Being a guitar player above most else, my music collection tends to reflect this (to what some would say is an extreme).  After many years of playing, I discovered that every song did not, in fact, have to feature primarily guitars and solos.

It’s not like I haven’t been a fan of Joe Cocker since the first time I heard him.  I seem to remember my mother having an album (round black vinyl discs that played music) of Joe’s and playing it a lot.  My mom is mid-sixties now, possibly out of Mr. Cocker’s general demographic, although probably a contemporary.

I was almost embarrassed, walking into the cd store to buy music that didn’t have lots of guitar solos all over it.  It was almost like buying condoms and having it announced overhead for the entire store: “Leftystrat, we have your non-guitar rock cd’s at the counter.”  Everybody turned and stared (like the dream where you leave the house sans pants).

I have a vague recollection of one of the first cd’s of this type being Toad the Wet Sprocket.  Ok, they do have two guitarists, but they’re more about the songwriting.  Their hit at the time was “Something’s Always Wrong.”  I was so impressed I bought the cd.

I read in an interview that the band’s name came from a Monty Python sketch.  What could be cooler than a band whose name contains a Python reference, right?   Ummmm…  maybe not.   I happen to be a Monty Python fan.  Perhaps `fan’ is not entirely accurate.  Nor is `devotee.’  `Freak’ might be closer to the mark but a bit over the line.  Rabid Legion of Lunatics approaches reality but I don’t exactly foam at the mouth.  In any case, I don’t remember `Toad the Wet Sprocket’ being used in a single Monty Python sketch.  This would include the Lost Season (when Cleese left) and all of the live material.  Not a single toad or sprocket.   I reserve the right to be mistaken (just not wrong).  If anybody reading this can correct me, please do.  I believe the gentlemen in question have split up anyway, but I need to have my Python attributions in line.

The boys from Toad definitely have a way with a song.  The cd was `Dulcinea’; the start of many things I didn’t understand about them.  The melodies were superb, the production excellent, the vocals spot-on, and the blending of the guitars was wonderful.  Great stuff - highly recommended.  Plus they got in a guitar solo now and then, but I won’t mention that, ok?  The only weird thing was some of the words and titles, as I mentioned.

As for Joe Cocker, you either love him or hate him.  I happen to love him.  If I could sing, I would want to sing like Joe, Delbert McClinton, or Gregg Allman.  I took singing lessons for a year.  They were extremely painful, mostly for my teacher.   Once I found out she hated Joe Cocker, I made a point of learning some of his songs.  She did the smart thing and just humored me, probably so I wouldn’t come back with more.  An ex-employer was on tour with Mr. Cocker on one of his first US jaunts.  He said there was no end to the hilarity.  They kept a bucket by the monitor board for Joe, in case his food tried to escape from his stomach via his mouth, which was apparently a frequent occurrence.  After he was through, he’d come back onstage and continue singing.  That’s a trooper.

More recently I’ve become a Joan Osborne fan.  Again, you won’t find stacks of hot guitar licks; mostly tasty rhythm.  The attraction here is Joan’s voice.   Who doesn’t have a fantasy about an attractive singer of the opposite sex performing just for them?  Joan’s songs are highly varied  - running from Motown (she did an entire album of covers) to rock with a slant.

`Saint Teresa’ is my favorite.  It starts with what sounds like a pencil rhythmically hitting a mandolin(?), then the mandolins and fretless bass enter.  The growl of the bass sets the whole tune off.  What really flipped me out was that there didn’t appear to be any guitars on this track.  Maybe some processed mandolins though.   Again, highly recommended.

You may find this hard to believe, but I have a thing for husky-voiced singers (no, really?).  My first actual female discovery was Sass Jordan.  Sass is without a doubt the most kick-ass female vocalist on the planet.  Yeah, there’s an occasional guitar solo but it’s all about the voice here.  She can sing like an angel then raunch out like Janis, only better(!).   Check out `Rats’ and the cd that followed.  Favorites of mine.   Sass lives in Canada and tours there a lot.  Not so much in America, though.  As if my word alone wasn’t enough to prove how cool this lady is, she spent a month jamming with Eddie Van Halen.  There is no doubt in my mind that she could front Van Halen in a manner second only to their original shrieker.

Then came Del Amitri.   What caught my ear was some non-traditional influences creeping into their music.  Slide guitars and accordians were a big tipoff.  The way they integrated these into pop songs was intriguing.  The more tunes I heard, the more I liked them.   Their singer-songwriter, Justin Currie, recently put out his first(?) solo release (which I have to somehow remember to buy).  It would appear that the large part of Del Amitri was Mr. Currie, as the band’s personnel tended to rotate.  Currie’s an interesting fellow and a very clever writer.  Listen to `Be My Downfall’ and you’ll know what I mean.  I get the feeling that if I ever met him, we’d probably amuse each other (the Scottish git).

The aforementioned Delbert McClinton practically defines a genre.  The man is all about barrelhouse soul and roll.  You can’t go wrong with anything he’s done.  See him live for a real treat.  Think `Mustang Sally’ on steroids, all night.

How’s this for a guilty pleasure - The Turtles.  I found the Turtles in the same manner I usually find things: in reverse.  I knew them as members of Frank Zappa’s Mothers, mostly from the Live at the Fillmore `71 album (there’s that album thing again).  Quite a few of the Mothers were actually Turtles.  That must have been an interesting change for them - going from Happy Together to Happy Together as a rock-opera about groupies (all played by men).  The long and short of it is that Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan can SING.  The Mothers never sounded better vocally then when the Turtles were in the band (my opinion).  The Turtles songs were pure pop genius.  What could possibly top the lyrical genius and intensity of “You’re my pride and joy, et cetera”?  Need I say more?  (please don’t)

Do you remember the Rembrandts? (I’ll Be There for You, That’s Just the Way it is, Baby).  Tremendous songcraft, great harmonies, very interesting production with just a little rawness allowed to show through. Ok, and a few sweet guitar rips.

We can even go to complete lack of any guitars at all.  How about Jan Hammer?  It’s always interesting to listen to his music.  I’m not sure whether this is cheating or not because Jan is a very frustrated guitarist who happens to be a frightening keyboardist (c’mon, he played with John McLaughlin in the Mahavishnu Orchestra).  If you can locate it, look for his version of Jimi Hendrix’s Manic Depression.  You’d swear there were tons of guitars but there isn’t one.  The man can make a synthesizer (originally a Minimoog, later a custom keyboard) sound like a guitar.  Also listen to Jeff Beck Live with the Jan Hammer Group.

Since this is a non-guitar post, I’ll close with a band that alternates between guitar brilliance and playing just enough to support the lyrics.   [you're not gonna like this] This band has been around for a while, starting around the time of grunge (heaven help us).  Of course I’m talking about Stone Temple Pilots.

I told you that you’re not gonna like this.

Whenever I say Stone Temple Pilots, people look at me with that `I just ate a lemon’ look.  They tag STP as a grunge band.  Untrue.  As an experiment, I played a bunch of tunes for my wife from my phone.  After each one, I asked her who recorded it.  The five STP songs I played were not guessed and she couldn’t believe they were all the same band.  They’re quite varied.

There is a song called Atlanta, where Scott Weiland channels Jim Morrison.  Lady Picture Show could have been produced by Paul McCartney (as could their cover of Revolution).  Some of the melodies are quite delicate.  The harmonies are great (and not reproduce-able live).   Aside from the writing and variety, the stacking of multiple guitars is the best since Jimmy Page.   Mr. DeLeo, the guitarist, is not Jeff Beck, but that’s perfectly ok - I love what he’s doing.  The occasional non-standard tunings, the Leslie impersonations, the non-standard guitars and tones, all combine to produce a very musically interesting stew.  It is truly difficult to tell that the same band wrote and played even the songs on a single cd.

STP recently got back together, which I consider a good thing.  The live footage I’ve seen is nice but doesn’t include some of my favorite songs from their catalog.   Their main obstacle seems to be Mr. Weiland and his ever-elusive sobriety.  That aside, quite a few of their songs are in constant rotation in my main collection.
It’s great to find some interesting new tunes, even if they lack guitar heroics :)