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Paranoid Android (Radiohead ‘OK Computer’)

I remember seeing some absolutely awesome live performances of this track on the TV, in particular this one on the BBCs Jool Holland show. Weekly, I always try to hear as much as possible from the year I’m working on. 1997 has been rather difficult. However, I’ve fallen for this album again as a consequence of doing so. It’s a really great album and scattered throughout are some wonderful little bits of creative guitar. The palette of sounds is always nice and juicy. Sometimes it’s a Fender straight into a nice clean amp with the valves humming. Other times it’s a nasty dirty sound filtered with a wah and chopped up with tremolo and delays. Android gets the nod for rocking out. Another good example of how tidy you have to be to pretend to be so messy!

Thank You (Led Zeppelin ‘BBC Sessions’)

No, thank you Zep. No, seriously, thank you. Really. These brilliant sessions revitalized my interest in Zep at a time when quite honestly I could have given up music forever. LZ were the first band I fell in love with (way back in the 30s or whenever the hell it was) and it was Page who inspired me to want to pick up a guitar. So it was perfect and slightly creepy that these awesome live performances were released at this time. A timely reminder why I loved music at all. And lucky for me it was just when I needed it most!

I could have picked a number of tracks and considered the previously unheard tracks. Travelling Riverside Blues in particular is a great performance and sums up Zep nicely. But when I bought the record, and when I listen now, it’s the phenomenal version of Thank You that brings the gooseys out. When Page kicks in the volume it’s so freakin’ loud… I mean LOUD… unbelievable sound… and his solo is so beautiful and expressive.

When Zep got it right it was like alchemy and these recordings highlight just how effortless it was for them. Scary for us mere mortals. So few bands, especially rock bands, have had or do have that much voodoo.

The Attitude Song (Steve Vai ‘G3: Live in Concert’)

I don’t know what took so long for this G3 CD to come out? I’m pretty sure I had watched the DVD a few years before. The original first run of G3 concerts disappointed me and some of my guitar playing friends. I liked the idea, I liked the concept… it just fell flat for me. That said, they were massively popular and drew in masses of new audiences for guitar players.

The big thing I remember from G3 was the interest everyone suddenly had in The Attitude Song after seeing the remarkable Steve Vai and Mike Keneally blow our minds with some pretty darn flashy stuff. Mike Keneally btw is an awesome guitar player and if you can find any of his rather hard to get records then they’re very much worth checking out.

Damone (Deftones ‘Around the Fur’)

This is one of my fave albums of recent years and goes on in the car at least once a week! There’s some great riffs all over the record but my fave is the hidden track Damone.

Love is the Law (The Seahorses ‘Do It Yourself’)

All my mates were so excited about ex-Stone Roses man, John Squire, and what was his new project, The Seahorses. I got a little caught up in their expectations too. It was hard not to be! They honestly didn’t talk about anything else for months. I struggled for the last 2 weeks to find a fifth entry for this year and then, in a dream, I remembered this track.

Apologies for the delay in getting 97 onto the blog. It was a tough one!!

Have a great weekend folks. I’ll get 98 ready for next Friday… promise!
:o)

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