Lecture 17 (set 1) Video Guide completed
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Lecture #17 (Set 1)
Video Guide
MUSI 1310
Rock ‘n Roll Topic
: Psychedelic Rock
in the Late 1960s
1) Grace Slick and Jefferson Airplane were inspired by the bolero that is featured in the 1960 album called Sketches of Spain
performed by
jazz trumpet icon Miles Davis . and written by legendary jazz composer Gil Evans .
2) Grace Slick and Jefferson Airplane were also influenced by the most famous bolero
ever written by Maurice Ravel
(from 1927)
.
3) The typical treatment of a bolero
is that the piece builds
in instrumentation, by layering
sounds and doubling phrases.
4) The bolero
builds intensity
all the way to the climax/end of the piece.
5) One of Jefferson Airplane’s best-known songs “
White Rabbit
” was composed by Grace Slick . -
She wrote most of the band’s songs, but would make a point to also include their collaboration within the creative process.
In this tune, as in Sketches of Spain
and Ravel’s Bolero
, a single ____
rhythmic motive
_____
is repeated throughout the entire song.
-
Television footage, 1967
Lecture #17 (Set 1)
Video Guide
MUSI 1310
Rock ‘n Roll Topic
: Psychedelic Rock
in the Late 1960s
6) As a characteristic reflection of the bolero
, the piece begins very
quietly, and gradually
increases in volume and intensity with each repetition of the rhythmic motive.
-
Television footage, 1967
-
7) “
White Rabbit
” draws poetic inspiration from classic literature , being loosely based on the story of Alice in Wonderland
, referencing the hallucinogenic effects of a mushroom trip
. – (Sidenote)
8) As “
White Rabbit
” was initially inspired by modern jazz
,
it also drew inspiration from classical music, as well, with
specific usage and structure of the bolero
form, itself.
9) Each of these representations within “
White Rabbit
” reveal characteristic approaches in the development
of psychedelic rock.
-
The song still fits in the two-to-three-minute format that was standard for AM radio singles during the 1960s.
-
Eventually, as psychedelic rock
becomes more popular, the FM platform of radio would later begin to provide extended formats and LP play on-air.
10) The 1960s psychedelic countercultural
movement was not just limited
to the U.S. . . .
11) The United Kingdom
also had an active countercultural
movement.
-
Sidenote: England’s 60’s countercultural movement was just as strongly devoted to drugs, radical politics, Eastern philosophy, and psychedelic rock.
Lecture #17 (Set 1)
Video Guide
MUSI 1310
Rock ‘n Roll Topic
: Psychedelic Rock
in the Late 1960s
Psychedelic Rock and the British Blues Revival 12) England’s own Eric Clapton had attained popularity in the 1960s, both as a former member of the Yardbirds , and as an independent artist.
-
In this group, he took the place of guitarist Tony Topham, and was with the group for two-years before he broke-off on his own in 1965.
13) In 1966, he put together a supergroup power trio - the band that
came to be known as Cream .
-
This band was an exemplary representation
of the psychedelic rock category not only in England, but also the rest of the world.
14) The band got its name because all three members were considered
the ‘
cream of the crop .’
-
Each of the members were known all over England,
and were in high-demand by numerous groups
before establishing themselves as their own crew.
15) They were the first rock
band to be billed as a super group , because all three of its members already had successful careers as solo artists .
-
They had each recorded and performed
with various bands throughout the
U.K. in the early and mid-1960s.
16) Clapton invited legendary bassist Jack Bruce
to be a co-leader of the band.
-
Eric Clapton wanted him
to share the role as lead vocalist
on certain songs within the group.
17) The unparalleled rock
drummer great Ginger Baker
was already a
legend, having been compared to jazz drummers Buddy Rich and Louis Bellson.
-
Buddy Rich played with Tommy Dorsey, Count Basie, and Harry James.
-
Louis Bellson played with Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, and Duke Ellington.
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Lecture #17 (Set 1)
Video Guide
MUSI 1310
Rock ‘n Roll Topic
: Psychedelic Rock
in the Late 1960s
18) In its early days, the band Cream
gave frequent musical tribute to Muddy Waters
, which specifically reflected Clapton’s
affinity for American blues
.
19) The group also focused on covers of traditional American blues
songs by other Mississippi Delta artists such as Robert Johnson
. -
Listening: Crossroads
- cover performed by Clapton, Bruce, and Baker 20) Clapton introduced the idea of the rave-up
to the other members of
Cream
, which he had developed during his days with the Yardbirds .
-
Sidenote: After guitarist Tony Topham left the Yardbirds in 1963, Clapton was with the group for 18 months until his departure in 1965
21) This is a long instrumental section, usually at the end of a song.
-
These were a key component of the Yardbirds
’
treatment to songs, in the early-to-mid-1960s,
which influenced other bands throughout England
at the time to also adopt. Clapton made sure to
also
introduce the idea to his new power trio
with Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker.
22) Such usage is a nod to the improvisatory guitar playing approach of the American blues tradition.
-
Sidenote: Clapton admired the electric blues approaches of BB King, who was part of the later Mississippi Delta regime, who became a representative of the RPM label, which was a division of Modern Records out of
LA.
23) Cream
began adding these extended
solo sections to both their blues
covers and their original tunes, which became a characteristic part of their performance style. 24) One of the group’s well-known originals was called ‘
Toad .’
Lecture #17 (Set 1)
Video Guide
MUSI 1310
Rock ‘n Roll Topic
: Psychedelic Rock
in the Late 1960s
25) With this band, rave-ups were not
always just for guitar solos. This tune includes one of the earliest examples of a __
drum solo_
_ to appear in rock
music.
26) Clapton mastered and then popularized several important electric guitar techniques, such as the usage of distortion and the wah-wah
pedal.
-
Sidenote: Developed in 1966
27) In 1967, Cream
traveled to the United States
for the first time.
-
Some critics said the ‘British Invasion’ was still in full force,
as Cream
arrived three years after the Beatles
and the Rolling Stones
.
28) They played nine dates at New York’s RKO 58
th
Street Theater; each performance was sold out
to a standing room only crowd.
-
Sidenote: Cream’s arrival to the Unites States was highly anticipated, and their stay in NY was well-received by their American fans.
29) While in New York, they also recorded their second album,
Disraeli Gears
, at Atlantic Studios. -
This album shows the band’s increased interest
in psychedelic
sounds and topics.
30) The tune “
Take it Back
” was inspired by Clapton seeing American
students burn their draft cards in protest of the Vietnam War.
31) “
Sunshine of Your Love
” is another song that suggests some of the band’s psychedelic influences
. . . This song opens with a distinctive guitar riff that is stated four times in both
the guitar and the bass before the first verse starts.
32) In this tune, at the very beginning of the guitar solo, Clapton momentarily quotes a popular ‘50s song called Blue Moon
.
Lecture #17 (Set 1)
Video Guide
MUSI 1310
Rock ‘n Roll Topic
: Psychedelic Rock
in the Late 1960s
33) Many artists take liberty in doing such things, in midst of improvising solos. -
The element of quoting a melody of a
pre-existing song into the solo of another
is directly borrowed from the category of jazz
.
34) Eric Clapton described his distinctive guitar sound from this tune, as well as from this period in the late ‘60s ... His guitar solo in the song features what he referred to as his “
Woman tone
,” because to him, it sounded like a woman’s voice.
35) He created the sound with his Gibson SG guitar, Hambucker
pickups
, a Marshall _
tube_
_ amplifier, and the usage of distortion . -
Sidenotes: According to Clapton, he also turned the tone control down and turned the distortion and the volume all the way up. Many artists have varying treatments to distortion, this is just how he did his.
36) Cream
represents another approach to innovative psychedelic songwriting …
37) As mentioned, the Beatles
and the Beach Boys
in the late 1960s, were creating in the recording studio and producing __sonic effects___
that could probably not
be replicated in live performances.
-
Post-production and experimentation
in studio technology became the focus
or the Beatles and the Beach Boys,
as well as many other rock
groups
in the late 1960s.
38) In contrast, Cream
focused on virtuosic
performance techniques and distortion effects that were best-
appreciated
in live performances.
-
Listening: White Room
original recorded on the 1968 album: Wheels of Fire
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Lecture #17 (Set 1)
Video Guide
MUSI 1310
Rock ‘n Roll Topic
: Psychedelic Rock
in the Late 1960s
39) Clapton’s strategic use of the wah-wah pedal is heard in the song, with call and response
phrases traded with Jack Bruce on vocals.
-
Clapton took the liberty on the song
to end with a ‘rave-up’ section.
40) Later that year in 1968, the members of
Cream
went their separate ways .
-
Sidenote: There was constant antagonism between Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce that created tensions with the band. Jack Bruce was often angry with Ginger Baker for playing too loud on the drums. He would override the band and the recordings and live performances. Sometimes Eric Clapton would be seen shaking his head to the band members for their arguing.