MEDIA
Preview
The set covers the highlights of his solo career,
from “Beck’s Bolero,” from the first Jeff Beck
Group outing, Truth, to “Nadia,” from the more
recent You Had It Coming. The latter exhibits
many of the elements that set Beck apart from
his contemporaries—and frankly from everyone
else who ever picked up the instrument.
For starters, there is the frighteningly precise
pitch—whether bending strings, playing slide
over the pickups, or manipulating the Strat’s
whammy bar. Then there is the relentless,
seeking nature that leads him to learn a microtonal Indian melody by Nitin Sawhney, when
at this point he could make a comfortable living grinding out the proto-metal riffs that he
invented. Instead, Beck chooses to continue to
explore new music, whether it is the Bulgarian
voices-inspired, vibrato-arm manipulated harmonics of “Where Were You,” or the techno-influenced “Blast From The East.”
Unless it’s a project so guitar intensive and
in such perfect alignment with our mission
that we can’t help ourselves. Tony McManus’
new offering, The Maker’s Mark is subtitled
the Dream Guitar Sessions. Born at Dream
Guitars in Asheville, North Carolina, the
idea was to take some absolutely killer axes,
arrange a piece of music specifically to be
played on each instrument and take the whole
kit ‘n caboodle into the studio. Gorgeously
recorded and lovingly played, this project is
designed to make us drool while we dream.
As important as the unending inventiveness
of the guitar work is that throughout the performances and revealing interviews on Live at
Ronnie Scott’s, it is palpably obvious that this
man, in his seventh decade, still has fun making music. And that, as much as any guitar-lick, is a lesson we can all learn.—MR
Francisco? Check. Led Zeppelin arriving in
Hawaii carrying master tapes of Led Zeppelin
II Check. Stevie Ray Vaughan’s last performance with Eric Clapton and Robert Cray at
Alpine Valley on August 26th, 1990? Check.
In addition to these classic photos, the book
boasts photos of Jeff Beck, the Stones, Slash,
and Van Halen, as well as contemporary artists like John Mayer and Tom Morello. As you
browse through the vivid live shots and uniquely intimate pictures, you begin to have déjà
vu—several of these shots have been plastered
over Guitar Center walls for years. On top of
his tight connection with Guitar Center, Knight
is also a co-director of Hollywood’s Rock Walk
and has captured every induction.
McManus’ playing is rave-worthy. Loaded with
flawless ornamentations, most of which should
only be attempted on a very well set-up fiddle, his playing is wild and delicate, passionate
and tender. But the thing that really gets me
is how un-edited his playing sounds. I mean,
come on—we can tell when stuff is punched in
or cut-and-pasted from elsewhere, and I can’t
hear that on this recording. If he played all
this stuff simply live, he’s not human. If he did
cut and paste this together, he should win an
award for production.
Street $14.98
eaglerockent.com
Books
Rock Gods: Forty Years of Rock
Photography
These days, with iPhones, Blackberrys and
discrete, high-quality digital cameras, anyone
can be a Rock God photographer… to some
degree. But before technology provided the
general public the ability to capture thrilling live shots, only a select few were able to
infiltrate the mystique of rock ‘n’ roll photography. In large part, bands often approached
and sought out their own photographers
based on previous, successful endeavors and
friendships developed. One of these photographers is Robert Knight.
Needless to say, the imagery in this larger-than-life book stands on its own. However,
where this book ups the ante is in the scattered text. Knight weaves personal tales
about his early career, back-stories behind
several sets of photographs and the eventual
friendships that evolved from such tight-knit,
long-standing collaborations. Rock Gods tears
down the wall of aura and lets rock fans into a
world often seen, but not revealed.—CK
The guitars themselves are beyond incredible.
We joke a lot about “guitar porn,” and the
booklet packaged with this disc is all about
that. McManus chose some extremely unique
and beautiful instruments: baritone guitars
from William Kelday and Kathy Wingert, a piccolo guitar from Charles Hoffman, and Linda
Manzer’s haunting and visually stunning Sitar
Guitar. Each musical offering is tuned perfectly
to each guitar, and the pieces let the guitars do
what they do best, whether it’s ringing or barking or singing like a whole mess of angels. A
must have for acoustic guitar lovers.—GDP
MSRP $17.99
tonymcmanus.com
MSRP $50
insighteditions.com
Music
In his coffee table book Rock Gods: Forty Years
of Rock Photography, Knight showcases over
200 historic rock photos. The book is literally a checklist of rock legends and famous
shots. Jimi Hendrix performing in 1968 in San
Tony Mc Manus: The Maker’s Mark
(the Dream Guitar Sessions)
PG doesn’t review CDs. It’s not our mission;
besides, there are plenty of publications
out there with staff dedicated to reviews, so
we don’t feel compelled to add our $.02.
And don’t think that because I’m new, I’m a
pushover—I’m not. We don’t do CD reviews.
