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Thread: The whole 'Pickin' On.." thing

  1. #1
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    I've come to the conclusion (who cares?) that I don't dig this whole Pickin' On thing. I know it started a long time ago - maybe as far back as Joe Val and his Beatle Country - but the recent spate of 'tributes' turns me off, although there have been some well produced efforts, such as Harv Davey's Moody Bluegrass.

    It just smacks of novelty and sort of cheapens bluegrass. And I feel that the many recordings that have been done won't bear repeated listening. I can see the commercial side of it, 'though. That's my story and I'm sticking with it.

    - Curmudgeonly yours...

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    Yep I picked up the pickin on nickel creek thinking it might be worth a good listen - listened to it twice then listened to the original nickel creek songs and realized that they are so much better.

    My brother bought the pickin on kenny rogers and had the same opinion!

    Not impressed!

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    I find that it varies considerably with each CD. They make good background music for my bar, so I have a number of the "Pickin' On ..." series. The first Led Zeppelin one is great, the Rolling Stones is good (especially "Under My Thumb" and "Paint It Black"). Some of the cuts on the Springstreen one are excellent. I can't make myself play the Beach Boys or the Beatles ones. The second Led Zeppelin one isn't horrible, but it doesn't get the play time that the first does.

    If you ever get a chance to listen to anything by "The Fargone Beauties", you should, even though it is a bit banjo heavy.

    As for "cheapening blugrass"...

    Music is primarily about enjoyment. My CD collection not only includes mainstream blues, reggae, rock, and zydeco, but such things as Dread Zeppelin (an Elvis impersonator with a reggae backup band doing Led Zeppelin numbers), The Bobs (a cappella at its finest, including the trumpet imitations on "Ring of Fire"), Brave Combo (a polka band that likes to redo classics as polkas and Spanish dance numbers, include the "Purple Haze Polka" and the cumbia version of "Sixteen Tons"), The Fargone Beauties, 49 different covers of "Stairway to Heaven" (which I have actually sat down and listened to all in a row), 14 different "Ring of Fire"s (ditto), and Rolf Harris. If someone has an idea, sets out to do it, does it well, and enjoys himself in the process, he hasn't cheapened anything.
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    Clearly I can see your point. Here is my take on it. I first bought (many years ago) Pickn on Christmas. It has become my favorite Christmas CD of all time. Anyone who comes over just loves it and it has become a tradition in my house. A few years later an aunt of mine bought me a CD Called Pickn on Clasic rock because she just loved the christmas one she heard in my house. Hotel California was awesome to me. I started to collect them. Last week on ebay I got a copy of Pickn on Skynyrd (when the mando kicks in for the solo during free bird its awesome).(I know, I know I sound like a Moron) I also have Pickn on Elton John (Not so good) Rod Stewart and springstein 2. I agree that it seems kind of hokey, it seems to cheapen bluegrass, and it is very comercial on some level. My view though is this. People can make some great great great music with accoustic instruments. We dont need all of this electric, electronic fancy schmancy stuff. I have found it to be inspiring, and helpful. It clearly shows unlimited things that can be done with an upright, guitar, mando, dobor and b#@*o. It shows that a group of people and friends can get together without a major setup and all kinds of chords and amps and gizmos and make some great music and have a ball. Just another view thats all.

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    though i don't love the pickin on stuff- i have the zep and the grateful dead cds, i figured out that its b/c i have difficulty listening to most trad sounding b/g for extended periods (though for some reason grass is dead- out of florida works better for me than pickin on). i personally love the idea of folks providing their own interpretations of tunes. music can be about exploration, and if you like a tune, but you dont play that instrument or arent comfortable in the genre, whats wrong with doing it your way? i play a ton of tunes geared for electric guitar on my acoustic mando- just my take on the tune with my axe. and that is my 2 cents.,

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    Registered User Tom C's Avatar
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    I have Pickin' on the Grateful Dead and Allman Bros. The Allman Bros almost sounds like elevator music.

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    I don't care much for the pickin on series either, but I did enjoy the Rolling Stones "13th nervous breakdown" on banjo. That was truly strange...in a good way .
    Have a Great Day!
    Joe Vest

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    I didn't care much for Moody Bluegrass. #I like the Moody Blues so much. #Actually I was sooo excited about the prospect of listening to Moody Bluegrass but just felt disappointed by the lack of beauty that the originals had. #I'll have to give it another try on AlanN's say so.

    But I did love most of the covers that the Country Gentlemen did!
    Dan

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    and Chet "picked" on the Beatles too! (wish I kept the ol' album!##) - RIP Mr. Atkins.




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    Quote Originally Posted by (DanC @ June 07 2006, 10:42)
    I didn't care much for Moody Bluegrass. #I like the Moody Blues so much. #Actually I was sooo excited about the prospect of listening to Moody Bluegrass but just felt disappointed by the lack of beauty that the originals had. #I'll have to give it another try on AlanN's say so.

    But I did love most of the covers that the Country Gentlemen did!
    DanC - notice I didn't say I liked it #

    And I actually like versions of other genre tunes, done grass style, on group's albums:

    Red Rubber Ball by Spectrum
    GBOF by NGR
    Bridge Over Troubled Water by Bill Knopf
    Nowhere Man by Lynwood Lunsford
    Spain by Grisman Band
    Take Five by Bluegrass 45
    Well, You Needn't by Gordon Stone
    etc, etc, etc

    It's just the dang Pickin On...




  11. #11
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    Pretty sure those are mostly Brent Truitt on the mandolin. Brent's a great guy, and he runs a nice recording studio too! I like them but I don't find myself re-listening over and over to them like my favorites. Kind of more a "har, that sounds cool on mandolin" and the novelty wears off!
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    I'm just glad they came out with the Nickel Creek one, because now I know Nickel Creek really isn't bluegrass!
    I should be pickin' rather than postin'

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    I have Pickin' on Green Day.

    Pretty funny...
    Mandofiddle

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    My favorite music-genre-mash-up is The Moog Cookbook (grunge songs performed on old analog synths by musicians wearing make-shift spacesuits).

    But in general, I think of these discs as novety items, no matter how well performed.

    OTOH: There are bands like Wake The Dead combining styles in highly creative ways ... offering music with much more substance than simply 'picking on' this or that.

    - Benig

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    "Berry Picking in the Country" ain't bad.
    Frank

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    Quote Originally Posted by
    And I actually like versions of other genre tunes, done grass style, on group's albums:

    Red Rubber Ball by Spectrum
    Spectrum was Jimmy Gaudreau who started off as a surf guitarist. Prior to Spectrum, there was the (original) II Generation with Gaudreau/Adcock/Bob Smith & Wendy Thatcher who put out a now rare album on the Rome label. If ever there was a bg group that could have held its own on Top-40 radio, it was them. Covers of "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away", "Old Man" (Neil Young), "Up Around The Bend" (CCR)... #Adcock is an excellent electric guitarist and at times he's really playing Tele style solos on banjo. (I transcribed some of those banjo breaks and learned them on mando). The reason they were so good was that they understood rock and roll (as well as BG) and what tunes can withstand hybridization and which can't.

    Same with the Bad Livers (listen to Delusions of Banjer)- Danny Barnes is a good lead electric guitarist and he can feel the funky grooves. #Which is why he can pull off stuff on banjo - cos it really isn't "banjo" playing at all.

    Fact - You can superimpose any melody over any sort of backing groove, but that doesn't mean you should or that it will sound good. You could probably take any bluegrass classic and mulitalte it to fit the style/arrangement of ...Petula Clark, Liza Minnelli, Menudo, Anthrax, Herb Alpert, Devo, Julio Iglesias, Britney Spears, Barney

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    I liked the Moody Bluegrass, but I'm not a real Moody Blues fan. The concert last year on the opening of IBMA at the Ryman was the Moody Bluegrass and it was one of the best shows I have ever seen. That album was produced by David Harvey (yes...our very own David Harvey). He did a great job. Again, I'm not really a moody blues fan but I did enjoy the concert a LOT.
    Have a Great Day!
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    I had a few "Pickin on CD's" in my hands at the record store over the last few years. Reeks too much of Muzak for my tastes. I just never could get myself to actually buy one.

    The Wake the Dead CD is really good though and should not be confused with the picking on stuff. Wake the Dead is a very nicely done CD IMHO.

    Speaking of Joe Val's "Beatle Country"; Sam Bush mentioned that album as a major influence.

    I can't seem to find a copy of that. Does anybody know where to find one?

  19. #19

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    Quote Originally Posted by (kww @ June 07 2006, 06:28)
    ,,,My CD collection not only includes mainstream blues, reggae, rock, and zydeco, but such things as Dread Zeppelin (an Elvis impersonator with a reggae backup band doing Led Zeppelin numbers),,,

    My wife introduced me to the Dread. She lived in Yosemite and had a couple of cassettes of theirs. Ends up that they all live here only a few miles away and we catch them when we can in concert.
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    I enjoy Pickin on U2...

    Does the Hayseed Dixie AC/DC tribute count? I like that one too!

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    Quote Originally Posted by (mandocrucian @ June 07 2006, 14:08)
    Spectrum was Jimmy Gaudreau who started off as a surf guitarist. Prior to Spectrum, there was the (original) II Generation with Gaudreau/Adcock/Bob Smith & Wendy Thatcher who put out a now rare album on the Rome label. If ever there was a bg group that could have held its own on Top-40 radio, it was them. Covers of "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away", "Old Man" (Neil Young), "Up Around The Bend" (CCR)... #
    Indeed a good record, very listenable.

    Niles, you put out a book years (decades??) ago of Gaudreau solos, and some of Jimmy's solos from this record were in there. Hide You Love Away was tabbed out and captured that Gaudreau sound pretty good.

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    Some of these may be foolish, but cross-pollination is important. What if Mr. Loar didn't take the classical mandolin and do a Pickin'On version? And when Old Joe Clark was New Joe Clark, there was no Bluegrass, but some guy named Monroe did a Pickin'On version.




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    Quote Originally Posted by (Benignus @ June 07 2006, 12:04)
    My favorite music-genre-mash-up is The Moog Cookbook (grunge songs performed on old analog synths by musicians wearing make-shift spacesuits).
    Hey Beningus, I thought I was the only person on Earth who owned the Moog Cookbook :-) #What a great record that is... #I've been following keyboardist Roger Manning since Jellyfish.

    As for the Pickin' On thing, I'm generally against it but occasionally good things come of it. #The best thing I have ever seen like this was Phish back in about '95 playing an acoustic bluegrass version of Boston's Foreplay/Longtime. #I was literally crying I was laughing so hard, but they nailed it.

    Chip




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    Mr. Vest, back in the heyday of the Moody Blues, you just weren't evidently ingesting the proper substances...




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    Quote Originally Posted by (chipbooth @ June 08 2006, 10:23)
    Quote Originally Posted by (Benignus @ June 07 2006, 12:04)
    My favorite music-genre-mash-up is The Moog Cookbook (grunge songs performed on old analog synths by musicians wearing make-shift spacesuits).
    Hey Beningus, I thought I was the only person on Earth who owned the Moog Cookbook :-)
    I've got the classic rock one, "Ye Olde Space Bande."

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