I had quite a bit of fun with the Stones track, the one that says Stones through and through. Oh I know, is there really such a track? Perhaps not. But individually, we all have our favorite Stones song. Which leads me to a couple of “extras”.
The first is RIFF. Keith Richards is father to so many memorable and loved guitar riffs. Maybe even more than any other guitarist ever. I know this sounds like Richards love, but it really isn’t. Personally, I can’t even think of anyone with so many recognizable guitar parts than Keef. But maybe I’m wrong. (I’ll let you correct me.)
Having recently purchased Grrr! (the recently released comprehensive Stones “best of”), I’ve gotten to pay closer attention again to a pound of riff greatness. And so, for the fun, and aside from your personal favorite Stones song, which Stones riff is the greatest riff of Stones music. (As an aside, great memorable riffing also comes at the hands of Jimmy Page. I could just write duh duh duh, dud duh duh, duh duh duh, duh duh duh, and you would likely guess the Zep riff I’m trying to “word out” here.)
So, riff?
Next, let’s throw something else in here (so you won’t think I’m all Stones crazy these last few weeks (well, I have been, and this idea actually originates from listening to Grrr, but…).
There are a ton of songs that we remember for many, many reasons. Some of them have such clarity that you can ACTUALLY remember the exact thing you were doing when you first heard it. There’s so many of them for me. In fact, I can even call up mental video over many LPs. Specific memories attached to songs and albums are part of our warm recall. And I’m sure that you have one in particular that stands out quite vividly (you might as well have just been there).
If you don’t mind bringing one out, it’d be fun to discuss. With the annual slow moments for CD releases at a high during these few winter months, posts like these help to keep the blood flowing.
Hearing the 1994 Yes album Talk on a radio special before it was released and swearing that Howe and Wakeman were still in the band… it was TREVOR
“For Your Love” – The Yardbirds
In the backseat of our family’s Corvair on a road trip to visit relatives with the AM radio on, and my ears perked up immediately. My ears tended to perk up a lot over the following 2 years, whenever a new Yardbirds single was played, but this was the first single of the British Invasion to capture my attention so fully upon first hearing.
The biggest impression any track ever made on me was Time, from Dark Side of the Moon. When I was young and living at home, I used to sneak out of bed after my folks thought we were sleeping, and put on the latest record with headphones, turned up loud. Well, sometimes I tended to doze off listening to the music. I did this while listening to DSotM, only to be blasted out of my sleep when the alarm clocks went off at the beginning of Time, scaring me out of 10 years of growth, and waking my parents to give me a telling-off!
I still love the record, specially Great Gig in the Sky, but Time certainly has a special place in my musical memory.
The first time I heard “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” was in a gazeebo on the shore of the Caspian Sea.
Too many of those special “lightning bolt” moments involve self-incriminating circumstances. I think I’ll plead the 5th while acknowledging there were many such moments.
As soon as that first note is struck, I can name this tune!
Funk #49 by the James Gang.
Damn did that riff stick in my brain!!!
The feedback at the beginning of “I Feel Fine”. At first, I thought our little radio was giving up the ghost, then that great riff came in, and soon became part of my musical psyche. I wore out a borrowed copy of the 45 (both sides since “She’s A Woman” was the flip), and still consider it to be the best double “A” sided single in rock history.
Mine dosen’t go back as far. I can remember being in my favorite college bar/club and hearing the opening of the Smith’s “How Soon is Now?”. It was like nothing I’d ever heard before (or since).
I can think of several but the two biggest ones for me were…Jimi Hendrix’s intro to Purple Haze in 1968, and The Mahavishnu Orchestra’s intro to The Dance Of Maya in 1971. Nothing made me listen more closely and ultimately form how I would listen to everything after that.
Hearing the opening riff to “Sunshine Of Your Love” got it going for me, never looked back since!