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themselves King’s X, and gained many fans,
one of which was Pearl Jam’s Jeff Ament,
who has credited King’s X with inventing
grunge. Regardless of whether you agree or
disagree, the impact that the group has had
is known by few outside of the music world.
The live release Gretchen Goes to London,
now available on DVD through Molken Music,
is a perfect way to introduce the band exhibiting their signature raw sound. The footage
was taped at The Astoria in May of 1990,
right at the moment when the group started
to gain some commercial success. Little did
they know that only a year later they would
be opening for AC/DC. Gretchen Goes to
London captures the essence of the legendary group quite well, even if the sound mix
could use a little adjustment here and there.
Video-wise, it’s a treat to watch the band rip
through their set, especially staples such as
“Over My Head” and “Summerland” (that’s
the solo that cements Ty Tabor as one of the
most underrated guitarists ever).
If you’re not familiar with King’s X, you should
be, and Gretchen Goes to London is an
excellent place to start. –JW
List: $18.98
molkenmusic.com
The Black Keys:
Live At The Crystal Ballroom
2008 found the now well-established Black
Keys in Portland, Oregon, for an energetic
stand at the Crystal Ballroom.
Couldn’t be there? This DVD comes about
as close as possible, without all the friendly
audience elbows. Live performance video
has come a long way with the prodding of
people like producer and director Lance
Bangs (REM’s Road Movie). Sound and
image quality are of course top notch, but
the camera work is what really brings this
raucous show in to your living room. For a
relatively cozy venue, the sweeping shots
and close up stage film keep you on stage
with the band, with choice glimpses of Dan
Auerbach’s plethora of old, crusty gear
including an oversized Silvertone 1454 with
a Bigsby, a vintage Marshall Super Lead and
even a song on a Rhodes Electric Piano.
Onstage banter between the crowd and
the band is nonexistent as the Keys concentrate on a strong performance of an equally
strong set of songs. The sound quality of
this live recording further showcases the
Black Keys now familiar combination of fuzz,
rhythm, and memorable lyrics.
While this is only the second live DVD released
by the band, fans can pick from a number of
critically acclaimed EPs and albums.
The disk includes 17 live songs from the
Black Keys’ successful discography as well
as behind-the-scenes segments on the mak-
ing of the Black Keys’ fifth album Attack
& Release and the making of their notable
“Your Touch” video. The original music vid-
eos for “Your Touch,” “Just Got to Be” and
“Strange Times” are also included. –BO
List: $12.99
nonesuch.com
Books
Solo Jazz Guitar: Through Chord-Melody & Beyond
This topic has been covered by many books,
but few as comprehensive as this one, written by the venerable Howard Morgen. At
almost 200 pages this is a pretty thick book,
just as solo guitar is a deep topic. I think of
books like this as a tool box from which you
can take the tools you want as you need
them. The best feature of this book is that
rather than useless songs based on standard
changes that you won’t ever play, Morgen
gives you 11 real standards including classics like “‘Round Midnight,” “Li’l Darlin’,”
and “My Funny Valentine.” That means once
you work your butt off learning this stuff,
you can actually go out on a gig and play
them—that’s a biggie.
Each song is dissected then reassembled,
and some of the tunes have several versions
to illustrate different aspects of the illustrated techniques. This is great as you get
to see how an arrangement is constructed,
so you can move on to creating your own
arrangements using the tools in the book.
The book has 14 chapters which go into fair
depth on topics like inner moving voices,
two note comping, key selection, walking
bass lines, and chord substitution. Morgen
at least touches on all you need to know
to start getting your solo style happening.
Further he has a large list of other books he
recommends to get into particular aspects
of this style. A CD of the examples is included. Howard has been a guitar teacher and
writer for a long time and his experience
really shines in this work. Highly recommended! –PS
List: $34.95
alfred.com
