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Re: don't shoot me, I'm only the piano player



The Who Mailing List Digest wrote:
> Kevin Cherry wrote:
> The only instrumental debate is on Pete v. Paul on piano, and I think Paul might
> pull this off--although that's only from concert.  I don't know how much of the
> piano Paul played on the studio albums.  I know George Martin did a lot, just
> like Nicky Hopkins.

I don't think Pete, Paul, or Freddie Mercury are a serious threat on the
piano.  They all learned it largely as a composition tool, and I think
if you asked them they'd admit (excepting Freddie, of course) that none
of them are horribly good piano players.  That's why the Chuck Leavells
of this world can still pull a paycheck.
- ----
> Date: Wed, 21 May 1997 14:09:49 -0400
> From: "Mark R. Leaman" <mleaman@sccoast.net>
> Subject: Release delay & Disco
> 
> > Nope, the release date has been pushed back to June 3.
> 
> Bruce:
> 
> So I was told too, yesterday. Still the ICE website lists them as being
> released yesterday. You'd think they would update a website...it damn
> near ruined my day, not getting them.

If not for the fact that the Fogerty album had been released the same
day, I would have been quite upset.  This way, it just gives me an
excuse to visit Tower again in 2 weeks.  And the Fogerty release is
quite good.  Anyone who's heard it:  is it just me or does "Bring it
down to Jelly Roll" sound like an early-seventies Stones song?

> 
> > Hard to say whether Led Zep would have done disco as anything more than
> > a joke.
> 
> Lev:
> 
> Zep did do a Disco song: For Your Life. Funk/Disco, anyway. The Kinks
> were the ones to do Disco (Superman) as a joke.

I tend to disagree.  First, Funk is different from Disco.  Funk features
unbelieavably complex rhythms and stunt bass, as well as all sorts of
weird stuff.  Disco uses a cymbal-obsessed drummer and three Aussie
brothers with falsettos.  There are some other important differences,
but they're not really worth going into.

Second, Led Zeppelin had a long-standing tendency to do songs in other
styles than straightforward hard-rock.  Unless you also want to claim
that the whole 'take me to the bridge' routine on HOTH was an attempt to
cut into James Brown's market share, I would posit that LZ's foray into
the gray area between funk and disco was a joke.
> ------------------------------
> Date: Wed, 21 May 1997 18:35:05 -0500
> From: "Leo O'Sullivan" <Leo.O'Sullivan@globalone.net>
> Subject: Yeah yeah yeah vs YEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAHHHH!!!!
> 
> See! There's nothing wrong with a little harmless debate.  Who vs
> Beatles.  No one got hospitalized; good clean fun.  I agree with a most
> of what Lev replied (especially the reminder of the other great
> anti-disco song "Dancing Fool", I love that.  Also Clapton's shining
> moment on "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", and, of course, Grand Funk
> Railroad IS the ultimate live band.  Shame on me.), but being the bum
> that I am I also differ on some of his points.  On the Who being the
> only great British rock band to not give in to disco, Lev added (Deep
> Purple, Yes, Black Sabbath, Eric Clapton (though he came close). Hard to
> say whether Led Zep would have done disco as anything more than a
> joke).  I meant Great British rock bands as in the granddaddy groups
> (Beatles, Stones, Who, Kinks).  Out of the groups you mention (though I
> love old Yes and Clapton (old Clapton esp Cream)), I only consider Led
> Zep a group of the status of the early Big Four.  You're right, they
> never sold out either, but as you point out they bought the farm during
> the disco era's height (because of Bonham not disco, granted).  Also Lev
> mentioned other Who song content that Pete should be blamed for such as
> masturbation, child abuse, etc.

No, I said he should be blamed for being the first mass-market
songwriter to mention teen angst.  As opposed to puppy-love-angst, I
guess.  Though it's not really his fault, any more than it is Michael
Jordan's fault that every kid in every schoolyard spends years trying to
perfect the double-clutch, change-hands layup that blew Marv Albert's
wig off in the 1990 championship vs. the Lakers.  


> You're right but I don't blame him for
> that, I applaud him.  That stuff was all going on but he was one of the
> few songwriters to tackle it head on back then.  Good for you, Pete.

That's exactly what I was trying to say.

> When I said the Beatles lyrics were more accessible I meant more direct,
> not so philosophic (not all of it and I'm not criticizing Pete for his
> philosophic bent.  I love him more for it, but it narrowed his audience
> I think).  Bad choice of words I admit.  Steinbeck was far more direct
> than Danielle Schlemeel Steele will ever be.  I stand by comment that
> The Who were the first rock group to successfully incorporate
> synthesizers into a rock song.  Where are Kraftwerk now?  Where are
> those songs played?  Even if the Beatles used synthesizer on Abbey Road
> I consider that experiment, "Maxwell's Silver Hammer", cute and amusing
> but not a spectacular breakthrough like WGFA or "Baba O'Riley".  The
> Beatles used it for it's novelty.  The Who built their tunes around it.
> BUT, although The Who made this breakthrough they are not responsible
> for the synth mess of late Seventies and Eighties.  The nausea created
> by synth songs of later groups occurred because those groups used
> synthesizers as a lead instrument.

Exactly.  That's the trouble with keyboards in general.  Outside of
piano players (Nicky Hopkins, Johnnie Johnson (who should come first in
this list), Chuck Leavell, etc.), there are very few keyboardists who
can lead a band (Ray Manzarek and Jon Lord come to mind as a couple of
exceptions).