Video of the Day: Deep Purple, "Burn"

I'm a huge fan of Deep Purple, but most people seem to know the band only for "Smoke on the Water." They forget that the band was a starting point for many famous musician's careers and that the lineup frequently changed. I'm especially fond of the "Mark III" lineup with David Coverdale on vocals, Glenn Hughes on bass and vocals, Jon Lord on keys, Ian Paice on drums, and of course, Blackmore on guitar. Personally, I've always thought that Coverdale had more soul in his voice than Gillan. The following video was shot at the famous California Jam in 1974, and it's part of a larger shoot that was released as an official Deep Purple DVD.

Song: "Burn"
Band: "Deep Purple"
Album: Burn (1974)

Video of the Day: Doug Rappaport, "Ripp Rapp"

It's always refreshing to find younger players with command over the instrument. Once such player is Doug Rappaport, Edgar Winter's current guitarist. This is a video of him playing one of his own songs titled "Ripp Rapp" in his bedroom. He's got a lot of Eric Johnson-isms in his playing, and it's awesome that he's playing a Les Paul (unlike so many other "shredders").

Video of the Day: Eric Gales Band, "Resurrection" and "Paralyzed"

Eric Gales, along with Shawn Lane, is one of my favorite players from my hometown. I like to describe him as a heavier Jimi Hendrix with a tinge of Eric Johnson. The clips in this video are from around 1991-1993, when his first two albums were released. At the time, he was only 17 or 18 years old. Also, his big brother Eugene is on vocals and bass.

Songs: "Resurrection" and "Paralyzed"
Band: Eric Gales Band
Albums: The Eric Gales Band (1991) and Picture of a Thousand Faces (1993)

Video of the Day: Chick Corea Elektric Band, "Elektric City"

As much as I'm a fan of AOR and classic metal, I'm also a big fan of other genres, including jazz fusion. After all, guys like Al Di Meola and Allan Holdsworth ushered in the notion of "shredding" long before the axe slingers of the '80s hit their prime. Here's a grooving fusion track from Chick Corea Elektric Band's self-titled debut album. Although the video shows Scott Henderson on guitar, the actual guitar track was recorded by Carlos Rios. Gotta love the actual video itself too. So '80s.

Song: "Elektric City"
Band: Chick Corea Elektric Band
Album: Chick Corea Elektric Band (1986)

Seymour Duncan's Answer to the Woes of Soldering

It's about time someone created a solderless pickup system. As much as I love changing pickups and working on my guitar's electronics, I absolutely loathe soldering, especially without a quality iron. Seymour Duncan recently introduced their Liberator Solderless Pickup Change System, and it's very similar to an idea I had a few years ago. According to the Seymour Duncan site, here's how it works:

"Liberator is a bare-wire Lockdown system integrated with a volume pot. In other words, it’s like a patch-bay for your pickups. Like a studio patch bay or telephone switchboard, Liberator combines quick-change connections up front with hard-wired connections behind the scenes. And thanks to the screw-clamp Lockdown system, connections are rock-solid reliable."

You can read more about it on the Seymour Duncan website.

Video of the Day: Heaven & Hell, "The Mob Rules"

The show last Sunday was somewhat of a tribute to the late Ronnie James Dio, so here's a live video of Heaven & Hell playing "The Mob Rules," the song with which the band opened. It's a classic from the album with the same name and the second Black Sabbath album to feature Dio.

Song: "The Mob Rules"

Artist: Heaven & Hell (originally recorded under the name Black Sabbath)

Album: Recorded live at Rockpalast 2009 (originally on the Black Sabbath album, The Mob Rules)

Video of the Day: Bonham, "Wait For You"

Seeing this song played live last night made me want to post the original video, so here it is. It sounds much heavier live, but I still love the syncopation and the cool solo.

Song: "Wait For You"

Band: Bonham

Album: The Disregard of Timekeeping (1989)

A Welcome Surprise: Holiday Benefit Show in Nashville with Rudy Sarzo, Kip Winger, Vinny Appice, and more!

I was eating at one of my favorite pizzerias in Nashville tonight, checking e-mails and browsing my Twitter feed. It's been very cold here in Nashville for the past few days, so I expected to head back to my dorm early. However, my night took a sudden turn for the better when I noticed a Tweet from Kip Winger urging fans to join him at 12th and Porter downtown for a special, one-time Christmas benefit show.After looking up the details, I learned that several hard rock icons were playing, including Rudy Sarzo (Quiet Riot, Ozzy Osbourne, Whitesnake, Dio), Carlos Cavazo (Quiet Riot, Ratt), Vinny Appice (Black Sabbath, Dio, Heaven & Hell), Mark Slaughter, Chas West (Bonham), and Scott Warren (Dio).

The only problem was that the show was scheduled to begun 20 minutes after I had learned about it. There was no way I was going to miss this one though, so I called a cab and, fortunately, arrived right as the band took the stage.

They opened with a cover of Dio-era Sabbath's "The Mob Rules" and played a plethora of other classics from Zeppelin, Dio, Black Sabbath, Whitesnake, and even the Beatles. I was especially delighted to hear the band play "Wait For You," an old Bonham track.

The line-up on stage revolved quite a bit, but Chas West assumed most of the vocal duties, and Cavazo and Appice remained on stage throughout the show. Surprisingly, Mark Slaughter played guitar more than he sang, and Kip Winger only played on a few songs. Elton John's and Kid Rock's guitarists also guested.

I haven't seen a good hard rock show in Nashville since I've been here in August, so tonight was a welcome surprise. I can't complain.

Video of the Day: Hardline, "Takin' Me Down"

Hardline was a hard rock group that had mild success in the early '90s, but because of a changing musical climate, they never really hit it mainstream. The original lineup featured in this video included Neal Schon of Journey, so it's interesting to see him play in a more aggressive setting where he gets to cut loose.

Song: "Takin' Me Down"

Band: Hardline

Album: Double Eclipse (1992)

Eric Johnson's New Single, "Austin"

Eric Johnson is planning to release his highly-anticipated album, Up Close, this Tuesday, and he has already posted a single titled "Austin," featuring Jonny Lang on vocals. To me, this song sounds like it could come off Ah Via Musicom, and parts of it strangely remind me of Richie Sambora's "Ballad of Youth." Classic EJ.

Eric Johnson - Austin (featuring Jonny Lang) by MMMusic

Visit Eric Johnson's website for more info about pre-ordering the album.

Video of the Day: MSG, "Armed and Ready"

I'd argue that Michael Schenker is one of the greatest riff-composers in rock history. His approach to the guitar definitely influenced a whole generation of later guitarists, and many of the best axe-slingers from the '80s explicitly credit Schenker as a source of inspiration. Another defining feature of the German guitarist's style is his unique "awh" tone. He actually used a wah locked in a certain position of the sweep to get this tone. Schenker is most known for his work with British hard rock group UFO, but he also had a long stint with MSG (Michael Schenker Group - later McAuley Schenker Group). It's worth noting that he was a founding member of the Scorpions with his brother Rudolf and played on their first album.

Here's a video for the song "Armed and Ready" from the debut MSG album in 1980.

Song: "Armed and Ready"

Band: MSG

Album: Michael Schenker Group (1980)

Video of the Day: Pantera, "I'm Broken"

Pantera was a metal band that also knew how to groove, and I think that's why I like them so much. A lot of relatively modern metal bands seem to lack that sense of playing in the pocket, but Dimebag and friends totally nail it in this track.

It's raw, powerful, Southern metal. Enough said.

Song: "I'm Broken"

Band: Pantera

Album: Far Beyond Driven (1994)

Video of the Day: TNT, "10,000 Lovers in One"

Here's a song with a killer opening riff from Swedish rockers TNT. Although the chorus is pretty cheesy, Ronni Le Tekrø's playing makes up for it. After all, it was the '80s.

Song: "10,000 Lovers in One"

Band: TNT

Album: Tell No Tales (1987)

I'm back.

Finally, after nearly a year-and-a-half without any posts, I've decided to reactivate Fretworld. I now have a little more time on my hands, so it should be easier for me to post. I also realized that my previous posting strategy wasn't working out too well - all of my older posts were probably too long, and I think trying to write such lengthy pieces prevented me from actually completing them. Future posts will probably be shorter yet remain just as insightful. I'll be posting more tidbits too (favorite YouTube videos, etc.).

I also started my Twitter account again. Follow me!