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Thread: What Were Those Guitarists Thinking?!

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    Registered User sblock's Avatar
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    Default What Were Those Guitarists Thinking?!

    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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    Purveyor of Sunshine sgarrity's Avatar
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    Default Re: What Were Those Guitarists Thinking?!

    Compton's mandolin playing is all over the OBWAT recording.

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    Bark first, Bite later Steve Zawacki's Avatar
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    Default Re: What Were Those Guitarists Thinking?!

    What's wrong with rock?
    ...Steve

    Current Stable: Two Tenor Guitars (Martin 515, Blueridge BR-40T), a Tenor Banjo (Deering GoodTime 17-Fret), a Mandolin (Burgess #7). two Banjo-Ukes and five Ukuleles..

    The inventory is always in some flux, but that's part of the fun.

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    Registered User sblock's Avatar
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    Default Re: What Were Those Guitarists Thinking?!

    Quote Originally Posted by sgarrity View Post
    Compton's mandolin playing is all over the OBWAT recording.
    No, I don't hear any mandolin on the video link. Do you? There is no mandolin break on "Man of Constant Sorrow", and no mandolin fill lick, either. Yes, Compton's fine mandolin playing is featured prominently on OTHER tunes on the album that was made from this movie (OBWAT). But not this tune!

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    Registered User sblock's Avatar
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    Default Re: What Were Those Guitarists Thinking?!

    Quote Originally Posted by Steve Zawacki View Post
    What's wrong with rock?
    Well, there's absolutely nothing wrong with rock, Steve! I like (some) rock. My complaint was that all these heavily rock-influenced songs are not really "amazing mandolin tunes," in my estimation, because they do rather little to show off mandolin technique, versatility, or virtuosity.

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    Loarcutus of MandoBorg DataNick's Avatar
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    Default Re: What Were Those Guitarists Thinking?!

    sblock,

    I dig your posts Bro, however on a point of minutia, the mando is in the lead in intro to Man Of Constant Sorrow. Our band plays it and I had to learn (rip it off) it...LOL!

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    Martin Stillion mrmando's Avatar
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    Default Re: What Were Those Guitarists Thinking?!

    Pretty strange list. I think it tells us more about the writer's mindset than it does about mandolins: "Yes, players like Thile, Marshall and Lichtenberg deserve some sort of perfunctory acknowledgment, but the main purpose of a mandolin is to play simple hooks to dress up an otherwise ordinary pop/rock song ... and I actually lack sufficient familiarity with mandolins to distinguish one version of a song that doesn't have one from another version of the same song that does."
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    Default Re: What Were Those Guitarists Thinking?!

    Quote Originally Posted by Steve Zawacki View Post
    What's wrong with rock?
    You have to ask?

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    Default Re: What Were Those Guitarists Thinking?!

    Quote Originally Posted by DataNick View Post
    sblock,

    I dig your posts Bro, however on a point of minutia, the mando is in the lead in intro to Man Of Constant Sorrow. Our band plays it and I had to learn (rip it off) it...LOL!

    When I watched that movie I always thought it sounded like more than 3 guys singing and one guy picking a guitar!

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    Martin Stillion mrmando's Avatar
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    Default Re: What Were Those Guitarists Thinking?!

    Quote Originally Posted by DataNick View Post
    I dig your posts Bro, however on a point of minutia, the mando is in the lead in intro to Man Of Constant Sorrow. Our band plays it and I had to learn (rip it off) it...LOL!
    Ah, but the clip posted to the Guitar Player list is this one, which does NOT have any mandolin.
    Emando.com: More than you wanted to know about electric mandolins.

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    Default Re: What Were Those Guitarists Thinking?!

    It's not too surprising that a list in a magazine devoted almost exclusively to the electric guitar would skew towards rock songs with mandolin in them. I don't think the mandolin needs more publicity or a higher profile. It's doing fine as it is.
    Steve

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    Purveyor of Sunshine sgarrity's Avatar
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    Default Re: What Were Those Guitarists Thinking?!

    I didn't watch the video. They included the track with guitar only. The other Soggy Bottom Boys track is with a full band and Mike kicks it off with a killer downstroke intro! Looks like they didn't watch the video either!

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    Default Re: What Were Those Guitarists Thinking?!

    But what I think this list achieves, and I'd add achieves damn well. Is appeasing to it's known audience. That's 10 songs the frequents oughta know well. I'd be surprised if guitarplayer.com's main base of frequenters was a bunch of Bill Monroe loving, Jethro Burns adoring, Dawg petting mandofiends. Leave it to mandolincafe to come up with a cooler list and guitarplayer.com to talk about your favorite lefty who isn't Jimi.

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    Loarcutus of MandoBorg DataNick's Avatar
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    Default Re: What Were Those Guitarists Thinking?!

    Quote Originally Posted by mrmando View Post
    Ah, but the clip posted to the Guitar Player list is this one, which does NOT have any mandolin.
    However as we de-evolve into minutia, my buddy sblock did say this:

    Quote Originally Posted by sblock View Post
    ...Yes, Compton's fine mandolin playing is featured prominently on OTHER tunes on the album that was made from this movie (OBWAT). But not this tune!
    My point is that the mando, as Shaun pointed out, is in fact there...Carry On!
    1994 Gibson F5L - Weber signed


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    Default Re: What Were Those Guitarists Thinking?!

    Quote Originally Posted by DataNick View Post
    sblock,

    I dig your posts Bro, however on a point of minutia, the mando is in the lead in intro to Man Of Constant Sorrow. Our band plays it and I had to learn (rip it off) it...LOL!
    Yeah, but my point here is that THAT version (with Mike Compton), which has the mando intro, is not the version that Guitar Player managed to post on their website as an "Amazing Mandolin Tune"! They posted a video with the recorded version that has guitar and vocals only, and NO MANDO INTRO. In fact, there is more than one version of this tune on the record that was released along with the film. Go here, to the Guitar Player website, and listen to what they actually posted: http://www.guitarplayer.com/gear/101...in-songs/48632. Evidently, they posted the wrong version of the tune!!

    Someone at Guitar Player was not doing his (or her) homework.

    I hope you see my point now.

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    Default Re: What Were Those Guitarists Thinking?!

    Quote Originally Posted by DataNick View Post
    However as we de-evolve into minutia, my buddy sblock did say this:



    My point is that the mando, as Shaun pointed out, is in fact there...Carry On!
    No, sorry, I think you and Shaun managed to confuse the video that Guitar Player actually posted (with guitar and vocals only) with a different version of the song that was recorded as a different track on the OBWAT album (with Compton mando intro). You owe it to yourself to go to their website and listen to what they posted there, not what folks here have posted, which is a different video! The folks at Guitar Player posted a mandolin-free version of an "amazing mandolin tune"!!

    Is that "The Sound of Silence"?

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    plectrist Ryk Loske's Avatar
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    Default Re: What Were Those Guitarists Thinking?!

    post deleted ..... can't complain about banjo posts and then rag on another instrument.

    Sorry,

    Ryk
    mandolin ~ guitar ~ banjo

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    Innocent Bystander JeffD's Avatar
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    Default Re: What Were Those Guitarists Thinking?!

    Setting aside that Guitar Player got the wrong clip, and if you use the phrase "mandolin tune" loosely, well then it is, as advertised, a list of 10 awesome mandolin tunes.

    Not a list of the 10 most awesome mandolin tunes, for sure, but their picks are in my opinion all awesome. YMMV of course.

    Actually, what it is, is the ten instances of mandolin music their readership are likely to have heard. Recognized as mandolin, I dunno.

    Its not what I think, but its not nothing either.


    My guess is that they would not agree with our list of 10 awesome guitar tracks. Tony Rice, Chet Atkins, etc.
    A talent for trivializin' the momentous and complicatin' the obvious.

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    funny....

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    Default Re: What Were Those Guitarists Thinking?!

    Quote Originally Posted by sblock View Post
    No, sorry, I think you and Shaun managed to confuse the video that Guitar Player actually posted (with guitar and vocals only) with a different version of the song that was recorded as a different track on the OBWAT album (with Compton mando intro). You owe it to yourself to go to their website and listen to what they posted there, not what folks here have posted, which is a different video! The folks at Guitar Player posted a mandolin-free version of an "amazing mandolin tune"!!

    Is that "The Sound of Silence"?
    I'm feelin' you Brotha!

    Needless to say we could all agree that they goofed it up...LOL!
    1994 Gibson F5L - Weber signed


    "Mandolin brands are a guide, not gospel! I don't drink koolaid and that Emperor is naked!"
    "If you wanna get soul Baby, you gots to get the scroll..."
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    Default Re: What Were Those Guitarists Thinking?!

    Quote Originally Posted by JeffD View Post
    ...My guess is that they would not agree with our list of 10 awesome guitar tracks. Tony Rice, Chet Atkins, etc.
    I like that analogy...this guy I've known for about a year is after me to "jam" with him. Nice guy who tells me all about his electric guitar gear that he's custom made, etc. I asked him if he ever heard of Tony Rice and of course he said Tony who?
    Then I popped this on for him and told him this is the kind of stuff I'm into...you should have seen his jaw drop as he proclaimed I can't play like that.
    Another guitar friend of mine tried to play it off by saying there's no money in it!

    1994 Gibson F5L - Weber signed


    "Mandolin brands are a guide, not gospel! I don't drink koolaid and that Emperor is naked!"
    "If you wanna get soul Baby, you gots to get the scroll..."
    "I would rather play music anyday for the beggar, the thief, and the fool!"
    "Perfection is not attainable; but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence" Vince Lombardi
    Playing Style: RockMonRoll Desperado Bluegrass Desperado YT Channel

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    Default Re: What Were Those Guitarists Thinking?!

    Nothing wrong, IMHO, with the mandolin playing a supporting role, making a cool rock song even cooler! No need for virtuosity in this case. The tone and range say it's a mandolin. Same when a sitar is used, or baritone guitar, or what have you, when used to good effect. Maggie May is a great example, totally makes the song!

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    Default Re: What Were Those Guitarists Thinking?!

    Quote Originally Posted by sblock View Post
    chosen by Guitar Player Magazine
    Well that's your trouble right there.

    It's true, the few pickers I play with who still retain the last shreds of their dignity won't play any of these.

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    Professional Dreamer journeybear's Avatar
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    Default Re: What Were Those Guitarists Thinking?!

    Hey, wait a minute now! Thank Dawg there's such a thing as "Friend Of The Devil." If it weren't for that, I would probably never get a chance to lead a song at a lot of jams - even if it IS that old war horse. Unless, of course, it's "Ripple."

    Of course, people who don't know a whole lot about mandolin nor have delved deep into the catalogue are only going to come up with tunes like the ones that make up most of this list. That's about all they know, you know? I'm just tickled they included Caterina Lichtenberg and Mike Marshall. That, for the folks at GP, is a real stretch.

    I'll give them credit for this, though: Mandolins are extremely versatile instruments that can add texture, mystery, drive, melodic interest, or rippin' pickin' to songs in almost any musical style. Yes, indeed!
    But that's just my opinion. I could be wrong. - Dennis Miller

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    Registered User sblock's Avatar
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    Default Re: What Were Those Guitarists Thinking?!

    Quote Originally Posted by Jeff Mando View Post
    Nothing wrong, IMHO, with the mandolin playing a supporting role, making a cool rock song even cooler! No need for virtuosity in this case. The tone and range say it's a mandolin. Same when a sitar is used, or baritone guitar, or what have you, when used to good effect. Maggie May is a great example, totally makes the song!
    Well, I do think your basic point here is quite reasonable: a mandolin, played in a supporting role in a rock song, can really help to make the arrangement come alive. And no real mandolin virtuosity is required for that. So true! But even with that point happily conceded, I completely fail to see how having a mandolin in a supporting role in a rock arrangement makes a song "an amazing mandolin tune!" That's like saying The Stars and Stripes Forever is an "amazing piccolo tune"!

    Frankly, I don't think those folks at Guitar Player have a clue when it comes to selecting "amazing mandolin tunes." (They probably do know how to pander to their base readership, however, which may explain things.) Furthermore, I'd bet the folks here at Mandolin Cafe could do a better job of picking great guitar tunes than the folks at Guitar Player could pick mandolin tunes. Maybe some of you want to nominate some of those?!

    To get the ball rolling, how about Tony Rice on "Tipper" or "Church Street Blues"? How about Andres Segovia on "Asturias (Leyenda)"? Or Chet Atkins on "Jordu" (or just about anything else)? Or Jimi Hendrix on "Voodoo Chile" or "All Along the Watchtower"? Or Les Paul on "Tiger Rag" or "Lady of Spain"? Doc Watson on "Black Mountain Rag"? So many choices...and these ALL FEATURE THE GUITAR, which is more than you can say for those "amazing mandolin tunes".

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    Default Re: What Were Those Guitarists Thinking?!

    Quote Originally Posted by sblock View Post
    ...Furthermore, I'd bet the folks here at Mandolin Cafe could do a better job of picking great guitar tunes than the folks at Guitar Player could pick mandolin tunes. Maybe some of you want to nominate some of those?!
    Green Grass & High Tides - The Outlaws
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    "Mandolin brands are a guide, not gospel! I don't drink koolaid and that Emperor is naked!"
    "If you wanna get soul Baby, you gots to get the scroll..."
    "I would rather play music anyday for the beggar, the thief, and the fool!"
    "Perfection is not attainable; but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence" Vince Lombardi
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