RE: [Harp-L] re: Butterfield

[Michael Peloquin <peloquinharp@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Martin posts:
 
> Also what Butterfield  did, at least on Levon Helm´s "RCO All  Stars" album (mid 70´s I think), was show how to use harmonica backing in an un-obtrusive way in an orchestra. He plays on most of the tracks, he´s there riffing, quite audible, but he´s not all over the place all of the time. A lesson, I think. (This is not a blues album, but some sort of down home rock, slightly funkified in the Little Feat manner. Not very remarkable, but sympathetic.)

 

I love this album, I wore the grooves out on it. It might be my favorite work of Paul's... right up there with Muddy's Fathers & Sons. Most of my friends who really dig PB, think I am crazy not to say that it is one of his own albums that top that list. I love when a player can play with the band and not just on top/out front. I think that the image of our instrument benefits when this happens. --I think it is a great vibe album, Levon Helm is cool, tunes are well picked and the band is essentially the Blues Brothers band.


>   And, Gino, it has some quite decent third pos. playing! (He´s even taming the draw 3 one whole step, if I remember correctly. We´ve all heard that sound like crap every now and then.)

 

   My good friend Gino (who is a Butterfield fan, BTW) was trying to convey that exact point, although less than eloquently. IMO, there are 2 very important things to watch out for when playing 3rd posistion... one is hitting the 3D whole step bend and the other is hitting the 3D 1/2 step bend... and when you do it. Butterfield in the early days would frequently play that 1/2 step bend in a less than optimal place. I think that comes from playing so much 2nd position by instinct, then going on that instinct while in 3rd position. I think we have all done that, I know I have. I have heard good guitar players be off with their fingers by one or two frets, play an idea and sound terrible. I think that we all tend to look at an album like, The Butterfield Blues Band or East West and say: that's the brilliant Paul Butterfield... 

    ...I think that we lose sight of the fact that he was 23 years old at the time, and still very much in a musically formative period...and playing improvised solos. Stuff happens and I think we all know that. When he recorded w/the RCO All Stars he was 35 and although I know that some people freeze their hero's image in time, I bet he played, practiced, matured and worked some of those kinks out of his tird position playing,thus per Martin;"it has some quite decent third pos. playing!"  





Michael (Buttahluvah!) Peloquin 
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