Can't remember the last time I started a thread over here...
But I wanted to do some shameless promotion of one of my very favourite artists. He is barely known outside of Canada (although they love him in Sweden), but here he is a legend. Kim Mitchell first started out with his band Max Webster, a very quirky yet intelligent rock band in the 70s. The songwriting and musicianship were brilliant - they were once reviewed as being a more accessible version of Frank Zappa.
While Kim is best known for his radio-friendly songs in the 80s like Patio Lanterns and Go For Soda, this stuff with Max Webster is far superior from a musical standpoint. There isn't too much footage of them, but here are a few tunes worth checking out, for anyone who likes high quality rock music. To illustrate his skills on the guitar, check out the solo in the second clip, starting at 6:05:
Last time was 23 July 2009: "Dream Theater enters US album charts at #6".
I'm surprised you didn't comment on what seemed to me to be the most striking feature in all clips: the bass-playing, which is nothing short of exceptional. Far from being just the equivalent of a musical clock marking the tempo, the lines are creative throughout and the sound of it is prominent and beguiling and lush - it grabbed my attention right on, mainly in first clip and the last one. The last one has the bass-player getting his lines beautifully across as the catchy guitar riffs starts to unfold - the melodic and creative lines prevent the song from sounding flat. Yes, the guitar work is impressive, but it's cleverly layered by the drums and, mainly, the bass.
I liked the first song better - it's humorous and experimental and yet features enough guitar's and vocal harmonies' hooks which are really enjoyable. And the bass-playing, again, is top-notch.
I don't know who the bass-player is, I don't even know if it's the same in all the songs, but the bass work is for sure one of the highlights in at least three of the songs.
I'm affraid if it weren't for the top-notch bass-playing, the songs could sound a bit flat - it's not the case!
Thanks for the suggestion, the links and the explanations. Don't be affraid of creating threads - it's not a sin or whatever. Trolls make us feel as if it were a nuissance to create threads. The problem is not creating too many threads, though - the problem is creating too many threads devoid of purpose or content. Which is not the case here.
Yara wrote:
I'm surprised you didn't comment on what seemed to me to be the most striking feature in all clips: the bass-playing, which is nothing short of exceptional. Far from being just the equivalent of a musical clock marking the tempo, the lines are creative throughout and the sound of it is prominent and beguiling and lush - it grabbed my attention right on, mainly in first clip and the last one. The last one has the bass-player getting his lines beautifully across as the catchy guitar riffs starts to unfold - the melodic and creative lines prevent the song from sounding flat. Yes, the guitar work is impressive, but it's cleverly layered by the drums and, mainly, the bass.
Absolutely. All the guys in that band were brilliant at what they did, each bringing plenty to the table. The keyboardist, Terry Watkinson, is actually a PhD and still teaches science at the University of Toronto. There were three bassists throughout Max's life, but it was mostly two guys... Mike Tilka on the first two albums, and Dave Myles on the next two. Kim Mitchell is the only guy who was in the band the whole time.
Don't be affraid of creating threads - it's not a sin or whatever. Trolls make us feel as if it were a nuissance to create threads. The problem is not creating too many threads, though - the problem is creating too many threads devoid of purpose or content. Which is not the case here.
It's not so much that I'm worried about creating new threads. It's a Queen forum, so I'm usually in the Queen sections!
Nice topic Sir GH, know of them well. Proud to say they're from my hometown.
The song "Paradise Skies" was a minor hit and did come in at #43 on the charts in the UK way back when. Max Webster was highly respected by the band Rush and they toured together many times.
Kim Mitchell did much better for himself in the 80's as a solo artist though, and I do believe he won a few Juno's.
«¤~Mrš. BÃD GÛŸ~¤» wrote:
The song "Paradise Skies" was a minor hit and did come in at #43 on the charts in the UK way back when.
Yep... the video of them lip-synching on Top Of The Pops is on youtube. The presenter calls them the "Max Webster Band".
Microwave... if you're going to check out Kim's solo stuff, his strongest record IMO is called Itch. But all five Max Webster records have fantastic music on them.