Entertainment For Lively Minds
Songs + Sings + Chops
Posted by peterafifer on 14 March 2011 - 9:03pm.
Another thread motivated me to put this up. I'd been chatting with some mates about what would make the ultimate artist. So I thought it would be this: songwriting + singing + musicianship. I posited some contenders - Todd (met with disdain by mates), Macca (not enough chops?), Prince (worse than Todd).
Anyway the answer is obvious. Isn't it?
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Macca? Not enough CHOPS?
I'm stunned. Have you ever listened to his basslines? He's one of the greats, on so many levels.
I told my mates
that Macca would be a favourite around these parts. But is he the ultimate?
Yes
.
I don't know about the ultimate.
But to say his technical chops are anything other than awesome - world class - is to ignore the evidence.
Agreed!
I love listening to Beatles tracks on headphones because I can really hear the bass lines, and there's no doubt McCartney is one of the greats ("Rain"!!)
And his guitar work is phenomenal as well. "Mother Nature's Son" came up on shuffle the other day, and as a long-time guitar player I can only feel shame at my paltry ability listening every time I hear that track...
He's a great guitarist
It's the solo on Taxman that does it for me. Phenomenal.
That solo
Is brilliant, isn't it?
Chops to spare
As George Martin wrote in his autobiography, McCartney is "an excellent musical all rounder, probably the best bass guitarist there is, a first-class drummer, brilliant guitarist, and competent piano player." And he's self-taught on all of them.
Jimi
Hendrix?
Surely it's only a matter of time before someone
mentions ....... RT.
Not RT
He fails on the singing. Has a voice to get by with but he's no great shakes at the old warbling.
By 'ultimate'
do you mean 'the last'? In which case we'll have to wait til this music malarkey ends and see who's left.
I love
the big brains in this place. You know what I mean. What would be a better way to express it?
Honestly I'm not having a personal pop at you.
It's a phrase/word/whatever that annoys me generally. But to be polite and answer your question, I think 'best' covers it.
I can't offer much to the thread beyond my inane pedantry as I'd say Macca, Prince and the Toddmeister all are great singers, lyricists and choppers. If pushed I'd go for Prince. Never seen him in the flesh but seen footage of him live is quite breathtaking. The other two can't dance half as well as him.
I love words
So I was genuinely interested. What's the emoticon for sincere?
If you're not taking the piss
then fair enough. I thought that seeing as 'penultimate' means the last but one, then ultimate must mean 'the last' whereas most marketing-speak uses it to mean 'the best'.
I moan about this (mainly to myself in my head) a lot and people don't seem that interested. Wonder why?
Oh. Of course.
The answer is Stevie Wonder. Game, set and match.
Are you saying he's a better
dancer than Prince? Believe it when I see it.
Maybe not.
But we all know how Stevie moves: it's iconic. And all the other attributes put him so far into the stratosphere that he gets a pass on that one in any case.
Fair dos.
Plus he most certainly influenced Prince not vice versa. But, as we all know, music's not a sport or a competition - there's room for everyone.
I'd rather listen to someone singing like Prince than someone trying to do a Stevie though. He brought the melisma even before Mizz Carey.*
*Genius nonetheless.
Stevie yes, but my nomination's not Mr Wonder...
Steve Winwood surely fits the bill.
One of the voices of rock music - no question!!
A brilliant songwriter over a 40+ year career.
A master of the Hammond organ. A multi-instrumentalist to rival Macca or anyone else. A criminally under-rated guitar player.
AND, my wife assures my, no friend of the ugly stick either. Not seen him shimmying but he's certainly less annoying than the petite purple one.
As Stevies go
that's a really good suggestion. But he doesn't do that floaty frock thing that La Nicks does, does he?
He has less need ...
... of easy access at the back (alledgedly).
Is it
Gary Barlow
More Deirdre than Gary
.
Could've Been Contenders
Donald Fagen - great songs and superb musicianship from the Steely Dan front man; his voice is perhaps a bit of an acquired taste though...
Buddy Holly - could have been the greatest of them all...
Terence Trent D'Arby (no laughing) - on the basis of his debut album, he had the songs, the voice, the looks, the moves. Not sure what "chops" he had though and of course he didn't sustain it.
Ultimately (in the sense of "in the final analysis") though it has to be Stevie Wonder (as if to prove the point, Superstition has just come on to play out the Cricket Highlights).
Kate Bush
of course. Do I win a prize?
Isn't it, as always
David Bowie? Iconic riffage on, say, Rebel Rebel, rudimentary but effective sax, Keyboards, excellent 12 string strummer and Stylophone virtuoso.
Or how about Pete Townshend? I'm sure some will question his voice a bit, not me, and the most cursory of listens to his demos indicate his more than competence on a wide selection of instruments.
The answer *is* Prince
Whatever disdain others might show, Prince meets all three criteria with ease. He's one of the best guitar players I've ever heard and I'm guessing he'd piss over most people on the piano, bass or the drums. Remember, on his first 3 or 4 albums, it's just him. Have a listen.
And of course, this is before he got really good.
Prince & The Revolution
I agree that Prince is right up there but, as you point out Matthew, this is before he got REALLY good. I would argue his golden period coincided with the time he played with the Revolution especially Wendy, Lisa and Shelia E. who added another dimension to the music. My own vote would be for Todd Rundgren who is a great soulful singer, fantastic guitarist, talented multi-instrumentalist, producer and writes beautiful songs. Unfortunately he suffers from putting out far too much stuff which buries the gems. On reflection I think that probably applies to most of the runners in this category, although I do love a good all rounder.
Giles Smith says...
in his book, Lost in Music, that whenever someone says he doesn't like Todd, he makes them a compilation with Todd doing stuff that they would like. He may be schizo, so there's a Todd for everyone.
Thanks for your suggestions
but the guy I had in mind was, indeed, Wonderful Stevie. Let's be honest, beside the rest of his genius, his harmonica playing sounds like angels conversing.