| Author | Message | ||
     Kurt Stephan Member Username: Slothbert Post Number: 3 Registered: 04-2005 |
I may be quickly proven wrong on these assertions, but here goes: (1) Is "Darlinghurst Nights" the GoBs' longest song ever? I don't have the discs in front of me to check lengths, but I don't recall them ever going over six minutes before. (2) I'm sure they've used some guitar effects over the years, but I recently read an interview with Grant who said something like "we're not a 'pedal' band--it's just guitars played through the amp." However, the guitar solo on "No Reason to Cry" sounds like the first noticeably overdriven lead I've heard on a GoBs album (and the guitars on "The Statue" also have a lot more sustain than we're used to as well). Not particularly important developments, I suppose, but I found them a bit interesting. | ||
| Brook Crowley Member Username: 1_fan Post Number: 18 Registered: 02-2005 |
Yes, Kurt, "Darlinghurst Nights", clocking in at six minutes and twenty-one seconds, is the longest-running track the Go-Betweens ever recorded, and should be a big favourite in their repertroire as well. You're also quite right about the guitar effects. Besides, I have their first seven albums, especially on "Before Hollywood" and "Spring Hill Fair" (the latter album one of my favourites). | ||
| Peter Azzopardi Member Username: Pete Post Number: 104 Registered: 09-2004 |
I think that the guitar solo on "No Reason"--probably the best guitar solo on Go-Bs record--sounds as if it was double-tracked using the exact same guitar and amp setting, creating a sustained effect that occassionally falls behind the others lead line(as if a couple of passes were attempted of the solo and Mark Wallis decided to weave/leave both in the mix). I agree, they could have used a sustain pedal, or an e-bow, too. Surely they used an octave pedal on the cheese guitar in "Born To A Family". Not a pedal band my foot! | ||
| Alfredo L Soto Member Username: Alfred_soto Post Number: 2 Registered: 05-2005 |
Wonder who played the lead guitar on "No Reason to Cry" and "The Statue | ||
| Kurt Stephan Member Username: Slothbert Post Number: 4 Registered: 04-2005 |
Good question, Alfredo. Maybe those who've seen them live in the past week can tell us? This tour will be the first time I've ever seen them live, so I'm looking forward to seeing who plays what guitar parts. From the records, I have no clue. There's sort of a "typical" GoBs lead style but I have no idea which one does it--or do they both? | ||
| kuba a Member Username: Kuba Post Number: 1 Registered: 05-2005 |
The best Go-Bees guitar solo just has to be "Man O'Sand To Girl O'Sea". No chances for beating it. | ||
| Alfredo L Soto Member Username: Alfred_soto Post Number: 3 Registered: 05-2005 |
I always assumed that Robert handled most of the leads, since the credits and the video I've seen of their recent performances show Grant strumming an acoustic. | ||
| Stephen Harris Member Username: Smh Post Number: 9 Registered: 05-2005 |
I've been castigated for this before, but I don't believe Robert can play any but the most basic lead guitar parts, anyone seeing them live should see how uncomfortable he is trying to play simple lead or melody lines. He's great at what he does, chopping out rhythm parts, but Grant is the musician. One of their problems live is not being able to hear Grant playing lead on his acoustic and that's why it was so good to see and hear playing electric for some of the songs on this tour. | ||
| Kurt Stephan Member Username: Slothbert Post Number: 5 Registered: 04-2005 |
To add to what Stephen wrote, the 'Tallulah' liner notes credited Grant with "lead guitar" and Robert with "sonic rhythm guitar," and I think some of the other albums attributed the leads to Grant too. But I recall an older thread with a similar discussion to this, and someone said that the two had such intertwined guitar parts that it was often tough to say which one was lead and which was rhythm. By the way, my vote for best GoBs guitar solo is the short, Verlainesque lead in "Hammer the Hammer." But who played that one? It's simple enough--it's more about tone and attack than number of notes--so I could imagine it being Robert. I haven't heard the Barbican "Hammer the Hammer" yet...did they manage to nail the solo? And, to further beat the guitar topic to death, Peter's comments about the "No Reason to Cry" solo made me think of the solo it reminds me off: the one in Yo La Tengo's "Pablo and Andrea." Grant is apparently a YLT fan, so there could be some influence. | ||
| James Member Username: James Post Number: 4 Registered: 05-2005 |
Kurt, you might not get all the answers to your questions about who plays what on the records though Grant tends to play the more complex bits. The walking guitar line on Spring Rain is a good example. Grant also plays the excellent lead guitar on Darlinghurst Nights, which sounds great live. Robert is an enigma, he plays great guitar and has a clean and 'classic;' sound. His attempts to play lead on Streets of Your Town are ok, the sound is thin and pure but he's no virtuoso. The GBs live is not polished but that's what makes them great. | ||
| Richard Lim Member Username: Re17 Post Number: 4 Registered: 05-2005 |
Robert doesn't play lead on Streets Of Your Town - the solo is John Willsteed. To my mind both Grant and Robert are rhythm guitarists who do occasional pseudo-lead stuff - a few riffs and that. I've always been a little disappointed that in live shows what little lead work there is on the records can be nonexistent; both Grant and Robert just seem to strum, and some of the songs really do need a bit more than plain strumming. And I really should be heading for Shepherd's Bush at this point instead of typing this... Richard | ||
| Richard Lim Member Username: Re17 Post Number: 5 Registered: 05-2005 |
Oops James, I suddenly realized you were referring to Robert's attempts to do some kind of guitar solo when they play Streets Of Your Town live. Funny thing is, in all the years I've seen them play that tune, I've always remembered there being this vacuum where John Willsteed's solo should be, even though it's an easy solo that I'm sure either Grant or Robert could play. Tonight at Shepherd's Bush is the first time I can recall seeing Robert attempt to do a little bit of riffing on that tune - and it wasn't up to much. Talking of guitars, I thought tonight's Cattle and Cane worked surprisingly well with only electric guitars (Robert's Strat and Grant's Les Paul). In contrast, To Reach Me, given the same treatment, sounded pretty horrible I thought. Part of the problem with seeing the band live, I feel, is that even when someone (usually Grant) does try to do something a bit clever on guitar, the two guitars are always mixed at exactly the same level, and often you can hardly hear the solo or riffs over the strumming. This hasn't changed since the 80s really - though back then I think Robert Vickers' excellent bass lines and Lindy's unorthodoxy helped to lend interest. I speak as someone who's very much a child of the indie movement and doesn't believe you have to be great technically to get on stage and play. But I think the band's shortcomings have always been a bit obvious over an extended set. Best tune for me tonight was probably Just A King in Mirrors, done as an acoustic duo. Does anyone know what makes of acoustic Robert and Grant play? Richarrd | ||
| tbowed Member Username: Chameleonz Post Number: 2 Registered: 05-2005 |
well then who played all the lead parts on before hollywood??? there is some wicked playing on there and I am sure it is grant even though he also played bass | ||
| Donat Member Username: Donat Post Number: 41 Registered: 11-2004 |
When Amanda was in the Go-Betweens, she did the solo for 'Streets of Your Town' on violin in concert. One other thing you appreciate from listening to bootlegs of the band circa 88/89 is Lindy's drums in the 16 Lover's Lane tracks, especially on 'Quiet Heart.' | ||
| Donat Member Username: Donat Post Number: 42 Registered: 11-2004 |
Here's a quote from Robert Forster in an interview he did with David Pestorius in 1999 for issue 14 of AXE: a specialised rock music journal, edited by John Nixon. "I've never ever played with pedals because... and this is the real base of my guitar playing... Chuck Berry doesn't play with pedals, John Lee Hooker doesn't play with pedals, Muddy Waters never played with pedals. To me, the downfall of rock guitar playing is to do with pedals... I've always liked guitar players where you are playing rhythm and then lead comes and you start to play harder, you just dig in." | ||
| James Member Username: James Post Number: 6 Registered: 05-2005 |
Robert and Grant are no Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd but they are interesting and original in their own way. I love seeing the Gbs live, its always an 'edge of the seat' experience, especially on Cattle and Cane, and the Spring Rain intro. Has this always been the case? I never saw them pre-split. | ||
| Robert Vickers Member Username: Robert_vickers Post Number: 1 Registered: 05-2005 |
Virtually all the lead guitar you hear on GBs albums is Grant. A lot of his bass playing on the early records are almost lead guitar parts as well. One of the reasons they wanted a fourth member after BH was to free Grant up to play lead giutar. Which he did for until the breakup. Robert occasionally dabbled but seemed happier playing chords and working on a stage persona. A division of labour that I thought worked very well. Grant almost always played electric and developed a simple, melodic and somewhat emotional style that really worked with the songs. Man O' Sand is my favourite. I'll be interested to se what he does with Darlinghurst Nights live. I like the horns on that track but a nice long Grant solo on the end would have been interesting. I understand Grant likes playing acoustic now and that's the direction of the band, but the more electric he plays the more ideas he comes up, with particually on Robert's songs. the intro to Spring Rain etc etc. In short a prefer them live with Grant on electric. I suppose it's a minor point but those little riffs and leads do not come across as well on acoustic. Can't see them adding a guitarist though. | ||
| Kurt Stephan Member Username: Slothbert Post Number: 7 Registered: 04-2005 |
Thanks for the interesting comments, Robert--they clear things up and confirm some suspicions. I agree that Grant should play more electric; more of his creative lead parts would have added some color to the GoBs "Mk II" albums. To go back to what others said about "Streets of Your Town"--on the Barbican version, I assume that's RF playing the solo (a sort of simplified electric version of Willsteed's recorded version), since the song leads off with acoustic guitar that I assume GM is playing. | ||
| Andrew Kerr Member Username: Andrew_k Post Number: 5 Registered: 04-2005 |
Re: James and an 'edge of the seat' experience. When David Nichols was preparing the first version of his book I wrote to him with some accounts of gigs that I had experienced. One in Melbourne at the time of Liberty Belle seemed to feature a very out-of-it Robert (this was the period of wearing dresses in the encore!) and a certain tension amongst the group on stage. I recall 'Apology Accepted' particularly as Grant repeatedly kept asking Robert to play his acoustic on the song and Robert basically refused. The version sounded much more like the Jesus and Mary Chain than the Gobs. RF also descended into the audience to conduct the band during an extremely elongated 'Draining the Pool'. Nobody seemed to have any idea what was going on, but it made for a great gig! I have no idea why David didn't seem to use people's recollections of gigs (I think he had put an ad in Q?), and I felt that his book really lacked any insight into what the classic line-up could be like on stage. | ||
| Richard Lim Member Username: Re17 Post Number: 8 Registered: 05-2005 |
Robert V, you're going to love Darlinghurst Nights, which features some funky riffing from Grant; it's one of the few songs on which they actually turn up his guitar so you can clearly hear what he's doing. It's one of the best songs I've ever seen them do live. Richard | ||
| Matt Ellis Member Username: Matt_ellis Post Number: 20 Registered: 11-2004 |
It's interesting to read what Robert Vickers said about Grant favouring to play acoustic rather than electric guitar live. I noticed that on Darlinghurst Nights at the gig in Brighton Grant played it on electric. However, in Birmingham I'm sure he played the song on acoustic. I didn't think that those jazzy chords that he plays in the song would cut through enough on an acoustic, but it seemed to work ok. However, I agree with Mr Vickers: I prefer to hear them live with Grant on electric. |