My pal Sal over at Burning Wood posted up a mind-bending version of Led Zeppelin’s “Celebration Day” today. Go there immediately and download it…I’ll wait.

Welcome back. I don’t listen to much Led Zeppelin these days, now that I’m old and everything. But I’ve been on a bit of a kick lately, as you may have noticed in a previous post. It was through that post, which I mentioned on the Official Led Zeppelin Forum in a pathetic, and highly successful, bid to drive some traffic this way, that I heard about this version of No Quarter, recorded in LA in 1973.

This version lasts over 1/2 hour, with a couple of detours along the way, and showcases a free-form sensibility and a sense of humor that doesn’t show up on Zeppelin’s studio efforts; along with that, it simply displays this band at the peak of their considerable power. Most of the song is just the instrumental trio – Jones, Page, Bonham – bouncing from idea to idea; there’s a touch of attention-deficit-disorder here, in which this riff-heavy mid-tempo heavy metal odyssey melds into a scorching 12-bar blues, among other musical experiments that eventually, somehow, fade back into the original song. Note that there is no bassist here, since Jonesy is playing piano throughout. There is no organ foot-pedal bass either (as on the official live album). And you won’t miss it. Take that, White Stripes!

While Page’s soloing is brain-melting, even for him, Jones is driving the bus throughout, speeding down all sorts of interesting alleyways and around sharp corners…as Bonzo and Page keep up a constant dialog, exploding together time and again into these ridiculously tight musical phrases…you just gotta laugh.

This comes from a 3-CD bootleg called “For Badgeholders Only,” the title taken from a Plant running joke that pops up between songs. I know this is going to take a half-hour of your life, and I wouldn’t post it if it wasn’t a phenomenal must-hear.

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C’mon Sal; match that!

Photos from the True Grit shoot from Jeff Bridges, here.

Welcome to Awesome Guitar Solo Friday here at Refreshing Beverage.

I first encountered guitarist Drew Zingg on Donald Fagen’s “Rock & Soul Review” tour in the spring of 1991. This was Fagen’s first time on the road since the demise of Steely Dan (now reformed, in a sense). At the time, Robben Ford was every guitarist’s guitarist, and we were all trying to figure out how to solo like him – navigating chord tones and winging those slippery diminished-scale runs.

          Zingg! Zangg!

Suddenly here was another Ford model – only, somehow, hipper and hotter. Plus, he was soloing on those great Steely Dan tunes, putting his own twist on them – arguably, he was improving on the efforts of Larry Carlton, Denny Dias, Jeff Baxter, Elliot Randall et al. In a word, he just smoked, one of those guys who come out of nowhere and set your brain on fire.

Zingg went on to tour with Steely Dan on their first time out after reuniting, in 1993-94. For some reason – unfathomable, really – he was replaced on subsequent tours by Jon Herrington (no slap against Herrington, another estimable player, but he can go get his own blog post.) He has continued to tour off-and-on with Boz Scaggs over the years, though he most recently could be found in the pit for a Las Vegas production of the Broadway musical “Jersey Boys”. I assume it paid well.

To hear Zingg’s string wizardry, pick up the live document of that 93-94 tour, Alive In America, or catch a Boz Scaggs show. Or, check out this semi-obscure Donald Fagen demo, which bounced around the internet unofficially for several years before it was properly released on Fagen’s Nightfly Trllogy boxed set. “Confide In Me” was officially recorded by cutesy-poo vocalese monsters The Manhattan Transfer, but their version lacked a ripping guitar solo like the one Zingg provides here, beginning right around the 1:40 mark:

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Since this was recorded as a demo, I have a feeling this was a first-take, and that’s another reason to love it.  Not only does he skip through the changes with aplomb (and an absolutely killer guitar tone), he concludes the solo (as he always seems to do) with the perfect phrase; if he were an Olympic gymnast, the dismount alone would guarantee a 10.0. Words really don’t do justice to the way this guy plays – in fact, this one fairly cries out for a transcription, which I will endeavor to produce and post in the near future.

For now, let me just say that this is state-of-the-art jazz/blues guitar playing; he’s got his own way of doing things, but certainly nods in the direction of the golden age of Larry Carlton.

Drew Zingg is on the web now at dzdap.com…apparently, his debut solo album is in the works, which is good news for guitar geeks everywhere.

And now, a bonus: here’s Drew playing on a Boz Scaggs boot from 1997 – a terrific version of  “Loan Me a Dime”. I believe the early soloing is Boz; but check out Mr. Zingg at the 6:00 mark. Hoochiemama! This clip courtesy of Sal at the always fantastic Burning Wood blog.

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I’ve just learned that that Bob Seger, on the outro section of “Night Moves,” sings “workin’…workin’ and practicin’”.

I had always heard it as “workin…workin’ in cracker slums.”

                         Keep on truckin

Obviously, mine is better.

Happened to hear that very fine song today, what a great vocal – on that tune at least, he’s a soul singer, and a really, really good one.

And then, the precipitous descent into mediocrity. It’s not for us to understand.

                                Snausages!

Truly one of the most amazing and despicable album covers ever. Here’s a band that doesn’t mind losing half of their potential audience before the needle even hits the vinyl. As idiotic as it is, the image itself is impeccable. Why? This is another Hipgnosis production. A fairly complete collection of their generally excellent and 99% non-sexist album cover work is here.

“Office Space Bliss” wallpaper, by Burt Gummer. Nice flair.

While driving around doing errands this past weekend, this song came on the radio. It’s an early Jimmy Page production, and like several of his 60′s production efforts, it features his guitar playing. I thought it would make a nice companion piece to Friday’s guitar solo post.

“She’s a Lady” was written by Paul Anka; it’s not clear if this the same lady who later was havin’ his baby. It’s an odd artifact of the era, lyrically; depending how you look at it, it either celebrates or condescends to the titular woman (sorry)…or maybe it’s a bit of both.

                 Hand over the panties.

What’s really interesting from a guitar-geek standpoint is the guitar intro, obviously written by Page, as well as the country-esque fills he provides throughout. The intro is a devilish 7-note minor-key riff that would not have been out of place on a Zeppelin track. It doesn’t have much in common with the rest of the song, but it certainly announces that this is a number that must be taken seriously, much like a music cue in a horror film.

The fills, which mainly come at the end of each chorus, are pedal-steel flavored bends, played in the trademark trebley-scratchy Page tone. Unmistakable.

             Me and Mr. Jones...we got a thing...

Typically cheesy 60′s Tom Jones, redeemed by virtue of it’s fossil value.

Tom Jones, She’s A Lady

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