The biting snarl of Michael Monarch’s Fender Esquire was one of the trademark sounds of Steppenwolf’s earliest material in the late 1960s. Monarch was only 17 when he joined a latter-day incarnation of Sparrow, Steppenwolf’s precursor, and his no-frills riffing is heard on the anthems “Born To Be Wild” and “Magic Carpet Ride,” among other [...]
Monthly Archives: September 2004
Gibson Collector’s Vault
Heavyweight bodyguard for your rock stars!
Can you truly put a price tag on peace of mind? For guitar collectors, the answer often is “No,” because like many other increasingly valuable collectibles, vintage guitars cannot be replaced. So it is that we record, photograph, catalog, and insure our collections so that if they’re stolen, we’ll have as much info as we [...]
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Dolly Parton – Halos and Horns
Halos and Horns
Ralph Stanley prefers to call his “Mountain Music” rather than bluegrass or country. This moniker also aptly describes the material on Dolly Parton’s new album. Halos and Horns, her third release on Sugar Hill, differs from her last two because it’s self-produced. And instead of being populated by A-list session players, it features the musicians [...]
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Jackie King
From Willie to T-Bone and Others
Jackie King’s pretty much done it all. Born in Texas, the son of a guitar player, his path took him from playing in bars at age 13, to hanging out with legends in late-’60s San Francisco, to playing amazing solos behind music legend Willie Nelson. You may have spotted King on some of Willie’s early-’80s [...]
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Melvin Taylor and the Slack Band – Rendevous with the Blues
Rendevous with the Blues
This is Melvin’s fourth record for the Evidence label, and like the rest, it’s a showcase of his dazzling technique and deep soul. This guy is a treasure. Perhaps it’s because he’s hard to pigeonhole. He’s definitely a blues player, but he’s not afraid to turn it up, step on the wah and let ‘er [...]
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Mike Morgan & The Crawl – Texas Man
Texas Man
Dallas-based Teddy Morgan was a protégé of the less-is-more master Anson Funderburgh, whose rhythm work can be heard throughout this release, and to a large degree Morgan is still immersed in Anson’s style. Careers have been established with much less influence, but Morgan and the Crawl did not stop there. He has been busy over [...]
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Univox Guitars
Merson/Unicord Part 1
Ca. 1974 or ’75 Univox Hi Flyer Mosrite copy with the later Univox see- through humbuckers. While most think of the history of American guitars in terms of American manufacturers, if you’ve followed this column you know the tradition is much richer. Among the major players in the American market were the many importers and [...]
Posted in Classic Instruments
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September 2004
FEATURES RIDING WITH LOS LOBOS 30 Years & Still Going Strong Arguably the most important American band to come out of the 1980s, musically and sociologically, its contributions have secured the band’s place in the history of many styles. By Dan Forte THE BASS SPACE 1960s Truetone Bass This ’60s cheapo is the Western Auto [...]
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