Weeks 6 – 8

A Bitchy Blog Update…I Blame the Snow

So these past few weeks have been screwed by the weather, to say the least, throwing spring break in there just for fun. Weather canceled Wednesday, March 7’s class, when Marshall Amplification co-founder Terry Marshall was supposed to Skype with us; We didn’t meet on Monday and Wednesday, March 12 and 14 due to spring break; and snow canceled Wednesday, March 21’s meeting, when Fairport Convention’s Judy Dyble was to Skype with the class. (Fortunately, they both were able to reschedule. Judy will chat with us on Wednesday, March 28 and Terry on Wednesday, April 4.)

So I think that’s why my attitude in this blog update sucks.

So, what did we cover during our limited class time? We talked about 1960s San Francisco and Los Angeles psychedelia, electric folk/rock and everything in between (Week 6.) Then we covered heavy blues and early metal of the late ’60s and early ’70s…people like Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Free, Black Sabbath, and Deep Purple. Most of the class dug a lot of that stuff, but now it’s time for me to gripe. (Week 7.)

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(Byrds classic line-up featuring David Crosby, far left, and Roger McGuinn, far right. McGuinn talked to us a few weeks back.)

I mentioned how some of the now “iconic” songs of that era, songs that have become standards half a century on, were throwaway numbers at the time. I specifically mentioned Black Sabbath’s “Paranoid,” Free’s “All Right Now,” and Deep Purple’s “Smoke On the Water.” For the last song, I even played the students an excerpt of an interview I did with DP’s bass player, Roger Glover.  Glover talked about how band was just finishing up the Machine Head record and needed another song to wrap things up. Guitarist Ritchie Blackmore had the cool riff, but that was about it. Since some moron set off a flair gun which managed to burn their recording studio to the ground, Deep Purple riffed on the story of what happened and how they recorded afterward and how it impacted other bands who were supposed to record there like the Rolling Stones and Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention. The lyrics were not poetic…just basically conversational about what occurred. It was all done seat of the pants style, no one thinking about it at the time, no one considering that they had just composed one of the most recognizable songs in rock history.

Don’t you know I got some song reactions back from the students saying, “I don’t know what this song was about.” And I restrained myself, but I responded, “You know what it’s about. The bass player in the band who wrote the song told you exactly what it’s about.” I had the same thing happen with “All Right Now,” a song written in a hurry when Free’s manager asked them to compose something upbeat after a bad gig. Singer Paul Rodgers just went, “All right now,” and there you have it. This from interviews with Free’s late bassist Andy Fraser and drummer Simon Kirke. Apparently, some students didn’t listen to that, either. Ugh.

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(Jimi)

So let’s get to Week 8, where we spent some time on prog rock and British folk/rock. We covered bands like King Crimson, Yes, Tull, ELP, Genesis, Renaissance, Rush, Fairport Convention, the Strawbs, and the Pentangle.

I know prog isn’t for everyone, and I really dig some of it, but only if I’m in the right mood…and another gripe is coming. Before giving the students their prog rock songs, I mentioned how long some of them are, that there is no payoff, and they just have to let the songs come to them. Then I read some of the reactions to selections like Yes’, “And You and I.” That’s a 10 minute excerpt from their 1972 album, Close to the Edge (which, btw, is my favorite Yes record and as I found out last spring, it’s also Steve Howe’s.)

In that particular song, the band spends maybe about 30 seconds “warming up” where Howe does a bunch of harmonics before the song begins. (As I found out from Yes’ Bill Bruford, all of that was planned…to the note.) Some students reacted like, “This is boring. It took too long for the song begin.” Hey, have patience people! It will start when it’s ready. Again, ugh. I remember hearing Close to the Edge for the first time as a teenager and loving it. I know things are different now, and I know it’s a matter of taste, but man, this instant gratification culture has its shortcomings sometimes.

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(Yes’ classic line-up with, from left, Steve Howe on guitar, Bill Bruford on drums, Jon Anderson on guitar and vocals, Chris Squire on bass, and Rick Wakeman on keyboards.)

Ok, I’m done griping. This week coming up should be fantastic. We’ve got a visit on Monday, in person, from the Patti Smith Group’s guitar player, Lenny Kaye. Then on Wednesday, Judy Dyble will chat with us remotely from England. We’re covering glam, proto-punk and punk rock this week, so I’m excited.