A similar question to a recent one from Chris Michalek - but wondering whose tone or overall sound, is your favourite?
Kim Wilson, Big Walter, Michalek, Gruenling, Gussow, your own??
I'm not so much talking about someones signature style or phrasing, more about their individual sound, how they colour the notes played. I imagine that it's a highly subjective question, and probably depending on the style of music, but I'm curious as to the sound that "speaks" to you all.
paul lamb and gary primich but it may indeed be the style of playing and music as well as the sound. ---------- Hard Rockin' Blues
Last Edited by on May 20, 2009 4:59 AM
Sonny Boy Williamson II, Johnny Woods, Sonny Terry, Toots Thielemans, Thierry Crommen, Alan Wilson, Howlin'Wolf, Larry Adler, Big Walter Horton, the guy who played in "Once Upon a Time in the West", Sonny Boy Williamson I, Hammie Nixon...
Last Edited by on May 20, 2009 4:20 AM
Carlos Del Junco, hands down. Tone is so fat, and his last note seems to be still hanging in the air when he's already playing the next one.
Sometimes when I listen to him I actually feel like I am hearing large drops of water hitting a puddle. Each drops is a new note, and the ripples and eddies are the first notes slowly decaying away.
Charlie Musselwhite, Sugar Blue- they have awesome slightly jazzy and less distorted sounding tones. ---------- "Without music, life would be a mistake" -Nietzsche
§James Cotton on "Creeper Creeps Again." I don't think anybody has ever achieved this particular combination, unamped, of huge raw sound and unbelievably strong and mistake-free swing.
§Big Walter Horton on Johnny Young's "Tighten Up On It." This cut surely makes nobody else's list, but it's always haunted me. Damned if I know why. It's not really typical Big Walter. It's not over the top. It's just the perfect bit of sideman harp.
§Rev. Dan Smith, "God Don't Like It." Another wildly under-appreciated harp blower.
§Paul Butterfield, "Goin' to Main Street," off the Muddy Waters Woodstock Album. He sounds like nobody else on this. Very heavy overdrive on a Green Bullet, I think. Not a sound I'd ever use, but on this: perfection.
§Little Walter, "Juke." Great simply because it's THERE. A huge R&B hit: a harmonica instrumental! Never again, right? What interests me is the fact that the particular tone LW gets on this epochal cut isn't one that he uses a lot. It's not a "big" sound. It's just a sound that gets under your skin, once you've heard it.
§Billy Branch, "Clip Joint Blues." Why this cut, this sound? Because I've only heard the cut twice in my life--once back in 1987--and I can remember the name of the cut. That means something.
Last Edited by on May 20, 2009 5:37 PM
little walter ,of course, also junior wells another great singer and showman! harp players today,tonewise that i really rate are , Paul lamb and West Weston who is fairly local to me, and has given me some great tips and advice recently , Someone mention Howling wolf ! he had a great harp tone and a great throat vibrato , he was The blues! check this out !
Playing like that comes from guys who needed to be able to rock a joint by themselves: just a harp and vocals and a mike and a foot. Maybe somebody playing a little guitar and drums. But that's why he keeps the in-and-out chords going.
Anybody who played just like that--no more, no less--at their local jam session in the year 2009 would rock the house.
Last Edited by on May 20, 2009 8:00 PM
good stuff to me. thats the real shit. no one is going to like everything tho. personal for me a real raw blues band like that with a rough sounding singer just sounds "right"
Actually, I think the burden is on you. What's awful about it? Is his intonation way off? Does he lose the groove? Is some element of his performance--tone, grove, melodic motifs--uneven or inconsistent in a way that bespeaks a painful lack of artistry or skill?
One of the most basic elements of critical theory, tracing back to Aristotle (if I'm not wrong), is that aesthetic objects, aesthetic performances, should be judged with reference to what they are, not with reference to what they're not. In this case, that would mean judging Wolf's playing with reference to whatever blues harmonica was and could be during the period in which he learned and performed (1945-1965, for the sake of argument). One certainly wouldn't downgrade him, for example, by saying "He's not nearly as good as Benny Goodman or Stefan Grapelli." Of course not. They're swing musicians, jazz men. He's a blues musician. His idiom doesn't demand melodic or harmonic complexity. A powerful, purposeful melodic statement, responding to the vocals and repeated with conviction, is one acknowledged place his sort of blues-instrumental virtuosity might legitimately situate itself. He's an orange, not an apple.
In the past you've insisted that you basically don't like oranges. Wouldn't you agree? I'll agree that, judged purely as an apple, he induces pain.
Wolf, here, is a particularly orangey orange.
He's actually working his own juke-joint variation on the one-note honking tenor sound of Big Jay McNeeley, Hal Singer, Joe Houston, and Gatortail Jackson.
Last Edited by on May 21, 2009 2:36 AM
Thanks Kudzurunner , I reckon you totally got the point here with the wolf! It's not always who's better or worse, it's about being totally being in the room , and wolf could fill a room , not flash not technically pefect The japanese would call this a good case of wabi sabi ( finding beauty in the moment with ( it's curious imperfections and natural beauty) So many people worry too much about they have to be technically good before they go out and play live , The blues men like wolf , muddy, etc just got on with it and played from the heart , thats why they are legendary
I loved the Wolf - As Ray said also "That IS the Blues" The old time greats had a real soulful and probably more true connection to "the Blues" than we do today.
Then, Adam said "Playing like that comes from guys who needed to be able to rock a joint by themselves: just a harp and vocals and a mike and a foot. Maybe somebody playing a little guitar and drums."
so I listened twice and listened to the whole thing. It's not Wolf that sounds bad. In fact, now I listened with open ears he's the only good thing about it. However, as a group, it sounded like a terrible garage band. There was no groove. Everybody's sense of time was their own and that's not a good thing. To me the WHOLE band is responsible for time. The sax sounded out of tune and didn't seem to support the singer. The drums weren't tuned. Overall I didn't hear a much cohesion with the band and that's why it sounds awful.
It was all just a little too gritty for me.
It's not that I don't like oranges, I just like sweet oranges. Kim Wilson, Little Walter PPK, Big Walter are all sweet oranges to me but like most things I can only eat so many oranges before I want lemonade or apple juice.
maybe im off base but maybe some can agree, critical listening is fine but I think you gotta be careful not to over do it. Back in the day when I was big into progressive rock guitar, for a time I stopped hearing the music and only saw the "technical requirements" so to speak. I think some music has to be approached as if you know nothing rather then a "music tech" no matter the instrument.
It always makes me a bit Leary i guess when someone hears a song and there response has to do with "his over blow" or "six string sweep"
Josh, if it sounds like shit to me then it sounds like shit to me. When I listen to music, I hear everything and in that particular clip everything was so out of whack to me, it was awful.
If you walked into a club and the band sounded like that can you honestly say you would stay?
oh i know what you mean, like i said before you like what you like or don't like nothing wrong with that. My other post was in a broader aim of everyone as a general observation amongst musicians.
for example a music listener tends to like music for different reasons then a musician does. I think we should try and listen from that angle sometimes.
anyway ill shut up =) was not meaning to point at you
I think I'm just extra self centered today... don't mind my looniness. I'll be over it after I'm medicated or dead.
Last Edited by on May 21, 2009 8:49 AM
Well folk hear different things for sure or dare I say neglect or fail to understand.
Let me tell you that clip of Howlin wolf is terrific.
It's not just one thing going on here. it's a lot of things.It is not just one element.
To try and have an opinion on it on one point of reference I don't think is fair or misjudged.
Fundermental points I think to take into account here in this clip is the year it was done, what was going on at that particular time and the poetry and delivery executed in relation to this.
Now that said I would view Howlin Wolfs work differently on a 60s UK tour.
When I think about whos tone or sound I really like most, several people come to mind. I am really asking myself who ,if I had the option, would I want to sound like. The answer to that question would be a culmination of the following palyers.
James Cotton: Nobody, and I mean nobody could hit the harp harder than cotton. Rather amped or unamped, his sound had a ragging fury that is unequaled in intensity. Even when he slowed things down, there was so much felling in his playing, it could almost makes you want to cry.
Big Walter Horton: His sounds was that of all around goodness. A rich beautyful tone, combined with a great amount of feeling. His playing just felt natural and easy going, as though he was speaking through his harp.
Howlin Wolf: I absolutly LOVE his tone. Never have I heard such a beautyfuly deep, rich tone. That tone, my friends, is unmatched. (Look back in thread for video).
Kim Wilson: He is a culmination of the great past masters, which gives him just a just plain delightful sound. He is what I consider a TRUE master of the tongue blocked style. Every note counts and every note is perfect. (Look back in thread for video).
Adam Gussow: Yes, our fearless leader. I am not ashamed to say that I really, really love Mr. Gussow's tone/sound. It is very unique in the sense that he is not going for the traditional "Chicage Sound". He does not always sound like just plain "Blues". His style is reminiscent of great sax playing,funk music, and terrific swing. Few people can really groove harder than the great Gussow. His dymanic range is truly astounding; and his use of the overblow, although simplistic, is no less masterful. He my friends, is the sound of true inovation in the harmonica.
Jason Ricci: When it comes down to my favorite player of all time the name that immediatly pops into my mind is Jason Ricci. His tone/sound is a culmination of everything that I want to sound like, and more. Its like putting Pat Ramsey, Adam Gussow and Jimi Hendrix into a single body, then adding a touch of unique soul and you get this great master. He sounds like no one and everyone. He is able to acomplish mind bending speed while at the same time establishing a melodic idea within his sound. He is a player that mut be heard to be truly described.
Superchucker Amen brother! You have good taste my man! You and other people can make lists till your head explodes! To me it doesn't mean shit unless its captivating! Cotton teaches Tone and soul, walter horton teaches how to play from tone! Big big lesson there!! It's not how many notes he played. It was how well he played them! I have to mention one person that you didn't. Charlie musslewhite! CM is the prequel to Adam Gussow(to me)! And to me Adam Gussow is prequel to Jason Ricci. I like going backwards with music so I can then intemperate it for myself! I was heavy in CM when Satan and Adam came out with their first CD. A lot of people don't know this, but 85' to 95' or so was a good period for blues music. I've heard and played with some people that never got record deals or toured or anything, but were really GOOOD!
Great thread. When it comes to low down dirty deep in the chest blues feel, its Howlin' Wolf for me. When it comes to the definition of "groove" its that Kim Wilson clip. When it comes to pure TONE - nobody has a fatter natural tone than James Cotton (note - with nothing but an SM58 into the PA - that tone is ALL HIM). The HUGEST HANDS award (and mastery of hand effects) goes to Walter Horton. I won't go further because I haven't even listened to Jason and Adams' clips yet but the point is this - every one of these guys "has it" but for different reasons. I listen for whatever makes them THEM.
Must be an old video too - that was when Jason was using a stock Sm57, plus my in-line volume control, plus the Samson wireless. It was too long and too wobbly and the transmitter would wiggle out - you can hear it cutting out and see Jason fighting it. That's why he pushed me to develop the SM57-JR, and later, the Ultimate 57. He doesn't have that problem any more!
---------- /Greg
http://www.BlowsMeAway.com http://www.BlueStateBand.net
Last Edited by on May 23, 2009 11:40 PM
I think that the bases have been covered already, but my picks for amplified tone would be Cotton and Kim Wilson. I've been listening to a lot of Sonnyboy II lately too. I put him more into the "old school" category of basically an unamplified sound, but he had tone in spades.
About Jason Ricci's sound. When I heard him play live, I was totally unprepared for the otherworldlyness of his tone. I have never heard another harp player get a tone like that. I think you can attribute a lot of that to his pedal board. That being said, I think I would rather just carry my little Ibanez AD9 pedal and try for the Kim Wilson, Big Walter, James Cotton sound...
great thread , looks like i opened a nest of some sort , but that7s good to see how different people tick! also some great vids being posted up as a result ! I saw Paul lamb a while back , he is a great showman and really loves playing and it comes over in his tone , sort of sonny terry on a chicago high! His amps are a bit on the expensive side( sonny JR) but the tone he gets is superb , whoopin and hollerin like a hyena with a harp!
Sweet! He's very, very strong, and this particular video really captures the feel of being in his shoes, working the crowd. As an old street hand, I love the way he's walking it.
Thanks for posting this. This thread belongs in the archive, and it ain't done yet!
Last Edited by on May 21, 2009 7:34 PM
I'll agree with you about Kim in that video. A world of invention in what he's doing. He's got that full growly James Cotton tone, but working in his own subset of the groove-language.
Here's one more that certainly deserves inclusion in this thread, even though I posted it once before in a Little Walter thread: Billy Branch doing "Juke" with Sons of Blues in 1982. He's one of the few guys who can stand toe to toe with Kim Wilson in terms of tone, swing, and melodic inventiveness:
He just swings like a g-d-am-d s--ofa-b--ch! I'm sorry. I had to say it. No other harp player swings like that.
Last Edited by on May 21, 2009 7:50 PM
Funnily enough I've watched that James Cotton Video and this Billy Branch video a hundred times and still can't get enough of them- That Paul Lamb video is new to me though- that is an awesome crowd pleasing performance! His mic cord must have been reeaally long- he wasn't even using a wireless unit ---------- "Without music, life would be a mistake" -Nietzsche
I LOVE the WOLF, watched his life story DVD recently, it was fantastic. With respect to the harp THE WOLF had TONE, VIBRATO, and FEELING ( In those three areas I would suggest he was the best EVER, bar none ). His singing had TONE, FEELING and superior TIMING. The Wolf had the best off timing ever - see smokestack lighting, red rooster and others.
With respect to his technical harp ability, I think it is very limited, even though he learnt his craft from his sisters partner ( Sonny Boy ). Most of his riffs I think could be easily learnt by a one year player, but no one can play it like him!!
I have heard that he was one of the best slide guitar players, but I've seen no evidence of this.
Loved the Billy branch vid , certainly swingin' When i saw Paul lamb in a small club he had a wireless mic in his pocket ,as well as 2 others , he also constantly went from harp mic and amp to vocal mic ,just to add little quirks and keep everyone guessing , deffo one of the best harp led bands around , he can certainly walk it! My wife got to see Junior wells before he died , pimped out in a light brown suit , hat and yelllow shoes! I found this clip of him and Buddy guy , check it out !
The Junior/Buddy clip was new to me, but confirms my sense that there's a brilliance in what Junior was doing that we haven't yet begun to appreciate. He was the Miles Davis of blues harp players. He shapes his solos by expertly shaping the silences he carves between his note-clusters. Certainly he does that here. How many of us have watched our peers at jam sessions make the mistake of thinking that the more notes you play, the more music you're making? That's wrong. Notes are a way of getting AT music, but they're not music. Junior carves out a space, pauses, and lets Buddy fill them. (Or at least here he does.)
For the record, our own Buddha really understands the silence-principle.
Sonny Terry, genius that he was, had no sense of how to do this. He always played--and brilliantly--right on top of everything Brownie did.
Last Edited by on May 22, 2009 7:12 PM
I love it on this clip when Junior grabs the neck of Budy's guitar and brings it back in , I reckon he has been a frogotten genius, his singing was great too , I have at least 4or 5 albums of Junior wells , Check out Hoodoo man blues , Or there is one out called junior wells vanguard visionaries from the old vanguard record sessions he did, there is a great version of help me as a tribute to sonny boy, also some damn funky stuff going on Here's another junior clip He's performing Hoodoo man blues with Otis Rush on guitar, dave Myers on bass and fed below on drums,
