Bright Lights

One of the more interesting guitar players out there is Gary Clark Jr. His new record, Blak and Blu just came out and is one of the better records I have heard this year.  He is nominally considered a blues guitarist but he shouldn't be pigeon-holed into that genre. He has plenty of rock and plenty of straight blues and a good dose of R&B.

I first heard of him in Rolling Stone and with the song "Bright Lights."

That's from Eric Clapton's Crossroads Festival in 2010. It's a pretty killer cut. Just great guitar playing and a great voice. This song shows up on his Bright Lights ep from last year and again on the new record. It's a worthy song for double inclusions.

He played the 930 Club last Friday and I thought about going, but I also thought about seeing Earth, but in the end I didn't go to either because I am a loser and an old man. Well, not really, I was just tired from band practice the night before and didn't want to stay up too late. OK, I am a loser and an old man. Sue me.

Anyway, I like the new record. Like I said it's a good mix of rock and R&B with a classic blues vibe. It could easily have been a standard blues record, which would be kind of boring. I am not the biggest blues fan in the world. I appreciate it for the great talents that are in the genre, but I can only take it in doses. I have to be in the right mood for it. This record cuts through that though.

It probably won't make my favorite 10 of the year of the year but it's very enjoyable and will have staying power through next year. It's better than the latest Joe Bonamassa record and he's I guy I really like too. I download (legally of course) maybe 8 to 10 new records a month depending on what's new. I guess from reading the blog you're getting the impression I dig music, so it's only natural I reckon. If Gary comes back through town I will likely go see him. He also has excellent taste in guitars.

GRULHH: Marquee Moon

Editors note: I am going to start a new feature called GRULHH, which stands for Great Record U Likely Haven't Heard. I expect you to go off to the local record shop or iTunes or wherever you steal music from or Spotify and immediately procure or at least listen to the records in this series. Why? Because they are great and you likely haven't heard them. You're welcome.

I play guitar but admittedly not very well. I reckon if I practiced a lot more than I do, or maybe if I started playing when I was young and not when I was 28ish (or something like that) then maybe I'd be able to be a competent lead guitar player instead of the passable rhythm guitarist. Happily for my band's sake I can sing (how well is open to interpretation) and write songs (which I actually think I do fairly well but again I'll leave you to be the judge of that).

The point here is that I am always impressed by good guitar playing be it on record, live, or by Tom standing across the basement from me. When most folks think of great guitarists and great guitar albums, the usual suspects show up: Hendrix, Van Halen, Clapton. One record I would put in that list (and that a lot of rock writers do anyway) is Television's Marquee Moon.

It's interesting that a band that came out of the 1970s NYC club scene were such virtuoso guitar players; and that they let their virtuosity come out on record. The licks and leads and run that Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd pull off on this record is really stunning. If you are guitar player, and I am thinking mainly of younger players like my nephews, this is a record you should really give a chance to.

Here's "See No Evil" which is the first track on the record.

What's really great about it is the interplay between the two. The rhythm lines and the lead lines weave in and out and around each other. The whole record is like this, vocally and vibe in tune with bands like Talking Heads, but the guitars are creating a whole different element. This record, to my ears, at least, sounds like nothing else on the planet. It's tough for a guitar band to set itself really apart, to do something unique and special. Television have the guitars acting as another voice here, where you don't just listen to it as the guideposts or the propulsion of the song, not a wall of noise and sound but parts that demand your attention, leaving you wonder where it's going next, how it will be different the next pass through.

Television didn't last terribly long. They made another record which is good but just isn't on the same plane. The most notable thing done after this was when Richard Lloyd helped Matthew Sweet out on Girlfriend and Altered Beast, two other very unique sounding guitar records. Television did reunions and a record not too terribly long ago, but again, it doesn't have the magic they captured on Marquee Moon.

If you got nothing better to do, here's the awesome title track. Be warned it is ten minutes long, so you can always surf someplace else in another window while this is going.