Martin Barre "Benefit" LPC

[frazettafan]

Snag, I didn't think for a minute that you were implying that he wasn't any good. It's just that I find him a bit OTT sometimes and I wondered if it was for the same reasons? Maybe he's a bit pompous at times?

I know what you mean about the overdub part, it's cool. That song has a lot going for it but I still like Barre's duel with Evan's piano intro bit best.

 

[snag]

OTT is a good way of putting it. Although I love that about show business altogether, certain ones turn me off slightly. The intro duel is a great lesson in musical drama, and perhaps was influential in Supertramp's Bloody Well Right intro 3 years later.

 

[frazettafan]

Hey Yeah, there's a similarity there for sure.

 

[frazettafan]

Anyone seen this clip? There's some good shots of this guitar:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TY06aeOmVYE

That body looks almost too thick??

 

[Ad_02Std]

Everything looks too thick in that video. The aspect ratio is all out of whack.

 

[Mats A]

I think Ian Anderson is a genius. Also a great musician on many instruments also a great singer. He really puts on a show when out there.

 

[garywright]

Anyone seen this clip? There's some good shots of this guitar:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TY06aeOmVYE

That body looks almost too thick??

so apparently you didn't click on the link in post #9 :ganz :biggrin:

 

[garywright]

I thought this was an interesting photo - obviously Martins big guitar piece.

cool shot mike

 

[frazettafan]

so apparently you didn't click on the link in post #9 :ganz :biggrin:

HAHA, Duuuuuhhh.......no.....

 

[frazettafan]

Good thread this. It made me learn a couple of song's I wanted to play for years - "Wond'ring Aloud" especially. And it made me finally go out and buy the "Living in the Past" album.

Listening again to the Tull album's that I have I think "Benefit" is a better album than "Aqualung".

 

[ch willie]

I'm a great fan of Tull, especially Thick as a Brick. War Child is my 2nd fave. Barre's guitar work is amazing, especially on the early stuff when Ian Anderson gave him more freedom to roam as he pleased.

 

[garywright]

I've always liked the way he detaches a word sometimes, as in 'Wond'ring Aloud': "Then she comes, spilling crumbs on the bed, and I shake my.....head(yeah).

Mike ...I think you'll really enjoy this..fast forward to 17:30 :jim

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JObrOiTkkhE

 

[frazettafan]

Thank's Gary, that was cool - loved the wide-eyed expression at 17:42. That song is amazing, I keep shoving on the capo and bashing it out myself these days having finally got to grips with it a couple of weeks back. Anderson was obviously pretty handy guitar player - I wonder what would have happened if he hadn't got put off by Clapton's chops back then and pursued the hot-shot soloist route? He might not have written such an incredible catalogue of songs?

Thanks again mate, that made my day! eace2

 

[garywright]

you're welcome and yeah that was the best live version of Wond'ring that i've heard

 

[Mats A]

That's true, it kind of makes that song.

Back in the (Good Old) '70's a music-loving mate of mine reckoned he read an interview where Ian Anderson claimed to have played the lead solo on "Aqualug". He swore blind that Anderson said this and we argued about it for years!!

What do you think - possible??

"Aqualung's" overrated IMO. It's not a bad album but there's some really self-indulgent twaddle on there once you get past side one.

Who knows. Martin Barre is a great player and on that solo some parts to me sounds a bit sloppy.

 

[zombiwoof]

A few years ago there was an article in one of the guitar mags, where they showed Martin Barre's Junior, which had just been fixed up. I guess it had been pretty worn out for years, and he hadn't been playing it, so I think they refretted it, added a wrap bridge that would intonate better, and maybe refinished it (I don't recall the details). He was really happy at the time to have the guitar back in playing condition. It was probably in an old Guitar Player magazine.

Al

 

[JRW8214@AOL.COM]

I know he used it for one of the tracks on his solo album Stages

 

[frazettafan]

Who knows. Martin Barre is a great player and on that solo some parts to me sounds a bit sloppy.

I agree, I was listening to it the other day and exactly that thought struck me.

But it has a lot of "Barre-isms'' in it and it's a great, lyrical solo. Listening to Anderson's acoustic dexterity that solo would be well within his scope technically.....

 

[garywright]

I agree, I was listening to it the other day and exactly that thought struck me.

But it has a lot of "Barre-isms'' in it and it's a great, lyrical solo. Listening to Anderson's acoustic dexterity that solo would be well within his scope technically.....

I highly doubt Ian would have the same touch/vibrato as Martin ...that solo has Martin's sig all over it ...funny cause Ian didn't write the lyrics either to what is known as his most famous song

 

[Ad_02Std]

I never really liked the Aqualung solo, and I'm not sure why.


From: http://www.premierguitar.com/Magazine/Issue/2011/Jul/Interview_Martin_Barre_Taking_Aqualung_on_the_Road.aspx

The solo on the song “Aqualung” has received as many accolades as any rock guitar solo in existence. Was that composed, one take, or a composite?

It was a one-off and I did it first take. I've never learned licks—especially at that point of my career—and I never, ever used the blues licks. All the other guys were doing that and I wanted melody. In my mind, I can hear a melody, and then I can play it. That's what I've always loved about playing an instrument. You hear where you want to go in your head, and your fingers can go there for you—it's sort of a direct connection. I don't have any sort of hang-up about having to play a B.B. King or Freddie King lick. I love the blues as well, but in those days, it was a very free approach. I just played.

Led Zeppelin was in the same studio as Jethro Tull when you were recording Aqualung. Did you guys ever drop in on each other's sessions?

We were Led Zeppelin's support band in 1969. They were a wild bunch of guys as you can imagine, but we got along well enough. In the studio, we both got buried in our work for some reason. I hadn't seen Jimmy Page in over a month in the studio, but when I was doing the solo for “Aqualung,” he coincidentally decided to come upstairs and say hello. I was in the middle of the solo and he was in the control room waving at me. I thought if I waved back, I'd have to play the solo again. So I just carried on playing and grinned, and that was the solo used on the album.

Actually, with that in mind, he did a pretty good job of it. Not sure I would've coped so well doing a studio take under that pressure.