|
Audio Asylum Thread Printer Get a view of an entire thread on one page |
For Sale Ads |
128.241.41.58
In Reply to: Aaaaaaaargh! - Those $#!+@$$($ - Not EVEN close! posted by Audiophilander on January 24, 2007 at 13:37:54:
he was a piker, Can't play for beans. Anyone can play power chords. Everything on Inside Looking out I learned in one afternoon. Self taught. TNUC is actually a little tougher. Funny thing, I had that album for 2 years, COULD NOT figure out the meaning, my friend Mark comes over, looks at it for 30 seconds, "Uh, every try spelling it backwards?"
Follow Ups:
... and the down on the knees hair flowing to the stage, etc., it's sound and image combined to inspire every 15 year old that he too can be the next great gee-tarist! :o)Hey if you want virtuosity alone, look to Steve Howe (Yes) or even Roger Hodgson (Supertramp). They're supurb musicians, but for classic rock solos sometimes virtuosity takes a back-seat to charismatic style and hitting just the right chord or note at just the right time; Mark Farner was and remains one of the masters of putting it all together live, in one package.
I don't get the Messenger reference, you mean like Jesus? I liked Grand Funk BTW, and used to take constant bashing from people because I said they were better than the Cream. They were not better musicians, I was wrong. But I would rather hear GFR than Cream any day. Possibly Farners voice, which IS WAY easier on the ears than Bruce's.
on January 24, 2007 at 21:20:00 Duilawyer wrote:> > I liked Grand Funk BTW, and used to take constant bashing from people because I said they were better than the Cream. They were not better musicians, I was wrong. But I would rather hear GFR than Cream any day. < <
Yeah, I'd rather hear most GFR than most Cream any day too. But I'll go even farther and say that, while they may not have been "better musicians" in the usual sense of the term (scope, command of their instruments, versatility, etc.), Mel Schacher and Don Brewer were definitely a tighter and more propulsive rhythm section than Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker. The GFR bassist & drummer were "better ROCK musicians" than the Cream backline.From a purely guitaristic standpoint I'm indifferent to both Mark Farner & Eric Clapton, so for me that's a wash. I suppose I prefer Clapton's soloing to Farner's, but I prefer Farner's rhythm guitar playing to Clapton's, especially on up-tempo, R&B type grooves.
In the battle of the bands GFR showed up unarmed.Farner's an inept player - barely able to tune his axe much less play a competent solo.
Cream's roadies were probably a better band than GFR.
Cream was the greatest power trio of all time and GINGER BAKER the greatest rock drummer of them all. Just a fact that can be gleaned from a good listening session. Even Farner has stated his great admiration for Mssrs. Clapton Bruce and Baker.
And yet I love GFR. They played balls out rock and roll and could kick the ass of almost any other band I can think of (not Cream - but they were from another era). Their lack of instrumental prowess is not a serious handicap for they could rock and sometimes that's all that matters.
And I'd rather listen to the worst of GFR than the best of bands I can't stand (RUSH, KISS, and Legend come immediately to mind). GFR may have been just a garage band but they were a GREAT garage band.
But better than Cream? No way - not even in another universe. Totally different vibes. Both great but very very different.
to wit: see "No Contest" post
for we are all formed by our prejudices.Even da Vinci and Beethoven had their detractors.
er, right. That was my point. Ergo...
... throughout Grand Funk's most popular touring years, when it was just Mark, Don & Mel. Oddly enough, that Messenger guitar may in part be responsible for some of the group's touring success, in a manner of speaking. The Messenger guitar Mark Farner used on stage and it is assumed in the studio had a unique distortion controls built into it that could really be made to kick in on higher frequencies; he taped the fret holes up which reduced feedback and enhanced the distortion effects giving the guitar a fat, crunchy kind of sound.The only downside was that the addition of masking tape made his green Messenger guitar look like it was literally held together with glue and bailing wire, and believe me it was a pretty crappy lookin' guitar even without the masking tape (LOL!), but somehow what Mark got out of his Messenger was a stylized sound that really made those early albums. After he switched to other well known brands of stage guitars like top dollar Gibsons, Fenders, etc., some of that fat, distortion drenched sound was lost and while greater control may have been obtained through foot pedals and outboard devices allowing a broader range of effects such as echo, nothing quite sounded like that green Messenger. I'll try to locate and link a photo of him playing that guitar in the early 70's and other info. :o)
Cheers,
AuPh
http://www.photofeatures.com/grandfunk/images/prevs/g06001a.jpg
:o(
Not only a great player, but an incredible singer and dare I say, one the nicest people I've ever known-in or out of the biz
basically the same post. But I don't know him.
This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors: