Bands that should have a mandolin

**mandoaz** · Jan-18-2005, 11:08pm

Let's make it bands that should or should have had a mando in the line-up...

in no particular order...

-Tom Petty (can you imagine some of the tracks off of Wildflowers with mando?)
-Toad the Wet Sprocket
-Gram Parsons
-Neil Young

........let's dream shall we?

**mad dawg** · Jan-19-2005, 12:50am

Great idea for a thread!

Here are some off the top of my head:

- Calexico
- Ozomatli
- Kronos Quartet (I guess that would need a new name if they add a fifth)
- Old 97's

**halfdeadhippie** · Jan-19-2005, 9:19am

I was always suprised that Neil Young's "Comes a Time" did not have a mandolin, I know Peter Ostroushko played mando on Dylan's "Blood on the Tracks" but I really can't hear it ( not that I have listend all that closely in a while).
of course Grisman played with the Dead on "American Beauty", but they really should have invited him back for "Reckoning"

John Sebastian and Lovin spoonful's could have used a mando, I think Steve Howe may have thrown some undocumented mando on some YES tracks.

**John Flynn** · Jan-19-2005, 9:46am

Well, musically I live in the past, so my responses are about bands that it is too late to add a mando to:

As was mentioned in a previous thread, The Beatles should have had a mando! Great renditions of "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds" have been done on mando by both The Hooters and Adam West. I do neat little rendition of "Here Comes the Sun" on the mando. I am sure there are more.

> Fairport Convention should have had one, or used it more often and more prominently, if they did have one.
> Jethro Tull should have had a mando in thier heyday.
> The Stones and the Beach Boys should have a least tried it once.
> Quicksilver Messenger Service should definitely have had a mando.
> The Eagles should have had one.
> The Blue Grass Boys should have had a mando player.

(just kidding!)

**Spruce** · Jan-19-2005, 10:25am

Wilco....

**Tim** · Jan-19-2005, 10:41am

AKUS

**Spruce** · Jan-19-2005, 10:54am

"The Stones and the Beach Boys should have a least tried it once.
"

Both did....

**abram** · Jan-19-2005, 10:55am

Old Crow Medicine Show

**acousticphd** · Jan-19-2005, 12:05pm

The Jayhawks

**mandofiddle** · Jan-19-2005, 12:33pm

Originally Posted by (mandoaz @ Jan. 18 2005, 22:08)

Let's make it bands that should or should have had a mando in the line-up...

-Toad the Wet Sprocket

While Toad didn't have a mandolin player for every tune, they did occasionally have mando played by, I believe, the guitar player other than Glen. #I know, because that's the first band I really remember hearing a mandolin in, and it made me want to go out and buy one to learn on

**John Flynn** · Jan-19-2005, 12:37pm

Originally Posted by

"The Stones and the Beach Boys should have a least tried it once."
Both did....

Really? I missed that. Very cool. I'd like to know on what albums/tracks, if you please.

**mikeomando** · Jan-19-2005, 1:11pm

The Bottle Rockets...

**Spruce** · Jan-19-2005, 2:11pm

"Really? I missed that. Very cool. I'd like to know on what albums/tracks, if you please. "

Ry Cooder played some great F4 parts on "Love in Vain" and Barney Kessel played a custom Gibson 10-string mando on some "Pet Sounds" tracks....

**Martin Jonas** · Jan-19-2005, 5:23pm

Originally Posted by (jflynnstl @ Jan. 19 2005, 10:46)

> Fairport Convention should have had one, or used it more often and more prominently, if they did have one.

There really is lots of mando on Fairport's albums and concerts. In the pre-1979 material, Swarbrick and Pegg switched over from their other instruments to mandolin pretty regularly, and more recently, Chris Leslie has been playing mandolin a good deal more than he has played fiddle. It's just that for whatever reason the usual instrumental lineup listing always say Swarbrick (fiddle, voc), Pegg (bass), Leslie (fiddle, voc).

There was some mention of Yes: I never listen to them and so don't know how it fits in, but I note that John Anderson of Yes endorses the Washburn M3-SWE acoustic/electric mandolin.

Martin

**mando bandage** · Jan-19-2005, 7:41pm

Originally Posted by

John Anderson of Yes endorses the Washburn M3-SWE acoustic/electric mandolin.

Interesting. Anybody else familiar with John's session work with Bela Fleck on the Outbound album? Good stuff.

R

**jim simpson** · Jan-19-2005, 8:01pm

Joni Mitchell

**mandoaz** · Jan-20-2005, 12:18am

Originally Posted by (mandofiddle @ Jan. 19 2005, 13:33)

While Toad didn't have a mandolin player for every tune, they did occasionally have mando played by, I believe, the guitar player other than Glen.

You know what...now that you mention it...You're totally right, they did have mando on some tracks...I took a gander at the liner notes from the Fear album and, lo and behold, there 'tis...Glen on mando...

But it still would've been cool to have more of it on more of their tunes...

**Klaus Wutscher** · Jan-20-2005, 1:31am

I aways felt that Crosby, Stills & Nash should have made a record with some Nashville Cats (Sam, Jerry, Stuart Duncan and a drummer and bass player)Too cool to be true? Well, maybe...

**plunkett5** · Jan-20-2005, 9:09am

Stills had a great underrated band and double album "Manassas" that featured a bluegrass influenced side with loads of mandolin by Chris Hillman. The rest of it rocked too.

**David in IL** · Jan-20-2005, 9:22am

There's actually quite a bit of mandolin on Jethro Tull tunes, dating from the earliest days (well, nearly), along with bazouki. Check out the singles collected on "Living in the Past." "Songs from the Wood" has some very nice mandolin parts as well.

**David in IL** · Jan-20-2005, 9:23am

I don't recall any mandolin on Yes albums (through the early 80s, anyway) but I'd be surprised if Steve Howe of Yes didn't own and play several. He collects just about every fretted instrument out there.

**dwc** · Jan-20-2005, 6:31pm

Perhaps they experimented with one but since I can't think of a specific track, I think Little Feat should definately have used a mando.

**mando bandage** · Jan-20-2005, 6:50pm

Originally Posted by

Perhaps they experimented with one but since I can't think of a specific track, I think Little Feat should definately have used a mando.

Fred Tackett uses one occasionally in the latter incarnations of Little Feat. He and Paul Barrere did a side project with Tackett on mando. Seems I read somewhere that he doesn't use GDAE tuning though, so I guess Little Feat still needs a mandolinist.

R

**mad dawg** · Jan-20-2005, 7:00pm

Originally Posted by (plunkett5 @ Jan. 20 2005, 07:09)

Stills had a great underrated band and double album "Manassas" that featured a bluegrass influenced side with loads of mandolin by Chris Hillman. #The rest of it rocked too.

Oh yeah -- I had that album on vinyl; I'll think I'll need to get it on CD if available. It was a double album, with a different theme on each of the four sides. Come to think of it, even though I grew up in rural Indiana, its BG side was my first exposure to BG music.

**plunkett5** · Jan-20-2005, 10:21pm

I remember seeing Stills and the Manasas Band at Notre Dame in 73. We all thought that the first side was studio wizardy as the tones and styles changed with each tune. They played the first side as a suite live. Blew my mind. As did the stage before they came out. Six D-45s on stands waiting for Stills. What a great musician/performer. Hillman was all business, play and play some more.