The Steel Guitar Forum

I suspect Lanois is the Chauncey Gardner of the pedal steel world

Now I gotta look up Chauncy Gardner!

John Macy you are a gentleman and a scholar and it certainly was great to see you in Denver.
Chris LeDrew, you said it!

Chauncy Gardner = Peter Sellers in Being There...

Ah, but his real name was "Chance, the gardener", and at the end of the movie, he is seen walking on water. I think the analogy fits closer to how some people react than anything about the subject.

I'm fine with Lanois and many other musicians trying new things. Sometimes I get it, sometimes I don't, but that's OK. Lots of times, I wind up even being influenced by stuff that, at first, makes no sense. I would pause before being overtly dismissive about this kind of thing.

But on a more general note - sometimes I think people who are trying to forge a their own path make too much of trying to be different. In various threads on this forum about so-called 'new ideas' or 'new styles', I get a sense that many proponents of this approach think that players of classic styles or using classic approaches are nothing but old war horses that are worthy of nothing more than grudging toleration until they're dead. I think that really misses the point. Nothing happens in a vacuum, and anybody who ignores great achievements of the past is more than likely to wind up spending most of their time reinventing the wheel. Just to be clear, I'm not including Daniel Lanois in this characterization. Regardless of what anybody thinks about the aesthetics of his music, I think it's pretty obvious, listening to his production output, that he is well aware of what came before him.

Dave, I hear you. Whether we're talking about steel or whatever, there is this myth in the music world - perpetuated (of course!) by critics and the industry - that something "new" has been created. 99 out of 100 times that's a lot of laughable hype and steaming bull, if you'll pardon my French. With millions of musicians in the States alone, true innovators in music are as rare as dinosaur eyeballs.

I've said it all my life: fusing the music of two cultures is not inventive. Making atonal dissonant noise is not inventive. These approaches to "creativity" are pitifully simple and are light years behind the act of writing a good song that speaks to the soul IMO, and I think that's why people do them: songwriting is a gift not everyone possesses.

All that said, I see Lanois as one of those true innovators, and God knows he is a truly gifted and original songwriter...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-JtAcpKtYQ&ob=av2n

Nice post Dave.

I like so many different types of music it's funny when I'm not up on some stuff. I like Lanois for being a musician. I enjoy Bill Frisell quite a bit but his Nashville album might get some heated comments. Art Van Damme might even get some on the forum to like accordion.

Russ

I read a quote one time with the sentiment that genius is taking something familiar and making something new out of it.

Stuart and I decided since we've been wasting our time pickbocking and messin with all that tab and learning all them Ray Price songs that we would just play what's in our blood.
If you can't beat em get together with em.
So we thought a version right from our blood of this old song aptly appropriate " Together Again". Oh I'm feeling the love and togetherness already.
Click Here

Bo, you've been practicing!

Are you insinuating that Danny should be learning the kickoffs to Ray Price tunes? I'd rather him spend his energy and time creating new music, which fortunately he has done his entire career, quite successfully.

The tune in the original post is called Panorama/JJ Leaves LA. There is a great duet version of it here with Brian Blade on drums. Not having the benefit of the visuals really makes Lanois' touch on the instrument more pronounced and effective. Check it out for yourself.

Tell me, did you like the movie Sling Blade? Remember, the one with Billy Bob Thornton and Dwight Yoakam? Lanois' soundtrack was an important part of that movie.

I play bluegrass and older country music because that's what i like to play but I enjoy listening to all kinds of music including rap (although I'm not sure that it"s technically music). I don't "get" classical music,but I enjoy it just the same. I've never heard of this guy and I really enjoyed it. It's not what you usually hear on steel guitar. It's really refreshing to hear someone do something different on our favorite instrument.

Lanois is one of those guys that sets a mood rather than wows the listener with massive technique (not a judgement either way - I love both at different times). My absolute favourite PSG tune thus far is the studio version of Panorama from the Belladonna album (the lead off track Two Worlds is right up there for me as well). I wish it were on youtube or similar so I could link it, but it's unfortunately not. I find the subtleties with the volume pedal work etc. even more breathtaking on the original.

Bo, I like your "Erased and Unplugged" effort a lot better!

i had the pleasure of catching Daniel when he played at the Jazz Fest in New Orleans
he played some kind of lap steel & it sounded great
so did the rest of his set on guitar & vocals - no psg
i've also got a couple of his early cds which i like
like many, i know he's an excellent producer & have a few of the sides that he worked on
here again great stuff
as to his psg playing i won't say that it's no good or my cup of tea -
when i was younger, i used to say : " hey that guy ain't no good ! " to which i was told : " yeah, but he's up there & you're down here listenin' to him "
so i'll just let Daniel do his thing, express himself & pursue a most wonderful & successful career
just like Robert Randolph, he could'nt care less about what we've got to say here since he's just to busy gettin' it on
btw : i am not a Ray Price aficionado - out of respect, i would'nt even dare knock it

I never meant a slight against Ray Price; I was just using it as an example of conventional country steel that 90 percent of us here, including me, play on pedal steel. Those Emmons riffs form the foundation of how I play. But as I said, I doubt Lanois started that way or endeavours to get them down.

Daniel's success has proven he is communicating with an audience of future steel lovers....What's to argue about? As the instrument progresses there will be as many dislikes as there are adornments to anyones music, especially when they pursue their own voice..........I believe all successes are relevant to the instruments growth into future generations.......On that note, I thought I'd insert another players clip here for everyones enjoyment. A slight hijack to acknowledge another exploratory steel guitarist musician.

This is a clip from one of the earliest cornerstones of rock/pop steel guitar who began turning heads in the 60's.....Watch and listen to his truly unique non-country, non-pedal approach to the steel guitar..........

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAbbgSKU ... r_embedded

For those who don't know much about David's history, he is credited for pioneering the sonic and rock sounding steel techniques.

This clip knocks me out. It shows his distinct mastery of the instrument at a virtuoso level on par with a Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughn, or Jeff Beck........Look at his right hand, observe his complete dynamic control. Whether he's strumming or in the midst of burning the thing up, he never loses control of the music....David utilizes everything the instrument has to offer with extreme musical taste. Its fun to see how he carried the old masters techniques into new modern directions........I see him as the exploratory rock equivalent of a Buddy Emmons who most will agree does the same every time he plays........

Paul

...and David would pay tribute to Freddie who was his inspiration. I believe that is what great musicians do. They inspire others to take music in their own direction.

Check Freddie out: http://youtu.be/zX06XkUhkbs

Russ

Russ I have never heard Freddy. Thanks and how cool is he.

He's smooth.

In the Premier Guitar article (which didn't say anything about his steel, it's tuning etc.) Lanois had this to say about his own pedal steel playing:

There are two aspects of the pedal steel that keep me really interested in it—melody and the fact that I get better results the less busy I play. Those things pushed me in a certain direction that’s very unlike the high-speed Western swing pedal steel players. I love that sound, but I don’t do it at all. I chose to slow the thing down and really let it breathe—which makes it a whole new instrument, sonically and compositionally. Sometimes I think about steel guitar like a string quartet—at any given time you can have four notes interplaying. It’s still mystifying to me. But you can’t put it down for too long, or you’ll lose your technique and the ear for it. And every note really demands attention on a pedal steel.

That really spoke to me, because so often you'll hear a steel player who knows intros and solos - but not the song's melodies. Lanois seems interested in what the steel can do for him musically and not vice-versa. He would get creamed in any contest to pick the best Buddy Emmons impersonator, for sure. I imagine Lanois would like to have more time for it, but his day jobs interfere - he's also called it "a church in a suitcase", which hints at his reasons for playing.

I highly recommend reading his book, "Soul Mining: A Musical Life." There are some very profound thoughts in it that I'm sure might appeal to all musicians.

Wow! Thank goodness for youtube. I'd never seen that Lindley clip. He was a big inspiration to me over the years.
BB

Now Freddie Roulette really got my attention!!

It's a big world musically speaking, and the more of it we're exposed to, the better off we are.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyyoBoVz58A