The history of the Guitar BBC Documentary

[Ratrod]

I was a little annoyed by this last episode. Way too much focus on British players. Way too much Townsend who comes across as a pompous @ss. (I think he should get one lash of the whip for every guitar he destroyed)

The Marshall story was bull. Jim Marshall was no 'angry man' and he shure as hell didn't invent the lous amplifier. That was Fender with the Showman amp. None of the complementing Who clips even featured Marshall amps, I only saw Voxes and Hi-Watts. And Townsend claiming before him the guitar was a stoccato instrument is bull too. Blues and rock n' roll players did that before he ever picked up a guitar.

This episode was about the players relation to the guitar. Why all the focus on one of Hendrix' pedals? Because Roger Mayer is a Brit? It wasn't even his most important pedal.

I did like the Edge his view of sound processing. I never looked at that way. I understand the guy a bit better now.

The punk rock mythology annoyed me too. Most of these guys knew exactly what they were doing. All this talk about stolen guitars and no musical theory and ability was just created for the image.

Johnny Marr? Who cares?

They should have interviewed Keith Richards and Ronie Wood and/or the Young brothers. They would have more interesting things to say about the player and his guitar.

[sgmypod]

Yeah Townsend...not known for his great use of Marshalls in the early days......and Edge yeah nice rack lot of line6 stuff

[Twinfan]

I'll have to disagree with you on a couple of points matey  :)

In relation to the "sound processing" idea, Hendrix's use of pedals was very influential.  No-one had done that before him, only the fuzz and wah really existed up to that point.  The Octavia and Uni-Vibe were brand new inventions that started the who pedal thing off - phasers, choruses, flangers etc all followed.  They are a big part of the history of electric guitar sounds.

Johnny Marr was a very influential guitarist in his day by all accounts.  I never listened to his stuff at the time so I can't say for sure, but I believe he brought melodies back into guitar playing after the punk era.  He's respected by a lot of guys and I thought he came across as a good guy.

I think the last episode moved away from the guitar on it's own, and more about how the combination of guitar/amp/effects can create a whole world of sounds.  It was more of a "sound making" episode.

I will agree that Townsend is a pompous ass :)

And Les Paul isn't really the father of the electric guitar in my eyes.  There were various people working in ideas around the same time that all contributed to it s development:  Les Paul, Adolph Rickenbacker, Leo Fender and Paul Bigsby.

I'll let Les have the multitrack recorder though  ;)

[bgoodman]

Didn't it mention that Mr Fender didn't actually play guitar when he first set out? That was in a previous episode though.

[mikeluke]

You could rip many holes in it but an enjoyable show nevertheless.

No recent Clapton at all - which was a little odd - but it seemed to be more about the guitar and how this changed music over time, rather than guitarists per se.

Johnny Marr wrote some amazing stuff with The Smiths, especially when you realise that he was only 19 when they got together!

[dave_mc]

Think was a Bill Bailey does edge thing

ah, thanks, i figured it'd been done. :D


I never really liked the smiths, but I'll admit that johnny marr came across pretty well in the program. :)

[Elliot]

I love what Johnny Marr did/does with the guitar - his use of sound scaping and his chordal knowledge are great guitar pop.  I never really liked the Smiths (although I went to their last gig with my then girlfriend who loved them) as I was into hardcore punk at the time, but Johnny Marr's playing was always inspiring.

[FELINEGUITARS]

well the last part was the best, as we expected. i'm left sort of wanting more though, i don't feel it was quite as good as it could have been. would have been nice to have some more hard rock/metal - but obviously thats my personal preference. don't really like The Edge's playing, but his part was quite interesting I thought. maybe my shortening the stuff covered in the second part, and including some of material from this final part, it might have been possible to include some more (well, relatively at least) contemporary artists. it was an entertaining watch though, in my opinion.

i liked it too, like you would have preferred more hard rock and metal. I thought it was a bit disjointed, though, it jumped about all over the place from genre to genre. was cool that it had vai on it.

that bit with the edge would work for a brilliant parody (if it hasn't been done already): "here's my playing [hits one note], then here it is with my effects [turns on effects, plays entire song]"...

Here it is
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZuwFqI2EIE

[Johnny Mac]

I really enjoyed it. I think it showed the way Britain embraced the electric guitar and more or less took over.
Pete Townsend is a great musician and song writer in one of the coolest bands in the world. I've seen them live and they're a fantastic band. But we're doing the opinion thing in here at the moment  :P
Johnny Marr and The Smiths, well it's a bit like Marmite, you either love them or hate them. I don't mind them and their song 'How Soon Is Now' does make the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. He is very creative. They should have done John Squire from the Stone Roses as he is a quality guitarist too.
I thought it was good, even though they lifted some footage on a documentary on Heavy Metal from the 80's, (The Metallica clips, Ozzy and scenes from Nottingham's Rock City)
It's not going to appeal to everyone as there are so many players and genres to cover. I'm just grateful for the instrument to be in the spotlight for a change instead of rapping, which as you all know is wank.

[MrBump]

I was a little annoyed by this last episode. Way too much focus on British players. Way too much Townsend who comes across as a pompous @ss. (I think he should get one lash of the whip for every guitar he destroyed)

Pete Townsend?  An A$$, Surely not!!!

 

[murf58]

Out of interest - does anyone know what song/music is playing on the outro of the 2nd season episode. It is a famous blues piece but I just cannot place it.
It comes on as they commentator starts speaking about what is coming up in episode 3.

Thanks