|
Post by sayne on Jun 19, 2013 10:21:44 GMT -5
It is well-established that George was one of the best slide guitarists. Very distinct. More of an Indian rather than blues influenced. George's entire solo career was a show case of his slide playing. When he did session work, it was mostly for his slide playing. I know that he had said that when he was with the Beatles, he started to play the slide because he had not played guitar for awhile and felt that he needed to get back into the game.
The thing for me is that my ears hear no signature George slide playing in any later Beatles albums - until the most recently surfaced Here Comes the Sun with the removed signature slide playing. In fact, the only slide I hear in later albums is John playing on For You Blue - where George jokes that Elmore James has got nothing on John.
What Beatle songs is George playing the type of slide he became famous for?
|
|
|
Post by mikev on Jun 19, 2013 12:11:13 GMT -5
It is well-established that George was one of the best slide guitarists. Very distinct. More of an Indian rather than blues influenced. George's entire solo career was a show case of his slide playing. When he did session work, it was mostly for his slide playing. I know that he had said that when he was with the Beatles, he started to play the slide because he had not played guitar for awhile and felt that he needed to get back into the game. The thing for me is that my ears hear no signature George slide playing in any later Beatles albums - until the most recently surfaced Here Comes the Sun with the removed signature slide playing. In fact, the only slide I hear in later albums is John playing on For You Blue - where George jokes that Elmore James has got nothing on John. What Beatle songs is George playing the type of slide he became famous for? I think Something has elements of the slide thing going. Just listened to it this morning thinking about that very subject. But- he didn't use a slide bar- just the finger movement.
|
|
|
Post by mikev on Jun 19, 2013 12:13:46 GMT -5
On the other hand- his wah wah "experimentation" had ruined many of the Twickenham jams. I still wonder if he was sabotaging the whole thing.
|
|
|
Post by John S. Damm on Jun 20, 2013 9:21:02 GMT -5
It is well-established that George was one of the best slide guitarists. Very distinct. More of an Indian rather than blues influenced. George's entire solo career was a show case of his slide playing. When he did session work, it was mostly for his slide playing. I know that he had said that when he was with the Beatles, he started to play the slide because he had not played guitar for awhile and felt that he needed to get back into the game. The thing for me is that my ears hear no signature George slide playing in any later Beatles albums - until the most recently surfaced Here Comes the Sun with the removed signature slide playing. In fact, the only slide I hear in later albums is John playing on For You Blue - where George jokes that Elmore James has got nothing on John. What Beatle songs is George playing the type of slide he became famous for? I think Something has elements of the slide thing going. Just listened to it this morning thinking about that very subject. But- he didn't use a slide bar- just the finger movement. Author Simon Leng makes that same point, Mike, about George's solo in "Something." It has the feel in places of slide guitar but it is not a slide guitar solo with a slide bar as you observe. I remember once opining that it was and sayne quickly put my non-musician's ass back in line! To me, that is why FAAB did not sound like a "Beatles" song because as perhaps sayne is suggesting or concluding, where did George play slide guitar as a Beatle? Don't get me wrong, that is a smoking hot slide guitar solo in FAAB but that sounds like 1970 on solo George not even the George of Abbey Road where I think he plays among his coolest leads throughout, even if just short fills. Please sayne be kind to me if that is not slide guitar on FAAB!
|
|
|
Post by mikev on Jun 20, 2013 10:41:45 GMT -5
I think Something has elements of the slide thing going. Just listened to it this morning thinking about that very subject. But- he didn't use a slide bar- just the finger movement. Author Simon Leng makes that same point, Mike, about George's solo in "Something." It has the feel in places of slide guitar but it is not a slide guitar solo with a slide bar as you observe. I remember once opining that it was and sayne quickly put my non-musician's ass back in line! To me, that is why FAAB did not sound like a "Beatles" song because as perhaps sayne is suggesting or concluding, where did George play slide guitar as a Beatle? Don't get me wrong, that is a smoking hot slide guitar solo in FAAB but that sounds like 1970 on solo George not even the George of Abbey Road where I think he plays among his coolest leads throughout, even if just short fills. Please sayne be kind to me if that is not slide guitar on FAAB! Generally, a slide bar is used on a steel lap guitar, which John plays in the movie. But I think George plays a slide bar on an open tuned strat, not a lap guitar. I also think the video footage of Real Love shows George just playing with his fingers and bending/vibrato.
|
|
|
Post by sayne on Jun 20, 2013 13:08:36 GMT -5
. . . Please sayne be kind to me if that is not slide guitar on FAAB! You are right, AND it is an exquisite slide solo. It, along with Handle With Care, are my favorite slide solos of his.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jun 21, 2013 3:03:38 GMT -5
I'm not a fan of George's slide playing on the remake of My Sweet Lord....
That version just doesn't cut it in comparison with the original....
One thing is for sure, if the latter version was "THE" version of My Sweet Lord we would never have heard of Bright Tunes...
There would have been nothing bright about it.
|
|
|
Post by sayne on Jun 21, 2013 7:45:46 GMT -5
. . . What Beatle songs is George playing the type of slide he became famous for? I guess the answer is none, or that no one else knows, either.
|
|
|
Post by John S. Damm on Jun 21, 2013 8:30:16 GMT -5
I'm not a fan of George's slide playing on the remake of My Sweet Lord.... That version just doesn't cut it in comparison with the original.... One thing is for sure, if the latter version was " THE" version of My Sweet Lord we would never have heard of Bright Tunes... There would have been nothing bright about it. I love the original "My Sweet Lord" and lawsuit or not it is still one of the great radio songs of all times. Having said that, I have a soft-spot for MSL 2000 and I think the very start of the song is breathtaking. I enjoy the remake and I know a lot of it is for sentimental reasons but I still am glad we have it.
|
|
|
Post by John S. Damm on Jun 21, 2013 8:38:58 GMT -5
. . . What Beatle songs is George playing the type of slide he became famous for? I guess the answer is none, or that no one else knows, either. Which supports my opinion that FAAB didn't sound like a Beatles song because of the slide guitar solo as great as it was. That was not a sound on previous Beatles recordings except John's "For You Blues." I will say that when George Harrison contributed slide guitar to Bob Dylan's Under the Red Sky, Slash from Guns and Roses was present and was blown away, quoted at the time in RS as saying something close to, "George Harrison played some f-ing amazing slide guitar." In 1990, Slash was a true guitar hero and I always loved that praise for our "Quiet" Beatle.
|
|
|
Post by mikev on Jun 21, 2013 8:47:00 GMT -5
. . . What Beatle songs is George playing the type of slide he became famous for? I guess the answer is none, or that no one else knows, either. Hello Goodbye?
|
|
markc
Very Clean
Posts: 447
|
Post by markc on Jun 21, 2013 14:22:39 GMT -5
Isn't someone playing slide on one of the Anthology versions of Strawberry Fields Forever?
|
|
|
Post by sayne on Jun 21, 2013 16:15:20 GMT -5
Isn't someone playing slide on one of the Anthology versions of Strawberry Fields Forever? There may be playing in snippets here and there, but I'm looking for the type of slide playing George was famous for as a solo artist. Also, I think anything before 1968 MAY be too early for the "George style" to be in evidence. Let's keep up with the digging, though.
|
|
|
Post by debjorgo on Jun 21, 2013 16:54:42 GMT -5
All You Need is Love.
|
|
|
Post by sayne on Jun 21, 2013 19:01:56 GMT -5
Yeah, he must have just taken up the slide that morning, which would explain why it is such a bad solo - historically considered by many to be one of the worst leads in rock.
|
|
|
Post by debjorgo on Jun 21, 2013 20:05:40 GMT -5
Yeah, he must have just taken up the slide that morning, which would explain why it is such a bad solo - historically considered by many to be one of the worst leads in rock. I wasn't going to say anything.
|
|
|
Post by debjorgo on Jun 21, 2013 20:10:20 GMT -5
Yeah, he must have just taken up the slide that morning, which would explain why it is such a bad solo - historically considered by many to be one of the worst leads in rock. I don't know. We do have this one at 1:40:
|
|
|
Post by sayne on Jun 21, 2013 20:40:34 GMT -5
Yeah, he must have just taken up the slide that morning, which would explain why it is such a bad solo - historically considered by many to be one of the worst leads in rock. I don't know. We do have this one at 1:40: It took 6 takes to get that one!
|
|
|
Post by winstonoboogie on Jun 21, 2013 22:13:04 GMT -5
I don't know. We do have this one at 1:40: It took 6 takes to get that one! "Aw, that's beautiful!" LOL!
|
|
|
Post by Joe Karlosi on Jun 22, 2013 8:36:32 GMT -5
Some thoughts...
I think George is a fine slide guitarist, and it's probably his crowning achievement.
The solo from ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE is embarrassingly amateurish.
Last night my girl and I were listening to Rob Leonard's BEATLESONGS radio show and when he played "Get Back", my girlfriend asked: "That's not george playing lead there, right?". I told her "no, it's John". to which she replied she knew it was someone else because it's better. I still maintain that Paul (and possibly John even) was a better lead guitar player than George.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jun 22, 2013 9:34:11 GMT -5
Some thoughts... I think George is a fine slide guitarist, and it's probably his crowning achievement. The solo from ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE is embarrassingly amateurish. Last night my girl and I were listening to Rob Leonard's BEATLESONGS radio show and when he played "Get Back", my girlfriend asked: "That's not george playing lead there, right?". I told her "no, it's John". to which she replied she knew it was someone else because it's better. I still maintain that Paul (and possibly John even) was a better lead guitar player than George. George probably worked the solo out for John anyway..it's good when a crap muso like John scapes some credit....kinda helps his leg end...which is vastly forgotten nowadays anyway...
|
|
lowbasso
A Hard Day's Knight
Posts: 2,776
|
Post by lowbasso on Jun 22, 2013 12:42:26 GMT -5
Some thoughts... I think George is a fine slide guitarist, and it's probably his crowning achievement. The solo from ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE is embarrassingly amateurish. Last night my girl and I were listening to Rob Leonard's BEATLESONGS radio show and when he played "Get Back", my girlfriend asked: "That's not george playing lead there, right?". I told her "no, it's John". to which she replied she knew it was someone else because it's better. I still maintain that Paul (and possibly John even) was a better lead guitar player than George. George probably worked the solo out for John anyway..it's good when a crap muso like John scapes some credit....kinda helps his leg end...which is vastly forgotten nowadays anyway... John Who??
|
|
|
Post by Joe Karlosi on Jun 22, 2013 14:41:57 GMT -5
George probably worked the solo out for John anyway..it's good when a crap muso like John scapes some credit....kinda helps his leg end...which is vastly forgotten nowadays anyway... Oh, I'm not going to make any claims like John being a great musician, but I do think he was a solid rhythm guitarist. It is Paul who I think was the best guitar player... if he wasn't such a fine bassist as well I would have wished that George had been resigned to playing bass, so we could have had Paul do all the lead solos. And probably without an embarrassing number of half-assed outtake flubs like George. (John after one messy solo on the ONE AFTER 909 1963 sessions: "What kinda solo was that??") Maybe Paul should have gone in and fixed all George's solos himself. Any time I get blue thinking about how forgotten John Lennon is becoming in Paul's shadow, all I have to do is think of poor George... Compared to George's faded memory, John seems like the most remembered Beatle of all time!
|
|
|
Post by Snookeroo on Jun 22, 2013 22:50:32 GMT -5
Here is one of my very favorite slide solos by George, and it's for Ringo. The solo starts a the 1:00 mark, BUT listen to what George is playing behind the vocals when Ringo comes back in singing the chorus. George keeps playing some REAL nice licks.
|
|
|
Post by sayne on Jun 23, 2013 10:04:32 GMT -5
Here's the work he did with Alvin Lee. It starts at the 2:15 mark:
At the same time, though, Alvin's lead starts at the 4:00 mark at it is exquisite. People on this board often support and defend George by denigrating flash guitarists, but Alvin's lead is something many of us wish George would have done. There is nothing inappropriately fast to Alvin's lead. It is precise and beautiful - George traits. If only George went there in a non-slide manner, now and then.
|
|
|
Post by sayne on Jun 23, 2013 13:21:44 GMT -5
Here's the work he did with Alvin Lee. It starts at the 2:15 mark:
At the same time, though, Alvin's lead starts at the 4:00 mark at it is exquisite. People on this board often support and defend George by denigrating flash guitarists, but Alvin's lead is something many of us wish George would have done in his career. There is nothing inappropriately fast to Alvin's lead. It is precise and beautiful - George traits. If only George went there in a non-slide manner, now and then.
|
|
|
Post by debjorgo on Jul 7, 2013 21:51:38 GMT -5
18 seconds in:
Like father, like son, I guess.
|
|
|
Post by acebackwords on Jul 7, 2013 22:14:27 GMT -5
Oh geez i cant believe people are denigrating George's guitar playing (when im drunk this stufff really gets my gander -- when im sober i could care less one way or the other). Go back and listen to Beatlemania era music before they did a lot of overdubs. Its basically John and Paul on rhythm and bass and vocals. And George supplying most of the musical tones to the songs. And classic songs i might add.
|
|
|
Post by Joe Karlosi on Jul 8, 2013 7:02:31 GMT -5
Oh geez i cant believe people are denigrating George's guitar playing (when im drunk this stufff really gets my gander -- when im sober i could care less one way or the other). Go back and listen to Beatlemania era music before they did a lot of overdubs. Its basically John and Paul on rhythm and bass and vocals. And George supplying most of the musical tones to the songs. And classic songs i might add. I have heard a lot of Beatles outtakes, and George struggles constantly with his lead solos, even the simplest ones.
|
|
|
Post by Joe Karlosi on Jul 8, 2013 7:08:37 GMT -5
Here is one of my very favorite slide solos by George, and it's for Ringo. The solo starts a the 1:00 mark, BUT listen to what George is playing behind the vocals when Ringo comes back in singing the chorus. George keeps playing some REAL nice licks. I absolutely LOVE George's guitar playing on the recording of BACK OFF BOOGALOO, and especially that bit before Ringo comes back in to sing the chorus. I just wonder how many takes it took to get it that way, though, and if George could have replicated this "live".
|
|