GLEN CAMPBELL CHATS AND PICKS WITH STEVE LUKATHER. (BONUS CLIP WITH JERRY REED)

Without belaboring the point, I'll admit upfront that Steve Lukather is not one of my favorite guitarists. Regardless, in his role here asking Glen Campbell questions about guitar and sessions in the old days, he acquits himself adequately. He's obviously a serious player.

I haven't watched this in depth yet, but it's essential viewing for me because of Glen's comments about his work on Beach Boys sessions. It's only really a minute or less of valuable material on that topic, but I'm always fascinated to learn even a tidbit about who played which guitar part on those records.

A few other highlights from me skimming it--

1. Glen Campbell couldn't remember the name of the instrumental "Raunchy," although he could play the sax part from it. Steve Lukather had evidently not heard it before.

2. Lukather asked about the rumor that Glen had played the McGuinn 12-string intro on "Mr. Tambourine Man." I had never heard this rumor. The other parts were played by session guys, I believe. Campbell played great 12-string elsewhere, but according to him the Roger McGuinn part was played by McGuinn.

3. Early in the clip, Glen plays some burning solos on a country progression. It's a little sloppy, maybe, but it's a quick little lesson on how Glen can tear it up in one position. Then he has some flashy position shifting licks. (It's good to be able to work in both of those ways. Basically, you play hot in one position, then play hot while you're shifting to another, then play hot in the next position. It really is that simple!)

4. Glen plays some of the chord voicings from "Lovin' Feeling."

Here's a bonus, a TV clip with Jerry Reed and Glen playing "Guitar Man." Now, that is hot.

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DUANE EDDY, "CRAZY ARMS"

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DUANE EDDY, "CRAZY ARMS"

John Lennon once said that if you wanted to give rock and roll another name, you could just call it "Chuck Berry." I'll make a similarly uncontroversial statement-- Duane Eddy is synonymous with "twang," as well as "melody."

I picked this clip because it has good coverage of Duane's picking hand, but virtually any Eddy cut will illustrate his basic philosophy of how to make a guitar instrumental "memorable" (his word). Play the melody!

I'll confess to rarely following Duane's sage advice. I've been spending the last few years feverishly trying to get my chops up (a phrase I first heard from Tom Heyman years ago), but of late I've started wondering if maybe I should be focusing more on melody playing. Maybe it's the tiny sideman voice in my head, saying things like, "Maybe you should play the melody more." I have found this statement cryptic in the past, but hearing Duane play, I feel that the mists are dissipating in front of my eyes.

Get ready for the upcoming box set, "The Birth of a Guitar Legend - The Jamie Singles Sessions 1957-1962". Along with his early singles, the set includes alternate takes, unissued material and session chat. Here's a link to an online debate about echo, reverb, stereo, mono, etc.
I'm torn, because I care about sound when I hear it, but sometimes these kinds of debates strike me as pedantic. You be the judge. Regardless of my feelings about this, I thank online fanatics for making information available-- they are providing a valuable service.

bsnpubs.websitetoolbox.com/post?id=4905396&trail=

If I haven't dropped enough guitarist names already, here's the substance of a conversation I had a while back with my friend and colleague Alex McCullough, following a Duane recording session Alex was lucky enough to be part of.

"How did Duane Eddy get his sound in the studio?"

"He plugged his Gretsch into a Fender amp and played the melody."

Alex, please correct me if there's anything substantively wrong with this transcription of our discussion.
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LAURINDO ALMEIDA WITH THE MJQ, "ONE NOTE SAMBA"

The recent Tommy Tedesco post had Laurindo in the background, and it whetted my appetite for some upfront Almeida.

Laurindo Almeida is one of those names I've heard a million times, but I've never really made much effort to hear his work. Well, that just means one more reason why growing older doesn't have to be a bad thing-- it presents an opportunity to dig deeply into the music of this great master. There's additional Almeida available online, including some hip "bossa nova" arrangements of Debussy et al. Let me know if you need more, and I'll take care of it.
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TOMMY TEDESCO, "QUIET NIGHT OF QUIET STARS"

Just a couple thoughts about this recording of the incomparable Tommy Tedesco.

1. It seems a little crass to describe what Laurindo Almeida does here as "rhythm guitar," although I suppose it is that.

2. There was a time when something like this was considered background music, or elevator music. If they played music like this in elevators now, I'd never get out of the damn elevator. I believe I'd be willing to live in one.

3. Nice shot of Tommy sitting next to Carol Kaye.
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GUITAR INSTRUCTIONAL VIDEOS

I'm in the process of learning how to make guitar instructional videos. Most likely I'll begin with some short ones, and eventually move on to longer ones with more detail. Please feel free to comment here with any suggestions about what you'd like to see. I'll have a fair amount of free ones up here and elsewhere, and I'll be trying to figure out how to make money from them. My current plan is to post the shorter "teaser" videos for free, and make more in-depth lessons available for sale.

I've found that few people want to pay for tablature and transcription, and those who are willing to pay don't want to pay very much. Given that putting notation and tab together takes a huge amount of time, I'm refocusing my efforts on videos rather than notation. I'm gambling that instructional videos will be more enticing-- we'll see!

Now is a good time to send me suggestions, because in the short term there's a good chance I'll be available to make a video available for free that incorporates whatever you're looking for. Here's an incomplete list of things I'm considering.

VIDEOS FOCUSING ON SPECIFIC PLAYERS
DON RICH
FREDDIE KING
JAMES BURTON
ROY NICHOLS
CLARENCE WHITE
BILLY BYRD/LEON RHODES

VIDEOS FOCUSING ON SPECIFIC SONGS OR PROGRESSIONS
UNDER THE DOUBLE EAGLE
I IV V
my song "TONIGHT"
MY BABE (open E swampy/bluesy a la Burton, Fogerty, Mick Green, Little Walter, etc.)

VIDEOS FOCUSING ON MY APPROACH to PUTTING LINES TOGETHER
my style is a blend of country, rock, blues, and jazz

VIDEOS FOCUSING ON LEARNING THE WHOLE NECK
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ORDERING INFO FOR TRANSCRIPTIONS

To order TRANSCRIPTIONS/NOTATION AND TABLATURE, please send an email to Karl Straub, address karlstraub@hotmail.com. List the items you're interested in, or request anything not on list. After I get your email, I'll give you a total so you can PAY WITH PAYPAL or mail in payment. (please note-- I can no longer do transcription work for people without receiving payment up front. After I receive your payment, I will send transcription, if it's one I already have done, or I will begin the work and send on completion.
NOW ACCEPTING PAYPAL! INTERNATIONAL ORDERS WELCOME.
Please send checks to
Karl Straub
406 Cloverway Drive
Alexandria, Va 22314
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GEORGE BARNES WITH CONNIE FRANCIS, "LIPSTICK ON YOUR COLLAR"

George comes in around :58 with a Burton-like solo. I would guess this is the kind of guitar break Frank Zappa meant when he referred disparagingly to "clean teen" guitar playing. Perhaps so, but if I could play like this off the top of my head, I wouldn't care what Frank Zappa said about it.
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GUITAR TECH VS. LOCAL CREW

This is really great. Enjoy!

(thanks to Howard Parker for sending this along.)
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THE WRECKING CREW

Here's a trailer for the documentary about the Wrecking Crew by Tommy Tedesco's son Denny. It's hard for me to write about this amazing group of musicians without an embarrassing reliance on superlatives-- but a movie about them is an essential document of a little corridor in American pop music history. It was a time when rock and roll was changing pop music, but the old assembly line approach to recording was still in place-- perhaps the last gasp of the Tin Pan Alley golden era. This meant that top-notch old-school players were brought in to play cutting-edge modern pop like Phil Spector's productions and the Beach Boys' "Pet Sounds" album, and the result (in its best moments) was exhibit A for the argument that knowing how to play doesn't have to mean that soulless plastic drivel is all you can do.

My comments here are just the tip of the iceberg-- which you already know if you are watching the clip. Check out their site for more information, and an opportunity to contribute to a historic project.

Thanks to Denny for passing this link along. www.wreckingcrewfilm.com/index2.html
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BOSS TALENT SIMULATOR PEDAL

Thanks to Ed Supple for passing this along.
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DAVID HIDALGO, "ONE TIME, ONE NIGHT"

I've always liked Los Lobos, but have only really heard a cut or two here and there. Hidalgo's playing on this song really floored me-- it sounds like a much better version of what I'm trying to do. I'd guess his lines are influenced by traditional Mexican instrumental styles, but it sounds to my ear like some Scotch/Irish fiddle-tune vocabulary too. (A little ballad-mode Hendrix too, at the top.) I'm not qualified as far as knowing the history of those styles, so I don't know if there was any cross-pollinating going on before the "modern" era, but this need not matter to the player (like myself!) considering stealing from Hidalgo.

I need to listen to this a lot more, but so far I hear a blend of major pentatonic and mixolydian modal approaches, along with a pretty steady stream of 2/4 sixteenth notes. Add to that an excellent example of how a Fender can be trashy and twangy both. Beautiful playing throughout-- he does a great job of shifting from one kind of line to another, which makes a long solo seem short to the listener. The Allmans used to do this kind of thing, too-- a word to the wise!
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"IT'S ALL OVER NOW," BOBBY WOMACK OR THE STONES-- WHY CHOOSE?

Bobby Womack with the Valentinos, "It's All Over Now." People like me have heard the Stones cover of this song, which is great, but the playing on this original is less stiff for sure. It's a good example of how soul music and old-school r&b often had other flavors, like bubblegum and country, mixed in.

And here's the Stones version. I love both of 'em. (This illustrates perfectly how the Stones could work magic when they didn't try to slavishly ape a black music performance.)


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NEW FREDDIE KING TRANSCRIPTION NOW AVAILABLE, "NICKEL-PLATED"

I just finished a new transcription-- one of Freddie King's great blues instrumentals. Excerpt at right, the whole thing is six pages. See the catalog for ordering info--

karlstraubguitar.blogspot.com/2010/01/catalog-of-available-transcriptions.html
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HANK MARVIN'S ECHO SOUNDS

For Shadows fans, here's Hank Marvin demonstrating some of his famous echo sounds.



And here's another clip with a Shadows fan explaining how to get a pretty close approximation of the "Wonderful Land" sound with two delay pedals. I'm still trying to figure this out, but it looks do-able, if I can only get my analog delay pedal to work again--
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RICHARD KISER AND THE MUFFLER GUITAR, "GHOST RIDERS IN THE SKY"

The Thunderbird muffler guitar runs a little hot, perhaps, but it gets a great twangy tone. More info at www.rkisermusic.com.
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MICK TAYLOR, WITH THE ROLLING STONES, "LOVE IN VAIN"

Mick Taylor plays ride-out solo on Stones version of Robert Johnson classic.
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TOMMY TEDESCO, KING OF SESSION GUITARISTS

Until I saw this clip, the only footage I'd ever seen of Tommy Tedesco was his Hot Licks instructional video, which I have on VHS because it doesn't seem to be on DVD. (I just remembered-- he was in the band on the old "Fernwood Tonight" show, so if that ever comes out on DVD I'll snap it up.)

Tedesco was, and is, one of my favorite guitarists. It's difficult to assess his impact because his entire career was in the shadows; he played on countless records, as well as TV and film soundtracks. Many of my favorite TV show themes and background music featured Tommy. The TAMI show concert, just out on DVD, has a backup "orchestra" with Tedesco on guitar. I saw this concert film years ago, and remembered that after the Stones segment, the pit band played a long instrumental "raveup" with killer guitar soloing that sounds like Tommy to me. (If anyone can confirm or deny this, please comment!)

Watching the DVD, I was reminded of how years ago session guitarists like Tommy got on my radar, and how I quickly assimilated them into my mental picture of what the guitar could do. I already had the usual rock guitar heroes of the day in my brain, Page, Clapton, Hendrix, et al, but hearing Tedesco confused the issue for me. Those rock guitarists were great, but were they better than this guy who seemed to be able to play expertly in any style?

Recently, I've been planning out my playing for a recording session where I'm playing a version of Thelonious Monk's "Round Midnight." I've been trying to decide which direction to go on that track, and kicking around some ideas-- Jeff Beck Yardbirds fuzz? Danny Gatton trash with slapback? When I heard Tedesco's playing on the TAMI show finale, it all came together for me. I've never heard any rock guitar better than what he played there-- it's essentially the sound of a jazz guitarist slumming. If I can get some Tedesco-esque picking on this recording, my job will be done. Thanks, Tommy!
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WAYNE KRAMER AND FRED "SONIC" SMITH, WITH THE MC5, "KICK OUT THE JAMS"

Here's a great live clip from the Detroit Tubeworks TV show. As much as I love the Stooges, sometimes when I want to hear an over-the-top late sixties protopunk band from Michigan, I turn to the MC5.

I'll be offline for a bit-- this dose of adrenaline will have to tide you over till I'm back at my computer.
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ALEX CHILTON, R.I.P.

Alex Chilton just passed away. This news reminded me of all the hours I spent years ago trying to absorb his music. Chilton is mostly known as a songwriter, which is fair enough; his guitar playing is rarely discussed, though, which amounts to criminal negligence. When I was younger and going to shows all the time, I saw tons of rock and roll guitar players. Chilton was as good as any of them, and better than most. He was also one of the most interesting players around-- his style combined elements of Beatles-esque pop with a trashy garage aesthetic. He was one of my big influences-- a guy who showed that you could be serious about learning the instrument without rejecting raunchy and primitive idioms. At times, he sounded like the Cramps' Ivy Rorschach with chops; other times he was more like Steve Cropper with more sophisticated chord changes. I even saw him play a Bach piece on a Telecaster while yammering D.C. hipsters stupidly talked through it. Pearls before swine.

The tracks here are from one of his stranger albums, "Like Flies on Sherbet." This album sounds like a bunch of drunken outtakes, but Chilton constantly surprises with interesting guitar ideas. Record collectors tend to obsess about his more mainstream stuff, like the first two Big Star albums. I like those records too, but the stuff I can't get enough of is more in this vein (like the third Big Star album, "Sister Lovers"). "Like Flies on Sherbet" is sort of a weird primitive rock and roll album, with a little pop mixed in. The third Big Star album is more or less the opposite-- a weird pop album with some primitive rock and roll mixed in. If there's an album that does a better job blending Phil Spector with the Velvet Underground, I don't know about it. (Not that this description really explains what this album's all about-- glib critical summations are often of little musicological value. I'm just pointing out that when I'm interested in mixing darker themes with catchy pop, this album is my frame of reference. It was definitely an album I ripped off [or tried to!] during the "Soul Parking" sessions.)
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MICKEY BAKER, 1966

Here's an oddity-- Mickey Baker plays a funky instrumental with a bunch of stiffly frugging white people.

Mickey is one of the great session guitarists-- he played on plenty of raw rhythm and blues records, but had enough chops to play jazz and even write one of the classic guitar instruction books.
(still one of the best bargains in guitar books-- Mickey Baker's Complete Course in Jazz Guitar. There are two volumes, but here's a link to the first.
www.amazon.com/Mickey-Bakers-Complete-Course-Guitar/dp/0825652804/ref=pd_sim_m_3)
His recordings are in a variety of styles, but it's not uncommon to hear him mixing it up as he does here. When he plays the blues, his impeccable phrasing and articulation betray his jazz background; when he plays in more of a jazz context, he's apt to throw in some distortion, surf-like reverb and echo, etc.

I keep forgetting about Mickey Baker because much of his best work is spread across countless rare albums by other artists. Check out his album, "The Wildest Guitar," available as a pricey used CD or a more reasonable download. www.amazon.com/Wildest-Guitar-Mickey-Baker/dp/B000083EIT
This record, one of many kitschy instrumental records by obscure session players, is surely one of the best of its type. I used to buy records like this all the time, and this one stood out from the pack.
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FREDDY KING WITH GATEMOUTH BROWN AND THE BEAT BOYS, "SAN-HO-ZAY" AND "TORE DOWN"

Here's the great Freddy King, burning in the transitional era when James Brown-style funk was starting to come in. There's a video available of all Freddy's appearances from the Beat!!!! TV show. I have a lot of instructional videos-- few of them are as helpful as these clips of Freddy playing the guitar.
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STEVE WINWOOD WITH TRAFFIC, 1972, "DEAR MR. FANTASY"

Steve Winwood isn't really known for his guitar playing, but he should be. He's getting a nice tone here with a Gibson Firebird.
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MICK RONSON WITH IAN HUNTER, "ONCE BITTEN, TWICE SHY"

Of course, Mick Ronson's work with Bowie will always overshadow the rest of his career, but his best playing with Ian Hunter is still pretty great. On this cut, they walk the fine line between glam and gum. Great Ronson solo, and a great song.

(note to people who have only heard the dreary cover by some MTV band-- forget about that bloodless version. This one is rock and roll, the way it used to be played by people who understood that rock and roll is ridiculous. They also knew that the ridiculousness of rock didn't mean you shouldn't take it seriously-- writers like Hunter and players like Ronson showed how to split the difference between the two poles.)
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TOM VERLAINE, WITH TELEVISION, "FOXHOLE"

Here's a clip of Television from their early period. The song's maybe not one of their best, but there's some great guitar soloing from Verlaine. Is Verlaine the spiritual father of today's Jazzmaster rock/avant-garde players? Perhaps. Feel free to comment!
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ROBERT QUINE WITH LOU REED, "CONEY ISLAND BABY" AND "WHITE LIGHT"

There's a lot of nice Quine here, raunchy solos and fills on both songs. It's interesting to see how Quine can play a bunch of hoary blues/Chuck Berry cliches and make them all sound obnoxious and fractured. I think it has something to do with his aggressive attack and liberal use of staccato (pretty atypical for rock guitarists).

Quine's work with Reed is a beautiful example of how a dense thicket of guitar fills around a vocal can be a very effective rock and roll sound. The Reed/Quine combo is sort of a punk rock version of Mick Taylor and Keith Richards. Quine and Reed are in the top tier of rock guitar teams, as far as I'm concerned.

I believe this clip is from the "Coney Island Baby" DVD, which I have been trying to track down. It doesn't seem to be in print, although you can find "A Night with Lou Reed" on Amazon, and it has a lot of great solos by both Quine and Reed.
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BARNEY KESSEL AND HERB ELLIS, "FLINTSTONES THEME"

Barney and Herb interpret the Flintstones theme, written by the great Hoyt Curtin. (It's a little out-of-sync, sorry!)

Thanks to Charlie McCardell for sending me this.
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UNITED BREAKS GUITARS

Supposedly this guy got a couple free guitars from Taylor, as a courtesy after all the free publicity they got from this youtube video.

I've had several annoying experiences flying with guitars-- the airlines, for the most part, don't make it easy for musicians to travel with instruments. Nor do they do a good job taking care of your instrument if you insist on bringing it on a flight. This situation got even worse after 9/11. I was told by an airline employee that things had loosened up a bit recently. (To be fair, I'm generalizing-- my experiences haven't all been bad, and some airline people have been cheerful and helpful. It's been hard for me to avoid generalizing after watching baggage handlers throw bags through the air, though. I had some damaged gear that could only have been the result of really stupid handling.)
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12-STRING ELECTRIC-- GETTING A GREAT SOUND

This is a VERY brief guide. I just stole this info from a good article by David Love--
www.myrareguitars.com/12stringtone.html

Rather than poach the article, I'm just putting three tips here. It's mostly for my own use, but feel to take David's advice as well.

1. Use compression.

2. Use thinner picks than usual.

3. Use flatwound strings.
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DICK DALE AND THE DEL-TONES, "MISIRLOU"

This clip is early Dick Dale, from 1963. He is still out there playing-- check him out live if you can.

Here's a more recent clip of the same song--


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GEORGE VAN EPS AND HOWARD ALDEN, "NIGHT AND DAY"

George Van Eps was something of an anomaly even in his younger days. Eschewing the prolix playing of many modern players, Van Eps approached the guitar like a piano, setting a standard for contrapuntal playing that inspired greats like Joe Pass and Ted Greene. Howard Alden is no slouch either! I wanted to post a Van Eps solo clip, but the few I found where pretty bad quality, dubbed from deteriorating video. I may put some up eventually anyway, but in the meantime here's this beautiful rendition of the Cole Porter standard.

for more info on George, see this blog--

georgevaneps.blogspot.com/
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PHIL UPCHURCH WITH JIMMY SMITH, "BACK AT THE CHICKEN SHACK"

Phil Upchurch is an underrated, overlooked jazz guitarist--

Here he is in 1990 with Jimmy Smith, burning.
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RONNIE FROM BOTSWANA

Ronnie has what we'd call an "unorthodox" style of playing. The left hand technique stands out, obviously, but great right hand-- like flatpicking, Ronnie is mixing melody, bass runs, and chords very fluidly.

Thanks to Charlie McCardell for this clip.
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BOB QUINE WITH RICHARD HELL, "BLANK GENERATION"

If you're not already a fan of Richard Hell or Bob Quine, this so-so quality live footage probably won't win you over, but for fans like me even a murky snippet of the original Voidoids is a sacred artifact. Quine reintroduced the Lou Reed electric guitar style to an audience that was a little more ready to hear obnoxious noise than the youngsters of 1968 had been. He then kept the faith for years, showing how to play a rude counterpoint to singers of different colors-- barking and monotone drama (Lou Reed, Tom Waits) or bubblegum powerpop (Matthew Sweet). He was something of a thinking man's rock guitarist; hardly academic, in a humorless, ivory tower sense, he was nonetheless almost priggishly intolerant of bullshit and mediocrity. At his best, he resembled Richard Thompson-- another guitarist who plays very beautifully, but without sacrificing passion or weirdness.
Ultimately, Quine reminded us all of something that people too often forget-- the notion that the chief business of rock music is sound, not hair and clothes.
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JOHN C. MCCAIN, "PINK PANTHER" SOUNDTRACK EXCERPT

Here's a little tidbit of solo guitar from my friend John C. McCain. It's a piece called 'Meglio Stasera" from Mancini's "Pink Panther" soundtrack. John used heavy strings, tuned down a whole step, to get this great tone.

and here's the clip from the film.

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CATALOG OF AVAILABLE TRANSCRIPTIONS

AVAILABLE TRANSCRIPTIONS
(All my transcriptions include standard notation as well as guitar tablature.)
NOW ACCEPTING PAYPAL! INTERNATIONAL ORDERS WELCOME.
I sell most of these for $5.00. If no price is given, it's $5.00.
A few are more expensive, due to length or complexity. Prices for these are listed with item. (I can email the files for you to print out. If I mail it using traditional mail, postage and handling fee is $5.00.)
INFO ABOUT PURCHASING TRANSCRIPTIONS IS AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS POST. YOU CAN ALSO CLICK HERE--

karlstraubguitar.blogspot.com/2010/06/ordering-info-for-transcriptions.html


Oscar Moore with Nat "King" Cole.
These are solos from Nat Cole records.
"Straighten Up and Fly Right"
"Route 66"
"Paper Moon" (this includes solo and a "composite" of some riffing he did with Cole. This riffing composite is not an exact transcription; it's an attempt to take elements from Cole's and Moore's twin lines and turn it into a single line for guitar.)

Grant Green.
"The Honeydripper." This is only 12 bars with Jack McDuff, but 12 bars of Grant Green playing bluesy jazz could keep you busy for a while.

Charlie Christian, with Benny Goodman.
"Honeysuckle Rose" (this is from a rare aircheck, I believe.)

Peter Green, with early Fleetwood Mac. Burning blues guitar.
"Jumpin' at Shadows"

Freddie King
"Nickel-plated," instrumental. complete track, key of G. Lots of great licks in several positions and registers. $10.00

"Freddie King sampler"
This is a bunch of excerpts from different solos, "Lonesome Whistle Blues," "I'm Tore Down"

"Manhole" this is not the whole track, but some hot excerpts. Tom Heyman showed me these licks many years ago.

B.B. King
"Let's Do the Boogie" (early B.B. recording)

Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown
"Gate's Salty Blues" intro

Mick Ronson w/David Bowie.
"Eight Line Poem." Not one of the more famous Bowie tracks, but nice twangy string-bending intro from Ronson. It's interesting to see Ronson's string-bending technique with the Marshall stack sound removed. Recommended!

Zal Yanovsky, with the Lovin' Spoonful.
underrated, overlooked guitarist. Yanovsky was one of the few "country-rock" guitarists who used time like a real country picker.

"Nashville Cats" fills. If your country playing sounds too much like a rock guy, these fills could really help. They helped me years ago!

George Barnes.
"Hot Guitar Rag," from the super-rare "Country Jazz" lp.
www.karlstraubmusic.com/07 HOT GUITAR RAG.mp3
FINALLY ADDED! another transcription from Country Jazz album, "Chicken in the Rough," based on traditional fiddle tune "Chicken Reel," which is heard in tons of cartoons, esp. Foghorn Leghorn.
D.C. picker Jim Stephanson told me that Danny Gatton learned every lick from this album. I sell this for $15.00, because it's 3 minutes of all guitar. A guitar lesson in every bar. (for the uninitiated-- Barnes is one of the most prodigiously gifted electric guitarists of the 20th century. He's virtually unheard-of, even in the guitar world, but rarely did a guitarist have more technique and command of the fingerboard. On top of that, he was a beautiful lyrical player. I appreciate his technique, but his invention and creativity are the real reasons to listen to him.)
This track is a fascinating blend of country and jazz guitar, and Barnes was pretty comfortable with all of it.

Phil Spector, with the Drifters.
"On Broadway." Spector was just hanging out at the session when they asked him to play the guitar solo. Classic!

George Benson, with Jack McDuff.
"Rock Candy," excerpt from solo.

Lou Reed, with the Velvet Underground.
"Sunday Morning"
excellent melodic early Reed solo, from the "banana" album.


Ike Turner
"Tore Up" intro. Very crazy playing--
Because of the notorious vagaries of his personal life, people tend to forget that Ike Turner was a great guitarist. Before Hendrix, this was as wild as anyone ever got with a Stratocaster.


Don Rich, with Buck Owens

"Love's Gonna Live Here" on the Buck Owens Ranch TV show.
"Love's Gonna Live Here" from Carnegie Hall album. (very different solo-- classic!)
I've heard rumors that there is a lot of demand for Don Rich instructional material. If you're a big Don Rich fan, let me know-- if I get a lot of feedback about it, I'd love to do more Don transcriptions and maybe even a video lesson.

Jimmy Bryant
"Bryant's Shuffle"
(head only, but great! A medium difficulty intro to Bryant's style.)
"Cotton Picking"
(this one's in progress at this point. If anyone's interested, let me know and I'll get back to work on it.)

Bob Wills guitarists Eldon Shamblin and Junior Barnard.

(These are solos from Bob Wills's legendary Tiffany Transcription recordings. The best western swing I've ever heard.)

Eldon Shamblin
"C-Jam Blues"
"Tea for Two"

I also have a transcription of a three-part arrangement by Eldon from "Brain Cloudy Blues." This includes an essay about Eldon's arranging method. For anyone wanting to learn how to arrange in the Bob Wills style, this is a bargain at $30.00.
(PLEASE NOTE-- this transcription/lesson about Eldon's arranging is not ready to sell at this time-- I need to do a fair amount of editing on it. I'm putting it in here and encouraging any interested parties to email me or leave a comment. If I get a lot of inquiries about it, I'll put other work aside and bang it out. It's gonna be pretty great when it's done-- but right now a lot of it is in my head!)

Junior Barnard
"Blues for Dixie"
"Bring it on Down"
"Ding Dong Daddy"
"Faded Love"
"Girl I Left Behind Me"
"A Good Man is Hard to Find"
"What's the Matter with the Mill"
"Sweet Georgia Brown"
"Keep A'Knockin'"
"Nancy Jane"
"Sentimental Journey"
"My Window Faces the South"
"San Antonio Rose"
"Steel Guitar Rag"
"South"
"Sweet Kind of Love"
"Texarkana Baby"
"Take Me Back to Tulsa"
"Texas Playboy Rag"
"Worried Mind"


Zoot Horn Rollo/Antennae Jimmy Semens (Bill Harkleroad and Jeff Cotton)
This is an electric guitar duet from Captain Beefheart's "Trout Mask Replica" lp.

"Dali's Car"
$15.00.
A nice window into the Beefheart world of sound, a unique blend of Bo Diddley, rhythm and blues, "avant-garde" jazz and chamber music, etc. etc. Not for the squeamish, but highly recommended to fans of weirdness. It's important to clarify that, in an era where a lot of people in different genres (psychedelia, free jazz, etc) were improvising some pretty strange music, Don Van Vliet and his cohorts were actually writing this stuff down! Tom Waits pilfered a lot from this music, and he wasn't the only one.

CUSTOMER REQUEST LIST
(these are recordings people have requested. please feel free to add your own requests in a comment below, and I'll put them on the list.)
"Roly Poly" and "Barnard Blues," solos by Junior Barnard with Bob Wills.
"Nickel-Plated" by Freddie King.
(A NOTE ABOUT THE REQUEST LIST-- at this point, I am taking on fewer transcription request jobs. There are two reasons for this.
The first is that I can't afford to do a transcribing job for peanuts, and people often balk at my rates. I keep the catalog prices low, but sometimes a transcribing job done to order can take me as many as ten hours, or even more. This is because I try to get every articulation nuance in there, and I try to pin down where on the neck the parts were played. With players like Peter Green or Freddie King, the timing and articulation details take a lot of work to pin down.
The second issue is that people sometimes misunderstand my occasional use of "composite" transcribing. This method comes into play when I'm transcribing instrumentals, where certain licks are played multiple times. It's pretty common for a player like Freddie King to play a repeated line with variations each time, and these variations are often incredibly subtle. To save time, I sometimes just transcribe one variation, or write a composite that uses ideas from different variations. In these cases, I'll usually provide some suggestions about how to use the transcription along with the recording so that you can play the music as close to accurate as you desire. Sometimes when I explain this to customers, they think I'm doing a half-assed job. My goal is to provide a transcription that will be as accurate as possible with important subtle details, but slightly less accurate with regard to repeated lines. The finished product should be satisfactory to virtually everyone. I'd describe my transcriptions as 95% accurate, and much better than the bulk of available material.

Please contact me with requests only if the above sounds reasonable to you. I don't mind giving a customer a price quote, even if they decide they can't afford it, as long as they agree not to respond with rudeness. I'm happy to add songs and solos to my request list, and wait until I get a lot of interest in a specific request to do the work. Then I can sell it for my usual catalog rates. I no longer have time available for haggling over my rates and work with people who have special requests, but who don't understand that transcription is serious work. In my view, these transcriptions are like taking a long guitar lesson from a serious teacher. I welcome requests from people who also see it that way.)

A NOTE ABOUT ACCURACY OF TRANSCRIPTION
Aside from human error, and the difficulty of hearing a recording 100% correctly, there is another issue to consider. Our notation system is limited in many ways, but esp. regarding bends. The timing of a bend is difficult to notate correctly, and the "between-the-cracks" notes are indicated by the mismomer "quarter step bend." This term implies a note lying exactly halfway between two adjacent notes like B and C. In reality, there are several notes in there for those that can hear them. I'll confess that I have trouble hearing them precisely-- although I've been studying them for many years. Players like Freddie King (and his white American and British disciples Clapton, Green, Bloomfield, etc.) can mix and match timing and bend subtleties that are essentially unnotatable. I do my best, but there are limits. I basically believe that any notation will be limited by the ear of the reader, anyway, but in the interest of honesty I like to point this out. I suggest that you use your ear along with the transcriptions, and the more your ear develops, the closer you'll get to the sound of masters like Freddie.

To order, please send an email to Karl Straub, address karlstraub@hotmail.com. List the items you're interested in, or request anything not on list. After I get your email, I'll give you a total so you can PAY WITH PAYPAL or mail in payment. (please note-- I can no longer do transcription work for people without receiving payment up front. After I receive your payment, I will send transcription, if it's one I already have done, or I will begin the work and send on completion.
Please send checks to
Karl Straub
406 Cloverway Drive
Alexandria, Va 22314
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BARNEY KESSEL AND JULIE LONDON, "CRY ME A RIVER"

Here's the classic studio version, a high-water mark for sultry jazz-influenced pop. Obviously Julie London is the main event, but this is a guitar site, damn it! So check out Barney Kessel's hip guitar accompaniment.

and here's a TV version from 1964 with the Bobby Troup Quintet. I'm not sure if it's Kessel on this version, but it's pretty much the same arrangement. In fact, it may be Julie lip-syncing to the original. I keep getting distracted by her shiny dress--


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JAMES HONEYMAN-SCOTT, "KID"

I need to study this track to prepare for a recording session; I thought I'd put it here so I could find it quick. It's a hell of a solo, but the intro is great with a totally different sound and approach-- it's in a Hank Marvin vein, but with a trashier tone. As if that weren't enough, Honeyman-Scott layers a bunch of expertly conceived guitar textures as background.

Great record-- if not the absolute best of its kind (as i'm tempted to argue), certainly up there.
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HOWARD ROBERTS, "STAR EYES"

Here's a rare clip of Howard Roberts live, sent to me by Charlie McCardell. This is the tune "Star Eyes," a pretty much forgotten pop song. (Charlie Parker recorded a version of it on his Swedish Schnapps album.) The clip is a little wobbly-- apparently it's one of the few live clips of Roberts.

Live clips of musicians sometimes have little details that provide insight into how they're thinking. Here you can see Roberts moving his right hand in eighth notes even when he's not picking any notes. (In other words, he's keeping time with his right hand even when he's not playing. This kind of thing can help you swing, if you're so inclined. It helps reinforce the idea that time is still going on even when a soloist rests.)
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