Robben Ford Discussion

[JohnnyZ]

Every so often, someone in here comes up with a gem of a line, so I thought it would be fun to collect them in a topic of its own. Feel free to add whatever strikes you as a funny, witty, ingenious, moronic, twisted, and/or otherwise memorable quote.

~JohnnyZ~
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[JohnnyZ]

On 9/21/04, BlueRunner wrote:

You know, Frank Sinatra wasn't all that great as a singer. He had a limited range, a tone that bordered on nasal, and he was often slightly flat. But he also had tremendous phrasing and musicality. His sense of storytelling was without peer. He could have used as lyrics the warnings that appear on the tags on new mattresses, and it would still have been a hit for the ages.


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[JohnnyZ]

On 8/15/04, kirk wrote in the Robben, please check out my stuff thread:

"Robben we can really help you out with your tone."


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[AndyR]

Ok, Johnny, I've got a good one, under the subtitle, "Kids Say the Darnedest Things."

I attended a Dickie Betts concert here in Crabtown about a month ago.

I was waiting in line outside, shooting the breeze about guitar players and other stuff. There were 3 three youngsters there about 18 yo or so, they had "Eat a Peach" albums, hoping to get Dickie to sign them.

I mentioned I had seen Robben the previous month, and asked them if they were familiar with him.

One youngster piped up, "Ford is pretty good...but he's no Dickie Betts!"

I was struck by the irony of his statement.

Andy

[JohnnyZ]

AndyR wrote in the Robben Ford can't sing Maxwell's Silver Hammer like Michael McDonald getting checked for a hernia thread...

But, in all seriousness, I nominate this for post of the year:

A common thread, or thought, that is running through many of these posts is: "When I first listened to album XXXXX, I didn't really care for it. Now I can't stop listening to it!"

It's amazing how many folks, including me, are having this experience. This really speaks to Robben's genius and the depth and nuance of his music. When you just look at his diverse resume, his ecclectic influences, the variety in his recordings, etc., it's obvious that this is not your average Joe guitar slinger.

It's not that I go ga-ga every time hear a Robben recording that's new to me; I don't. In fact, I've disregarded as much of his music as I've initially swooned over.

But after repeated listening, I've been drawn back into much of what I had casually dismissed. This has happened too often for it to be coincidence; this guys music is sublime and runs deep. (I'm currently in the middle of a "Supernatural" epiphany.)

It's not that Robben is an extraordinary guitarist, a great songwriter, a fair-to-middlin' singer, an all-around nice guy...he seems to be all these things in spades.

But when you add up all the pieces, the whole ends up being much greater than the sum of the parts.

Is this genius, I don't know...but I DO know that it's not something that comes along everyday.

So what if Robben is not the greatest singer...Barry Bonds ain't the greatest base-stealer, either!!!



Andy
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