Joined: 10 Sep 2004 Posts: 2783 Location: Chino, CA
Posted: Fri Apr 11, 2008 1:59 am Post subject: Mike Landau Live in Europe
This following rendition of 'I'm Buzzed' was filmed at a club in Berlin just 5 days ago. As I commented on YouTube, the lead tone on this track is about as close to perfection as I've ever heard - for my taste anyway. It's really smooth yet cutting and balanced without a hint of fizz or buzzy distortion characteristics. Love it!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUSLhF8mz94 _________________ Ed Yoon
Certified Guthrie Fan-atic
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Joined: 10 Sep 2004 Posts: 2783 Location: Chino, CA
Posted: Sun Apr 13, 2008 1:46 am Post subject:
Yeah, with Mike, it's a different kind of amazing. And the same goes with Scott Henderson. If I had to choose three desert island guitar players/musicians to take with me, it'd be Guthrie, Mike and Scott. Three super nice guys as well! _________________ Ed Yoon
Certified Guthrie Fan-atic
BOING Music LLC - Managing Partner
.strandberg* Guitars USA
Ed Yoon Consulting & Management
Guitar Center Inc.
Joined: 22 Feb 2005 Posts: 570 Location: gothenburg, sweden
Posted: Sun Apr 13, 2008 8:26 am Post subject:
alexkhan wrote:
If I had to choose three desert island guitar players/musicians to take with me, it'd be Guthrie, Mike and Scott. Three super nice guys as well!
They might be nice guys, but I'd rather bring norah jones. Well, I've met Scott a few times, and he's super nice and all, but the age difference wouldn't work out.
This is very nice stuff! Thanks for sharing. I checked out some Landau sound samples before, but didn't really thought it was anything new. I thought here we go, just another blues/rock player. Well, I was wrong. Does anyone have his cd and can tell me if that's the same kind of cool playing as in these youtube videos?
Get hold of Steve Lukathers 'Santamental' CD. Landau's solo on 'Look out for angels' is probably the best solo I've ever heard and it was a 'one take' recording. The tone, the note choice, the feel is just perfect. In my opinion every player should take a listen to at least one piece of Mike Landau's work and learn what true virtuosity is. Playing at 1000 miles an hour does not make someone a virtuoso, it's just gymnastics on a guitar. Playing with true feeling and an understanding of what really moves the listener does. Mike Landau is one of very few players that has that ability. Lukes El Grupo's version of I'm buzzed is pretty cool but hearing Landau playing it even on a crappy youtube camcorder clip is just awesome. I love it!
Get hold of Steve Lukathers 'Santamental' CD. Landau's solo on 'Look out for angels' is probably the best solo I've ever heard and it was a 'one take' recording. The tone, the note choice, the feel is just perfect. In my opinion every player should take a listen to at least one piece of Mike Landau's work and learn what true virtuosity is. Playing at 1000 miles an hour does not make someone a virtuoso, it's just gymnastics on a guitar. Playing with true feeling and an understanding of what really moves the listener does. Mike Landau is one of very few players that has that ability. Lukes El Grupo's version of I'm buzzed is pretty cool but hearing Landau playing it even on a crappy youtube camcorder clip is just awesome. I love it!
Tony
Hi Tony, thanks for your reply.
No need for the anti-shred lecture - I'm well aware of some of these things you mention.
However, if you listen to certian Jazz, Flamenco & Classical music, you can hear how fast playing CAN be done in a musical manner to express what CAN'T be expressed by slow playing only. If you check some of these Landau clips, you can hear that sometimes he DOES uses very fast picking movements, but he seems to be unable to sync both hands at that speed, just like Carlos Santana or Eric Clapton lack this ability as well and that's probably why the left hand plays slow even when the right hand is playing fast. This is a weakness to me, but who cares. So these type of players do, at times, seem to have the need for speed, otherwise their picking hands wouldn't move that fast to get that type of sound. So wake up and take note of this.
It's really time for people to cut the crap. Yes there are shred robots with no feeling and no soul, but that doesn't mean that fast playing in itself is always a bad choice since it totally depends on the musical situation. I like it when a player can do both slow AND fast playing, like Guthrie.
It's not that hard to understand the use of speed and quite honestly, I thought we were past this subject by now.
I do acknowledge the feel & tone of Landau, I'm very impressed by that indeed and in comarison, the robotshred players sound stupid. If you would have said that, I'd have totally agreed.
And I'm not really a Lukather fan, so to buy his cd just because Landau's solo is on it doesn't seem like such a good idea. I think I'd rather buy Landau's cd. Thanks for the suggestion anyway.
Yeah, with Mike, it's a different kind of amazing. And the same goes with Scott Henderson. If I had to choose three desert island guitar players/musicians to take with me, it'd be Guthrie, Mike and Scott. Three super nice guys as well!
Hey but what if Holdsey wants to be on an island with you, Ed? Perhaps you should have said FOUR islands instead
I'm gonna see Holdsworth this Tuesday for first time... quite curious what it's gonna be like...
Joined: 10 Sep 2004 Posts: 2783 Location: Chino, CA
Posted: Sun Apr 13, 2008 7:53 pm Post subject:
RD wrote:
alexkhan wrote:
Yeah, with Mike, it's a different kind of amazing. And the same goes with Scott Henderson. If I had to choose three desert island guitar players/musicians to take with me, it'd be Guthrie, Mike and Scott. Three super nice guys as well!
Hey but what if Holdsey wants to be on an island with you, Ed? Perhaps you should have said FOUR islands instead
I'm gonna see Holdsworth this Tuesday for first time... quite curious what it's gonna be like...
I did say "if I had to choose". If I can take five, then I'd add Pat Metheny and Jeff Beck. As for Allan, he really is amazing and, like Guthrie once said, he probably represents the ultimate good in "shred", which Guthrie meant to say as having no limitations (physical, technical, theoretical, emotional - just in every possible way) on pure musical expression. That being said, Allan's music and playing does fly over the head of a casual listener like me at times. It's pretty intense stuff and there's so much information being released that you can't help but feel overwhelmed at times. I've heard quite a few stories of Allan's biggest fans walking out in the middle of Allan's shows because they just couldn't handle it anymore. _________________ Ed Yoon
Certified Guthrie Fan-atic
BOING Music LLC - Managing Partner
.strandberg* Guitars USA
Ed Yoon Consulting & Management
Guitar Center Inc.
Joined: 10 Sep 2004 Posts: 2783 Location: Chino, CA
Posted: Sun Apr 13, 2008 8:17 pm Post subject:
RD wrote:
Ant711UK wrote:
Get hold of Steve Lukathers 'Santamental' CD. Landau's solo on 'Look out for angels' is probably the best solo I've ever heard and it was a 'one take' recording. The tone, the note choice, the feel is just perfect. In my opinion every player should take a listen to at least one piece of Mike Landau's work and learn what true virtuosity is. Playing at 1000 miles an hour does not make someone a virtuoso, it's just gymnastics on a guitar. Playing with true feeling and an understanding of what really moves the listener does. Mike Landau is one of very few players that has that ability. Lukes El Grupo's version of I'm buzzed is pretty cool but hearing Landau playing it even on a crappy youtube camcorder clip is just awesome. I love it!
Tony
Hi Tony, thanks for your reply.
No need for the anti-shred lecture - I'm well aware of some of these things you mention.
However, if you listen to certian Jazz, Flamenco & Classical music, you can hear how fast playing CAN be done in a musical manner to express what CAN'T be expressed by slow playing only. If you check some of these Landau clips, you can hear that sometimes he DOES uses very fast picking movements, but he seems to be unable to sync both hands at that speed, just like Carlos Santana or Eric Clapton lack this ability as well and that's probably why the left hand plays slow even when the right hand is playing fast. This is a weakness to me, but who cares. So these type of players do, at times, seem to have the need for speed, otherwise their picking hands wouldn't move that fast to get that type of sound. So wake up and take note of this.
It's really time for people to cut the crap. Yes there are shred robots with no feeling and no soul, but that doesn't mean that fast playing in itself is always a bad choice since it totally depends on the musical situation. I like it when a player can do both slow AND fast playing, like Guthrie.
It's not that hard to understand the use of speed and quite honestly, I thought we were past this subject by now.
I do acknowledge the feel & tone of Landau, I'm very impressed by that indeed and in comarison, the robotshred players sound stupid. If you would have said that, I'd have totally agreed.
And I'm not really a Lukather fan, so to buy his cd just because Landau's solo is on it doesn't seem like such a good idea. I think I'd rather buy Landau's cd. Thanks for the suggestion anyway.
Tony's a big Guthrie fan as well as that of Vai and many other "many notes" players, so I'm sure he didn't mean to say that fast players are mere technical acrobats and gymnasts. I think he meant to say that a very large chunk of guitar players and students pursue speed for speed's sake and just to impress friends and other players. Hey, I know what that's like. I'm certainly guilty of it in the years past!
Players like Mike and Jeff Beck and Jimi and Clapton or other blues-based players do help the shredders look beyond fast scale and arpeggio patterns and think about how to wring out a lot more with less. One learns about phrasing, use of space, dynamics, the crescendo or build-up in a solo, going outside and landing back on your feet, etc. They make things sound interesting and make you go, "Hmmm... how did they think of that?" It's more about what you can come up with.
It's also very true that speed can be a very valuable expression of ideas and emotions. And, yes, Landau, Beck, Clapton, Santana, Gary Moore, etc. can't execute blindingly fast alternate picking runs or flowing high speed legato lines a la Guthrie, Vai, Yngwie, Gilbert, Holdsworth, Lane, etc. But like you say, it doesn't matter in the big scheme of things because creative musical ideas and the ability to get the point across to the audience with feel are what really count in the end.
I don't think this dumb debate of speed vs. feel will ever end. You go on other sites and forums and it's the same crap rehashed over and over again. It's like reading about evolution vs. intelligent design (or creationism) or the issue of abortion and stuff like that. It seems best to not even participate in it as one will only end up getting aggravated and wonder why there's so much stupidity in this world. Yes, there can be exceptions to the "rule", and Guthrie is definitely a good example of a rule breaker. BTW, Landau digs Guthrie a lot. Landau commented that Guthrie really does have the feel to go with the chops and that he doesn't recall others with that kind of chops having that quality in their playing. Quite a complement, I'd say! _________________ Ed Yoon
Certified Guthrie Fan-atic
BOING Music LLC - Managing Partner
.strandberg* Guitars USA
Ed Yoon Consulting & Management
Guitar Center Inc.
I woke up 20 years ago and decided to practice with my ears as well as my fingers.
I personally don't think shred players sound stupid, in fact I find them amazing but I don't follow the widely held notion that to be a virtuoso you need to able to shred. It wasn't a speed versus feel comment.
I didn't meant to lecture, sorry! I simply assumed most people here would understand what I was getting at. I love Guthrie's playing and he plays at 1001 MPH with everything I want to 'feel' when I'm listening to him and I fully understand and respect what your saying.
My outlook is simply that learning scales at speed just to play scales at speed equates to watching gymnastics, it's very impressive indeed and I have huge respect for the amount of hours of dedicated practice put in by the player but If someones playing makes me feel something, be it fast or slow, it's more like watching an effortlessy beautiful dance if you get the analogy.
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If I can take five, then I'd add Pat Metheny and Jeff Beck. As for Allan, he really is amazing and, like Guthrie once said, he probably represents the ultimate good in "shred", which Guthrie meant to say as having no limitations (physical, technical, theoretical, emotional - just in every possible way) on pure musical expression. That being said, Allan's music and playing does fly over the head of a casual listener like me at times. It's pretty intense stuff and there's so much information being released that you can't help but feel overwhelmed at times. I've heard quite a few stories of Allan's biggest fans walking out in the middle of Allan's shows because they just couldn't handle it anymore.
