Michael Schenker's Guitar and Sounds

Hello there,folks
Welcome (again) to my blog,and here is my new post..
Lately,I don't have any work to do,all i do are practicing,playing games,browsing,and of course,sleeping..(lol).

Well,also,lately i've been into late 70's guitar heroes' stuffs,such as Gary Moore,Van Halen,Queen,Rush,Scorpions,Mahogany Rush,UFO and stuffs like that.In my opinion,the 70's guitar heroes are the best (but i liked 80's a lot,too),since there are many variety of guitarists back then,and all of them are unique on their own.Well,i thought 80's was fuckin' good too,but it's dominated with shredding scene and a LOT of guitarists are just trying to be fastest guitarist alive (No disrespect to Rusty Cooley,Michael Batio,and else,i loved them!).The late 70's were different,It's filled with virtuous guitarist,but they had their own uniqueness,style and "magic" that makes them really stands out.They also raise the standards for guitarists (indirectly influenced shred scene in 80's),but no one sounds alike.There are melodic guitarists like Brian May,a virtuoso,all-arounder like Steve Morse and Steve Lukather,a technical progressive machine like Alex Lifeson,and of course proto-shredders like Uli Jon Roth,Frank Marino,Eddie Van Halen (though he popularized tapping,not the fast shredding).But the late 70's guitarist that IMHO stands out and really got me is Michael Schenker. He got everything that a guitar hero should have,the fast runs,melodic phrasing,killer vibrato,ingenious solos,technical prowess,well,everything,including the enigmatic and difficult personality just like Blackmore...xD

Michael Schenker started his career at age 13 with Rudolf Schenker,his older brother,in his band Scorpions.They released their debut album "The Lonesome Crow",when Schenker was only 17,already a renowned,respected and influental guitarist in rock guitar scene.Schenker's virtuous ability make UFO's Phil Moog interested and recruited him to his band.Michael was replaced by Uli Jon Roth.

With UFO,Michael Schenker was going wild.They releases countless classics and of course brilliant albums,like Phenomenon,No Heavy Petting,Lights Out,Force It,Obsession,and of course,the brilliant live album Strangers in The Night.

After his departure from UFO,Michael Schenker ain't holding back!
He keeps rocking wild with his own group,Michael Schenker Group (MSG),creates some epic songs like Desert Song,Systems Failing,Armed and Ready,also instrumentals like Captain Nemo,Ulcer,and Into The Arena.Thanks to these epics,Michael is considered as German's heavy metal granddaddy,although he didn't get mainstream recognition like his contemporaries such as Eddie Van Halen,or Randy Rhoads,even though he started earlier that both of those heroes,since he's quite troublesome and his lifestyle are unorganized.

Schenker is known as a Flying-V - Marshall guy,since he almost didn't use anything apart from that combo,except for a cocked wah pedal for some coloring in his solos. I will share some of his gears here :

Guitars :
1. Gibson Les Paul

Though Michael mostly used Flying V in his career and even associated with the Flying V,The first guitar he used in his early career was a Les Paul.Michael decides to be a V user after one Scorpions gig,which he broke a string on his Les Paul,and Rudolf exchanged his V with his Les Paul so Michael can keep soloing.After the gig,Michael fell in love with a V,and decided to switch to Vs.Nothing known what happened to this Les Paul after Michael switch to Flying V.

UFO Era guitars :
2. Gibson Flying V (Red)

Michael used this guitar in his UFO days back then in 70's.It's an unmodified Flying V with red finish.
It was his main guitar when he's still in UFO,and you can see this guitar in almost all performance of 70's UFO Schenker Era,alongside with his white V.It's unknown if this V or the white one that were used in Strangers in The Night live album.

3. Gibson Flying V (White)

One of his other V used in UFO days.It's a Flying V with a modified pickup (it's unknown what kind of pickup he used here).This guitar was one of his main guitar in his UFO days,along with his red V.This guitar can be seen in "Only You Can Rock Me" music video.This guitar was mainly used in "Obsession" era.

Classic MSG Era guitars :
Back then in 1980s,in his MSG days,Schenker plays 4 main guitars equipped with Seymour Duncan JBs and endorses Aria Guitars,Japan.All of the guitars are the Flying Vs,obviously.But contrary to popular belief,he didn't endorse Gibson (he was endorsed by Aria),and mostly used a custom made Flying V,despite using Gibsons in his earlier days.Now,i'll show you some information about his guitars that i got from browsing and watches his videos :

4. Flying V #1

From what flying-v.ch said,this guitar is his main guitar.As you can see,the condition was not really good (you can see the bottom right of the guitar was taped).It's modified quite lot,since he change it's pickguard and tuner to Schaller tuners.It's neck are also glued together.The guitar was equipped with Seymour Duncan JB Humbuckers.But the most important thing worth noticing is,there are no "Gibson" brand logo in the headstock,indicated it's not Gibson,but rather a Custom one.

Here's the picture of the damaged neck,also taken from flying-v.ch :

5. Flying V #2 (Gibson)

Nothing much known about this guitar (i have searched some trivias and stuffs for this guitar,but no result).It's a modified Gibson Flying V,also equipped with Seymour Duncan.Michael rarely used this guitar and it's unknown what happened to this guitar.

6. Flying V #3

Michael's other main guitar in 80's,this one got block inlays,just like a Gibson Flying.But,actually,it's also not a Gibson,but a Custom one as well (see the headstock picture above).Michael used an original pickup and attach surrounding rings on those pickups.It has faded notes scribbled on the top wing's edge.It's speculated as the guitar smashed in "Built To Destroy" album cover,but i doubt it,since it's in much better condition then #1

7. Flying V #4 (Destroyed)

Well,as you can see in the picture above,the #4 guitar was destroyed back in the day.It originally belongs to Leon Lawson.It's an Alpine White finish Gibson Flying V

8. Aria Pro II XX-MS

This guitar is the actual Michael's signature that was endorsed by Michael,as Michael said that he's not endorsed by Gibson,but rather a guitar company from Japan (Aria).It looks a lot like his custom guitars,but the headstock shaped different.Ironically,Michael Schenker never uses these guitar live,but it's unknown if he used those guitar in recordings or not.It's not produced anymore,and considered as a rare collector items for guitar collectors.

Present days guitars :

9. Dean Michael Schenker Signature V (Multiple,with alternate paint jobs)

In 2000's,Michael Schenker endorsed by one of big names in heavy metal guitar industries,Dean guitars.Dean guitars made V guitars with Michael's specification,even made a custom pickups called DMT Michael Schenker Lights Out PU.Almost all of this signature V equipped with those pickups.There are many paintjobs variations for this signature,the standard one,checkmate,flames,retro (see above),and Strangers in The Night paintjobs.

Amplifiers :

Michael's most notable amplifiers are both Marshalls,The 1987x MKII 50 Watt series and JCM800 2205 series,in UFO and MSG eras respectively.His tone is more gainy than his predecessors,but not as metallic as a glam metal guitarists.His tone is more gainy when he's in MSG,which is obvious since in 80's most of heavy bands used a lot of distortion.Ironically,Michael didn't use any distortion or even an overdrive pedals in his career! He's more a straight to the amp guy,which makes him awesome,but also difficult to copy.

About his amp settings,well,he vary it quite a lot.But from what i read and try,he always keep the volume on 8,and gain on 9-10.His solo tone are often colored with a wah pedal and slight of delay.Michael also stated that he didn't use any modulation effects in his recordings.The effects was added later.

For those who still curious about his amp settings,i got some pic from flying-v.ch. It's his amp settings when he performed with UFO in 2000s :

http://www.flying-v.ch/collect/msampset.jpg -> more detailed pic

A Marshall 1987x Mk II series,the key of Schenker's UFO era tones.

Marshall JCM800 2205.JCM800 series was really popular back then,eh?

Effects :
Effectwise,Michael is NOT a big fan of effects.He only adds some delay,chorus,and a fixed wah on his playing.The rest of his tone is his phrasing and fingers.But unexpectedly,a Wah pedal is essential to nail his lead tones.He often used a wah pedal to color his tone in leads and add some "moods" into his playing,but he didn't use it as many player does.He only sets it in "one sweet spot" to boost his lead tones and leaves it there.From what i listen,he never abuse the wah the way Slash,Hendrix,or Hammet used the wah.I really loved the way Michael used his effects,since he didn't use lot of EFX,but sounds really great and distinctive.It proves that to be great guitarist,you don't need a huge-ass pedalboard filled with a lot of expensive effects.

I'll only review his past pedalboards,since i loved his old tones and he altered his pedalboard quite a lot lately.But if you insists to see it,here they are :

From r-l : Boss Tuner,Chorus,Digital Delay,Ibanez Tube Screamer,Dunlop Dimebag Wah,don't have any idea about two other pedals,unfortunately

1. Jim Dunlop Crybaby Wah

Michael used a standard Dunlop Crybaby before he used the Dimebag ones.As i stated above,he didn't use the wah the way most guitarist used it.He used a "fixed" wah techniques to add some boost and tone in his solos.In my own experience,his "sweet spot" is usually in between,so don't stomp it to deep or shallow.Just keep searching for the nice boost tone,and you'll get there.

2. Boss RV-3 Digital Reverb/Delay

Michael also used this classic delay-reverb pedals made by Boss back then.I never try this one before (And i don't have any idea who still have it nowadays),so i don't want to give any comment on it.But Michael have some delay/reverb moments in some songs like "Bijou Pleasurette" and almost all songs,but i don't know if it's this or the Boss DD-3 that was used on the track.

3. Boss CH-5 Chorus Ensemble

Michael have this pedal in his pedalboard.He often used it for some coloring in his live performances.

4. Boss DD-3 Digital Delay

Delay is a staple pedals for an electric guitarists,and Michael (obviously),also used it.Looks like Michael had some fondness for Boss pedals,since most of his pedals are Boss pedals.He used the DD-3 Digital Delay mostly in his live performance,but i don't have any idea if it's this pedal or the RV-3 he used in recordings.I've tried this one,and it's an impressive delay with 3 delay time (never try the "Hold",since it's not mine),50ms,200ms,and 800ms (ms stands for miliseconds,800ms means the delay was repeated in interval of 0.8 seconds).But,from what i know,there are 2 big differences when i tried this pedal if you compared it to Michael Schenker :
1. I'm sure his Boss pedals are the vintage,japanese made ones,and the one i tried was a brand-new,taiwan made Boss DD-3,so i don't know how it feels to try on those legendary pedals.(The only japanese Boss Pedals which i ever try,and fortunately owned,is a Boss OC-2 Octave pedal).

2. He's Michael Schenker,and i'm just another amateur guitarist.His approach when he used a delay pedal is genius,whilst i didn't really understand what the hell i was doing when i try a delay pedal (not a big-user of a delay,i only used it for a slapback echo or a pseudo-reverb)

Unlike Blackmore's,Michael's effect pedals are quite easy to get.You can found most of those pedals in big music store in your town (Except for that RV-3 thing,i never see one before,but whatever,just use the delay,for godsake!)

Michael used Dunlop .88 mm picks and also D'Angelico strings with standard .009 gauges

There you are,see ya next time!

Gary Moore - Run For Cover Review

Well folks,i just create this post to kill some time in attempt to make myself busy and get sleepy,since it seems i can't sleep..

And for some odd reason i remembered the greats who already passed away,such as John Bonham,Jon Lord,or Phil Lynott from Thin Lizzy,and speaking of Thin Lizzy,i almost forgot that great Gary Moore was also one of their guitarist (R.I.P to Gary Moore,as well)

Recently,i dug into Gary Moore's stuffs,not the bluesy stuffs post-Still Got The Blues era,but rather the pre-Still Got The Blues era,the era that many of Gary Moore blues fans unaware of,but remains as such a hidden treasures and worth listening to many hard rockers,metalheads,and of course,guitar enthusiast.

There are many of great Gary Moore's album,but i'll start with my personal favorite,Run For Cover,a nice yet heavy album released back then in 1985.This album also considered as Moore's breakthrough album,and features one of his most known single,Out In The Fields

Okay,we'll start the review,here we go! (I'll only mention some notable tracks and tracks that i like in this album,but it almost everything there

The track started with the title track,Run For Cover,which features synth riffs and of course power chord riffs ala hard rock and heavy metal songs.One thing that i notice when i first hear this song is,Moore started composed the songs to match his range,as opposed to his earlier albums that he often pushed himself to sings in high notes.But it's great,nevertheless.

Back to the title track,this track is really a great opener,it has elements that a killer hard rock songs,from punching riffs to tearing solo! Tearing solo? Yes! Tearing solo! Gary Moore hidden gem that you can't really found in his later works are his shredding and tasty flashy chops.It's quite sad that Moore tends to held back in his later days,even until his death!

The next song is Reach for the sky,which is a nice song,but not as great as the former,i guess it's a filler?

The third song get my attention once more,started with menacing drums and powerful riffs,the lyrics tells us about some man that had trained to be a soldier in war.And for unknown reasons,i always liked political or war-related theme in lyrics,such as like in Megadeth's Rust In Peace LP.Although this song started with heavy riffs,in the middle,it breaks into some slow yet mellow parts and some tasteful ballad solo,Gary Moore's trademark,but what's really the highlights is the outro solo,when the mood back to fast paced and heavy.

The next song is one of Gary Moore's classic tune,Empty Rooms.As you know,it's a mid-paced ballad,dominated with keyboard riffs,which is actually quite nice for me (i always like keyboard works,as long it's raw and not overproduced like many of today's band synth works),and if you speak about Gary Moore classic,a melodic solo is unresistable,whether it's short or the long one.It's a short one here.The song ended with the old trick,a fadeout.

The next song that really caught my attention is the 6th track,Out in The Fields.As the song started,what i thought was "the song sounds like some power metal stuffs"(or it was the opposite?),and yeah,it sounds like one,even it's the lone bass riffs in the first verse,along with vocal lines.The chorus is quite catchy and nice,which shows that Gary Moore had some great potential at heavier songs.But the excitement isn't over yet,after the bridge,you'll hear one of the most mindblowing studio solo ever recorded by the mighty Gary Moore.It's quite a short one,but it's just fast,cool,and more importantly,effective. Just hear the fast runs he did in 2:57.Even Moore himself got some hard time play it live sometimes!

Nothing to Lose is the next one,while always loved flashy guitar works,i really like the way Gary sings here,and some guitar fills he brought here are epic,though not as great as the other,but he still did some nice tricks like divebombs,and even a little raked hammer-ons stuffs.And the track had some nice groovy,yet bluesy feels

We move to Once in a Lifetime.For some reasons,i thought this song is the commercial one in the album.It sounds so catchy,but still awesome (Well,i like some commercial hard rock,or even glam metal as well,even though i liked thrash stuffs too!),once again in our lifetime (pun intended),Moore lays of another melodic solo in this one as well.He's really a genius at making those melodic solos! The one that i consider genius such as him in this kind of thing is,no other than Michael Schenker.

The ninth track is All Messed Up,which is another great straight-up,and had some 80's feel, rocker song.In this track,the guitar really dominates and i really can't hear the keyboards that dominate in earlier songs.The nice parts of this song is the drum-vocal parts that comes after the solo,i don't know why,but it have some epic atmosphere around it,and the epicness isn't over yet,some short guitar-vocal trade-offs thing and outro solo cames after,along with the fadeout

The last song,Listen To Your Heartbeart,is another nice ballad,but much more less famous than Empty Rooms.But it doesn't mean this song is dull.It's got some nice feel as well,but i prefer Empty Rooms better,as this song is kind of sink or swim to me,sometimes it really touch me,while the other times it simply pass and i didn't even give any attention to it,but nevertheless,it's the great closer for a great album.

Overall,i would give this album a 4.5 out of 5.Too bad i never see one for sale here,i really want to have this LP so badly.And for Gary Moore "blues" fans,try this stuff out too,you'll listen the other,but also as great as the bluesy Gary Moore.

Well,thanks for the music,Gary! Rest In Peace! :D

10 Great guitarist from 60's and 70's

Hello there :D
I just wanna share some of great guitarists from 60-70's,which i considers as golden era of rock guitar playing pioneers,and no,it will be no Blackmore,Uli Jon Roth,Schenker,Yngwie (he's 80's guitarist),or any usual shredder i mentioned here,since it will be unfair,dull and bore your asses off...:p

And i'm not making a rank or that kind of shit,since obviously i will include Blackmore,Schenker,etc on it when i want to make i that way,but this post are MERELY some sharing and suggestions to open up your mind

Well,i'm not great at making introductions,both in Indonesian nor English,so let us just get started with this,okay?

10. Keith Richards

(Rolling Stones' Guitarist)
Genres : Rock,Rock N Roll,Blues Rock,R&B
Notable Instruments : Fender Telecaster
Era : 60's
Keith Richards is considered one of most influental man in controlling the band,besides Mick Jagger,obviously.He's also infamous for his swagger,lifestyle and rock and roll ethics that influenced a lot of rock artists.While he's not a technical player (in fact he's really,really sloppy and none of his solos are that difficult,or even can be called guitar solos),you can't deny that Stones had major contribution in the music,and it can't be apart from Richards' unique riffs and phrases in such influental songs,ie : Satisfaction.
He also used some unique tunings,and creates some nice,yet simple and easy intro like in Gimme Shelter

Favorite Songs From Him : Paint It Black,Gimme Shelter,(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction,Sympathy For The Devil,Street Fighting Man

Some Trivia : Richards' casts Captain Teague (Jack Sparrow's father) in Pirates of The Caribbean : At The World's End

9. Pete Townshend

(The Who's Guitarist)
Genres : Hard Rock,Pop Rock,Art Rock,Power Pop
Notable Instruments : Various,from a Rickenbacker 330,Gibson Les Paul to Fender Stratocasters
Era : 60's
Townshend is known as the first guitarist that used full-stack amplifier (Marshall in this case) to the shows,and play it loud! Not only that,his stage antics,and more importantly,guitar playing is highly influental to music scene,especially rock,since he shows us how to rock,and that simplicity is the key to great songs.
He's also a mediocre lead player,but he had a great influence in many of guitar players and his rhythm playing,his loud live tone,and song writing,is what makes Townshend,Townshend.

Favorite Songs From Him : My Generation,Baba O Riley,Behind Blue Eyes,Who Are You,I Can't Explain

Some Trivia : Pete Townshend is infamous for his outrageous stage antics,the first known rock artist to break guitar onstage.He also suffers some partial deafness and tinnitus (which obvious,considered how loud The Who must be in concert back then)

8.George Harrison (R.I.P)

(The Beatles' Guitarist)
Genres : Rock,Pop
Notable Instruments : Gretsch Country Gentleman
Era : 60's
The lead guitarist for the biggest band in the world in 60's,Harrison enjoys his height of popularity with The Beatles back then,as the part of the most famous yet biggest band in British Invasion back then in 60's.Although often bashed as overrated and mediocre guitarist in general,in my opinion Harrison isn't that bad.Actually,he got some nice melody lines and influental in direct or indirect way to rock guitar playing and of course,music in general. While he also a mediocre player,his creativity and vision is what makes him a great guitarist and musician.

Favorite songs from him : While My Guitar Gently Weeps,Blackbird,Let It Be,I Wanna Hold Your Hand,Yesterday

Some Trivia : He almost killed in 1999,when some mentally disturbed man enters his mansion and stabbed Harrison several times,fortunately,he survived the assassination attempt.The incident makes him the second ex-Beatles member to suffer an attempt of assassination (the other is John Lennon,obviously,whose tragically killed by his own fans)

7. David Gilmour

(Pink Floyd's Guitarist)

Genres : Progressive Rock,Psychedelic Rock,Experimental

Notable Instruments : Fender Stratocaster

Era : 60's (Though he peaked in 70's,but he already make his marks in late 60's)

One of the most melodic guitarist in the business,David Gilmour is one of my personal favorite,since many of kids my age doesn't even have any idea what kind of band Pink Floyd was.Gilmour first stint in Pink Floyd was he's the one that take the role of lead guitarist and vocalist in Pink Floyd from Syd Barrett (but Barrett stays in Floyd for some short time,though).He's one of the old school guitarist that known for his melodic,bluesy approach for solo,in a psychedelic progressive band,which makes him sounds unique.His vibrato and phrasing is what makes him stands out the most.But not only that,his experimentation with many kinds of EFX,such as delay,phase shifters,choruses and many more makes Pink Floyd sounds really unique and ahead of their time,yet makes them one of most influental progressive act to date.

Favorite Songs From Him : Well,since many of Pink Floyd track is in concept album format,it will be hard time to decide it,lol..but i had decided what are those :

Another Brick In The Wall Pt 2,Money,Comfortably Numb,Breathe (+ On The Run),Ibiza Bar

Some Trivia : Gilmour worked as model before he joined Pink Floyd as lead guitarist and vocalist.

6.Tommy Bolin (R.I.P)

(Solo,ex-Deep Purple,ex-Zephyr,ex-The James Gang)
Genres : Funk Rock,Blues,Jazz Fusion,R&B,Hard Rock
Notable Instruments : Fender Stratocaster (Although he uses many guitars,he usually related with Stratocaster as his main live and recording tone)
Era : 70's
Tommy Bolin is perhaps more known as the man that replaced Ritchie Blackmore in Deep Purple back then on 1975.But Tommy Bolin was much more than Blackmore's replacement.While he's not really a hard rock/heavy metal type of player,Tommy Bolin got some nice chops and quite a versatile player.He was regarded as one of most talented funk/blues/fusion player in America back then,yet unfortunately remains in his cult hero status rather than the international known guitar hero like many of his contemporaries,mainly because his inconsistency,lifestyle,and short-lived career.You can see his vision,chops and diversity in his solo albums,both in Teaser or Private Eyes.He showed his creativity,and vision in those albums,and yet you can see although he played blues or funk music,he sounds original,unlike many of funk guitarists.

Favorite Songs From Him : Comin Home (Deep Purple),Getting Tighter (Deep Purple),Savannah Woman,The Grind,Bustin' Out For Rosie

Some Trivia : Ritchie Blackmore compliments him as a great player and humble person,but also considered Bolin as a strange person,as far as didn't even know that guitarists need to change their strings.

5. Tony Iommi

(Black Sabbath,ex-Heaven And Hell,ex-Jethro Tull)
Genres : Heavy Metal,Doom Metal,Hard Rock,Blues Rock
Notable Instruments : Gibson SG
Era : 70's
Iommi will always be remembered as the true godfather of heavy metal,being the lead guitarist of Black Sabbath,the first band that considered as first true heavy metal band in the world,thus making him the riffmaker of the first heavy metal riffs.Iommi is a really great rhythm player,and also not a shabby lead player as well (although he's inferior compared to his contemporary such as Blackmore or Page).He pioneered heavy metal riffings,along with downtuning his strings because of the factory incident that chopped up 2 of is fingers.Coincidently,those tunings and riffings that makes him easy to play also creates basis for heavy metal guitars,along with Sabbath's dark imagery and lyrical themes,gave birth to the most heavy form of rock of that time,heavy metal,and Sabbath as the true originator of the genre.

Favorite Songs From Him : Heaven And Hell,N.I.B,War Pigs,Megalomania,Sabbath Bloody Sabbath

Some Trivia : When his finger was chopped after the factory accident,Iommi almost gave up playing guitar.He decided to continue after listened to Django Reinhardt,a jazz virtuoso guitarist who only played with 2 fingers,which motivates him to keep playing,and make it for living.

4.Eric Clapton

(Solo,ex-Cream,ex-John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers,ex-Derek & The Dominos)
Genres : Psychedelic Rock,Hard Rock,Blues Rock,Blues,Pop Rock,Ballads
Notable Instruments : Gibson SG,Fender Stratocaster
Era : 60's
The first lead-guitar hero,Eric Clapton is now far cry from what he was in 60's.Now more known as commercial pop artist with some blues influences,Eric was one of most prominent and influental guitar player in 60's,known as one of quartet of rock guitarist of 60's,along with Jimmy Page,Jeff Beck,and Jimi Hendrix.He's also the one of first player that experimented with overdriven amp,along with wah-pedals (Even the site dinosaurrockguitar.com states,that Jimi Hendrix inspired to get a wah after listening to Clapton playing!)

Technical-wise,Clapton is more known for his sweet phrasing and awesome vibrato,and never played flashy and shred licks.He always "plays safe" and controled while soloing,unlike his contemporaries such as Hendrix,Blackmore,or even Page.
While never considered as the "Guitarist of 60's",Clapton almost claimed that title,only lost to Jimi Hendrix,which appeared in British music scene back then in 1966.Clapton had a long career,started with Yardbirds (which he's paired with Beck,Clapton later leaves and Jimmy Page joined Yardbirds).He also once joined John Mayall &  The Bluesbreakers,which acquire him the nickname "Slowhand",quitted the group to form the first supergroup of rock,Cream,with bassist-vocalist Jack Bruce and drummer Ginger Baker,which emerged the legendary "Clapton is God" gravity in England.Unfortunately,he fed up with the whole "guitar hero" status and decided to change his whole image,even as far as his sound and guitars to pursue more commercial way of playing music,started with Derek and The Dominos,also his solo career,which makes him famous worldwide,mostly in 1990s,thanks to the ballad "Tears in Heaven".

Favorite Songs From Him : Sunshine Of Your Love,White Room,Strange Brew,Politician,Layla

Some Trivia : Eric Clapton was the one that play leads in "When My Guitar Gently Weeps" by Beatles,because George Harrison said he's too nervous about his guitar skills

3.Jeff Beck

(Solo,ex-Jeff Beck Group,ex-Yardbirds,ex-The Honeydrippers,ex-Beck Boggert Appice)

Genres : Instrumental Rock,Jazz Fusion,Hard Rock,Blues Rock,Psychedelic Rock

Notable Instruments : Fender Stratocaster

Era : 60's

Jeff Beck is one of best player in 60's,or even until now.He's one of the most versatile player in the business right now,playing sessions for stars such as Stevie Wonder.He mostly known as the player that made instrumental rock guitar playing popular back in 70's.

Although the best in technical terms among ex-Yardbirds guitarist,and the most versatile of them all,Beck never stands out or as famous as much as his colleagues,Jimmy Page and Eric Clapton.It might be his not-so-great songwriting,or lack of "fire" in his rock band format career,(he's a much more better player in instrumental guitar music,anyway).He's known as one of the best and notable player in instrumental rock or jazz fusion scene,thanks for his unique style and distinctive licks.He didn't use any picks when he play,which allow him to control the sound and tone of his guitar solely with his fingers,but can still do fast runs by picking with a fingernails.As one of the quartet mentioned above,Beck is the most distinctive between all of them,while the other tends to sounds bluesy,he sounds different and still developing as player even until now (Jimmy Page has lost his licks years ago,Clapton had changed his style,a lot,and Jimi Hendrix,well,was already passed away)

Favorite Songs From Him : Cause We've Ended As Lovers,You Know What I Mean,Beck's Bolero,Freeway Jam,Let Me Love You

Some Trivia : The song "Superstition" by Stevie Wonder was actually based a drum beat played by Jeff Beck that loved by Wonder.In exchange,Wonder offers him Cause We've Ended As Lovers to Jeff Beck,which later appeared in Jeff Beck's album,Blow By Blow

2.Jimmy Page

(ex-Led Zeppelin,ex-The Firm,ex-XYZ,ex-Page & Plant,ex-Coverdale & Page,ex-The Honeydrippers)
Genres : Hard Rock,Folk Rock,Heavy Metal,Blues Rock
Notable Instruments : Gibson Les Paul,Gibson EDS-1275,Fender Telecaster,Danelectro 59DC
Era : 60's
Another The Yardbirds guitar alumnus,Page also leaves legendary marks in music world.After Beck leaves The Yardbirds and The Yardbirds practically disbanded,Page lead the remains of Yardbirds that will soon be the legendary band Led Zeppelin,by recruiting a talented session player John Paul Jones,and two then-unknown,yet potent young men that will known worldwide as vocalist Robert Plant and drummer John Bonham.Together,those four young men making their own legendary marks in music,and influenced many rock bands after them.He started his career as musician by performing as session musicians in England

Technically wise,Jimmy Page is often sloppy and off-time (although he did great in early Zep performance).His main "weapon" is no other than good old pentatonic licks that used by blues players,but used so creatively so it sounds so damn tasty and awesome.

Among the ex-Yardbirds guitarist,Page main power is his vision,creativity and production technique,whilst Beck's are technique & chops and Clapton's are his vibrato and accessible songs.Page creative force managed Led Zeppelin to writes now-legendary songs such as Stairway To Heaven,Kashmir,The Ocean,Immigrant Song,and many others.His artistic vision,leadership and recording technique also helps Led Zeppelin to achieve their success,both commercial and musically.

Although already well known in 60's,we can say that Page golden era actually are the 70's,which Led Zeppelin actually rule the music world.Jimmy Page himself become the legendary guitarist that influenced a lot variety of guitarist,from blues-hard rock player like Slash(Slash is often considered a copy of Jimmy Page,although they're quite different),rock players like Eddie Van Halen (he claims his tapping inspired by "Heartbreaker" solo from Led Zeppelin II),shredders like Paul Gilbert(Paul Gilbert once states that Led Zeppelin is one of his favorite band) or even instrumental rock guitarist like Steve Vai (Steve Vai claims that he picks up guitar after listens "Heartbreaker" solo).

Favorite Songs From Him : Black Dog,The Ocean,Communication Breakdown,Ten Years Gone,Rock and Roll

Some Trivia : Back then in his session days,Jimmy Page is called "Little Jim",this was occured to avoid confusion between Jimmy Page and Jim Sullivan,another notable session player back then (Jim Sullivan is known as Big Jim Sullivan,who was Ritchie Blackmore's mentor).And there are 3 notable session player in rock and roll scene back then,besides the 2 Jims,the other one is Ritchie Blackmore.

1.Jimi Hendrix

(ex-The Jimi Hendrix Experience,ex-Band of Gypsys)
Genres : Psychedelic Rock,Funk Rock,Acid Rock,Blues Rock
Notable Instruments : Fender Stratocaster
Era : 60's
Okay...this will took a while..

Well,Jimi is one of my personal favorite,but i didn't mention him a lot like i mention Blackmore before,so here we goes...

The legendary influental guitarist of all time..Hendrix was the one that inspired millions of player both of his time and after his time to play electric guitar.He experimented with massive amount of feedbacks,the factor of playing that was undesirable for guitarist back then,and control them to become "his power and soul" in stage,playing wah-wahs,played funk and R&B rhythm style and integrated it with rock,and also considered the first true guitar god.He appeared to the scene in one night in England,when he decided to jam with Clapton in Cream gig,playing "Killing Floor" with such an outrageous,fast and passionate force,includes the stage acts,that leaves the audience,even Clapton shocked (Clapton considered the song to be difficult,and this legendary event was dubbed "Hendrix killed Clapton",you can search for it in youtube,there's a documentary about it).

He's also the one that first used fast pentatonic licks with fuzzy overdriven amp to the table,inspired many of hard rock guitar players after him.But his main power is his passion and vision in his music.You can feel the "fire"(pun intended) of his playing just by listening to his records and live videos.It may be sloppy,but you can't deny that the man has a lot of passion,a chock full of attitude,and also the fire that will leave you "what the fuck was that?" and leaves you want to hear it again,again,and...again!

He is notable for wearing his stratocasters upside down,since there are no lefties guitar back then.Being the stratocaster users,he also maximizes the usage of twang or tremolo bars on his strats,by performing divebombs tricks by overdriven the amp and abuse the whammy bars (even make a solo out of it,the legendary "Star Spangled Banner" performance,Woodstock).But it's not only his power,he's also a great and distinctive rhythm player,combined the funk,motown style riffs with hard rock styles,and also singing while playing that damn guitar! Just listen to "Little Wing" from Axis : Bold As Love LP,and if you listen to it,it seems like 2 guitar played together,but it's just a guitar,and he did it live with singing!

Sadly,The Jimi Hendrix Experience disbanded not long after the Electric Ladyland album,and much more sad news is,on September 18 1970,Jimi was found dead in his hotel room after choked by his own vomit.Though his short career,his legacy is undeniably important and effectively changed the rock guitar playing forever.All electric guitarists today,directly or undirectly,like him or not,are inspired by Jimi Hendrix,regardless of genres,styles or whatsoever. Hendrix is not only influence in music,he inspired life of many musicians after him,his legacy will be irreplaceable by anyone for many,many years.

Favorite Songs From Him : Well,i'll give ten songs for him,okay? :p
Voodoo Chile (Slight Return),Highway Chile,Fire,Purple Haze,Spanish Castle Magic,Castles Made of Sand,Foxy Lady,Machine Gun,Ezy Rider,Drifting

Some Trivia : Hendrix's hit name ,Purple Haze,came from the term to refer LSD called Delysid,which came in Purple-colored capsules

Well,it's quite a long post,but it's quite worth it..hope you like it

Decision...and 15 Epic Songs

Okay,everyone..hello again,it's been a while since m last post..
Well,i've decided 2 major changes to my fuckin' blog,you know what is it?

If you have read the older post and compare it with this post,you'll definetely know it..yeah,i've decided to posts in english for future posts.

Why did i decide to change the language i write the post? well,everything happens for a reason,but i had 2 reasons :
1. To improve my own english vocabulary,pronouncation and grammar.
as you can see,english is not my native language,so you can see many mistakes in my writing.
But i really wished that i can speak and write in english perfectly,so i think writing english in my blog will significantly improves my english

2. To make my blog understandable for international readers
Well,this is really a stupid,yet obvious reasons.I also wish that in english,my blog will become more exposed since many people search any shits on google with english words..lol

And what's the second "major change"?

Well,since i wished the blog to be more exposed,i must aim seriously,so i decide that this blog will dominated by hard rock,heavy metal,blues,and other rock  genres,though i'll keep posts other genres and some of my guilty pleasures..xD

Okay,let's start my first english post..:)

7 EPIC SONGS

First thing first,what's the definition of epic?

Epic,as an adjective means grand,heroic,or huge.

So what the fuck is "epic" song?
Let's sum up the meaning of epic with songs...
....
A grand,heroic,or huge songs..
LOL,that sounds really forced,but it's described what i mean close enough

Well,what i mean "epic songs" is not a genre,but rather a grand,usually long and mood-driving songs,regardless of genres.But since i want to focused on rock music,i'll post some "epic" rock songs..(although i love some classical tunes that have an "epic" overtones,such as "Ride of The Valkyries" by Richard Wagner,"Brandenburg Concerto" by Johann Sebastian Bach or "Beethoven 9th Symphony" by Ludwig Van Beethoven,obviously)

And please consider this,i don't post the "best" songs,since those are the songs i've heard recently,and more importantly,i just give some suggestions and share some music worth listening to you,and every people opinions are subjective.And don't say something stupid if things aren't going as you expected,nobody cares about your ranting :p

I've posted 2 Queen songs,since they are REALLY awesome at making this kind of shit.Don't bitchin' on me just because i don't post "Bohemian Rhapsody","We Are The  Champions" By Queen or "Stairway To Heaven" by Led Zeppelin! I really liked those songs,but those songs are overexposed and i think it's pointless to promote that song anymore,since it's already well known,even in mainstream media.

1. Child In Time
By : Deep Purple
Album : In Rock (1970)

Overview :
The epic track of the first hard rock album in Deep Purple's Discography,("In Rock",was the first MKII's studio albums as well as their breakthrough to hard rock and heavy metal genres,since they were a progressive/psychedelic rock band in 60's) this track shines out as one of best Deep Purple song,although it's somewhat inspired (some even said plagiarized) from It's A Beautiful Day's track called "Bombay Calling". Not only offers the gloomy mood,then progressively transformed to killer hard rocker track,this song also show us what Deep Purple capable of! From Ian Gillan's awesome vocals,crazy solo by Blackmore,to Glover's buried,yet solid basslines

What's Make it Epic :
The Mood.
This song starts out as a simple ballad ,but it later built up onto heavier directions and the tempo also increased systematically,but what makes it awesome is,the progressions remains the same until the last part,it's only an A minor progressions which consisted F,G,and Am itself,but it's ultimately effective

Gillan's falsetto.
You can say,that "Child in Time" is the golden pinacle of Gillan's career.You can see how high,and controlled Gillan is on this track,where he screams some falsettos "Aaaaah Aaah Aaaaah!" many times,and keep in tune! But his falsettos isn't just a skill exposition,it's perfectly matched,even made the mood of this song.

Blackmore.
Include Ritchie Blackmore himself to your band/works are already epic...lol
You can't hear the guitar until the middle part of this song,which will make you questions yourself "How can this stupid douchebag said Blackmore is the essential part of this song?".But after it breaks into the solo,you'll PERFECTLY understand what i mean.

It's a chaotic yet quite random noodling in key of A Minor,but the solo effectively makes this song complete.And for those shredding geeks,this song shows some nice sweeping licks by Blackmore,which undoubtly raise the standards for the guitarist in 70's,and inspired numerous shredders in 80's,such as Yngwie Malmsteen,Paul Gilbert,Tony MacAlpine,and many more.

2. The Prophet's Song
By : Queen
Album : A Night At The Opera

Overview :
This track is often overlooked or maybe forgotten by mainstream media,and even some of my friends that said loved Queen doesn't know this song!
It's quite understandable,since this song is on same album as the infamous "Bohemian Rhapsody",the most popular songs in Queen catalogue,so the people tend to only pay attention to the latter.

But Queen is MUCH MORE than "Bohemian Rhapsody".This song (also many other songs from Queen catalogues) proves this and showed us that Queen is more than a mainstream yet popular rock band we know.

"Oh oh,people of the earth! Listen to the warning the seer he said!"
first words of "The Prophet's Song"

"The Prophet's Song" has some progressive and "medieval" overtones.It's tell us about that story about Noah's Ark and the great flood in the bible,which is hinted us that Queen often write songs about an epic story or a fantasy.The vocals really bring the epic atmosphere to us,just as expected,it's fuckin' Freddie Mercury!

But the real highlights of this album is the echo-choir part in the middle,which give me goosebumps first time i heard it (and still amuse me even today)

What's Make it Epic :

The Echo-Choir Part.
The most epic part of this song! Just hear it yourself,and you'll know what i mean!
Don't need words to describe this!

Mercury.
As many of us know,Queen is famous for Freddie Mercury's powerful yet distinguishable voice.Even,the mainstream media labeled Queen is Freddie Mercury!
But it's not completely wrong,at least on this track.Freddie nailed this one,again..
He successfully delivered the story of great flood in bible into an epic opus with his powerful voice.

3. Kashmir
By : Led Zeppelin
Album : Physical Grafitti (1975)

Overview :
One of the most well-known Zep's song,this song is one of the songs that made into Zep's live performance staples. Originally was going to called "Driving To Kashmir",the song featured a notable riffs composed on alternate tunings,D A D G A D (Open DSus4).All members of Led Zeppelin considered this song as their best achievement,even called it "A definitive Led Zeppelin song".Started with a heavy,thumping riff with an equivalent thunderous drums,mixed with a flanger,this song brings some heavyness "that's not heavy metal".

What's Make it Epic :
Bonham's Drumming
I don't even need to describe this shit..The "John Bonham" name itself already means "Epic Drumming".But the drumming in this track really stands out his playing even more! His drums sounds like a cannon,powerful and devastating! Also,Page includes some flanger into the drum track,an unique and rather "out-of-the-box" approach to mixing drums.

Page Riffs
Page may be a sloppy player when it comes to lead guitar playing,but you CAN'T deny his tasty yet epic riffings,and this song must be one of his best riffs ever!

4. Bach Onto This
By : Jon Lord (R.I.P)
Album : Before I Forget (1982)

Overview :
Jon Lord always known as one of "trinity" that shape the real,and loved Deep Purple,while the two other men are Drummer Ian Paice,and of course that dark,moody,and temperamental guitarist,Ritchie Blackmore.

Lord was known as the one that brings classical influence to Purple besides Blackmore.His massive riffs,his unique classical phrases on organ,and his suite works really shows his capabilities as organ player.

In one of his solo albums,Before I Forget,i found a song that really blows me away,no other than classical-inspired Bach Onto This. As the name suggest,it shows Lord fascination to Johann Sebastian Bach works.It even had one phrases from the famous "Toccata and Fugue" by Johann Sebastian Bach!

In fact,i've finished this article since long tima ago,but i forgot the password (fool me) of this blog and at last i remember.Sadly,Jon was already gone when i managed to opened this blog.Rest In Peace,Jon,your contribution to music will be long-lasting,and rock in paradise with your fellow musicians there! :D

What's Make It Epic :
Did i have to say? Jon Lord organ playing is virtuous,yet epic and catchy at same time,just listen to this track yourself and you'll know what i mean!

5.Stargazer
By : Rainbow
Album : Rising

Overview :
It looks that act partially and prefer to wrote about Ritchie Blackmore and other people related to Deep Purple,but it's because they have many of works that are underrated.This one is the example.Stargazer was the song that makes my keyboardist respect Rainbow and Ritchie Blackmore,and also the song that gives me such a goosebumps when i hear the solo.

Looks like Blackmore will never be apart from be the part of "Holy Trinity" in his peak of career.He's the part of "Holy Trinity" of Deep Purple,with Ian Paice,and Jon Lord.Deep Purple are also considered as one of Holy Trinity of Heavy Metal by many metalheads and critics alike,alongside Black Sabbath (obviously),and Led Zeppelin.In Rainbow,There are the other trinity that makes it epic,it's trio of Blackmore,Ronnie James Dio (R.I.P),and the drummer Cozy Powell (R.I.P)

What does this song have with that trinity? Well,obviously,this song is the one that show you the capabilities of Rainbow Holy Trinity,from Blackmore riffs and soloing,Dio's powerful voice,to Powell's drumming!

What's Make It Epic :
Ritchie Blackmore Guitar Playing
Okay,i guess you'll say "yeah,enough of this all Blackmore flattering,blah blah blah! We know he's great and all!".But i won't stop there,lol.Ritchie Blackmore lays down an epic riffs in this one (one of his best in my opinion),and the song isn't that fast-paced songs like "Kill The King" off "Long Live Rock and Roll" EP,or "Highway Star" off Deep Purple's "Machine Head".This song itself are similar to slow-paced yet progressive heavy metal such as Sabbath type-riffs.But what stands out in this song (once again) is Blackmore's solo,which has some middle-eastern flavour and gives me a goosebumps first time i hear it!

Ronnie Dio's Lyric and voice
Dio always known as one of the best singers in the scene,also the singer that often write lyrics about medieval themes,or some said "dungeon and dragons shit",and this song is one of them.It tells us the story of slavery and evil wizard,which gives some medieval and dark (i love it!) atmosphere to the listener.

Cozy Powell's Drumming
Well,Cozy didn't do anything virtuous here though he's a skilled drummer.But his solid-paced drumming really gives a nice touch to rhythmic pace of this song.Also,his drum intro is simply epic,and cool as hell too!

6.Princes of The Universe
By : Queen
Album : A Kind Of Magic (1986)

Overview :
Another hidden gem beneath another gem in Queen's discography (Well,Queen mainstream hits are epic,but i thought their forgotten works are the best). This song was written as the soundtrack for 80's movie "Highlander" and included in their "A Kind Of Magic" LP.

This song is another breed compared to Queen lengthy,epic songs.It only last for 3:33 seconds,yet it still gives you that "epic" chills and your thirst for "epicness"!

The song structure itself is more toward straight-forward hard rock/heavy metal songs,but improved with melodical approach of Freddie Mercury's vocal,that makes it sounds really theatrical and cool.

What's Make It Epic :
I didn't need to tell you about Freddie Mercury's vocal ability,eh? We all know Freddie is the best in this kind of track.But when you watch the video of this song,you can really feel this song epicness.
You can see that Freddie engage a mic stand-sword fight with an immortal from Highlander movie,makes us to think that he's a godlike entity (well,he is :) ),and for May himself,instead of wielding his famous Red Special,he wield another epic axe,a Washburn RR11V,which is a cool V shaped guitar,also his fast riff playings really make us demand for more guitar-oriented songs by Queen,which sadly will never happen since Mercury isn't with us anymore and Queen is finished :(

7.Under A Glass Moon
By : Dream Theater
Album : Images And Words (1992)

Overview :
Dream Theater is known as one of most overall technical band of modern days,since all of their members are  considered as virtuosos in their respective departements.Many of people criticized them for being "Exercise-Music" type of band or having "No-Soul" and "Only Speed,Speed is Nothing" band,which of course proved false.Dream Theater gives us some nice,sweet ballads such as "Spirit Carries On","Another Day",or "Wither",good solid instrumentals and some unique songs like "Home" off Metropolis Part II LP.

This song is known as one of their most known songs,mostly for Petrucci's memorable,yet technical solo in this song.But for me,the progression for this song is what makes this song really counts.From a slow intro,to epic  mid paced riffs,then the solos.It just as epic as that.

What's Make It Epic :
All of Dream Theater are epic.But as many people said,John Petrucci is really shine in this track,despite my former claims that the songs progression of Under A Glass Moon is what make it epic,John Petrucci really makes this track remarkable and distinctive from another DT's tracks