# Music by Genre > Rock, Folk Rock, Roots Rock, Rockabilly >  Best Use of Mandolin in Rock

## SelfDevouringSnake

What is the best rock song with a prominently featured mandolin in it?

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## journeybear

I don't mean to sound nitpicky, but as a songwriter and writer I pay a lot of attention to meaning and clarity in language. You see, it seems to me these are two different if related questioins. The thread title concerns playing or arranging; the question as stated is more about songwriting.

That said, I usually point to what Jimmy Ryan does on Cheri Knight's "Rose In The Thorn" on her "Northeast Kingdom" album as a prime example of how a mandolin can and should be used in a rock song. It isn't even so much about the notes as the tone. It sounds like more than just a mandolin with a pickup on it - it sounds like a whole new instrument, transformed the way Les Paul, Leo Fender, and others created a new instrument with the electric guitar. It's obscure but worth seeking out, as is the whole album. Oh, and it qualifies for both considerations I mentioned.  :Wink: 

For a great and long list of songs with mandolin, read this thread - all the way through. Thanks to a lot of contributors for this. It shows up more often than a lot of people think.  :Mandosmiley:

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## SelfDevouringSnake

I see your point. It could go either way, just wanted to know if there were any good rock songs with the mandolin being used as a lead instrument.
Thanks for the thread.

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## journeybear

That's all right. It's a worthy question. Hope I didn't overdo it - I've been known to ...  :Whistling: 

Oh, and hey - Welcome to the Café!  :Mandosmiley:

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## Jim MacDaniel

Definitely read the link JB provided, but I'm another Jimmy Ryan fan here. Though I loved the Blood Oranges, my favorite work of his in a rock format is on Blood Oranges band-mate Cheri Knight's aforementioned CD, as well as on his first solo CD Lost Diamond Angel -- plus I love his mandolin work on Morphine's track In Spite of Me, on _Cure for Pain_.

Plus three of my favorite rock tracks with mandolin in it are:
Peter Mulvey - If Love is not Enough
Widespread Panic - Pickin' up the Pieces
The Waterboys - Fishermans Blues

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## Shawn Gambrel

Im thinking copperhead road by steve earle or is that country . :Confused:

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## Ed Goist

My vote goes to Eddie Vedder's *Rise*. 

A great rock song featuring only vocals and mandolin. Here's a video from a recent live performance:

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## MikeEdgerton

Gotta be Ray Jackson's spot in Maggie May.

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## journeybear

Yeah, I know, there's no denying ... and also REM's "Losing My Religion." Those were enormous hits for good reason, and mandolin was a key element in both.  :Mandosmiley:  That's a great article, Mike; thanks for posting it. A must read for anyone interested in this subject.

Here's that Cheri Knight - Rose In The _Vine._ Geez - can't remember the name of one of my favorite songs ... gotta listen to this stuff more often! And thanks for the corroboration, Jim. Sometimes I think I'm all alone in the wilderness when I talk about the great but obscure music I love so much. Glad to know others feel the same way.  :Cool: 

02 Rose in the Vine..mp3

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## Rodney Riley

"Maggie May", one of the reason I play the mando. Don't forget Bruce Hornsby's "Mandolin Rain".

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## Bernie Daniel

> "Maggie May", one of the reason I play the mando. Don't forget Bruce Hornsby's "Mandolin Rain".


Maggie May is not the reason I play mandolin -- but love that Ray Jackson break -- I was in the Army at the time (1972) with only months left to serve and the song kind of sounded like "freedom" at the time.  Oddly enough I did get into mandolins only about 6 months later though -- but it was because of bluegrass  :Smile: 

BTW the story of Ray Jackson after that famous mandolin bit on a block buster song is not too gratifying.  :Frown: 

Did the Bruce Hornsby Mandolin rain recording really *feature* the mandolin?  There were some mandolin sounds in it for sure but wasn't the actual recording almost entirely vocal and piano breaks?  Did the mandolin ever play a solo on that cut? 

I'll cast a vote for the Hall and Oates duet -- "Lady Rain".   The mandolin is the featured instrument in much of this tune.

Another rock tune often mentioned is The Ballad of Easy Rider --by The Byrds -- but again the mandolin hardly heard in it -- at least the movie version.

You got a hemi in that THAWNG?

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## Jim Broyles

I did not read the thread thoroughly, but I wanted to get my 2¢ in - it is not "Losing My Religion,"  "Dance Tonight,"or any Hooters' song, or "Copperhead Road," or any other song  in which the mandolin is a rhythm instrument. You can get that effect with a capoed twelve string.  I'd say "Maggie May" comes to mind as the only song I can think of which actually features a lead mandolin. Ricky Skaggs did some stuff in his "country" years in the late 70s/ early 80s which featured the mandolin in rockin' songs, but I guess those don't count for this question.

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## Alex Orr

I'll also add votes for "Losing My Religion" and "Maggie May". 

I'm surprised that no one has included "Battle of Evermore"...happily surprised.  I'm not much of a Zep fan, but even back when I was a teenage Zep obsessee that tune always sounded nails-on-chalkboard awful to me.

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## Bernie Daniel

> I'll also add votes for "Losing My Religion" and "Maggie May". 
> 
> I'm surprised that no one has included "Battle of Evermore"...happily surprised.....that tune always sounded nails-on-chalkboard awful to me.


That's a big "ten-four"!  And go on YouTube and there are dozens of folks trying there hand at that "number".

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## Elliot Luber

I think Losing My Religion comes close to Maggie Mae in terms of presenting mandolin to a mass audience, but Maggie wins hands down as a lead that puts an okay song on fire. I didn't know what a mandolin was when I first heard that song, yet I was hooked on it. It's a shame Rod Stewart didn't give Ray his due.

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## Jason Kessler

I may be wrong, but I don't think there's ANY mandolin in Bruce Hornsby's "Mandolin Rain."

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## John Flynn

One that doesn't get mentioned much, but always pops into my mind when thinking of rock and the mandolin, is Stevie Winwood's mandolin playing on "Back in the High Life"

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## Jim MacDaniel

> ...I'm surprised that no one has included "Battle of Evermore"...happily surprised.  I'm not much of a Zep fan, but even back when I was a teenage Zep obsessee that tune always sounded nails-on-chalkboard awful to me.


LOL -- BOE should the on the mandolin equivalent of that sign at the guitar store in Wayne's World that said "No Stairway..."

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## journeybear

When in doubt, go back to the OP:




> What is the best rock song with a prominently featured mandolin in it?


Nothing specified about lead or rhythm, or just ambience. So I think "Losing My Religion" counts.




> You can get that effect with a capoed twelve string...


That's not the question, though.  :Wink: 




> It's a shame Rod Stewart didn't give Ray his due.


I think that in a way Rod did Ray a favor. Would people still be chatting about this nearly forty years on if Rod had simply listed his name, instead of making a bit of a joke at Ray's expense? Doubt it.




> Did the Bruce Hornsby Mandolin rain recording really *feature* the mandolin?





> I may be wrong, but I don't think there's ANY mandolin in Bruce Hornsby's "Mandolin Rain."


Glad someone else mentioned this, because I sure am tired of pointing it out. I admit it's been a long, long time since I've listened to this, and I could only find live versions at youtube - one of which had a mandolin player who saw buried in the mix - but I never could hear a mandolin. At least there_ is_ mandolin in "Mandolin Wind."  :Mandosmiley:

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## Rodney Riley

"Maggie May", listened to it while racing around in my 1970 Super Bee (383 Magnum, 4-speed. Sold it. New owner tried to do the Dukes of Hazard jump over a railroad track.) Had a new girl friend (celebrated 35 years with her the 14th), a job (worked 2 more places and spent 33 yrs 9 months at the last one) and my brother was home from Vietnam. (Now lives about 13 miles away) Everything was right with my world. Didn't pick up the mando though till 28 years later.

"In 1986 David Mansfield was an initial member of Bruce Hornsby and the Range, including playing the title instrument on the hit "Mandolin Rain". However he left the Range before their first tour." from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Mansfield There are some tremolo's @ "from the chill", "running down by the lake shore", "But, I can't change my mind" and at the end of the song. Really hard to hear because he blends in with the piano. I have to use earphones with my ipod to hear the mando  :Wink:  Since he left the band, may be why he doesn't show up on youtube

And yes Bernie, it has a Hemi.

Dash Crofts of "Seals and Crofts" played the mandolin in a lot of their songs. Love the Diamond Girl album.

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## journeybear

Well, OK, glad it's there (thanks!), but I don't think that qualifies as "prominently featured."  :Wink: 

I mentioned "Mandolin Wind" before, and Rod Stewart did have mandolin on a few songs back then - "Gasoline Alley," eh, drawing a blank here - but they weren't as rocking as "Maggie May."

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## Rodney Riley

Should have paid more attention to post #3, "used as a lead instrument". My bad.

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## journeybear

I dunno ... not my thread. There's a difference between posts #1 and #3. Personally, I think it's a more important consideration that the mandolin be used as a key element, regardless of its role as lead or rhythm instrument, or even as in my first example, where it's really neither, but more as a textural device. Like rock itself, we're making it up as we go along, throwing different things onto the wall to see what sticks.  :Mandosmiley:

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## Ian Rossiter

Gotta be "Losing My  Religon". "Glory Days" by Springsteen has a cool Mando break in it too. "Copperhead Road has that great intro,but after the song kicks in,it gets lost iin the mix.

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## mandolirius

Check out Matt Mundy's work with Col. Bruce Hampton & the Aquarium Rescue Unit.

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## Rodney Riley

Not sure if the mando actually gets lost in the mix of some songs or helps to change them from a plain old blanket to a beautiful quilt. The more instruments can add so much more color and warmth to the songs. Don't get me wrong, I love listening to Brad Paisley's instrumental of "What a Friend We have in Jesus". And Kaki King just rocks.  :Smile:  
I know, these two not mando related.(head hung in shame)

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## MikeEdgerton

> ...It's a shame Rod Stewart didn't give Ray his due.


If I recall there was some legal action a while back and now nobody will talk about it, not even Ray. That might indicate Ray got something for that.

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## journeybear

> Not sure if the mando actually gets lost in the mix of some songs or helps to change them from a plain old blanket to a beautiful quilt. The more instruments can add so much more color and warmth to the songs.


You make a good point. Sometimes a final mix is all about creating a unified sound out of all the elements available. If one particular instrument doesn't stand out, it may be because the way its level is decided is determined by how it interrelates with the other instruments, and the others in turn. We, as mandolinists, tend to notice how audible the mandolin is in such instances. And wish it were louder.  :Wink: 

I happened to hear "Sunny Came Home" today in the supermarket, and I'd forgotten how nicely the mandolin is used in that. And even if it's just during the intro, outro, and interludes, it's nice to hear the instrument that well integrated into the arrangement.  :Mandosmiley:  I love John Leventhal's production skills.

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## Paul Kotapish

"Ripple" is from the Grateful Dead's folkiest period, but features some dandy--and prominent--mandolin work by David Grisman.

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## Jim MacDaniel

> Check out Matt Mundy's work with Col. Bruce Hampton & the Aquarium Rescue Unit.


Matt's fine work also graces Widespread Panic's Pickin' up the Pieces -- a wonderful cut, that one.

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## Fishmonger

For mandolin in rock, check out The Tossers. Their frontman is a mandolin player. LOTS of great Irish folk-punk.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kv8bj...eature=channel

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## journeybear

> "Ripple" is from the Grateful Dead's folkiest period, but features some dandy--and prominent--mandolin work by David Grisman.


Same with "Friend Of The Devil," same provenance. Those two are near the top of the list of repertoire for beginning mandolinists, at least they were for those of us of a certain age and/or mindset.  :Wink: 

There's also Ry Cooder's work on The Rolling Stones' "Love In Vain," from a couple of years before that. Again, a kind of folky take, this time on a Robert Johnson blues. And his solo take on "Goin' To Brownsville," though that's really more blues than rock.

I'd like to hear about some more rocked-out mandolin use, short of Tempest or Alex Gregory. Not that there's anything wrong with what they do, I just mean more straight-ahead rock 'n' roll. WWCBD?  :Whistling: 

Here's them Tossers ...

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## Jim Broyles

Yeah it is! "Best use of" does not constitute strumming chords, to my way of thinking. It goes for Jethro Tull, too! And it goes for Led Zeppelin, too!

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## Fishmonger

> Here's them Tossers ...


I couldn't get that to work for me. It wouldn't load the video. ???
There are lots more from that band. See "No Loot No Booze No Fun", "Good Mornin' Da" and more... all on YouTube.

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## journeybear

> Yeah it is! "Best use of" does not constitute strumming chords, to my way of thinking.


Hey, I'm grateful anytime a mandolin gets used in a rock song - unless it's played badly, of course.  :Wink: 

The way I see it, if mandolin is integrated into a song, rather than just tacked on somehow, that's at least getting to where it should be - on an equal footing with the rest of the instruments. In "Maggie May", it comes out of nowhere after the last verse - but then it really drives the coda. In "Sunny Came Home," it provides the main hook for the song, even if it doesn't show up much the rest of the song. In "Fat Man," "Battle Of Evermore," and "Losing My Religion," mandolin is an integral part of the instrumentation and arrangement, like it or not. I'd still like to hear it played in a full-throttle, pedal to the metal way, rather than being relegated to the unplugged section of the set list, as it seems to be most of the time. That's what I go for when I play, and when I put out a record, that's what it's going to be.  :Mandosmiley:

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## mrmando

Billy Holmes' playing on the 1992 Vigilantes of Love album _Killing Floor_ gets my vote every time ... check out "Anybody's Guess" or better yet, "Undertow."

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## Dan Hoover

well imho,i like "going to california" better than "battle of evermore"...john paul jones=excellent....i think "maggie may" is thee classic one for a lot of us.."mona lisas and mad hatters" by elton john...very beautiful mando playing by davey johnstone..i've heard "summer breeze" i dunno how many times this week??great one...i think i'm stuck in the 70's???

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## journeybear

> Billy Holmes' playing on the 1992 Vigilantes of Love album _Killing Floor_ gets my vote every time ... check out "Anybody's Guess" or better yet, "Undertow."


Now _that's_ what I'm talking about! I never heard of them before, but their being from Athens, hotbed of alternative musical styles, makes perfect sense. The end of "Undertow," when it breaks down to just mandolin, bass, and drums, and then the harmonica starts wailing - _that_ is mando-rock! I really don't care if it's lead or rhythm mandolin, as long as it's the diving force. Good call!  :Mandosmiley: 

By the way, their wikipedia page desperately needs to be updated. It mentions a reunion in 2008 and "talk of a new album coming out in 2009."  :Disbelief:

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## thejamdolinplayer

That's some interesting work by The Tossers...

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## Dave Gumbart

"Matt's fine work also graces Widespread Panic's Pickin' up the Pieces -- a wonderful cut, that one."

Drat - here  I was thinking I was going to hear a new version of the Poco song of the same name.  Ah well - still liked what I heard on the preview of that cut.  Having said Poco, though, they were known to use some mando in their repertoire.  Fools Gold and Rocky Mountain Breakdown are a few, for sure, and there must be others.  Might just be a good time to spin some old albums, and turn 'em into digital in the process.

No, probably not the best use of mando in rock, but a great band.  Wish I could have seen them in their glory days - at least I can listen to DeLIVErin'.

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## Jim MacDaniel

> Billy Holmes' playing on the 1992 Vigilantes of Love album _Killing Floor_ gets my vote every time ... check out "Anybody's Guess" or better yet, "Undertow."


I forgot about them. 1999's "Audible Sigh" had a great mando track on it to: She Walks on Roses. (I couldn't find it in full length on YT, but you toward the end of the sample I linked at Amazon is a repeat of the mandolin lead in at the top of the song -- I _love_ that track.)

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## journeybear

Gosh, yes, Poco ... So glad I got to see them back then in the Deliverin' days, right there at New Haven's Woolsey Hall (I must add) and did they ever deliver! Odd but nice that for the past year or so their much later single "Crazy Love" has been getting a _lot_ of airplay at my local supermarket. 

OK, back to your regularly scheduled programming, already in progress ...

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## eadg145

Nice catch on the Steve Winwood on "Back In The High Life". The mandolin really makes that song.

So, is "Battle of Evermore" really verboten?  I, uh, kinda really like that tune.  Always did.  I guess I'm a little out from under the bell curve.  While most kids were digging "Stairway to Heaven", I was more into "Battle of Evermore" and "When The Levee Breaks".  Still, it's good to know that BoE drives lots of folks nuts.  I wouldn't have guessed.

...but really, when you see Ann and Nancy Wilson perform that tune live, can you really not like it?

cheers,

David

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## journeybear

> So, is "Battle of Evermore" really verboten?  I, uh, kinda really like that tune.


Um, no ... why would it be? Your opinion is as valid as anyone's, since it's all subjective.

Of course, that's just _my_ opinion ...  :Laughing:

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## Ronny

And what about Grinderman ? Warren Ellis uses his mandocaster very well. (and their second album will be issued on september...)

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## ald

On a slightly different note, I seem to have known what a mandolin was all my life. I say this because the 14-year-old girl next door once asked me what sort of instrument my mandolin was. And we mandolin freaks are obviously being asked all the time whether we play a ukelele (I've known all my life was a ukulele is because my grandmother's old music sheets  for songs played on the piano had little chord diagrams on the top for the uke)
Over in England, Rod Stewart with Gasoline Alley and then Maggie May really impressed the instrument on the public mind. But I seem to remember it being on various "pop" recordings throughout the 50s and 60s. For years and years and years, I thought Baby don't go by Sonny and Sher had a mandolin but went to Youtube yesterday
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciQkRJdIwAc   and I now I think it sounds more like an electric guitar being tremeloed. The thing is this was 1965 and even as a kid I knew what a mandolin was supposed to sound like. 
While I was on Youtube I discovered PETER SELLERS & SOPHIA LOREN - 'Bangers And Mash'   This might sound strange to American ears but there is what sounds like a mandolin halfway through the tune.
Then was quite a bit of mandolin on Leonard Cohen's records. I first heard Songs from a room in 1969 (released in 1967 apparently) so one year before Gasoline Alley and  two years before Maggie May.

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## Fishmonger

Just wanted to see if I've got this video posting figured out now.  :Grin:

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## Ed Goist

> ...snip...So, is "Battle of Evermore" really verboten?  ...snip...but really, when you see Ann and Nancy Wilson perform that tune live, can you really not like it?
> cheers, David


I've said it before, and I'll say it again...IMO, this performance by Plant & Krauss (with Stuart Duncan on mandolin) is one of the all-time high points for the instrument's use in rock!




BTW, David, I really like the Wilson sisters' version also!




-Ed

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## John Uhrig

Well just my opinion (we all have one)  My favorite is Jethro Tulls Fatman. Especially the newer version on Live at Montreaux.

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## Alex Orr

Ooh, I forgot about "Ripple" and "FOTD".  Yeah, those are some really good songs with prominent mando, from one seriously prominent mando player.  "Going to California"...yeah...well, I can stomach it better than "Battle of Evermore"  :Wink:   I guess in terms of Zep, "Hey, Hey What Can I Do" would be one of the few songs that I still like by them, and it features a mandolin prominently in the mix.

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## Rodney Riley

Had radio on the 50's channel. Great tremolo on a Paul Anka tune, "Dance On Little Girl".

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## journeybear

Paul Anka did a slam-bang big-band version of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" a couple of years ago. No MC, though ... sorry ...  :Whistling:

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## Elliot Luber

> If I recall there was some legal action a while back and now nobody will talk about it, not even Ray. That might indicate Ray got something for that.


Yes. Sounds like Mr. Cash has indeed arrived. That's good to hear or at least surmise.

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## Prince of Darkness

With respect to Rod Stewart not properly crediting Ray Jackson's playing on "Maggie May", to add insult to injury, most  people in Britain believe the mandolin was played by the late DJ John Peel; due to his miming the part on the popular TV show Top Of The Pops.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwHB4hfg0wY

Ray Jackson also played some fine  mandolin with his folk / rock band Lindisfarne.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cIMRaNujLA

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## journeybear

Yeah, I've seen that. That's really pretty sad if that's widely believed. I mean, that whole appearance was lip-synched, or not even - The Faces made a point of mocking the whole silly goings-on. Well, actually, Rod was miked - you can tell because the vocal is different from the recording, and in typical fashion, he messed up some of the words - but the instruments aren't even plugged in!

Not to further flog a long-dead horse, but I think Rod knew darn well who played the mandolin, and was having a bit of fun at his expense, which backfired - but Ray has got more attention as a result.  :Wink:  Rod kind of made a _point_ of  saying, "the mandolin player from Lindisfarne," so at least he got the name of the band right.  :Wink:

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## Jim MacDaniel

Here's a rockin' Jimmy Ryan live set from 2009 at The Lizard Lounge in Cambridge Mass. (If you like this, use the search function while there for three more different sets from him.)

And in the "mandolin covers of classic rock songs" category, check out Jimmy Ryan's unaccompanied version of the Stones Sympathy for the Devil, and John Kruth's really cool take on the Yardbird's Over Under Sideways Down.

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## macantsaoir

Hi Folks.
Great thread. I'm a new member, but I had to sign up just to plug Rory Gallagher.
Probably better known for his blues guitar, Rory had a couple of cracking tunes on the mandolin, most notably 'Goin to my hometown'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRSNYX95ZNY

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## Ed Goist

Macantsaoir: Welcome to the Cafe, and thanks for the link. 

Rory is one of my all-time music heroes. That guy put it all out there when he played, and NOBODY can touch his powerful combination of skills, grit and charisma while on stage. I still listen to his stuff regularly, and often think with great fondness of the several Rory concerts I was fortunate enough to see in the late 70s & early 80s.

I used to get very worked-up and angry by how underrated and neglected Rory was/is in the discussion of great guitarists, but I now realize that he played for the music and for the fans, not for the notoriety or fame. He would not have cared about the recognition. He was about the music. He was the consummate professional musician.

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## Mike Herlihy

> Macantsaoir: Welcome to the Cafe, and thanks for the link. 
> 
> Rory is one of my all-time music heroes. That guy put it all out there when he played, and NOBODY can touch his powerful combination of skills, grit and charisma while on stage. I still listen to his stuff regularly, and often think with great fondness of the several Rory concerts I was fortunate enough to see in the late 70s & early 80s.
> 
> I used to get very worked-up and angry by how underrated and neglected Rory was/is in the discussion of great guitarists, but I now realize that he played for the music and for the fans, not for the notoriety or fame. He would not have cared about the recognition. He was about the music. He was the consummate professional musician.


I agree Ed, but if you check out Youtube, there are lots of folks that still keep his music alive. I've uploaded up a tutorial for "Going To My Hometown" and an adaptation of "Police Dog Blues" to mandolin.

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## Ed Goist

> I agree Ed, but if you check out Youtube, there are lots of folks that still keep his music alive. I've uploaded up a tutorial for "Going To My Hometown" and an adaptation of "Police Dog Blues" to mandolin.


Thanks Mike! Can you please provide links? I could not find either the tutorial, or the mando adaption of _PDB_?

I did find a mandolin arrangement of _Going to My Hometown_ by 'NCOpagn'? Is that you? If so, Great playing!

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## Mike Herlihy

> Thanks Mike! Can you please provide links? I could not find either the tutorial, or the mando adaption of _PDB_?
> 
> I did find a mandolin arrangement of _Going to My Hometown_ by 'NCOpagn'? Is that you? If so, Great playing!


Nope, not me. Here is my channel:

http://www.youtube.com/user/mherlihy0816

Just scroll thru the videos, I uploaded three videos of tutorials of GTM and two for PDB

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## Ed Goist

Thanks Mike. I very much look forward to checking-out your YT channel.

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## Perry Babasin

Love John Hiatt... Have a listen...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWeWgDAuxKY

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## Perry Babasin

... BTW one could argue that much of Nickel Creek, and other modern "Bluegrass" string ensembles play Rock & Roll.

i.e.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCQxD4zBICg

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## journeybear

Yikes! One _could_ argue that, but I think most people think of rock as featuring electric or electrified instruments, and most of the time drums. Which is not to say that this song doesn't sound rock-influenced, but I wouldn't call it rock, per se.

I appreciate your thinking outside of the box, though. Imagination, innovation - that's how we progress. And progress is what it's all about. Well, that and good taste, whatever that is.  :Wink: 

Here's that John Hiatt song. Reminds me - wonder if Little Village included mandolin? Can't remember ...

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## Vonski

ChiefXX!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSz3t...d:mandosmiley:

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## Crabgrass

> Hi Folks.
> Great thread. I'm a new member, but I had to sign up just to plug Rory Gallagher.
> Probably better known for his blues guitar, Rory had a couple of cracking tunes on the mandolin, most notably 'Goin to my hometown'
> 
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRSNYX95ZNY


I can't believe I'm such a neanderthal that I'd never heard of Rory Gallagher. That performance of "Going to My Hometown" not only blew my mind, it started some musical hares that are gonna run for a while.... I immediately looked up his bio and was sorry to see he died in 1995. Also learned that a reporter once asked Jimi Hendrix "So, what does it feel like to be the best guitar player in the world?" The great Jimi replied: "I dunno. Ask Rory Gallagher." 

All I can say is "Thank you" for posting that link.

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## mandolino maximus

That Rory Gallagher vid and his story are fascinating. Great mando content.

Quite a few electric bluesmen from that period on that side of the pond -all interested in original US bluesmen when the US wasn't.   No mando, but I very much enjoy seeing another one of those guys, Kim Simmonds / Savoy Brown, when he still comes round. He mentions those days standing around with Beck and Page listening to Hendrix.  And Hendrix listened to Gallagher.  A lot of the first generation of guitar heroes and they all seem to have taken inspiration from Muddy Waters.  Interesting.

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## Larry R

Gallows Pole by Led Zeppelin

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## Zytog

I would say Jimmy Page in the " battle of evermore" , or John Paul jones in "going to California"

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## Rick Nelson

Didn't see "Holiday Inn" an early Elton John song with a nice mandolin solo.  Also, Dash Crofts of Seals and Crofts did a LOT of mandolin work in the 70's,  The first 4 albums especially were very acoustically oriented with great mandolin solos.

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## Raglan

Just to chime on ( with my first post  :Wink:  /wave. I am a huge Rory fan and got to see him live many times in my hometown of Bristol (England) when he played with Taste and did the clubs back in late 60's .  I actually bumped into him after the concert in a local pub .. he was somewhat out of it  :Wink: ..but thanks for posting that macantsaoir and welcome also. 

I think my personal favorite is the riff in REM's Losing My Religion  but lots of others mentioned I also rate highly.


I just bought a mandolin last week, and feel dna linked to the thing  :Wink:  after 30 years of plonking around on guitars.. Anyway glad to have found the 'cafe'.

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## Barry Wilson

Going to California, JPJ does wonders on this song. My fav mando song is still Boat on a river by Styx

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## Lou Giordano

My favorite.  :Grin:

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## custer

I'm going to go with " Losing My Religion ".  It was the first rock song I learned on the mandolin and its one of my favorites.

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## iancohen82

> What is the best rock song with a prominently featured mandolin in it?


Without question, it has to be MAGGIE MAY.  The mandolin break in that tune makes the song!

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## emitfo

Hey look---I've found yet another place where I don't fit in!  :Grin:  Battle of Evermore, to this day, still sends chills of delight up & down my spine when it hits that 1 single mandolin variation just before the outro begins.  :Smile:   I'm amazed that anybody DOESN'T like it!

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## Ed Goist

emitfo; you are certainly not on your own when it comes to BoE...Many, many committed fans here.
I wanted to make sure you saw this brilliant cover by the sister-band SHEL...It's one of the best covers (of any tune) I have seen.
Enjoy.

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## mandopete

> I wanted to make sure you saw this brilliant cover by the sister-band SHEL...It's one of the best covers (of any tune) I have seen.


I like this better than the original version - 5 stars!

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## mandopete

Question answered....

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## emitfo

[QUOTE=Ed Goist;1000503]emitfo; you are certainly not on your own when it comes to BoE...Many, many committed fans here.
I wanted to make sure you saw this brilliant cover by the sister-band SHEL...It's one of the best covers (of any tune) I have seen.
Enjoy.

That is awesome Ed, thank-you!  Ever the critic (as we are all, it's how we make our choices):

Harmonies MUCH better than the original, loved the mando rhythm.  Would have liked to hear the lead singer hitting some the lines more forcefully, in the Zep version I can FEEL the intensity by how hard Plant hits certain lines with such emotion.  Also LOVED the violin, er, fiddle but would have liked to hear an extended instrumental section with the fiddle & drums then adding in the other instrument.  Also, it was missing that one mandolin bit right before the outro chorus that just gets me every time.

Nonetheless, I thank-you very much for that.  I was just funning a little bit, as is my way.  :Grin:   You're right about the Plant-Krause being quite respectable too.

edit: I forgot to also say I prefer the Sandy Denny octave higher harmony though.

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