The guitar albums just keep on coming. When I started this blog, I considered including some kind of alert whenever I came across a Bo Diddley beat on any of these albums. There have been a lot so far, mostly because my collection consists of white bands that idolize the great blues artists. Quicksilver Messenger Service went one step further and, instead of just emulating the blues legends, they made an entire album-long tribute to Bo. And since Bo Diddley is my favorite blues musician, I had to buy this.
I can't say I love this record. I rarely play it. Maybe I haven't given it a sufficient chance, but it sounds somewhat dated. Long, drawn-out, acid-influenced semi-live jam sessions have never really appealed to me. They seemed to be popular in the sixties but, with the short attention of today's generation, music like this would have no audience. But then again, kids these days are pretty stupid.
But what I can appreciate is the spontaneous spirit and the raw improvisational talent of the players. This record isn't clean and the style is far from packaged. Like jazz, it has a certain energy that gets back in touch with the idea that music is an expression of impulsive passion, not something to be polished and manufactured as a product. In that way, it gets down to the roots of blues music.
And the monumental and almost cinematic moments of "Calvary" is something I do love.
favorite song: "Calvary"
No comments:
Post a Comment