[Harp-L] Famous Harmonica Players (John Popper)

Richard Hunter rhunter377@xxxxx
Thu Jan 31 16:00:05 EST 2019


I haven't seen anyone on this thread comment on the emotional content of
Popper's playing.  The only connection I see between him and Kim Wilson is
that they both express a kind of unfettered joy in their playing.  Wilson's
joy is the joy of being deep in the blues.  Popper's joy is like a volcanic
eruption--it's like he's saying "OMG  I have to so much to say about this
and so little time in which to say it and golly I just gotta get all this
stuff out RIGHT NOW I LOVE YOU ALL I LOVE YOU ALL".  Phew...

Popper's work is influenced by the blues--there are damn few American
rockers who aren't--but it's not deeply influenced by blues harmonica.
He's obviously heard it, but he's just as obviously not very interested in
it.

At some point a lot of musicians stop expanding on what they know, and fall
into doing what's already been successful.  (As an example of the opposite,
consider Bruce Hornsby, who's made it clear in interviews and recordings
that he intends to keep adding skills and ideas until he kicks.  Or
consider Rob Paparozzi and Brendan Power in harmonica-land, both of whom
are always pushing themselves to take on new and different projects.)
Popper seems to me to have stopped expanding his ideas a while ago.  He
came up with something really new, different, and compelling, and he stuck
with it.

Where could he have gone instead?  I think he could have done more work on
different ways to architect a solo. Almost all of his solo work follows the
same general structure: fast, higher, faster faster, higher higher, stop.
Compare a Popper solo to the incredible structure that propels the piano
solo on Bruce Hornsby's "Look Out any Window" and you'll see what I mean.
If Popper knew a few more ways to tell a story, I don't think we'd be
having this kind of conversation about him.

Thanks, RH



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