Re: [Harp-L] Would Little Walter OB-

[icemanle@xxxxxxx]

 It's amazing how many are missing the subtle point....
 
It's not about "Would LW have REALLY OB'ed" - no one can know this answer. It's about loosening the attitudes in the 21st Century and finding the spark of creativity that lead ODBG's into creating a new sound/style/attachment to a feeling through the music.
 
Wouldn't the sound of that first amplified harmonica sounded revolutionary to the ears of 1940ish blues fans? It's so powerful that even today, 60 years later, so many are trying to recreate it exactly as it was done then.
 
One reason that blues (and jazz) is in a creative slump (IMO) is that, everyone is trying to recreate the past. How many "Tribute to" CD releases are out there now? I've not found a "Tribute to -------" project to move me any where near to what the original music does.
 
Understanding that in the 21st Century, musicians are making CD's in order to sell them, it is hard to offer something new and realize the same sales that the "tried and proven" formulas do. Perhaps one reason for the difference is that those original artists from years ago made music primarily for the sheer joy, expression and pleasure of it without thinking so much about "what will SELL?" 
 
Then again, I prefer to watch independent movies at the art house rather than run to see the remake of "Starsky and Hutch" or "Mr. & Mrs. Smith".
 
Let's not lose sight of individual creativity and original voice. It really isn't that hard to do, even in the midst of the recreation craze. Don't take "Would Little Walter OB?" so literally.
 
The Iceman
 
-----Original Message-----
From: Glenn Weiser <celticguitar1@xxxxxxxxxxxx>


Guys-

C'mon-who knows, really? Let's get back down to earth here. But I'll say
this-LW was in my view a musical genius, so I wouldn't have put it past him.
Look what he did with the chro.

-Glenn