Ive said it once and I'll say it again. Springsteen is one of the great masters of the Telecaster. He sustains a heavey rythym energy that is virtually unparalled on the instrument. Many folks want to hear nashville chicken pickin or a fast rock lead licks\ to proclaim a player a Telecaster master, but I really think that pure rythym can define a great player, and I think Springsteen is unackknowleged for his mastery of both tone and skill;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCpzgcH0QBE
PFFFFT!
You wanna hear a Tele-Master, go listen to some Vince Gill!
Or for a more rock-oriented bite, break out the James Gang's first release "Yer Album" an' listen to Mr. Walsh wail through "Lost Woman" an' "Stop"!
"When injustice becomes law then rebellion becomes duty."
Albert Collins! Thats a true Tele master playing rhythm....
Tele master?!!
Bill Frisell. 'Nuff said
"...pray do not imagine that those who make the noise are the only inhabitants of the field;
that, of course, they are many in number; or that, after all, they are other than the little,
shriveled, meagre, hopping, though loud and troublesome, insects of the hour."
-Edmund Burke
If he's so great, why does that band need 4, and sometimes 5, guitar players: Springsteen, Nils, Steve, the Missus, and sometimes the other backup singer?Originally Posted by jerryjg
Darkness On the Edge of Town probably caused me to get my first Tele. It was a Fernandes, but still...
It was a major record for me in my formative years, as it was also when I first really took notice of songwriting.
The live version of "It's Hard To Be A Saint In The City," from the famous Bottom Line show in '75 has a hot guitar duel between Bruce and Steve (he was "Miami" Steve back then).
It's on the Live 75-85 album.
There's a similar perfomance from the Odeon '75 on You tube.
It'll probably break some people's hearts, but I got a kick out of the DVD that came with his new record. In the session footage you don't see the Tele once.
He plays several acoustics, a 335 and a 335 12-string!
I don't care what anybody plays, if I like the end result.
There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness".
-Dave Barry
RIP Lacey Cat 1992-2009
Hey, Ian!
How you doon, bro?
"When injustice becomes law then rebellion becomes duty."
I'm okay Roger, doin' the best I could be doin', just stopped by to see how things were here on the boards, and I couldn't pass up this thread haha. Hope all is well Amigo.
RIP Lacey Cat 1992-2009
I hope you can git "things" sorted out soon.
Gnome saing?
Hang in there!
"When injustice becomes law then rebellion becomes duty."
I have a feeling that his tele happens to fit him like a worn pair of jeans and that's why he writes and tours with it. I'm not sure he's the type to have chosen it for its unique tonal qualities, but I could be totally wrong. I happen to think he's a 'master' song crafter, not necessarily a guitar virtuoso..but then again, I doubt if he's ever really wanted to show off his guitar prowess on anything he's recorded. He seems more interested in telling a story or creating an aural landscape. After all the acrobatics are through, I'd venture to guess that Gill, Wariner, Paisley, Hiland, Volkaert, et al, would love to have the skill Bruce has...just MHO.
"If you're cool, you don't know nothin' about it. It just is...or you ain't." - Keith Richards
Yeah, he rocks but I am going to go with Phantomman on this one - the Tele sound for rock that always rings in my head is Joe Walsh on the James Gang stuff........saw this post and packed 2 JG CDs in the changer and the commute to work was just somehow more pleasant this morning.........
"Sorry" - John Belushi as he smashed a guitar in Animal House
Now there's a thoughtful post.
Imagine, actually addressing the topic rather than imposing an irrelevant preference one post into a thread.
I don't know who Wariner is, but Gill and Paisley can both truly craft a song as well as play the wood off of a guitar.
For some people, songs aren't just a delivery device for guitar playing. They aren't satisfied to throw together some addled gibberish to mark off space between awesome solos, and make their man-rock riffage sellable to the kids.
Why the arrogant hostility toward the spirit of the initial post and semi-hijacking of this brief thread?
Why not start a thread celebrating the lasting impact of "Yer Album" if it means so much?
Hell, it's 2009. Maybe it's time to re-assess that.
Hey, let me start some REAL trouble. Why is it that Springsteen gets dissed because he can't play like Vince Gill, but Keith Richards gets heralded as a Telecaster virtuoso for his lame OPEN TUNING FIVE STRING efforts.
Go to it, boys!
"The beauty and profundity of God is more real than any mere calculation."
Steve Wariner...he could cut heads with anyone on guitar (plus he's a great songwriter).I don't know who Wariner is
He did a mostly instrumental guitar album called "No more Mr. Nice Guy" with special guests like Albert Lee, Vince Gill, James Burton, etc. plus he's been a staple on country music charts for about 25-30 years.
I remember an interview with Bruce where he'd stated that his goal, early on, was to be the best guitar player in town. He said that he thought he'd reached that goal, but, hot shot guitar players were 'a dime a dozen'. He soon realized that songwriting was 'where it's at'.
Keef made me want to buy a Tele, I can totally see Bruce having the same impact on folks.
Last edited by cooltone; 02-24-2009 at 11:55 AM.
"If you're cool, you don't know nothin' about it. It just is...or you ain't." - Keith Richards
Hey, let me start some REAL trouble. Why is it that Springsteen gets dissed because he can't play like Vince Gill, but Keith Richards gets heralded as a Telecaster virtuoso for his lame OPEN TUNING FIVE STRING efforts.
Go to it, boys!
So right. I mean Keef is awsome and he has made the Tele stand out but man, I play so much of his stuff pretty much on the button and I am a hack! I am also a proud
"Sorry" - John Belushi as he smashed a guitar in Animal House
Oh, I think Bruce is a tone player, most 'vibe' musicians are, and that totally explains his choice of the old Tele. It fits his essential sound perfectly, which - oxymoronic as it sounds - might be called 'urban country,' LOL.
Why did I KNOW this was a-comin'......?Hey, let me start some REAL trouble. Why is it that Springsteen gets dissed because he can't play like Vince Gill, but Keith Richards gets heralded as a Telecaster virtuoso for his lame OPEN TUNING FIVE STRING efforts.
Go to it, boys!
"When injustice becomes law then rebellion becomes duty."
I think of Bruce as a songwriter, first and foremost. He's written some cool songs, but nothing that has ever floored me in the guitar playing dept. Honestly, if I heard a Springsteen song that I had never heard before, I'd identify it by his voice -- not his guitar playing.
I think of Keith Richards as a riff-meister. A lot of the stuff he wrote and played in the 60's and 70's is still really amazing, not only from a songwriting perspective, but from a "Damn, that was a cool way to play that" perspective.
A lot of the guys mentioned in this thread (Gill, Burton, Walsh, etc.) are pretty amazing. I'd put them in a different class of guitarist than Richards or Springsteen, though. What they do is so different, it's hard to make any rational comparison. Apples and oranges...
There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness".
-Dave Barry
That was the point I was trine to make, PS. I'm not a big Springsteen fan but he has some truly amazing song-writing talent......I absolutely love Manfred Mann's interpretation of "Spirits In The Night".
As for Bruce being a "Tele-Master", that proclamation makes as much sense as calling Billy Joel a "Strat-Master" merely because he occasionally plays one. I've seen twenty-year old shredders in the local Guitar Circus who could clean his clock -- mine as well!
Bruce is an exceptionally-gifted lyricist, storyteller, and performer. His guitar skills are adequate for that task.
"When injustice becomes law then rebellion becomes duty."
I pretty much agree with this, with the caveat that we really don't know what he can do.
I remember seeing a clip on Youtube of Gregg Allman wailing away on guitar. I was amazed. Who knew? For years, I didn't know that Jackson Browne could play guitar, but it turns out he's pretty darned accomplished. I thought of him as a piano player and songwriter. Similarly, I never knew until recently what a great guitar player Steve Winwood is. And during the Beatle years, how many people realized that McCartney was arguably the best guitar player in the band?
I now think a lot of these guys are hugely talented musicians and that what we see is often only a portion of what they actually can do. They, or their managers, find a succesful formula and stick with it.
Once you can accept the universe as matter expanding into nothing that is something, wearing stripes with plaid comes easy.
--Albert Einstein
Twew dat!
I remember seein' Traffic at Kiel Auditorium in St Louis around March or April of '69. Aside from his outstanding work on the Hammond B3 an' piano, Steve also played a Pelham Blue Firebird V......absolutely kicked a$$ wif it as well.
"When injustice becomes law then rebellion becomes duty."
Now that's impressive. You can remember the color of a guitar you saw Winwood play 30 years ago! I can't remember the color of guitars I saw played last week.Twew dat!
I remember seein' Traffic at Kiel Auditorium in St Louis around March or April of '69. Aside from his outstanding work on the Hammond B3 an' piano, Steve also played a Pelham Blue Firebird V......absolutely kicked a$$ wif it as well.
Once you can accept the universe as matter expanding into nothing that is something, wearing stripes with plaid comes easy.
--Albert Einstein
Buddy, I cain't remember what I had for supper two nights ago!
Only reason I recollect it was Pelham Blue is, I got a pitcher somewhere in my photo album.
"When injustice becomes law then rebellion becomes duty."
Ahh.. now I understand.Buddy, I cain't remember what I had for supper two nights ago!
Only reason I recollect it was Pelham Blue is, I got a pitcher somewhere in my photo album.
In my business, I write a lot of scientific papers. A couple of times recently, I've been reading something, thinking, "Boy this is really good" and then I find out I wrote it! I guess that's better then thinking "Boy, this guy doesn't know anything!"
Once you can accept the universe as matter expanding into nothing that is something, wearing stripes with plaid comes easy.
--Albert Einstein
LMFAO!!!
"When injustice becomes law then rebellion becomes duty."
Oh, no, wait a minute...
Look man - I can't believe this one... BS has his moments and does 3-4 hr shows - which is more than you can say for most other aging rockers - I thought Magic was definitely on the 'lesser inpired albums' list but he made up for it with WOAD... he's OK - and you can't argue with his work rate - in terms of his live performance or the sheer volume of his songwriting. I like his sound on DOTEOT best - real raw and edgy... it should also be noted that both Stevie and Nils play some good stuff on both latest efforts too - regards Keef - he's one of my favorite riddim men after Berry, Cropper, Townshend and Rodgers (that's Nile - not Paul though he's no slouch either) - my favorite Keef performance is when he can't get 'Carol' right in 'Hail, Hail Rock n Roll' - a positive p*sser... saw them at JFK in '78 and they rocked the house - saw them at Wembley in '91 and was glad my wife's boss gave her the tickets! As regards Bruce - he's produced some signature riffs despite being 'adequate'... when you hear the riff in 'Born To Run' you know it's him - it ain't mind blowing - but I wouldn't have minded coming up with it - oh and by the way - the guitar on the cover if BTR is an Esquire - just to be pedantic - and while we're at it - who's this Springsten guy?
Last edited by yankeerob; 02-25-2009 at 08:15 PM.
If I could find a road to get away it wouldn't be too soon....... Shipwreck Moon.......
Just to add another master to the big melting pot that is Tele users (okay, it's a Hohner Tele copy):
Oooooooh, good call!
Rog, you know me. I am the kind of guy who likes to smack a golfball in a cement locker room just to see where in the hell it is gonna go. You are exactly the same (except you forget to wear the helmet!).Why did I KNOW this was a-comin'......?
"The beauty and profundity of God is more real than any mere calculation."
Just to add another master to the big melting pot that is Tele users (okay, it's a Hohner Tele copy):
And then there was this dude...
There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness".
-Dave Barry
Interesting comparison to McCartney. He's probably a little more accomplished guitar-wise, but they're both great rhythm players. I like what Springsteen does with his Tele--when it's rhythm. If memory serves me, Springsteen looked pretty shabby when he tried a lead on the Roy Orbison concert.
When I think of Tele players, these 2 guys come to mind.
I had a 75 Tele just like this one that got stolen *sigh*
keef
Jimmy
rediculously tiny pictures, sigh
why couldnt I just find a picture from this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mhnflEQKhg
Mitch Mitchell talking about Jimi and strats in general.
If the walrus is Paul then who is Carmen Sandiego?
+1 for Steve Cropper and Mike Bloomfield! Two of my favorites (other than Frisell)!
"...pray do not imagine that those who make the noise are the only inhabitants of the field;
that, of course, they are many in number; or that, after all, they are other than the little,
shriveled, meagre, hopping, though loud and troublesome, insects of the hour."
-Edmund Burke
I just recently listened to "If You Love These Blues, Play 'Em As You Please" for the first time. Very cool. It made me go looking to see if there was a companion documentary or book. I liked the historical/custodial attitude of the album, but I wanted more.
It definitely showed how good and how versatile Bloomfield was.
Matt Bellamy isnt bad either
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMU316ixzc0
I dont know, does a supertele still count as a tele? does it still count if you use a diezel?
Mitch Mitchell talking about Jimi and strats in general.
If the walrus is Paul then who is Carmen Sandiego?
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