Stevie Ray Vaughan "Couldn't Stand The Weather"

 

 "Couldn't Stand The Weather" is one of the greatest sophomore albums every created by any kind of musician, especially a blues player. A follow up to his 1983 release "Texas Flood", Couldn't Stand The Weather has a very unique sound to it, and in my opinion sticks out from Stevie Ray Vaughan's broad catologue of guitar shredding.

The album starts out with the instrumental titled "Scuttle Buttin", which is an instrumental with that groovy texas guitar work slightly similiar to that on "Rude Mood" and Stevie's previous album. The song starts with a very quick complicated guitar riff, that would make any southern blues man smile from ear to ear.

The next song on the album is the name of the album, otherwise known as "Couldn't Stand The Weather." The song starts with a slow guitar solo backed by the "metal rain" of cymbals that sounds more similiar to the ending of a song rather than the begining. Vaughan's tone soars and is guranteed to bring a smile to strat-junkies face when you hear the faint sound of his Fender Vibro-Verb producing those late 60's sounds Gilmour, Clapton, and Hendrix are heavily acclaimed for. The song then moves into a very funky shredding guitar riff that sounds like a cross between funk, blues, and soul. You can really hear Stevie's soul shine throughout his solo's he plays during the song. Eventually the song comes to a close, with a very similiar "metal rain" sound you hear at the beginning of the song.

The next song on the album "The Things That I used to do" is a very texas-blues inspired Buddy Guy cover that does the old blues man justice. Vaughan was always very famous for his "call and response" method of blues playing where the singer 'calls' and the guitar provides the 'response' which is nearly exclusively used throughout this song.

The next song on this album (and one of my personal all time favorites) is a Jimi Hendrix cover that Stevie (and myself) had been playing since his high school days, and really shows of the southern gentleman's virtuosity he holds over the instrument. While listening to the song you can vividly imagine a very happy Hendrix playing this song next to a very happy Stevie Ray Vaughan up in the clouds. Stevie is definetely channeling his biggest influence on this song, and it shines as bright as the setting's on his mid-sixties Fender Super Reverb.
 

The next song on the album "Cold Shot" features Vaughan's Fender Vibro-Verb throughout the entire song, a rarity for him. While listening to this song you can nearly imagine all the young guitarists first learning how to play blues trying to play this song in a tiny bar of some sorts. The song also has a nice churning slow blues shuffle solo to go along with it.

The next song on the album "Tin Pan Alley" shows off again Vaughan's call and response method again, with slow soloing and harmonics popping up all over "Number One's" neck. Dynamics are heavily expressed throughout this song as Stevie sings "I heard a woman scream" and almost immediately after, his guitar let's out one hell of a wailing note.

To close this blues master-piece, Jimi Hendrix, whoops I meant Stevie Ray Vaughan closes the album with another Hendrix favorite, Little wing. Although Jimi typically sung when he played this song, Stevie decided to do an instrumental version more similiar to Paul Butterfield's when he famously played with Hendrix in France. Stevie yet again show's almost theatrical dynamics throughout the entire song, as well as harmonizing. Who said that being the best guitar player involved shredding the entire time? You can really feel, see, hear, and bury yourself inside of Stevie Ray Vaughan's soul as he pours every last ounce of it into this song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_Agp9mUG-M

Derek & The Dominos "Live at the Fillmore"

 

 

 

 

Derek & The Dominos is a very powerful, unique blues rock band, that does not get nearly as much credit as it deserves. Aside from the blues itself, this band has most definately had it's fair share of hard times, with the only surving member of the band being Eric Clapton. This blues band started out with a very bright future ahead, but that quickly deteriated after the death of guitarist Duane Allman of the Allman Brothers Band. Not only did he die, but the bass player succembed to a nasty kidney infection after years of substance abuse, and the drummer ended up in a mental asylum after bludgening his mother to death with a hammer. This super group was doomed before it even had the chance to start.

This live album in particular really show cases every member of the band has immense talent, and is shown through pounding drum solos, or nearly 8-minute guitar solos headed by Mr. Slowhand himself, Eric Clapton. Unfortunately, Duane Allman had prior commitments with his own band, and was only able to make it to a few Derek & The Dominos show, with the Fillmore not being one of them. But with Clapton's prior experience being in bands such as Cream, he could handle guitar duties by himself pretty easily.

The first few songs on this album are truly a testament to blues rock music, with the particular diamond sticking out being "Got To Get Better In a Little While." The song starts out with a very funky rythmic drum beat, and Clapton's heavily wah-wahed guitar sustained a single low E note. Quickly after a few bars, Slowhand moves into a very funky guitar riff, and soon begins singing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFkOeA_UeNs&safe=active

The next high-lite of this amazing blues record is "Blues Power." Originally recorded by Eric Clapton while he was solo, he ultimately decided to play it live while he was with Derek & The Dominos. The song lyrically is pretty powerful, as Clapton tells how no one thought he could "rock n roll" because he was a white boy with an electric guitar. The song has a very slow blues groove to it, and some intense soloing as well.

"Have you ever loved a woman" Is a cover from one of the greatest bluesmen of the 20th century, Freddie King. Clapton delivers just as good as the King on this one, with soulful licks that can surely rival Freddie. When I close my eyes and listen to this song, I can imagine a very harry faced Slowhand up on stage with a big red ES-335 tearing away.

"Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out" tells a story about Clapton while he was going through a rough time with drugs and alcoholism, and how everybody sadly abandoned him. He tells about his friends who he used to buy stuff for all the time, but when he fell on hard times they left him.

The next notable song on this record is "Little Wing" another cover song, orignally by Clapton's proffesional rival and friend, Jimi Hendrix. Recorded 8 days before Jimi's untimely demise, Clapton decided ultimately to start playing it live after the death of his beloved friend. This version sounds much harder and a little more gritty than Jimi's with harder solos and more gain and distortion.

The second to last song on this album is "Let it rain"  which is a song that show cases every one in the band's talents. It starts off with a nice happy guitar riff, with Clapton soon following with gruff vocals and a guitar solo. Soon after Clapton's nice extended guitar solo is a drum solo that could easily rival John Bonham of Led Zeppelin.

The last song on this fantastic album is one that Clapton recorded in his days with Cream, "Crossroads." This is typically a very fast blues shuffle, with searing guitar on top. For the live version though, Slowhand slows the song down rather quite significantly. Still retaining it's complexity through soloing and such, it does not cease to amaze.


 

Neil Young "Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere"

Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere

Neil Young had just finished his stint with the folk rock group "Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young" or "CSNY" and was ready to move on to bigger and better things. He had formed a backing band named "Crazy Horse" and was prepared to unleash a record of epic musical finess. David Crosby, Stephen Stills, and Graham Nash were just releasing their own debut self titled album with out Young, so this is somewhat of Neil's response.

The first song on the album "Cinnamon Girl" starts out with a jamming classic guitar riff that only Young could create in the depths of his mind. The vocal harmonies are very evident within the song such as in his previous works with CSNY, with Neil singing the lower harmony, and then rythm guitarist Danny Whitten singing the upper harmony. The song is evidently about a girl Young is love with, that he waits for in between shows.

"Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere" is the title name, and also the second track on the song, and tells how Neil Young got so tired being out on the road all the time, and how he really just longed to go back home to be with his woman and lay in the cool breeze with her.

"Round and Round" is about growing older, and having to become a man and not being allowed to cry and such. This particular song is most definately the most folk driven song on the entire record, realling showing more of a folk sound than anything. This song is somewhat boring and repetitive and ironically sounds like it is the same song going round and round.

The last song on side one, "Down By The River" is a song that Neil wrote while delirious with the flu in bed. Sick and bed ridden, Neil wrote the simplistic lyrics to this song, about how he went down to the river and shot his baby. There are very, very strong harmonies in the song, and also a very long, very spectacular guitar solo. I personally think only true musicians would really be able to fully appreciate the almost 6 minute guitar solo by Young.

The beginning of side 2 of this fantastic record starts with the song "On the loosing end" and has a very southern folk sound to it. Neil talks about what life is like when your on the loosing end, and as he starts out the song he talks about how he used to be on the loosing end. But eventually Neil says by the end that he "feels this way again."

"Requiem for the rockets" is again the folk side to this very folk rock record, and shows Neil's acoustic style roots. Telling a story about how regretful he is for leaving his woman, and how he left her all pretty with tears in her eyes, and how he just wants her back. This is a song that every teenager could listen to after break-up, and how regretful they are, and wish they could've changed,

The last song on side 2, and the whole record, is my absolute favorite, "Cowgirl In The Sand." Cowgirl in the sand starts off with a very quite sounding acoustic guitar, and eventually erupts into a very funky style rythm guitar, lead guitar duet. After a few minutes of instrumental, Neil Young comes in with his signature voice, singing "Hello Cowgirl in the sand" just to be soulfully echoed by Crazy Horse. After the verse and the chorus, Neil rips into another guitar solo, in my opinion the best one he ever recorded, for another 6 minutes like in Down By The River.

If you are only going to listen to one song off this folk-rock master piece, listen to Cowgirl In The Sand. The song is filled with so much soul and power, it will send tingles up and down anyone's spine. I heavily recomend this whole album to anybody who likes folk or rock. It is one of the first album's of it's kind to transcend 2 generations and bring them together. And that is why this album will always be one of my personal favorite sound recordings of all time.