The Steel Guitar Forum

I hadn't seen this clip here -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6pcMAR7 ... re=related

I've notice more and more musicians covered in Premier Guitar and Guitar Player magazine talking about how much they like playing pedal steel, but the interviewers never ask about tunings, brands etc. - as though "pedalsteel" guitar is a single thing.

Man I love way he plays!!! It's really intriguing to listen to how he not only plays the strings, but also how he plays the amp as an instrument, not just a "get louder" box. Definitely a unique voice on the steel guitar, just as he is on the six string.

Nice "slide" guitar

hope he doesn't get his zippers caught in the strings.

An artist throws a bucket of paint on a canvas and everybody goes gaga over it. He is joking right?

Yaaaaaa, he prolly can't play no country. Hahaha

If the situation were reversed and Premier Guitar and Guitar Player magazine ran an article about how Steel players love playing lead guitar and they used for an example a PSG player playing a lead guitar similar to Daniel Lanois's fragmented ramblings of a melody so undefined that the clams seem melodic. the guitar playing readers would be laughing their rears off.

This thread prompted me to view a few other videos of his. Does he play everything a cappella? His approach is certainly unique and different, but honestly, after listening to this noodling for about thirty seconds, I just get bored. Sorry, adult ADD I guess ….

I once saw him backing up Emmylou Harris, I think it was was called "The Wrecking Ball Tour". Him on guitar, with bass and drums. I couldn't believe what I saw when he walked over to the drummer and kicked the drumset over. It had to be reset by a roadie. His steel playing? Not for me!

Daniel Lanois follows his own path. You don't have to like it. But music is in the man's blood and he knows more about it then most of us will ever know.

Slide?????

He referred to the door-to-door guy in his book as teaching "slide" guitar lessons, but he does call his instrument a pedal steel. He played with Sylvia Tyson for a spell when he was a very young man.

Daniel Lanois follows his own path. You don't have to like it. But music is in the man's blood and he knows more about it then most of us will ever know.

Mike, maybe you can explain why you thought it necessary to include that last thought, almost as a footnote. I've played music for a living most of my adult life and as a direct result of that, I'm convinced there are countless others, you and Mr. Lanois included, that know waaay more about music than I ever did or ever will, but

well, so there

You either like what Lanois does or you don't. I happen to really like how he approaches music making, which really is the point.

(non-constructive comment removed)

this topic makes me sad again....that discussion transfered to the regular guitar would mean, that every good guitarpayer today had exactely to play like Wes Montgomery or Django Reinhard did in the fifties........ignoring, that guys like B.B. King, Jimi Hendrix, SRV, RyCooder, Duane Allman, Townsend, etc etc etc went new exiting paths, and made the guitar an instrument, that works great in every musicgenre.Simply the most popular instrument in the world !
And the "classic" steelplayer still keep asking: why is the steel guitar still standing in the shadow ?
I`m a pedal steel player, and yes, I learned my lessons from the greats like Emmons, Green, Franklin and so on
BUT: a guy like Lanois goes HIS way.....not using the classic licks, that we all know. AND THATS GREAT because his playing is soulfull and moving (at least me)and introduces the steel to a totally new audience.
4 weeks ago I had the pleasure to see him with his new projekt "Black Dub" in Hamburg Germany. This concert was one of the three greatest concerts in my entire life. INCREDIBLE.. And yes, he even played two tracks on pedal steel with just two foot pedals and no knees. SO WHAT !!!!! It`s no sports, it`s music !! (sorry for my poor english)

I give him Kudos for being able to make a living using a pedal steel. But thats about it. It just sounds like a beginner player noodling around with triads to me... I'm sure he is a fine musician, im not knocking that, just his steel playing. I'm assuming Lanois became famous for something other than playing steel, and started doing this after the fact, then came the big hype for his steel playing.

Adam, Daniel Lanois is one of the most successful record producers of our era. He's made records for Bob Dylan, U2, Peter Gabriel, Emmy Lou Harris, Willie Nelson and many many others.

It's obvious this man LOVES the steel guitar. In fact it's his favorite instrument. Whether or not it's someones cup of tea is one thing. He is turning a whole new young generation of people on to the instrument, who will in turn learn of the past masters and keep the instrument alive. Long after some of those lovable curmudgeony grumpy old steel forum members we've come to know and love are gone and buried, Daniel Lanois steel guitar legacy will live on.

This forum is full of dissenting opinions and that's great. How some people wish to air their opinions is often not so great and reflects poorly on them. Perhaps they were taught no manners from their parents, or have forgotten them from all those lonely hours practicing pick blocking (ha). I find most of it humorous and some of it just plain sad.

It's sad when people stop being able to learn things. Heck I learn things from music I don't even like. From people I don't even like. Maybe there's a good idea in there somewhere. But people are afraid of change, that is certain. And what makes it sad is that they lose that part of themselves that leads to discovery and innovation in their music and lives.

But I guess we have a reputation for being somewhat less than polite on this forum. Maybe it's the nature of an instrument that illuminates the struggles and frustrations within ourselves and reveals the limits of our mortality.

Or maybe it's just too much BIAB. That stuff will fry your brains...!

Nicely said, Joshua. I am a big Lanois fan, own most everything he has done...he can capture a mood about as well as anybody I know...

By the way, Mr. Grange is a mighty fine player, too...I have had the pleasure of seeing him with both Dwight Yokum and K.D. Lang, and we had a great time hanging here last month with K.D...check him out if he hits your neighborhood--the Lang show is one of the best shows I have seen in a long, long time...

Barry Blackwood wrote: Mike, maybe you can explain why you thought it necessary to include that last thought, almost as a footnote. I've played music for a living most of my adult life and as a direct result of that, I'm convinced there are countless others, you and Mr. Lanois included, that know waaay more about music than I ever did or ever will, but

When I say he knows more about music, it has nothing to do with music theory or the intellectual side of things. If you know anything about Lanois, then you have a good idea what to expect from him musically--he ain't about chops, regardless of what instrument he is playing. I've never had as visceral a reaction to anyone's guitar playing in a live setting as I have to his--it is remarkable what this man can draw out of himself with a Les Paul, and it is remarkable that a Les Paul through a single amp with no pedals is capable of such a wide range of expression in his hands.

There is something very modern in Lanois' primative approach to music.

How some people wish to air their opinions is often not so great and reflects poorly on them. Perhaps they were taught no manners from their parents, or have forgotten them from all those lonely hours practicing pick blocking ...

Bad manners? Aren't you going a little to far?

Sorry, I'm w/ Stuart Legg. I don't get it.

They're are some of steel players, whose music I seldom choose to listen (e.g. RR, Julian Tharpe etc). Nonetheless, I can respect and appreciate their technique, vision, mastery and distinctiveness.

None of those qualities, can I apply to Mr Lanois' "slide" ramblings.

ahhh.... i think lanois' naked fingertip string brushing is like art. more water colors than oils. a beautiful expression of an artists mentally induced creativity displayed in his unorthodox medium. a very feminine touch from a black leather jacketed soul.

I think Lanois is a friggin' genius and as Mike says, it has nothing to do with chops. If anyone wants to hear him play steel in a way that might convince even the biggest doubter, please check out "Apollo", an album he made with Brian Eno in 1983. It was the soundtrack for a film about the Apollo missions and it has some beautiful PSG lines: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMyvLUqm3rM.

Out of character for me I know, but being predictable has never been my strong suit.

It's important to consider Lanois' steel playing in light of the bigger picture regarding his style as a producer. Often the artists he produces have to conform to his tastes and approach, as he stamps every project with "the Lanois sound," so to speak. (Youtube the studio versions of Peter Gabriel's "Sledgehammer," the Neville Brothers' "Yellow Moon," or Dylan's "Everything is Broken" for examples.) He does the same when he sits at the steel. He uses its sound and mechanics to express what he hears and feels. Remember, the steel doesn't sound like anything when it sits unplayed. It wasn't built to play specific genres of music, much to the chagrin of many here.

You won't catch Lanois pouring over tabulature or trying to learn kick-offs to Ray Price tunes. Emulation is not on his radar, nor are the moans from inaudible detractors like the ones on this thread.