Our fearless web leader Scott Tichenor has called our attention to "10 Awesome Mandolin Tunes" chosen by Guitar Player magazine this month, and featured on their website at: http://www.guitarplayer.com/gear/101...in-songs/48632. Each song is accompanied by a video that you can click on and hear.
The choices for the list strike me as, well, a bit unusual (to say the least), at least from my perspective, as a mandolinist (and banjoist) who only dabbles on the guitar. The choices betray a very heavy rock influence with seemingly little concern for any underlying mandolin virtuosity, including selections from R.E.M. (Losing My Religion), The Grateful Dead (Friend of the Devil), Rod Stewart (Maggie May), and -- coming in at #1, no less, Led Zeppelin (Battle of Evermore).
This is downright strange to many of us. But the weirdest part about this list it is that they selected Man of Constant Sorrow by the Soggy Bottom Boys from the film, "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" as their #8 choice. The fictitious Soggy Bottom boys were really Dan Tyminski, Pat Enright, and Harley Allen (assembled for the occasion by T-Bone Burnett). THERE IS NO MANDOLIN PLAYED on this particular recording! So how does this recording qualify as an "amazing mandolin tune," under the circumstances?!?
Well, they say any publicity is good publicity. So maybe this exposure will be good for the mandolin? Who knows?! Still, you'd think those journalist/researchers at Guitar Player could do a better job, no?
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