2017 - July 20 - Beautifully Broken

Throughout the years, I have loved many guitarists and their playing. I was completely enthralled by the virtuosity of Yngwie Malmsteen and Eddie Van Halen - two very different players, but with a focus on playing fast - or shredding. It is no secret that I like progressive rock, which often stimulates the more analytical side of my brain, where technical merit is highly important - and that led me to guitarists like John Petrucci of Dream Theater and Steve Howe of Yes. And I loved great 80s heavy metal, often with dual guitars from the likes of Dave Murray/Adrian Smith of Iron Maiden and Glenn Tipton/KK Downing of Judas Priest. Their tradition was changed up with the alternating leads of Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King of Slayer, who often played outrageous leads that seemed to come out of nowhere - much like what Alex Lifeson can do in Rush, because Geddy Lee has such a solid foundation for him.

I still like all of that. A lot. But when push comes to shove, if I were to say what kind of guitar I would like to play, it's not from the list above. I figured out pretty early that I am too lazy to get really fast on the guitar. I never practiced my scales - at least not to the point of being able to shred. And while otherworldly, eerie sounds - like those sounds Alex Lifeson often makes - are wonderful and very near and dear to my heart, I still don't think that's what I'd want to play. I would rather want to play guitar in a way that really taps into the emotions of a song. That makes you feel. I would want to be a guitar player that knows that often what you don't play is as important as what you play. Of course, that still requires technique beyond what I've ever had, but my favorite kind of guitarist is someone who can do that, and right now, I have been listening to Warren Haynes and what he is doing with his power trio Gov't Mule. Granted, they expanded from their original lineup of Warren Haynes on guitar and vocals, Matt Abts on drums, and Allen Woody on bass following Woody's untimely death in August 2000 and are now a quartet with Jorgen Carlsson taking Woody's place on the bass and Danny Louis playing guitar and keyboards.

In the time following Woody's death before finding a permanent replacement, they released two albums, The Deep End volume 1 and 2. On these albums they had help from a variety of bass players, including Roger Glover (Deep Purple), Jason Newsted (by then formerly of Metallica), Les Claypool (Primus), and Mike Gordon (Phish) to name just a few. They then gathered all of them and then some to a concert in New Orleans in 2003, and that's where a lot of the magic really happened. Just listen to the song Beautifully Broken, featuring George Porter Jr on bass, as it starts with When Doves Cry by Prince and segues perfectly into Beautifully Broken before it ends back with When Doves Cry. The guitarwork? Nothing short of exquisite...