Last night I cranked up the amp to eleven and played for the first time in some weeks. And as I ran through Clapton’s version of Crossroads I realized, not for the first time, that it was the epitome of blues rock, absolutely second to none.
Eddie Van Halen once said that that was arguably the best guitar solo ever recorded, and that statement certainly has some merit. It also lead me to outlining in my head the defining moments of rock history. It’s funny, but sometimes when I play I think of other things and have moments of profound clarity whilst in the middle of a face melting solo.
Anyway, these are what I believe to be the defining moments in rock history.
Elvis’s recordings at Sun Studios: Groundbreaking recordings of a white guy singing what was essentially black music. Also the beginning of what would become the greatest culture theft in modern times.
The Beatles on Ed Sullivan: The mass hysteria at the airport, the creaming of young girls panties and the beginning of the British Invasion. We will never see a band generate so much intensity again.
Chuck Berry literally invents the rock guitar riff: The intro to songs like Johnny B. Good and Maybelene become the stepping stones of almost every guitar riff in the rock guitar handbook.
Dylan turns the Beatles on to smoking pot: Ever wonder how the Beatles went from I Want to Hold Your Hand to Glass Onion? You bet your life that’s what did it. Dylan going electric gets an honorable mention as well.
The Beach Boys release Pet Sounds: The masterpiece that turned rock on it’s head and inspired the next bombshell…
The Beatles record Sgt. Pepper on 4 track: George Martin should get a lot of credit for this as well. This album changed everything forever. Rock would never be the same again as other influences are mixed in and limitations are erased. The day after the album was released, Jimi Hendrix opened a live show with a cover version of the title track. Aside from the masterpiece of music that it was, it was also the first time (I think) that lyrics are printed on the album sleeve. And the whole album cover design ushered in a new era.
The Stone’s Altamont Fiasco: The Stone’s play a free show in San Francisco using the Hell’s Angels as security. A murder was caught on film and the “Summer of Love” officially ended.
Stairway: Led Zeppelin conquers the known world.
Dark Side of the Moon: What can anyone say? Enter prog rock.
Ziggy Stardust: Enter glam rock.
God Save the Queen: The Sex Pistols sell the swindle. Enter punk rock and with it people who have no idea how to play instruments. Counter culture or ringing cash register…you make the call.
The 80s kill rock music as we know it: A long, long time ago…I can still remember when…those good old boys were drinking whiskey and rye…
MTV plays black artists: After being under the fire for years MTV begins playing black artists, and in the process popularizes rap.
Seattle: Nirvana, Pearl Jam, et. al.
Music sharing: Copyright? What the fuck are you talking about?
The great wasteland: A shitload of bands that all sound like Creed (who sounds like Pearl Jam) clog up the airwaves with brooding bullshit of no substance or creativity whatsoever.
The iPod : People now carry around their entire music collection in a device smaller than a cell phone.
And there we have it.
Somewhere between Beatles and Zeppelin, you missed Jimmy. Jimmy redefined what was possible with the 6-string...
And somehow, the Monkeys deserve a mention. It was their kind of record company produced / no talent crap that ultimately led "the great wasteland."
Finally, the "the great wasteland" went mainstream when legions became addicted to the ultimate in produced crap and fell for tv shows like American Idol.
Yeah, I was negligent on the Hendrix thing. The release of "Are You Experienced" should have been in there.
Yeah, I was thinking about the 80's the other day; not being a fan of prog rock, and wondering what in the hell people listened to between Zep and modern rock. I guess their own personal live collections.
Bad hair and bad music. I slept through the 80s. Madonna, whore of whores, was quite popular.
Flock of haircuts? They've blinded me with science?
What a load of crap. Stock in synthesizers went through the roof.
Thomas Dolby rocks!
What about great bands like Iron Maiden and Judas Priest, they became big in the 80's. Not only could you look silly with your tight pants and big hair but you could sing along to songs about death, war, screaming for vengeance and the number of the beast!
Oh yeah, and what bout the ground breaking works of Terry David Mulligan and Video hits. (ok, sure, I know that's Canadiana but that's all I got with my 3 channels growing up)
OH and now recently (if you ever turn on alt rock stations on anymore, if you haven't codgered yourself into a listening corner grasping your Led Zep albums and rocking to and fro) ... now is the "The" revolution.
Every 3rd band seems to have "the" at the beginning, especially if they are from the UK.
Some kickass stuff coming out lately though... check out http://radiosonic.fm .
I'm a big Zep fan too, but despite MTV and Madonna, I though the Clash, REM, Talking Heads, Peter Gabriel, Paul Simon, Sting and ZZ Top, for instance, made some terrific music in the 80s
I think the ipod has changed music significantly. There's no more album concept. Can you imagine Dark Side coming out today? People would pick off one or two songs based on a five second iTunes intro, then the rest of the songs would go unheard. Of course, there's a good side to it too. No one is forced to buy a crap album full of experimental filler shit like Vitalogy, just for one decent song.
Good comments.
Yeah, I forgot about the Talking Heads and Gabriel. I remember listening to "Remain in Light" over and over again. I guess it was there, you just had to look for it. The Clash and early REM too, though the later stuff was just so-so.
I'm glad I'm not the only one that thought Vitology was a piece of crap. Frankly, I felt the same way about "In Utero."
Don't forget The Dead. The band that redefined customer loyalty and flashbacks plus set the stage for universal resistance to copy protection.
And you have my personal thanks for not mentioning Jimmy Buffet.
Well done!
Thank you!
Thank you!
Thank you!