Learning Guitar By Listening To Technique, For Inspiration And Influence

Learning guitar by listening for influences and to generate new ideas in composition and playing. Welcome to the fifth in a series of articles: listening to other music for inspiration and motivation! This week I have to thank Susie Jones of whom it has been said by Americana UK: “Jones is a rare individual in the music business.” You can check her out at bandcamp: https://susiejonesband.bandcamp.com. So over to you Susie.

So what are my 5 albums that I think every aspiring guitarist needs to hear? As a songwriter I believe that the various instruments that contribute to a performance or version of a song should be, as Townes might say, for the sake of the song and guitars are no exception.

For me it is an important thing to consider in a world of epic guitar solos that can sometimes leave you with double tapping, speed shredding, wah pedal infused additions that could if used without caution detract from what a group of musicians are working to communicate.

Marquee Moon by Television

• Punk

The punk movement looked to transition away from ostentatious styles that had become so popular, it favoured simplicity and energy as an expression of freedom and rebellion.

Television’s debut proved that the energy of punk could be delivered with a sophistication that was a game changer for the genre. Interestingly Television didn’t necessarily consider themselves as punk due to their focus on virtuoso musicianship that was woven throughout their work but springing from the CBGB’s in New York the association was perhaps bound to happen. The release of Marquee Moon took 3 years from their 1st CBGB’s performance but upon it’s release in Feb 1977 it made waves and continues to be lorded as a classic today.

I was introduced to Marquee Moon while I was recording my first record, so apart from the sheer poetry of Tom Verlaine’s guitar solos, this record reminds me of the wonderful exchange that takes place when you work with fellow artists, musicians and producers. The reason I think guitar players should listen to this record is that it is a sweet combination of energy and skill that kicks you in chest and makes you sit up and listen.

Penguin Eggs by Nic Jones

• Folk

As a story teller folk music is important to me. Readymade tales that have stood the test of time and benefitted from the many who have sung them before us. In Penguin Eggs there is a real lyrical nature to Jones’ playing that can’t help but charm you and make you believe every word and note.

Penguin Eggs was Jones’ 5th studio album and is a fine example of his distinctive percussive plucking style and use of open tunings. The opening track ‘Canadee – I – O’ could fool many a listener in to believing that there is more than one guitar player on there but that is a testament to Jones’ technical skill. The album is a mix of traditional ballads delivered with humanity and musicality difficult to match and Jones’ distinctive guitar playing is a crucial component.

I am sucker for a great folk album and from a first listen Penguin Eggs was top of the list. The guitar playing has a clarity that rings out like a diamond, blending seamlessly with the vocal melody that produces a fully formed hypnotic performance that never ages, it is an example of timelessness, which for a folk record in a modern world is not bad going.

Liege and Lief by Fairport Convention

• Folk/Rock

This record was very important to me in my formative years, everything about this record bites. It has edges that tell something of the truth of life through stories that are as old as time and yet played with the spirit of youth. What a combination.

Released in 1969 (a good year for music in general) Liege and Lief is considered by many Fairport Convention’s seminal album and presenting folk/celtic traditional material in a new distinctive way is credited to have inspired far beyond the folk scene.

Thompson’s playing becomes a voice at the heart of a joyous cacophony of modern folk-rock thrusting the electric guitar right in to the heart of folk music culture. The guitar is central to driving this record, setting an atmosphere for the songs that jump out in each of his distinctive lines or sweeping sustained chords.

Time (The Revelator) by Gillian Welch

• Americana

Released in 2001 this is the most prominent example of David Rawling’s guitar playing (and production) fitting like a glove to Gillian Welch’s songs.

There is a freedom and spontaneity captured in this record that is a great example of the importance to feel and not over think. The opening track ‘Revelator’ was just being used as the track for the mic test and hadn’t been played by Welch and Rawlings in months and yet the result was a first take feeling that couldn’t be left behind. No doubt testament to their understanding of each other’s playing styles, but it does show it can be worth spending time to know your style and those around you and then trusting in that relationship for the good of capturing a feeling.

The guitar playing on the record has characterful edges that fill in the details of the song in your mind. The tone makes you feel the wood in the guitar with an earthiness that takes you straight to the heart of Americana but with the melodic phrasing that follows the vocals like a songbird. Close your eyes and you feel like you’re stood in the dustbowl holding a bunch of the sweetest melancholy roses.

Life’s a riot with Spy vs Spy by Billy Bragg

• Folk, Punk – you pick.

This is an album containing a man singing to an electric guitar with so much power it made many others do exactly the same thing.

This record has only seven songs and lasts for only 15 minutes and 57 seconds but it packs one hell of a punch. Making something out of very little Billy Bragg’s debut album is brief, stripped back and direct – but together it paints an image with distorted, clattering clarity.

The reason guitar players should listen to this is to consider the importance of power over precision. This kind of guitar playing is there to give a bed for the lyrics, it has a tone that pushes the air around you, spikes your ears and leaves you with twitching fingers eager to join in. It feels accessible and necessary – it is an example of the guitar as a weapon.