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PrintabletheAudience said: NDRU said: yeah a friend recently tuned my acoustic guitar to open G (in 20 years of playing I'd never tried it) and was amazed at how it immediately gives you that "authentic blues" sound, as well as how it opens up new possibilities just to not be knowing exactly what you're doing
 Using a guitaritst most have heard of, "Keef" got on the "Open G" tuning train (not to mention the Chuck Berry express) and has ridden it to fame and fortune. A series of videos highlighting some of the popular Stones songs using that tuning technique. tA  Tribal Disorder
http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431 yeah his licks are notoriously hard to play if you're not using his tuning (and perhaps are using that "useless" 6th string  ) But like you say, no disrespect to him intended, he's getting a lot of credit for stuff he didn't exactly invent.
But that open g tuning & a slide makes playing blues almost automatic [Edited 7/13/09 12:46pm] My Legacy
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NDRU said: yeah his licks are notoriously hard to play if you're not using his tuning (and perhaps are using that "useless" 6th string
) But like you say, no disrespect to him intended, he's getting a lot of credit for stuff he didn't exactly invent.
But that open g tuning & a slide makes playing blues almost automatic Now that's an understatement for sure. 
tA Tribal Disorder
http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431 "Ya see, we're not interested in what you know...but what you are willing to learn. C'mon y'all." | |
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I think, like the Beatles, his reputation is so outsize, it's almost impossible not to say he's over-rated. There are players who were equally or more innovative who never got the exposure, and as posinted out above, he may get credit for inventing certain techniques that aren't truly his own.
But that doesn't mean it's not incredible, powerful stuff. I like that kind of blues so much better than the likes of Robert Cray. It's the opposite of smooth... it's bloody and raw. It sounds real. There's nothing about it that sounds like show business. So yeah, he's essential. But he's not the only one. You just have to keep listening. Geeshie Wiley, Skip James and Charley Patton are a few others that have a similar effect on me. | |
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If you are able to put the music into perspective of time and place, Johnson is amazing, but as is often the case, it is hard to really appreciate a lot of older music. It is even more difficult when the recording technology had such limitations like it did at the time Johnson's tracks were recorded. | |
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kalelvisj said: If you are able to put the music into perspective of time and place, Johnson is amazing, but as is often the case, it is hard to really appreciate a lot of older music. It is even more difficult when the recording technology had such limitations like it did at the time Johnson's tracks were recorded.
I totally get your point but in many cases (this being one) it can be a blessing in disguise. Because in spite of the technical limitations, the power of the performance still comes through. I'm thinking the "aged sound" adds to the "aural character" of those recordings. Great Gear does not always equal Great Recordings.
tA Tribal Disorder
http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431 "Ya see, we're not interested in what you know...but what you are willing to learn. C'mon y'all." | |
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theAudience said: kalelvisj said: If you are able to put the music into perspective of time and place, Johnson is amazing, but as is often the case, it is hard to really appreciate a lot of older music. It is even more difficult when the recording technology had such limitations like it did at the time Johnson's tracks were recorded.
I totally get your point but in many cases (this being one) it can be a blessing in disguise. Because in spite of the technical limitations, the power of the performance still comes through. I'm thinking the "aged sound" adds to the "aural character" of those recordings. Great Gear does not always equal Great Recordings.
tA Tribal Disorder
http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431 That is a great point! In many ways the technical limitations are the only tools we have to put it into proper perspective! | |
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Not sure if this has been mentioned in this thread,but....
in 1989,Prince was planning to play Robert Johnson in a movie! He and his manager Albert Magnoli apparently bought the rights to his story,and the planned movie was titled The Robert Johnson Story.It was one of four movie projects that Prince was planning to do in the early 90s until the failure of 'Graffiti Bridge' put an end to Prince's cinematic career. | |
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theAudience said: kalelvisj said: If you are able to put the music into perspective of time and place, Johnson is amazing, but as is often the case, it is hard to really appreciate a lot of older music. It is even more difficult when the recording technology had such limitations like it did at the time Johnson's tracks were recorded.
I totally get your point but in many cases (this being one) it can be a blessing in disguise. Because in spite of the technical limitations, the power of the performance still comes through. I'm thinking the "aged sound" adds to the "aural character" of those recordings. Great Gear does not always equal Great Recordings.
tA Tribal Disorder
http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431 And it was the gear of the day, so it actually sounds totally appropriate to me. I really like the scratchy quality. And you're right it adds to the character, so much so that people have tried to mimic it in later recordings, Tom Waits for example. My Legacy
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NDRU said: And it was the gear of the day, so it actually sounds totally appropriate to me. I really like the scratchy quality. And you're right it adds to the character, so much so that people have tried to mimic it in later recordings, Tom Waits for example.
There are quite a few folks acquiring older gear (mics, mixers, amplifiers) in an attempt to put some of that dirt, grit & grime back into their sounds. tA Tribal Disorder
http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431 "Ya see, we're not interested in what you know...but what you are willing to learn. C'mon y'all." | |
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...
I always heard it was the older blues legend Tommy Johnson who actually claimed that he "sold his soul to the devil". He was no relation to Robert Johnson, but the story later became associated with Robert. http://www.tommyjohnsonblues.com/ BTW, In the Movie, O, Brother Where art Thou?, Guitarist Chris Thomas King plays Tommy Johnson, who is waiting at the crossroads..... ... [Edited 7/14/09 19:29pm] " I've got six things on my mind --you're no longer one of them." - Paddy McAloon, Prefab Sprout | |
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