speed of dark

Time Travel Tuesday continues on the subject of the cover article of Issue 1054 (June 12) of Rolling Stone, 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time compiled by writers David Fricke, Brian Hiatt, Evan Serpick, and Douglas Wolk. If you check the comments on the RS site, some folks are foaming at the mouth in rage at the author's choices. No wonder RS doesn't permit curse words in comments! Some even say the article has caused them to give up on Rolling Stone forever.

That's going a few feet off the deep end, in my opinion. The article simply and obviously reflects the taste of those five people, not of the entire magazine. We ALL have opinions, and this blog represents mine. Nobody has to agree. And maybe 100 is just not a big enough number, you know?

As I griped in the previous two Time Travel Tuesdays, the authors gave a lot of credit to the blues' influence on rock but way too little to country's influence. Even the lone Elvis Presley song (#37 "That's All Right, Mama," guitarist Scotty Moore) reflects the King's blues side. Hendrix, Clapton, Beck, Page, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Carlos Santana, and Billy Gibbons--not to mention B.B. King and Albert King, the sources themselves--are/were all blues guitarists whose songs take up a large percentage of the 100 songs.

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The Beatles, however, one of the hugest branches of the rock and roll tree, were influenced far more by country than blues. George Harrison, as lead guitarist of these Greats of the Great, gets really short shrift in the examples credited to him. He has to share with Clapton for "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," and the basis of the choice of "A Hard Days' Night" (#22) is that weird opening chord. Sorry, but the rest of the song is pretty ho-hum.

Thank goodness, the authors included at #45 "I Saw Her Standing There," a true marker of Harrison's early skills. I say, why not "She Said, She Said" instead of "A Hard Day's Night"?


The Beatles: She Said, She Said from Revolver (1966)

Photo from the book Here Comes the Sun by Joshua Greene



The authors shrugged off the opportunity to note Carl Perkins, one the Beatles' main country roots whom they covered with "Honey Don't," "Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby," and "Matchbox." Big gap there. Paul McCartney has said "If there were no Carl Perkins, there would be no Beatles." Perkins also wrote "Blue Suede Shoes," a country song that became a big rock hit for Elvis.

C'mon, George, rock on for Ringo one time!

The Beatles: Honey Don't (Carl Perkins cover) from Beatles For Sale (1964)

Since some people don't like to hear Ringo sing, here is the Beatles' bow to the influence of Buddy Holly, who was also neglected in the article. It's my personal opinion that Buddy Holly was the first punk rocker.

The Beatles: Words of Love from Beatles For Sale (1964)

I really get upset at the skimpy mention of Ry Cooder. My single experience of seeing him play almost 40 years ago has a lot to do with why I care so much about rock music. It probably has a lot to do with why I'm writing about music today. All these years, Cooder has constantly reminded rock of all the places it came from: folk, blues, and country.

One lousy example, and it's Mick Jagger's "Memo From Turner" (#92)? Well, that's good and all, and it's one of the few examples of slide guitar on the list.

Mick Jagger: Memo From Turner, originally on the Performance movie soundtrack (1970)

It's important to note that Cooder influenced the great Stones, not the other way around, having done much of the lead on the sessions for Let It Bleed. My issue is that on this song Cooder is playing to someone else's taste, not his own. He has done so much better than this in his own work, and I would much rather hear Cooder sing than Jagger anyway. When I saw him in 1970, I still remember he played "Brownsville" (a Sleepy John Estes cover) because I was drop-jaw mesmerized by it. He later turned those mandolin skills to the wonderful "Billy the Kid" on his second album, Into the Purple Valley (1971).

Ry Cooder playing "Goin' To Brownsville"--try telling me that's not great!

Ry Cooder: Goin' To Brownsville from Ry Cooder (1970)

A great guitarist is one you can identify the moment you hear him, and no one has to tell you that's him. Cooder has made his unmistakable mark on his solo albums and the movie soundtracks he has scored: Paris, Texas, Crossroads, Dead Man Walking, and more others than you think.

Ry Cooder: Paris, Texas from the movie soundtrack (1985)

Chords,tunings and more about Ry Cooder | Ry Cooder on NPR

Last rant (?) next week on Time Travel Tuesday. It has to be put to rest sometime!