From time to time friends or co-workers will complain to me that some person or other has been eliminated from Idol. They will go on to say that the singer dropped from the show has a "fabulous" voice. My response is to suggest that at this late stage of the competition all remaining contestants had better have great voices.  Unless there is a budding Aretha Franklin or Roy Orbison what distinguishes one singer from another is what he or she does with the material. Can the singer make an ordinary song transcendent? Can he or she put a new take on a song that everyone already accepts as being special? When I consider the subject of greatest Rock guitarists I go through a similar analysis.

Dozens of marvelous guitarists have emerged during the Rock era. We all have our favourites. I could say that there are no absolutes. I would be lying if I told you that I believed this! In any rationale person's top five there must be room for Jimi. To a slightly lesser degree I would hope that Eric would find his way into most lists. Forget about the touchy feely sleep-inducing material that he favoured later in his career and just look at what he did with The Yardbirds, Bluesbreakers, Cream, Blind Faith, Delaney & Bonnie and Derek & the Dominoes. Eric was an effortless player. Whether he was playing blues or rock he never missed a beat. He could play long solos without boring and in the next song knock off a memorable short solo (Badge, Let it Rain). After Jimi and Eric I have a relatively short list of guitarists who move into and out of my top five depending on my mood. In no particular order there are Jeff Beck, Duane Allman, Jimmy Page, Gary Moore, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Neil Young and Peter Green. When I listen to Queen or Procol Harum I sometimes wonder whether Brian May and Robin Trower should also be contenders. However, when all is said and done, there is one guitarist who I have enjoyed listening to more than any other - Carlos Santana. I have no doubt that over the last 40+ years I have had Santana LP's and cds on my players more often than any other artist. From the debut album in 1969 and into the new millennium Carlos has brought me hundreds of hours of enjoyment. Carlos Santana and Neil Young have almost nothing in common in terms of style or material. However, to my ears, they have one thing in common - more than the other fellows that I have mentioned they each pour their soul into their guitar playing. What shines through their music is an intense honesty.

Moonflower is apparently a somewhat controversial double LP. The fans and the critics each appear to be split over its merit. The naysayers quibble with the fact that the live and the studio cuts are not segregated. I agree. The inter-mingling does rather destroy the flow of the concert tracks. In the overall scheme of things this is a minor objection. After all it is the music that matters. Here again there is no consensus. Many suggest that while the live songs are creditable the new material, the studio songs, are below par. While Allmusic gives the previous live album, Lotus, five stars, it gives Moonflower just three. I love the entire four sides. I've searched for a weak cut - can't find one! Carlos' playing is, as always, superb. Tom Coster on Hammond and Greg Walker on vocals add tremendous support.
From time to time friends or co-workers will complain to me that some person or other has been eliminated from Idol. They will go on to say that the singer dropped from the show has a "fabulous" voice. My response is to suggest that at this late stage of the competition all remaining contestants had better have great voices. Unless there is a budding Aretha Franklin or Roy Orbison what distinguishes one singer from another is what he or she does with the material. Can the singer make an ordinary song transcendent? Can he or she put a new take on a song that everyone already accepts as being special? When I consider the subject of greatest Rock guitarists I go through a similar analysis. Dozens of marvelous guitarists have emerged during the Rock era. We all have our favourites. I could say that there are no absolutes. I would be lying if I told you that I believed this! In any rationale person's top five there must be room for Jimi. To a slightly lesser degree I would hope that Eric would find his way into most lists. Forget about the touchy feely sleep-inducing material that he favoured later in his career and just look at what he did with The Yardbirds, Bluesbreakers, Cream, Blind Faith, Delaney & Bonnie and Derek & the Dominoes. Eric was an effortless player. Whether he was playing blues or rock he never missed a beat. He could play long solos without boring and in the next song knock off a memorable short solo (Badge, Let it Rain). After Jimi and Eric I have a relatively short list of guitarists who move into and out of my top five depending on my mood. In no particular order there are Jeff Beck, Duane Allman, Jimmy Page, Gary Moore, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Neil Young and Peter Green. When I listen to Queen or Procol Harum I sometimes wonder whether Brian May and Robin Trower should also be contenders. However, when all is said and done, there is one guitarist who I have enjoyed listening to more than any other - Carlos Santana. I have no doubt that over the last 40+ years I have had Santana LP's and cds on my players more often than any other artist. From the debut album in 1969 and into the new millennium Carlos has brought me hundreds of hours of enjoyment. Carlos Santana and Neil Young have almost nothing in common in terms of style or material. However, to my ears, they have one thing in common - more than the other fellows that I have mentioned they each pour their soul into their guitar playing. What shines through their music is an intense honesty. Moonflower is apparently a somewhat controversial double LP. The fans and the critics each appear to be split over its merit. The naysayers quibble with the fact that the live and the studio cuts are not segregated. I agree. The inter-mingling does rather destroy the flow of the concert tracks. In the overall scheme of things this is a minor objection. After all it is the music that matters. Here again there is no consensus. Many suggest that while the live songs are creditable the new material, the studio songs, are below par. While Allmusic gives the previous live album, Lotus, five stars, it gives Moonflower just three. I love the entire four sides. I've searched for a weak cut - can't find one! Carlos' playing is, as always, superb. Tom Coster on Hammond and Greg Walker on vocals add tremendous support.