collapse

* Member Info

 
 
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.
Did you miss your activation email?
The blues ain't nothin' but a good woman on your mind - Mississippi John Hurt, See See Rider

Author Topic: Adventures in Spanish  (Read 31500 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline frankie

  • Member
  • Posts: 2431
    • Old Refuge
Adventures in Spanish
« on: December 05, 2003, 11:48:07 AM »
tuning...

I've been playing around with a handful of tunes in spanish tuning lately...  it all started with Kansas Joe's Joliet Bound - what a funky tune!  Then there was Furry's Turn Your Money Green.  Then I was listening to Black Gypsy Blues - a totally different approach - almost no regular bass to speak of.  After that I got to thinking about Clifford Gibson:  another completely different approach - his sense of touch and tone is really a departure.   One could almost say delicate - sounds like he might be picking over the neck (just in front of the soundhole).  I've been playing his Levee Camp Moan.  Capoed up high, it's alternately archaic and progressive sounding - very nice.

Ed Bell's Sniggling Blues is probably next - kinda similar to Clifford Gibson but has a different overall touch.  Any suggestions out there in Weenie-land?  I'm trying to stay away from slide pieces and from Mississippi heavyweights - just looking for another sound...

f

Offline Johnm

  • Global Moderator
  • Member
  • Posts: 13190
    • johnmillerguitar.com
Re:adventures in spanish
« Reply #1 on: December 09, 2003, 03:48:14 AM »
Hi all,
You've named several of my favorite players/tunes in Spanish, Frank.  To your list I might add Marshall Owens' two cuts, "Try Me One More Time" and "Wild Ox Moan"--they're both beauties and really good songs to sing.  Mance Lipscomb had a neat one called "Willy, Poor Boy".  There's the great Buddy Boy Hawkins songs, too.  
Re Clifford Gibson, I have long had a theory, the kind of dopey thing that can never be proven, that in his playing in Spanish he was trying to sound like Lonnie Johnson.  Whether that was the case or not, Clifford Gibson was tremendous in Spanish.  I've long intended to figure out one of his tunes he recorded as Sluefoot Joe.  It's stellar even by his standards.
All best,
John    

Offline Rivers

  • Tech Support
  • Member
  • Posts: 7274
  • I like chicken pie
Re:adventures in spanish
« Reply #2 on: December 17, 2003, 10:36:43 AM »
Thanks for reminding me of Kansas Joe/Minnie's stellar Joliet Bound, I almost had a version of it down then forgot about it til now. As you say it's a very cool and funky recording that I learned off Memphis Jamboree, just about wore out the CD.

It's got to be a close relative of Viola Lee Blues doncha think?

Offline frankie

  • Member
  • Posts: 2431
    • Old Refuge
Re: adventures in spanish
« Reply #3 on: February 07, 2004, 10:50:30 AM »
Maybe this is a silly idea, but how about a running list:

Furry Lewis:

Good Looking Girl Blues
Furry's Blues
Black Gipsy Blues
I Will Turn Your Money Green
Kassie Jones parts 1 & 2
Rock Island Blues

Clifford Gibson:

Bad Luck Dice
Levee Camp Moan
Hard Headed Blues
Society Blues
Tired of Being Mistreated parts 1 & 2
Brooklyn Blues
Beat You Doing It
Stop Your Rambling

Ed Bell:

Snigglin' Blues (Barefoot Bill)
Barefoot Bill's Hard Luck Blues (Barefoot Bill)

Marshall Owens:

Try Me One More Time
Wild Ox Moan

Memphis Minnie & Kansas Joe McCoy:

Joilet Bound
What's the Matter with the Mill

Jack Kelly and Will Batts:

61 Highway Blues
Country Woman

Mississippi John Hurt:

Frankie

Buddy Boy Hawkins:

Awful Fix
A Rag
Jailhouse Fire Blues
Voice Throwin' Blues
Snatch It Back

Teddy Darby:

Built Down On The Ground


Mance Lipscomb:

Willy, Poor Boy

Peg Leg Howell:

Rolling Mill Blues
Coal Man Blues
Tishimingo Blues

Smokey Babe:

Boogie Woogie Rag

Skip James:

Special Rider Blues

R.L. Burnside:

Long Haired Doney

Etta Baker:

Lost John

Elizabeth Cotten:

The Wreck Of The Old 97
Til We Meet Again
Jesus Is Tenderly Calling

Joe Callicott:

France Chance
Roll And Tumble

Note: edited, 3/17/08, by Johnm to remove Lil' Son Jackson tunes

Offline GhostRider

  • Member
  • Posts: 1292
  • That'll never happen no more!
Re: adventures in spanish
« Reply #4 on: February 07, 2004, 11:44:12 AM »
Hi all:

I'll add "What's the Matter with the Mill" by Memphis Minnie, "Jailhouse Fire Blues" by Buddy Boy Hawkins, and my favorite spanish tune, "I Want You to Know"  by Bo Carter.

Alex

Offline GhostRider

  • Member
  • Posts: 1292
  • That'll never happen no more!
Re: adventures in spanish
« Reply #5 on: February 07, 2004, 11:52:27 AM »
And "Rabbit's Foot Blues" by Blind Lemon

Alex

Offline frankie

  • Member
  • Posts: 2431
    • Old Refuge
Re: adventures in spanish
« Reply #6 on: February 07, 2004, 12:21:15 PM »
Quote
Memphis Minnie, Buddy Boy Hawkins, Bo Carter

I'm sure that there are more from those three!? Hadn't thought of Bo Carter - thanks for bringing him up.

Quote
"Rabbit's Foot Blues" by Blind Lemon

I'm pretty sure that he played that out of std tuning, key of A.? You might find the following chart interesting:

http://www.donegone.net/lemon_keys.html

John Miller did a similar chart for Papa Charlie Jackson that I've formatted but haven't gotten around to posting, as it became part of an ill-fated website re-design that wound up stalling due to "real life".? I'll have to dig that out...

Offline Johnm

  • Global Moderator
  • Member
  • Posts: 13190
    • johnmillerguitar.com
Re: adventures in spanish
« Reply #7 on: February 07, 2004, 02:42:22 PM »
Hi all,
Actually, I think "I Want You To Know" is in Bo's own version of G tuning--DGDGBE.  He used this a ton--also in it are "Arrangement For Me", "My Baby" "Shake 'Em On Down", "I Get The Blues", and many others.
All best,
John

Offline Rivers

  • Tech Support
  • Member
  • Posts: 7274
  • I like chicken pie
Re: adventures in spanish
« Reply #8 on: February 07, 2004, 03:06:57 PM »
Slide oriented:

Barbecue Bob, Yo Yo Blues, Ease It To Me Blues, Mississippi Heavy Water Blues, others
Blind Willie McTell, Mama T'ain't Long Before Day, others
Muddy Waters, Write Me A Few Of Your Lines, I's Be Troubled
Robert Johnson, Travelin' Riverside Blues, others

I'm in open G a lot at present teaching myself bluegrass & roots dobro, big shortage of & demand for dobro players down here so I aim to take up some of the slack.

Offline frankie

  • Member
  • Posts: 2431
    • Old Refuge
Re: adventures in spanish
« Reply #9 on: February 07, 2004, 04:05:19 PM »
Hi Mark - nice tunes, but I'm trying to steer away from slide pieces (there are too many of 'em!).

A demand for dobro?  How heavenly!  :-)

Offline Rivers

  • Tech Support
  • Member
  • Posts: 7274
  • I like chicken pie
Re: adventures in spanish
« Reply #10 on: February 07, 2004, 04:20:59 PM »
It was either that or banjo...

Offline Johnm

  • Global Moderator
  • Member
  • Posts: 13190
    • johnmillerguitar.com
Re: adventures in spanish
« Reply #11 on: February 08, 2004, 11:21:24 AM »
Hi all,
Just pondering some more tunes in this category.
Teddy Darby--Built Down On The Ground
Peg Leg Howell--Rolling Mill Blues (good one for you and Kim, Frank) and Coal Man Blues
Charley Lincoln--My Wife Drove Me From The Door (a little slide, but not essential to the song's sound)
Li'l Son Jackson--Roberta, Gamblers Blues, et al

Note:  3/17/08, the Lil' Son Jackson tunes are mis-identified as being played in Spanish.  They were played in G6 tuning.
All best,
JohnM
« Last Edit: March 17, 2008, 11:49:07 AM by Johnm »

Offline GhostRider

  • Member
  • Posts: 1292
  • That'll never happen no more!
Re: adventures in spanish
« Reply #12 on: February 08, 2004, 12:13:36 PM »
Hi all:

That's interesting about "Rabbit's Foot Blues",  I've always played it it Open G. I'll have to rethink...

Alex

Offline frankie

  • Member
  • Posts: 2431
    • Old Refuge
Re: adventures in spanish
« Reply #13 on: February 08, 2004, 02:31:48 PM »
Teddy Darby--Built Down On The Ground
Peg Leg Howell--Rolling Mill Blues and Coal Man Blues
Charley Lincoln--My Wife Drove Me From The Door (a little slide, but not essential to the song's sound)
Li'l Son Jackson--Roberta, Gamblers Blues, et al

Wow - Rolling Mill Blues is an inspired suggestion...  that's a brilliant song.  I hadn't thought of Peg Leg Howell at all!  I don't know Coal Man Blues and don't have any Li'l Son Jackson at all - now I'm intrigued.


Offline frankie

  • Member
  • Posts: 2431
    • Old Refuge
Re: adventures in spanish
« Reply #14 on: February 08, 2004, 02:46:21 PM »
I'll have to rethink...

Hi Alex - Rethinking is good - about 4 or 5 years ago I basically undid all my guitar playing and re-assessed it all as thumb+index (two-finger).? I still play three-finger now and then, but the core is really t+i.? It made a big difference for me and took a lot of the meaningless BS out of my playing (made me identify it anyway, excising it is a lifelong process).

I did the same thing with clawhammer banjo over the last year.? I've been playing for about six or seven years but decided that I didn't like the way I sounded (too "Round Peak", essentially) and started all over from scratch, focusing on a strong, clear brush stroke.? I'm still a long way from what I'd like to sound like, but I think I'm at least on the right path...

Anyway - re-thinking is usually pretty fruitful, if a little on the inconvenient side!

 


anything
SimplePortal 2.3.7 © 2008-2024, SimplePortal