The Steel Guitar Forum

<SMALL>What I'm hearing is all steel guitar 101. Tasteless</SMALL>

Boy I'd give my right WHAAAAK! to be able to think up all that tasteless stuff day in and day out!

I think it is pretty common to lean towards what you came up with. It is pretty hard for us old timers to except the country music of today as compared to what we were use to yesterday. I wonder if 30 or 40 years down the road if the steel players then will think how good the music of today was as compared to what they will have then.
Just food for thought.

Jerry

Some of that tasteless sounds is the product of the studio. I was told by a well known steel player that in the studio, he was to play with the volume pedal wide open and not to worry about the tone (bass, treble)they would take care of it. The question is,do those guys know what a steel should sound like? I play in a couple steel shows every year and trying to come up with some nice steel songs from the "new country" is difficult. Used to you could always come up with great melodies from Ray Price, G Jones and other stars of that time. Mostly what I hear today is a steel player playing cords some producer thinks would be cool. Just my opinion you understand.

<SMALL>It's new refreshing and we are hearing more steel than back then. </SMALL>

Theresa, you're never going to be able to turn a volkswagon into a Cadillac! Sorry but quality should exceed quantity in this case, then maybe it will become refreshing.

Mike,
Refreshing is in the ear of the listener.
Wanting to learn everything is refreshing!
Learn from what's behind you and to reinvigorate!
Theresa

Sounds good but I don't believe today's music is the reinvigorated past. Matter of fact, a far cry from it. Sorry, you'll have to try again!

Mike,
I don't have to try again. Proof is in the sales and pudding. Country sales are more now than ever. Steel is more than ever being heard.. That should make you happy!
Theresa

Ahh...Art vs. $.....I see
you know, in the 1910's & 1920's, the number of sales of ukuleles,courses & ukulele oriented published & recorded music was greater then than for any other instrument at any time before or since.....
The more people who play (or play at) an instrument, the greater the dangers of standardization, stereotyping & mediocrity......
.......sound familiar???

This thread makes much more sense like this:
http://www.sparse.org/~mrt/cgi-bin/t.cgi?field=http%3A%2F%2Fsteelguitarforum.com%2FForum15%2FHTML%2F000780.html

Hmm.

"Country sales are more now than ever."

Well, just because a record is MARKETED as "country" and it's on the "country" charts, that doesn't make it COUNTRY (IMHO).

And, just because a record SELLS, it doesn't necessarily make it a great record (Mass appeal is not equal to greatness, IMHO).

Actually, I'm thankful that I have the ability to distinguish between talent and sales figures.




Henning Antonsen
(26 year old lover of REAL country music)

ROTFLMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Bob Hoffnar, that is the funniest thing I have seen on this forum yet!

......Theresa, you still don't know the difference between a Volkswagon and a Cadillac but keep trying!

Hi Mike, what do you mean by the V.W and what is the Cadillac?
Please, make your point
Thanks, Johan

Back in the 60's, a record company in Detroit set the pace for the music of my generation. The record company was Motown and the music was Rock & Roll. I loved it and was a huge fan of the 4 Tops, Temptations, Supremes, Jackie Wilson, Marvin Gay, etc. but I was also a country music fan with hero's such as Ernest Tubb, Ray Price, Bill Anderson, Lynn Anderson, Connie Smith, Warner Mack, etc. There was a distinctive line between each style of music and each musician's sound that is not found in music today. Today's rock & roll is still reminiscent of that sound from the 60's but country music took a different turn. It has followed the sounds of the 60's rock & roll and has become an industry to only make money and not music because very little "country" music is made today. The volkswagon is the "cheesy" sound that comes out of Metro Nashville today with the bump and grind beat and telecasters blazing with a down mix of token steel that is vanilla in flavor and usable in most songs. It isn't the players who don't know what a steel is supposed to sound like, it's the producers who don't know what a steel is, let alone what it is supposed to sound like or where and when it's supposed to be played! There are a few who for the most part stick to the country flavor of the music it has evolved from. That is the Cadillac! There is "country" and there is "non country". It all boils down to the fact that you cannot take a lemon and turn it into a peach. There is good in all types of music. All types are not bad but rap isn't rock & roll anymore than today's "new country" is country. That is not saying it is good or bad, just that it isn't country. Harlan Sanders was a Colonel but he was never in the service of his country and the only regiment he commanded was that of a bunch of chickens!

I like a lot of todays "New Country" and there's a lot of good steel guitar on it BUT!!!!!!!!!! It just doesn't inspire me for some reason. I can put on some CD's and just listen and enjoy it but when I put on my old Buck Owens, Wynn Stewart, or Merle Haggard with the Great Ralph Mooney playing I can't make it through two songs before I'm behind my steel. That stuff just inspires me to want to play. Although I'm probably the biggest "Moon" fan I know of, for beautiful tone and execution I'd have to put in my vote for the Ray Price "Nightlife" album with Buddy Emmons on steel. Of all the records, tapes, CD's, etc. I've been collecting since the late 50's I'd have to say this one is my favorite. It couldn't have been done any different. It's Perfect!!

------------------
Have a good 'un! JH U-12


<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Jerry Hayes on 30 October 2001 at 03:24 PM.]</p></FONT>

Bob (Hoffnar), you are truly talented! And, it's plain you're like me...and have too much time on your hands!

I agree with theresa I think most of the
new stuff is great! That doesn't mean I dont
like the old stuff.I love the old 3 and 5
stuff but after you've already heard it in
every country song from 60'to 80' I start to
get a little tired of it. The music is much
worse today but I think the steel is better
than it's ever been!
-Derek

...that must be some good shit, Bob...

I heard some absolutly mind blowing steel playing on a cut called Shiver by Jamie O'Neal. It has a really wild steel intro.

Bob

BTW: I find the forum much more tolerable with the T'inator system !

Hoffnar, what this fool talkin' bout now? You makin' fun of my chains, man, it's really going to hit the fan now.....

When I listen to 'new country' these days, I hear some really phenominally recorded pop music. Great sounding tracks, combined with some of the lamest lyrics and singing ever. But I love the playing on most of this stuff. And the steel playing is more innovative than it has been in years. Hey I was in Nashville and LA in the late 70s and early 80s and I remember the crap that was on the radio.

My 15 year old son, who is a bass player and serious student of James Jamerson, Joe Osborn, and Bootsie Collins, turns on CMT to listen to the bass parts, for all reasons. And he has learned to recognize Paul Franklin's playing, so it's a positive, in my book.

LETS BE FAIR when the Big E is NOT playing anymore,,,,,,,,??What then????
I did NOT hear yet the next BIG ? yet!
Henry

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica">quote:</font><HR><SMALL>....the steel is better
than it's ever been!-Derek </SMALL><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Do you really think the ideals, tone, individuality, etc..... are better now than in the 50's -- 70's? And if so, please give an example of "modern" steel that's had as much impact as "We Could", "Half a Mind", "Together Again" , "Bridge Washed Out", etc..... <FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by KEVIN OWENS on 04 November 2001 at 10:19 AM.]</p></FONT><FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by KEVIN OWENS on 04 November 2001 at 10:23 AM.]</p></FONT>

<SMALL>if so, please give an example of "modern" steel that's had as much impact as </SMALL>

Kevin, a needle in a haystack would be easier to find than the answer to your question. You make an excellent point.

Hi Kevin, You are right there are no GREAT examples of great steel in todays country music. But you left out some of the better ones of the past, "Nobody but a fool",Weldon Myrick. "Ones on the Way",Hal Rugg. "The bottle let me Down",Ralph Mooney. and "Farewell Party", Lloyd Green. And if thats not enough to convince everyone, just listen to a Faron Young record from the 70's and Mr. Nashville Sound is right there showing you how it's done, THE RIGHT WAY<<<.
I can't wait till 10/05/02 the day after Lloyd turns 65. He is allready booked and the world will hear the way it's supposed to be done AGAIN<<<.

"I can't wait till 10/05/02 the day after Lloyd turns 65. He is allready booked and the world will hear the way it's supposed to be done AGAIN."

Hey Gang,
What was/is the story with Lloyd having to wait untill he was 65 to record again?
Thanks in advance for the scoop.
-pete