by Joe T Wiseman
The proof of the greatness of Southern rock music can be found in any music store where re-releases of albums from the past with the label "digital re-master" drives the collector to purchase this great music - one more time!
I have often been involved in discussions about what songs were the greatest. The question is: which are the 3 best Southern classic rock songs of all time? Here is my list. I suggest that the top 3 are:
Free Bird
Lynyrd Skynyrd is arguably the best of the Southern rock bands of the seventies. Had not Ronnie Van Zandt and two other members perished in a plane crash, one can only hazard a guess as to how many more songs would have endured as long as this one.
It is not only a great song but it contains one of the greatest extended guitar solos of any genre. It starts as a ballad and is the only guy-girl love song written by front man Johnnie Van Zandt and guitarist Allen Collins.
It is one of few songs where the title is mentioned only one time but is forever etched in the memory of guitar enthusiasts. Guitar World magazine, in 2008, listed the guitar solo as one of the three greatest of all time in any genre. Sweet Alabama, another Lynyrd Skynyrd song, could easily make this list as well
Can't You See
Released in 1973 by the Marshall Tucker Band and written by band member Toy Caldwell, this song was also the band's first single and peaked at number 75 on the Billboard Hot 100. The Waylon Jennings version of the song peaked at number 4 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles Chart in 1976. It reached number 1 on the RPM Country charts in Canada.
It is one of the few rock songs, other than Jethro Tull, which feature a flute solo as an intro. It is instantly recognizable because of this solo. It is also virtually impossible to listen to the song in any large gathering without singing along to the solo and rocking your body in time to the beat.
La Grange
"La Grange" was released in 1973 by ZZ Top and is easily one of their most recognized songs. The subject of the song was a brothel in Texas which was later the subject of the movie "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas."
It is unfortunate that ZZ Top never got to play in "Miss Edna's boarding house" in La Grange Texas, nor that their song wasn't in one of the opening scenes in the movie about that illustrious establishment. It certainly stands as a standard of Southern rock and the Gibson Les Paul as the centerpiece of the sound of ZZ Top.
Whether or not you agree with my picks, there can be no argument that these are some of the best Southern Classic rock songs of all time. If you like rock and folk songs you might also like to check out Smokin' Joe Wiseman at http://www.smokinjoewiseman.com He has covered traditional folk and rock songs and writes his own. Click here http://www.smokinjoewiseman.com/free_song to download a copy of his latest single for free.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Joe_T_Wiseman
http://EzineArticles.com/?The-3-Best-Classic-Southern-Rock-Songs-of-All-Time&id=7383005
Friday, November 30, 2012
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
OPINION: Who? Three Great Stratocaster Players That Will Surprise You
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| Cover of Bonnie Raitt |
If you know anything about rock and roll guitar, you've heard of the Fender Stratocaster, and you've probably got a pretty good idea as to the identities of the great stratocaster players.
Eric Clapton, David Gilmour, and, of course, Jimi Hendrix usually top the list.
But, as great as these guys are, they've been discussed a lot over the last several decades, and sometimes it can be more fun to look a little off the beaten path and check out some cool players you might not immediately associate with the Strat.
1) Mark Knopfler
What's Mark Knopfler doing on this list? Wasn't he practically known for his iconic Strat tone in the late '70s? Well, yes. One listen to "Sultans of Swing" or "Southbound Again" will instantly tell you exactly what Leo Fender had in mind when he built his first Strat in 1954.
However, I'd argue that Mark Knopfler and Dire Straits had such a monster success in 1984 with "Money for Nothing", which was famously played on a Gibson Les Paul - the anti-Stratocaster - that it obliterated his original tonal identity. Ask most guitarists today and they'll tell you that Knopfler's a Gibson guy.
2) Bonnie Raitt
Unlike Knopfler, Bonnie Raitt has been faithful to her Fender Strat (whether her newer blue signature model or her paint-stripped Old Faithful) for her entire career. However, she's such an incredible singer and song interpreter that I'd wager 75% of her audience doesn't even know she can play guitar.
Too bad for them. Bonnie is one of the two wickedest slide guitarists on the planet, with a sultry, buzzy tone and enough taste to always play only the perfect lick in the perfect spot.
3) Ry Cooder
If Bonnie Raitt is one of the two wickedest slide guitarists on the planet, Ry Cooder is definitely the other one. Ry matches Bonnie's levels of tone and taste, but probably one-ups her in terms of pure technique and assassin's flair: check his intro to "All Shook Up" on Get Rhythm for a clinic on greasy bottleneck aggression.
Ry's main axe is a Frankenstein guitar with a custom neck and the pickup from a WWII-era Oahu lap steel guitar, which he chopped out of its original location and crammed into a sunburst Strat body. Run through a completely tricked-out rig that's reputed to include a reverb spring floating in used motor oil, Ry's Oahu Strat sounds like no other.
Obviously, there are a ton of other great Stratocaster players out there, and you're probably ready to argue with me over the ones I've left out! However, I'm still going to say that if you take the time to check these three out, you won't be disappointed.
If you're a guitar fan who likes to hear solid Stratocaster playing in the context of great songs, you might dig singer/songwriter Radio Nowhere, who's been described as "the missing link between Mark Knopfler and Counting Crows".
Click here to download a free three-pack of Radio Nowhere's best songs.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=James_L._Flynn
http://EzineArticles.com/?Who?-Three-Great-Stratocaster-Players-That-Will-Surprise-You&id=7382826
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