Entertainment For Lively Minds
Flutes of fancy
Posted by Austin on 5 February 2010 - 5:14am.
Following the recent publicity surrounding a court decision for Men at Work to be challenged for lifting a flute riff from the 1934 smash hit "Kookaburra Sits In the Old Gum Tree", I was reflecting on what a great song Down Under is and how that flute bit really does work very well. It's lovely.
Other than James Galway, I am struggling to remember many flute riffs that have appeared in rockular music. Shakira is more of a pan-pipe kinda girl and I vaguely remember a Mike Oldfield song or two. Other than that...what?
http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/music/3293523/Men-at-Work-ripped-of...
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See...
...Focus and Jethro Tull. Paul Horn's probably a bit more on a jazz tip, but some of his stuff's fairly lively.
Early Kraftwerk, too, of course.
Jethro Tull, Focus, Genesis, Camel, Gong, Golden Earring
all Prog-rockular, I grant you, but indubitably flutey
and since they seem to have made a bit of a comeback recently, I give you the mighty Gong
"indubitably flutey"
What price that phrase being used when the England rugby centre scores a try in the next few weeks?
Wouldn't that be great?
Well, as a Scot you might not agree, and I can't imagine the great Bill McLaren would have said it (though in my mind he sounds great). Nigel Starmer-Smith perhaps?
See whistling
I think flutes on records are far far too close to recorders and whistling. Perhaps it's just that they tend to be used on records that were always going to be mildly irritating eg Men at Work, Jethro Dull.
Midlake
There are flutes all over the new album.
Indeed there are
Has to be
Slark by Stackridge. Flute AND fiddle.
My answer is - as it always is -
Eric Dolphy
... with an honorable mention for Frank Wess's wonderful flute contributions to Dorothy Ashby's 1958 masterpiece "In a Minor Groove"
Nice.
A rare photograph of Eric Dolphy playing the flute with his beard, there. That should be a cover shot!
Harold McNair,
The Fence. Brilliant jazz rock. Highly recommended.
Two for one on this clip
I was looking for some of the Dave Valentin I used to listen to 20 years ago, but the best I could find was this clip of him with Herbie Mann. DV made a great live album, at the Blue Note NYC, which is worth checking out.
No mention of Horslips?
More than flute
The Don Partridge LP has oodles of kazoo too! His version of Dock Of The Bay uses a flute instead of the Otis whistle. But you can't beat a bit of kazoo.
http://open.spotify.com/track/6KGZoA4jDcuKmY8WakFDXY
Unbelievably
EMF's 1995 album Cha Cha Cha features quite a lot of flute.
Caravan
Caravan frequently featured main man Pip Hastings' brother Jimmy (a jazz man) on sax and flute. The track "A place of my own" features a flute solo of bouncy beauty which always brings joy.
But can anyone out-flute
Ron Burgundy from "Anchorman"?
The Moody Blues..
featuring the mighty Ray Thomas most memorably on Knights in White Satin from 1967. I think they were described as 'fusion' at the time with jazz influences from certain members. Ray retired from the scene about 7 years ago having succumbed to gout (the flautist's curse).
Californian Man...
Why is gout the flautists curse?
Do they have to imbibe vast quantities of red wine to blow the thing?
Please explain!
Good question ol' 53
I see like most 'layfolk' you have fallen into the old Henry VIII/red wine and, probably, 'rich food' syndrome. But. hey don't fret, you are most definitely not alone. I will try to give you some insight but don't feel bad if it seems a bit 'difficult'.
Gout is, as we all know, an ARTHRITIC affecting various joints mainly in men in the 40-60 range (worried already?). "TOO MUCH URATE" I almost hear you say; and you would be right to say that. But, hey, that ain't the whole story. As you will no doubt know, we got the urate going through the plasma (No, No, No - not your big 52 incher!); we got the kidney problems (maybe this is where your red wine steps up to the plate); we got the Tophi but this ain't no meat substitute (that's tofu 53 - TOFU - Do not get them confused!!). Our guys are little crystals attacking the joints the sonsofabitch ('scuse my language ladies). Then you got pain and swelling. Now how in the name of the wee man are you gonny play the flute with all that to contend with? Sorry, Friday nights bring oot the Scottish in me.
Remember, avoid the purines, the diuretics and , yeah, for sure, the Chianti. Joy, Hope, Love & Peace.
Got that!
So..... avoid eating prunes, chianti (no probs, mine is a large merlot).... crystals attacking the joint? Mmm and thats bad??
OK, I understand.... NOT!
Oh, you are a one...
PURINES silly! Not Prunes - quite a different matter ol' 53!
A colourless CRYSTALLINE bicyclic compound - adenine or guanine present in the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA old bean). Now no bike jokes please. Surely by now you realise there can be no greater curse imagineable to those oft forgotten melodious masters of mouth music? Perhaps now the mystery of Mr Iain Anderson's resolutely un-bending kneecap will seem a little less inexplicable.
The Hustle - Van McCoy
Gotta love a bit of disco flute.
Traffic
Two Examples:
Mercury Rev
Mercury Rev used to use flutes a fair bit, in their pre-"Deserter's Songs" psychedelic era. Mind you, at that time their tracks used to use pretty much everything on Earth, and in the space of a few minutes might take in African singers, oompah bands and goodness knows what else in getting from A to B.
Here's an example - "Meth of a Rockette's Kick" from their second album "Boces". The flute doesn't do a huge amount in this one but it's always there: http://open.spotify.com/track/0Q5HMNqki3FFLJkdY4Yjny
So long,
Frank Lloyd Wright...