Re: Harmonica that ruins a song

[Fernando Toral <ftoral@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Jp Pagan wrote

> Froggy said:
> "Dylan and Young are among the greatest harmonica
> players ever!" "So, I still have a great respect for
> all these folks though I don't like their stuff."
>
> well, i think you can respect them and be glad they
> are there without having to say they're great
> harmonica players. most guitarists i know don't think
> dylan was a very good guitarist, which doesn't change
> the fact that they know at least 20 of his songs by
> heart. from what little i've heard of Neil Young, i
> like his harmonica playing, simple but very effective.
> My My Hey Hey is a good example, i think. Bob Dylan's
> i'm not so crazy about, but i love his music. as for
> Alanis Morissette, i think she gets a bum rap. she's
> not trying to be sonny terry, she's just using it for
> a little effect, like a tambourine. if it were a
> tambourine, i wouldn't slam her for being a crappy
> percussionist ;) other pop bands with harp: Train,
> Shakira, and the mexican group "Mana." will their harp
> skills blow you away? no. but i like to hear em play
> harp anyway.
> speaking of which... i was never a big fan of Mick
> Jagger's playing when i first got into the Stones.
> same with Led Zeppelin, though i've warmed up to it.
> anyone know Q65? and hey, John Lennon was no Little
> Walter -- so? i think as specialists in our instrument
> we can be harsh to other harmonica players who are
> just some-timers. the Stones were great musicians.
> Mana is a great group, imo, even if the harp playing
> is just ok. instrumental excellence isn't really the
> point, sometimes, you know?
>
>

There are a lot of soloists and groups that include harmonica (Deep
Purple in "Lazy" for example, Héroes del Silencio, a spanish rock/pop
group, La Renga, Los Piojos in Argentina, and so on) and you wouldn't
dare to say they suck. As Jp says "is just ok"... they don't need to be
Howard Levy to play a song, do they? Besides, they don't necessarily
ruin it.

Fernando Toral
Argentina