Some of you know I love technically masterful guitar. It’s true, I do. I grew up with Vai, Satch, Yngwie and the rest. I respect their abilities and wish I could do what they do.
In truth though, a catalyst moment for me was in fact the movie Crossroads from 1984. I wanted to see the movie based on what I had heard about Vai being “The Devil’s guitar player”, and on that note he didn’t really disappoint. But I was magically carried away from what I later learned was Ry Cooder’s playing in that movie (which strangely isn’t really represented well on the soundtrack).
So, with that reference in mind…what are the VERY BEST examples of electric Delta slide blues? I have found a few Ry Cooder vids from a long time ago but I don’t feel that they are on par with his best efforts. I am sure I am overlooking performances by the likes of Buddy Guy and Muddy Waters…but were those guys especially proficient on the electric slide? Who’s the player of the electric slide that makes everyone want to play like him?
I so very, very much love the sound of Cooder’s guitar in the Crossroads movie…lots of vibrato, snarling tone…anyone else playing like that and as well?
That’s crazy! I have seen that before and the first thing I thought of was “Eric Johnson with a slide!”…because that’s what he sounds like to me. I’m trying to find something grittier, snarlier…more…Delta bluesy. I am not sure I can describe what I mean.
Perhaps the sound from the “guitar fight” on Crossroads will help lead the way.
I included this version of the video because the guy playing Satan is so damn good. And the gospel “hush” is scary too. Anyway, I am referencing the guitar sound heard from Ralph Macchio’s Telecaster on the first riff he plays after Vai plays his opening riff. Where is there more guitar that SOUNDS like that? It’s unreal.
To that end, here’s some live Derek. In fact I was at this show and I think WordMan was, too. It starts get snarlier about a minute in. If you liked the stuff Macchio’s character was playing in that scene, you might also like Warren Haynes a lot. That stuff was pretty Haynes-ish to me. This is Gov’t Mule doing a Robert Johnson song, so it’s some of his dirtiest playing and one of my favorite songs they play. And if you want to emphasize the Delta stuff, let’s not overlook Muddy Waters. I have no idea what’s going on with the video for this song (NSFW), but you might enjoy it.
I remain unconvinced that anyone does that soulful slide sound I am seeking besides Ry Cooder. From the movie, he has this certain something with his tele sound and the amps being used…it’s like nothing he’s ever done. There’s lots of chorus on that tone, but just enough distortion to make it jump. It also almost sounds like there’s a Leslie in there with the volume swells even though i think there isn’t. It’s a very defined sound. I am not sure if the SDMD can reproduce it.
I thought some of the examples people posted were pretty similar to what Cooder is doing there. But then again I didn’t think much of the tone in that clip; it’s so overdriven that the nuances get flattened and lost. Maybe you’d like Robert Randolph?
I’ll nominate Colin James for the purposes of Canadian content. I was never a huge fan of his, but it occured to me in his heyday that he was a pretty damn good slide guitarist, live or otherwise.
