Inventing the future: Marty Robbins "Don't Worry"

[Woebot]

This completely blew me away. You only need to hear a snippet of it.

Skip to 1:26 if you're an impatient type.

This from 1961 is where feedback entered music. It's got ramifications for a lot more than rock music though - so chill all nonces.

 

[Benny Bunter]

Good tune and a great sound, but to be picky its not feedback is it, its distortion. And there must be hundred of older examples of similar things in blues, rnb, rockabilly - often inadvertently resulting from damaged equipment.

Or is there something in particular about this one I'm not picking up on?

 

[Benny Bunter]

To choose an obvious one off the top of my head:

 

[Benny Bunter]

Ah ok, looking at wikipedia, it says they developed the fuzz pedal as a result of the accidental distortion produced in the Marty Robbins recording, so I guess thats what Matthew is referring to.

 

[Woebot]

some science in that thread. i knew about link wray FWIW.


neil young on it here

 

[Benny Bunter]

1962

 

[blissblogger]

unexpected irruptions of futurism within hokey past-facing music

 

[blissblogger]

not quite the same degree of futurism but the level of reverby twang on the low notes in the solo here (starts 0.47) is something else

 

[IdleRich]

I love the Grady Martin one mentioned - sounds like a James Bond theme that got away...



James Bond theme was also played on a broken guitar by Rick Flick I believe.

 

[Woebot]

unexpected irruptions of futurism within hokey past-facing music

very special. love the way there's this sense of anticipation before he pulls out the voice box.

 

[Woebot]

I love the Grady Martin one mentioned - sounds like a James Bond theme that got away...



James Bond theme was also played on a broken guitar by Rick Flick I believe.

that's a really great one.

y'see i think there's a structural and sonic difference between the grady martin ones (i think he plays on the Marty Robbins tune) and the Link Wray

 

[Woebot]

Good tune and a great sound, but to be picky its not feedback is it, its distortion. And there must be hundred of older examples of similar things in blues, rnb, rockabilly - often inadvertently resulting from damaged equipment.

Or is there something in particular about this one I'm not picking up on?

quite right to correct me @Benny B

i think perhaps that it is distortion and not feedback that makes it so unusual? actually electronic as opposed to anything else (like Link Wray - sticking a pencil in a speaker cone).

but that's a hunch and not a very informed one. the guy on the YouTube thread seems to have some leads too.

with the marty robbins, yes, it was a damaged tube that caused it and they left it in. and then i believe grady martin went on to reverse engineer it as a permanent effect.

 

[Benny Bunter]

Yeah you're right, they are quite different sonically. I suppose the distortion produced by a punctured speaker cone (Dave Davies also did that for you realy got me) is bound to sound very different to a fried valve (which I think is what happened with the johnny burnette trio). We've been discussing this a bit over on the nursing home gramophone thread actually.