this is a great topic, marcel. when i was young there was so much emphasis
on "virtuosismo". just think of rick wakeman, keith emerson, steve howe,
chick corea, patrick moraz and a big etc.. even deep purple's guitarists
were virtuosi. we really had to practice our scales before we would dare to
play a keyboard solo in public. i think that rock was more baroque -- in the
strict sense of the word -- in those days. we would buy a jeff beck album
BECAUSE there would be incredibly difficult riffs or phrases and solos. we
wanted to see how far the guy could go. joni was first a virtuosa in a way.
her tunings, her rhyming patterns and her high notes were marks of
achievement in the virtuoso sense.
by the same token, when the 80's arrived, there was a general reaction
against "virtuosismo" that in some cases produced very interesting results
and in some others...well, quite the opposite. still, i think that it was
mainly the typical pendular thing in art and history. "virtuosismo" was out,
punk was in, something like that.
virtuosos can be very pompous and boring too. remember those quadruple
albums each side of which would be practically a solo???????? on the other
hand, a little bit more technique and a little bit less technology would be
a welcome sign of balance. [i don't have anything against technology as long
as it doesn't substitute gimmicks for talent.]
wallyK
marcel commented:
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>.
Having seen both phases of neils career I'd have to second this one except
for one simple fact and that is that all musicians get technically better
with age. Its the leap across the stage and the landing on their knees they
cant do anymore. Pete Townshend (and Joni) is far better technically today
than he was years ago. The recent Who tour was a jaw dropper and the guy is
past 50. Geezers can still bust the chops. Having said that Im not sure how
many guitar players today are close to several who were youngsters in the
60's and 70's. Jeff beck, Jimi, Jimmy Page, David Gilmore, Alvin Lee, I
could
go on. Im not aware of any true creative virtuosos today although maybe some
of the young fans can correct me. I will say Im not hearing any new sounds
in
quite some time. Those guys were 20-25 back then or younger. So Neil is
amazing today. He wasnt bad way back then just not as polished. His one note
lead solos like in Down By The River were pretty banal next to the other
guys
mentioned above. marcel deste
