Post by darkstar3 on Jan 5, 2011 22:08:42 GMT
Gibson 'Lifestyle'
Light My Fire: Robby Krieger’s 10 Greatest Riffs
Ted Drozdowski|
January 5 2011
Gibson SG legend Robby Krieger turns 65 this Saturday, January 8, and he is still making dynamic music at an age when most mortals are ready for retirement. His 2010 album Singularity is proof that Krieger’s wizardry – a textural approach that straddles jazz, rock, blues and world music in a seemingly effortless manner, blending finger picking and plectrum playing and boasting a slide style as instantly recognizable as Duane Allman’s – is not just intact but as spectacular as ever.
For slide guitarists in particular, Krieger is a beacon for expanding a blues-based vocabulary. He drew mostly on open tunings in his Doors days: primarily open D, dropped D and open E. “The first slide guys I heard were the classic blues guys like Blind Willie Johnson, Robert Johnson… all the Johnsons,” he related in an interview with Gibson.com last August. “I didn’t want to play like those guys. I wanted to take it somewhere else, like on ‘Moonlight Drive.’ There are elements of blues in my playing, but I wanted the slide to make a different kind of sound rather than try to play blue notes with it.”
Krieger etched his place in rock history with his classic early recordings with The Doors. They include “Light My Fire,” “Love Me Two Times,” “Touch Me” and “Love Her Madly,” all written by Krieger. And many of those chestnuts were popped with the 1967 SG Standard that’s still his main axe and has been immortalized by the Gibson Custom Shop as the Robby Krieger SG.
In celebration of Krieger’s birthday and one of the greatest bands in rock history, here’s an entirely subjective compilation of his 10 best riffs with The Doors:
10. “Moonlight Drive” (1967)
With its shivery slide guitar lines, Krieger’s riff and wild solo add an eerie musical backbone to the dark and ambiguous lyrics of this entry from The Doors’ second album.
9. “Light My Fire” (1967)
Released as the A-side of a single backed by “Crystal Ship,” this tune showcases Krieger’s jazz and flamenco chops. He comps and plays arpeggios through the verses building to his climactic solo, which spins a series of melodies borrowed from his gypsy influences into the song’s airy musical context.
8. “Five to One” (1968)
This grinding blues from Waiting for the Sun lets Krieger put the hammer down, pounding out chords until he gets to deliver a five-note melody that gives way to a dirty solo full of his remarkable trademark rapid-fire string bending.
7. “Riders on the Storm” (1971)
Another example of Krieger’s textural magic from L.A. Woman. He and keyboardist Ray Manzarek create an opium dream, with Krieger using tremolo, reverb, sliding chords and a pure sonic conjuring to compliment and support the organist’s solo flights.
6. “Love Me Two Times” (1967)
Perhaps the finest example of Krieger’s affinity for country blues, “Love Me Two Times” from Strange Days packs a lot of punch into three minutes, from Krieger’s finger-picked main riff to a climaxing of spidery psychedelic licksmanship.
5. “Break on Through” (1967)
The band’s first single didn’t score very high on the charts, not even reaching the top 100, but in the annals of classic rock it’s a monumental tribute to The Doors’ power and imagination. Krieger borrows freely from blues giant Elmore James for the spanky tone and rumba feel of his guitar work.
4. “L.A. Woman” (1971)
The title cut from the Doors’ final studio album is another study in momentum. Krieger sets a major-key pace with drummer John Densmore before jumping into a solo akin to Jerry Garcia’s more fluent work. He then plays six-string response to Morrison’s call before resolving into an improvisational passage that suggests Krieger’s passion for John Coltrane and other free jazz players.
3. “Crystal Ship” (1967)
Another textural masterpiece from The Doors’ eponymous debut album. Krieger is understated here, but his chords and single-note lines create a tight web under Jim Morrison’s vocal and Manzarek’s keyboard lines, illustrating the art of supporting the song.
2. “Love Her Madly” (1971)
On this psychedelic blues guitar excursion, Krieger’s six-string captures a fitting sense of delirium. His chopping chords and chiming licks make the tune’s title seem a literal pronouncement.
1. “Roadhouse Blues” (1970)
This tune from Morrison Hotel is a biker band classic, propelled by Krieger’s grinding riff with support by Gibson Flying V legend Lonnie Mack filling in on bass. Rock lore has it that Mack may have played the song’s solo rather than Krieger, but the SG kingpin’s live performances prove he’s more than capable of supplying plenty of mojo in the song’s middle. In 1993, a memorable live performance of “Roadhouse Blues” at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony featured Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder on vocals and Krieger wailing away on a Gibson ES-345 to celebrate the Doors’ induction.
www.gibson.com/en-us/Lifestyle/Features/robby-krieger-0105-2011/#
Light My Fire: Robby Krieger’s 10 Greatest Riffs
Ted Drozdowski|
January 5 2011
Gibson SG legend Robby Krieger turns 65 this Saturday, January 8, and he is still making dynamic music at an age when most mortals are ready for retirement. His 2010 album Singularity is proof that Krieger’s wizardry – a textural approach that straddles jazz, rock, blues and world music in a seemingly effortless manner, blending finger picking and plectrum playing and boasting a slide style as instantly recognizable as Duane Allman’s – is not just intact but as spectacular as ever.
For slide guitarists in particular, Krieger is a beacon for expanding a blues-based vocabulary. He drew mostly on open tunings in his Doors days: primarily open D, dropped D and open E. “The first slide guys I heard were the classic blues guys like Blind Willie Johnson, Robert Johnson… all the Johnsons,” he related in an interview with Gibson.com last August. “I didn’t want to play like those guys. I wanted to take it somewhere else, like on ‘Moonlight Drive.’ There are elements of blues in my playing, but I wanted the slide to make a different kind of sound rather than try to play blue notes with it.”
Krieger etched his place in rock history with his classic early recordings with The Doors. They include “Light My Fire,” “Love Me Two Times,” “Touch Me” and “Love Her Madly,” all written by Krieger. And many of those chestnuts were popped with the 1967 SG Standard that’s still his main axe and has been immortalized by the Gibson Custom Shop as the Robby Krieger SG.
In celebration of Krieger’s birthday and one of the greatest bands in rock history, here’s an entirely subjective compilation of his 10 best riffs with The Doors:
10. “Moonlight Drive” (1967)
With its shivery slide guitar lines, Krieger’s riff and wild solo add an eerie musical backbone to the dark and ambiguous lyrics of this entry from The Doors’ second album.
9. “Light My Fire” (1967)
Released as the A-side of a single backed by “Crystal Ship,” this tune showcases Krieger’s jazz and flamenco chops. He comps and plays arpeggios through the verses building to his climactic solo, which spins a series of melodies borrowed from his gypsy influences into the song’s airy musical context.
8. “Five to One” (1968)
This grinding blues from Waiting for the Sun lets Krieger put the hammer down, pounding out chords until he gets to deliver a five-note melody that gives way to a dirty solo full of his remarkable trademark rapid-fire string bending.
7. “Riders on the Storm” (1971)
Another example of Krieger’s textural magic from L.A. Woman. He and keyboardist Ray Manzarek create an opium dream, with Krieger using tremolo, reverb, sliding chords and a pure sonic conjuring to compliment and support the organist’s solo flights.
6. “Love Me Two Times” (1967)
Perhaps the finest example of Krieger’s affinity for country blues, “Love Me Two Times” from Strange Days packs a lot of punch into three minutes, from Krieger’s finger-picked main riff to a climaxing of spidery psychedelic licksmanship.
5. “Break on Through” (1967)
The band’s first single didn’t score very high on the charts, not even reaching the top 100, but in the annals of classic rock it’s a monumental tribute to The Doors’ power and imagination. Krieger borrows freely from blues giant Elmore James for the spanky tone and rumba feel of his guitar work.
4. “L.A. Woman” (1971)
The title cut from the Doors’ final studio album is another study in momentum. Krieger sets a major-key pace with drummer John Densmore before jumping into a solo akin to Jerry Garcia’s more fluent work. He then plays six-string response to Morrison’s call before resolving into an improvisational passage that suggests Krieger’s passion for John Coltrane and other free jazz players.
3. “Crystal Ship” (1967)
Another textural masterpiece from The Doors’ eponymous debut album. Krieger is understated here, but his chords and single-note lines create a tight web under Jim Morrison’s vocal and Manzarek’s keyboard lines, illustrating the art of supporting the song.
2. “Love Her Madly” (1971)
On this psychedelic blues guitar excursion, Krieger’s six-string captures a fitting sense of delirium. His chopping chords and chiming licks make the tune’s title seem a literal pronouncement.
1. “Roadhouse Blues” (1970)
This tune from Morrison Hotel is a biker band classic, propelled by Krieger’s grinding riff with support by Gibson Flying V legend Lonnie Mack filling in on bass. Rock lore has it that Mack may have played the song’s solo rather than Krieger, but the SG kingpin’s live performances prove he’s more than capable of supplying plenty of mojo in the song’s middle. In 1993, a memorable live performance of “Roadhouse Blues” at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony featured Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder on vocals and Krieger wailing away on a Gibson ES-345 to celebrate the Doors’ induction.
www.gibson.com/en-us/Lifestyle/Features/robby-krieger-0105-2011/#
