O R P O R A T I O N T A S C A T ) .78 curr,r.n LEGENDS

Page 69: Guitar Legends 109 (2009) Classic Rock

.WHOLELOTTAROEIE"

@ 2od *d 3"d v"."". 1o,ls, r'sa1

2, ilet/er had a woman neverAin'l no hmous slory

(3.) honey you can do il do itAll through lhe nighflimeA5

Gt.2 plars Rh!. Fig.2aJounnes (see bar 12)

i { Gr. I P.M.- . P-M.

had a $oman lilc you

b me all nlght long

N.c.(cs)(D5) (c5)

ain't no slln and boneg

and ghl around lhe clockA5

Bul you0nlY

N,C.{Cs) (D5) (C5)

Doin' all lhe lhingsgive it all you gol

wanna lurnlYlrcwA5

Gr. l P .M. , . P .M.

l 1 'doin' all tE bings you domighin' h at ninete€n slones

wanna lum me onmuscled thigtu don'l

N.C.(C5)(05) (C5) A5

onl!two

18

Rass plaJs Bass Fis.2 hrice (see bar 16)

I Jp kt -d Zod fr"*norus (113,2:02)

wuDan

F5

lhey

A5Glrs. I md 2

stop You'rc a whole lol ol

22 Rh\'. Fis.3 Rhy. Fig.4

nhole lot of ronanD5

Whole lotta

GUITAR LEGENDS 79

Page 70: Guitar Legends 109 (2009) Classic Rock

'wHoLE LOItI'A ROEIE

E] lst and 2nd Chorus 11r0,2:oB)Ro3ieA5

Whole lotla RosleA5

and you're awhole lotlaG5

2tu1 tine, skip ahead toB I st Guitar Solo sobackto@ 3 ve^e

3. 0hN.C.(Es) (D5) (c5)

w0man

Gtr- IRhJ. Fi8. 6

A5G5D/FfD/Ffl

Gtr.2 substitutes RhJ. Fie.2a on repe't(see bar 12)

@ l.t Goit . Solo 1z,zr1

A5Gtrs- I and 2 play Rhy. FiBs.2 and2aseventines (see bar 12)Ct. 3 (elec. w/dist.)

Bass play Ba:s FiB. 5 thrce tines sinik (see bar 34)

Rass plays Bass FiB.2 sinile (see bar t6)

80 GUITAR LEGEND8

4i|

Rass plays Bass Fi8.5 sinil€ (see har 34)

Page 71: Guitar Legends 109 (2009) Classic Rock

'wHoLELOTTAROEIE"

46 Gu. l

Gts. I aad2 play Rhy. Fis.3 (see bar 22)

52

Gtrc. I and2 play Rhy- Fis- 4 (see bor24)cE. 3

D5

(14) 12 14 12\11 !2'11:

B6ts plaJs Bass Fis.3 (see bar24)

I and2 ptay FiU I (see below) Glrt. I and 2 play last bar ofRhy. FiE. I tse. btr Jl

Bass plars Bass Fill2 (see betow)

I and 2 pla) Rhy. Fie- I tsee bat 2)D5 C5 A5 N.C.c5

Gtrs.58 cE.3

Bass ptays Bass Fis. I (see ba.2)

c5 D5 C5 A5Gtrs. I ahd 2 plat last bar ofRhy. Fis. I (see bar 3)

ct's. I ond 2 pla\ Rhv. |i8s. 2 and 2a scv"n tine. |see bor Jo)

62 * P.M.

Bass plays Bass Fig. 5 thrce tiws sinile (see bar 14)

Fill I l2t51lA5 Bass FiU 2 12:51)

(A5) (C5) (05) (Cs)(As)

GUITAR LECENDS 8I

Bass plays lost bar oJ B6s Fi8. I

Page 72: Guitar Legends 109 (2009) Classic Rock

"wHoIE LOTCI-A ROEIE"

70

7 t:9-9t11 -9-11 -11

Bass plals Bass FiE.6Jou. tines sinile (see bat 46)

7310 1210 10 10 10 13 12'10-10-13+13-12-10-13 12 10 13 12 10 13 12 10-13,12-t0,13-l l T llf _f-___f-_f_f_1-_12# l2- to- !3- t2- lo- l3- !2- ' , ro 13 12 10 13 t2 10 13 12

10 13 12 10 13-12 10-13 t2 '10-13-12-10-13-12.

GI^. I an.l 2 play Rhy. rte. 3 sinil" (\ce ba, 22 l

B6s play Bass rill3 (see belo||)

You'E a whole lot@ :.a r..-.t'o.r's p,ro1

ol wodran rrhole lot ot

Gtri. t ond 2 plat Rh!. Fi8.4 tsee bar 24)

woman

82 D5

B6s plats Bass Fig. 3 simile (see bar24)

E 3d Chorus (3:46/

Whole loila Rosh aGt6. I and 2 plat RhJ. Fig.5 three tines (see bat 28)

whole lotta

You'Ea

Boss plats B6s Fi8.4(see bor28)

whole lotta BorieFo€ieA5 G5

lvhole lotla woman mtn man nanDiF{ G5

G| , t . I dnd 2 p la ! Rht F iss 6o^d6atseebarS:

manD/F{

yeah yeah

B6s FiU 3 \1134

7,2-7 7 7 7

82 GUITAR LEGENDS

Page 73: Guitar Legends 109 (2009) Classic Rock

"wHoLELCTTA RO6IE"

[] Out"o/2na cuit"" Soto 1r,se1yeah a rhole lo a no6hA5Gtrs. I and2 pla' Rhy. Fi8s.2 ann2a 16 tirus $inik (see bor 12)

Bass plays Bass Fig.5 (see bar 34) Bass plays Ross Fig.2 twice sinile (see bar 16)

Whole lotb

Bas plals B6s Fi8.5 sir tines tsee bar 34t

(3rdtitne) a rhole lotla

-?J'17-17 17-

108

GUITAR LEGENDS 83

171-17-17 X\ 17 17' .17-17

e ^ 1

B6s plals Bass Fis. 2 twice tsee bar 16)

Page 74: Guitar Legends 109 (2009) Classic Rock

"WHOLE LOTTAROEIE'

Bass plals Bass Fis.5 sinile (see bar 34)

Bass plays Bass Fig. 6 t"'ice sinile (see bar 46)

Rass ptays B6s FiB. 7 simile (see bat48) Boss plays Ba.rs Fill4 eleyen nrcs

G t 3 . l o d 2Rhy. Fig. 7

GtL 1 plays Rht. FiB.8 simile (see bo.128)Gtr.2 plals Rhy. Fi8.7 twice (see bat 122)

Gtr. I plays Rhr. Fis.7 (see bar 122)Gtr.3

Gt6. I ud 2R h y . F i E . 8 - - - - - - - - - ,

B6s Fill 4 14:45!'

GUITAR LBGENDS

Page 75: Guitar Legends 109 (2009) Classic Rock

'wHoLE LOCITA ROEIE"A 5 w 2

17-n 17 19 t7- t8-16-17.16 , t5 17 14.15-14-

f . € t r . a €

-11-g 7 10 7-7

C t r . 2 t t t t r t , t , t r e

GUITAB LECENDS 85

Page 76: Guitar Legends 109 (2009) Classic Rock

"MR. BROW/VS TONE" gtlNs M RO6;ESAs heard on APPETITE FOR DESTRUCTION (cEFrEN)

wo s and Music by lY. Axl Rose, slaslq Izzy sb:.dliD', DufiMcKagaD and steven Mler * ftanscnbed by Andy AJedort

ctrs. ar€ tun€d down one half step(low to high: nb ab ob cb nb nb).Bass tuning oow to high): Eb Ab Db cb.AII music sounds in the key of Eb, one half step lower than written.

Bb5

FFffirrFT Tl

lAl rntro (000r

Moderat€ly .J = 108

Gt'. I (elec. w/dist. dd fia'ss) dd Ctr- 2 (elec. w/dist- md w.h)Strum nuted strings-

. 1 >

Slidefredins hand up string while pickihg.

Glr. I

t ,D5 A5

(flose. off)

85 Es/Brr#ii't t#i'tffiF ffiFFIFT-T] FTFTF]t 3 4 I 1 4 4

85 Ds CfsHl* Hll'r. ffioef f i F M f f i F

f f i f f it 4 4 1 4 t 4

Gtr. 2 costinues strumning muted strings.Gtr. 1 : slide fretting hand down string while picki"g.

G5

I t t i - Ha-ri-rlTtrffi

E5?#lt{!fLt!FFF+IFlFi F]

A5,!93l-f&l'HFFFFHFl-FTrl

l ll 3t 4 4 4 t 4 4 4

EDDsH* f.r#sfr i+?rrif f i f f i f f iI-nT_Tl TTI-r- rrn-Fl

F5

Effirl1l ll

c5

ffiHffiH

A5 G5cr#ii't frr#i,onr-a-rT_t rT--T l

t 3 a t 4 4

#frrrffiTT-TTT]2 3 4

=8=8=8=8=

.String @ise: don t pick

l r .D

B5 N.c.(G) (E)l r .

D5 c#s

corYRrcur (c) re37 cuNs N RosBs Musrc (^sc^f)

Bass F ig . I - - - , - - . I

86 GUITAR LEGENDS

Page 77: Guitar Legends 109 (2009) Classic Rock

"MR. BROWNETOM"

E rst Yerse (0:32)

| lel up around seven(E)

qel outta bed around ning

Bass plays B6s FiA. I twice (see bat 7)

86s plays Bass FtB. 2 (see bd, lA)

GUITAR LEGBNDS 87

Page 78: Guitar Legends 109 (2009) Classic Rock

.MR. BROWNETONE"

We0o on slaoe arould nhc

Lql Chorus (0:59. 1 .3s, 2:59)

Wo'vg been damin'G5 F5 G5

Gtrs. I md 2 (wah ofr)

won't loava m!(D)

Gtr. I

Got o[ lhe bus aboul glsvon Sippin'a drinl and lool in'A5

It'listerc5 Bbs C5

H€'sD5 C5

bcen knocklr'D5

2nd tine, skip ahead tuE Guita/ Soto

,d tiae, skip ahea.l to B

88 GUITAR LEGENDS

Page 79: Guitar Legends 109 (2009) Classic Rock

"MR. BROWNETOITE',

E Bridge (1r7,2:41)

used todo a lltlle

Gtr. I

linla wouldn'l do lt so thoB5

g0tbul littlg and norS

30

Bats Fe 3

l r | 2 .

lilllo b€nor thaf beloreA5

so bdck to @chotuslittlo bsttr. than bstoraA5 G5 A5D5 A5

Gtr- 2 P.M.

Bass plays B6s Fill l first tine a"dBass Fi 2 second tine (see below)

E Guit|r solo (1:53)

N.C.(F#5)Gtr. 3 (elec. w/dht., wah dd detay)

'@nposite aftanEenehl

Bass Fig. 4

Bass Fill I 11:33)A5 G5 A5

Bass Fill2 (2:57)

A5 G5 A5

t-I f t,r

iust ksspB5

Gir- I

lryin' to gsl a lifilc ietletsald aEs/D 85

Bass repeats B6s Fis. 3 (see bar 30)

13

GUITAR LBGENDS 89

Page 80: Guitar Legends 109 (2009) Classic Rock

"MR. BROWNETONE"

(F*5) BGts. I and 2 play Rh!. Fis. I twice (see bar 35)

Gh.I I

(Ff5)

Gtr.3 ?

39 - -= : - - -

90 currAR LEGENDS

Bass rcpeats Rass Fis.4 (see bar 35)

Page 81: Guitar Legends 109 (2009) Classic Rock

"MR. BROWNE6TONE'

D5 C5 D5l r

D5 Cf,s 85 D5 G5

cn!. 2 (wah ofi)

l r .D5

E 3rd v€Ise (2:32)

l{ow I gel up arcund whonsvor

(E)

u58dlo oel up on

a real molhcduc*er GonnaA5

B6s plays B6s Fig. I ttrice (see bar 7)

Bass plays Bass Fis. 2 (see bar 10)

kick hin on

GUITAR LECENDS 91

Page 82: Guitar Legends 109 (2009) Classic Rock

"MR. BROWNETONE"

Lnc

Won'tA5 D5 C$5 85

leave mc aloreE5 D5

E

(wah ofo

Ot|tro (3:26)

Stuck it in lhe middle

P.M.

shot it in

P.M.

th€ nssdlo afld it it droYs ms out ol my mindand I

sh0ulda known Dellcr said I wish I never methersaid I

G1r. I

I leavsl l al l bohind

A 5 E

Bass plats Bass Fig. I tttice 6ee bar 7)

92 GUITAR LEGENDS

Page 83: Guitar Legends 109 (2009) Classic Rock

"LEEE" ZZ TOPAs heard on ELIMINATOR (WARNER BRos.)

words and Mnsic by Billy F. cibbons, Dorty Hill and trYank Lee Beard + ?rdnscribed by Jesse cress

Ft?Ft'lroffiE+

A5

+F+E5 D5 C{5

ll.r.mrfi lr.l.msrr l..IT4rr

fffir sfrfi trFFrTtrn Fl]fi

I Iot* 1o,ooy

Moderately J = 123

Gr.. I (olec. w/disr.) 1

Gtr. I repeats bar 2 four tines

Glr.2 {ele. w/dist-) PM. ,*

E5D5^ Gtr.2

94 GUITAR LEGENDS

Page 84: Guitar Legends 109 (2009) Classic Rock

@ lrui"nm 1ors1

Ctr. 3 plats Rh). Fis. l fow.ines (see bat 3)

'LECE"

She got

Bass ptays Bass Fis. I folr ti,''es (se bat 3)

@ l"t v"""" 1o,zzylegs

G'r.2

1 5

She 10rcry8 how to She never

P.H.

0eg6c+5

She lnof,s hol to choo6e tEm She holdin'

GUITAR LEGENDS 95

Page 85: Guitar Legends 109 (2009) Classic Rock

"LEqE'

t€g

Ct . 3.epeats Rhy. Fig. 2 (see bal I 5 )ridr

wondedn' hory lo leel $em Would you gpl be

Rass repeats Bass Fis.2 (see bar 15)

hlndc*5

lien il you couldonly find then She'5 ry baby

she's my baby yean il's all

3'l

A5

Rass Fie.3

rlghl(E)Gtr.3 plays My. FiE.l Jow tines (see bar 3)Gts. I md 2

SlE sgol0h

+rrr lyean

Rass plays Rass Fis.l fow nnes (see bar l)

@ zoa ve"". 1r,rs1hah down lo llet hnny Try undo hefShe's kinda iet sel

c{sGtr. 3 pLtys Rhr. Fig. 2 twice (see bar 15 )

tet f,ng l e t n 4 8 , - - , - , - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1

B6s plals Bass Fis.2 d,ice (see ba. 15)

96 GUITAR LEGBNDS

Page 86: Guitar Legends 109 (2009) Classic Rock

"LEE6"!onll08 Evrry llme 3hs'8 dancin'

lerring---she h$vlwhat io do Ev!|}body

ranb lo 6€0c{s

8€9 il shr car u9e lt Sheb 8o fle shelallnlneA5 85

@ Ctr.3 plays Rhr. Fis.3 (see bar 31)

Gld you gol il

Bass plals Bas Fis.3 (see bar 31)

rilthl(E)Cff.3 plars Rhr.FiE- IJow tines (see bar 3)

Eass ptays Bass FiE. I low tines tsee bar Jt

@ Grrit"t Soto 1r,ss1c{sGtr. 3 plays Rh!- Fig.4low nnes (see nett paee)

F*5G.r. 3 pktts Rb. FiE. 5 low tircs

aass plays B6s Fis.4four tines (see nert paee) B6s plays B6s Fis . 5 Iou. nws 6e? ^crt page)

c{5Gtr.3 plays Rhy. FiE.4fou. ti@s (see rert pdge)

Ff5

irch: Gl cl Fl cIB6s ptats Bass Fi8- 4 Jour tiias (see nen pase)

Gtr. 3 plays Rh! - FiE. 5 t|9ke (ye rext poSe) Gtr.3 plals Rhy-FiE-6 twi.e (see rcn paSe)Gds- 1 dd 2le tE tu te r iag- - - -

74 PJ

B6s plays Bass FiB.5 twice (see nett page) Bass plays B6s Fi8- 6 twice (see ren poSe)

(E)Gn.3 plats Rlty.FiS- 1fou, titvs (see bar l)

She got

R6s ptars B6s FiB. l four ti'tEs (s.e bar 1)

GUTTAN LEGENDS 97

Page 87: Guitar Legends 109 (2009) Classic Rock

"LEQE"

@:"a v""*. 12,04Egs Sk knowghowlo use then She never ghe lolowhorrtoDeg3

c*sGtr.3 plays Rh!. Fig.2 twice (see bu I5)

let riaa let rinq

Aass plars Bast FiE.2 twi.e (see bar 15)

choo6ethem Shegol aIet finE

dime all ol lhe lime Stays oul al

nightcds

movin' lhro{gh lime 0h | |lfll her

A5

Shil I gDlto have herB5

Ihe gld b all

Gt.3 plays Rhy. Fi8.3 (see ba.3l)

Bdss ptoys Bass Fig.3 (see bar 31)

right(E)

She'8all right Woo 0h

Gtt. 3 plays Rhy. Fi8. I Jour tines (see bar 1)

Bas plars Ras ris.lfour nrcs (see bd 1)

@ Outro (3:24)

Gtr. 3 ptays Rhy. Fi8. 4 fou. nnes ( see belo'' )

Gx.2

lade out

Rht. FiB. 4 11:59,2:14.3:241ar.3 C{5

B6s Fig. l \1:59, 2:14,3:24]'

Rhr- Fi8.5 12.07.2:U)

CF.3 l - f , 5

Bass Fis.5 Q.ol.2tu)Ff5

Rhy. Fie.6 Q.26!'Cr. I E5

Rass Fis.6 (2t26)

pith: a|

Bass plats Bass Fis.4fo'.tines (see beto|')

98 GUITAR LEGENDS

Page 88: Guitar Legends 109 (2009) Classic Rock

performance is our passionCall 1.800.444.2766 or visit us at www.epiphone.coma part ol the Gibson family of brands


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