RIP James Gurley

Message Topic Search Topic Options Post Reply Create New Topic Printable Version Translate Topic

   Hi,

Just came across this ... 

LOS ANGELES (AP) — James Gurley, the innovative guitarist who helped shape psychedelic rock's multilayered, sometimes thundering sounds as a member of Big Brother and the Holding Company, the band that propelled Janis Joplin to fame, has died of a heart attack. He was 69.
Gurley was pronounced dead Sunday at a Palm Springs hospital, two days before his 70th birthday, the band announced on its website.
One of many prominent guitarists to emerge from San Francisco's psychedelic music scene in the mid-1960s — others included the Grateful Dead's Jerry Garcia, Jefferson Airplane's Jorma Kaukonen and Barry Melton of Country Joe and the Fish— Gurley was hailed by many as the original innovator of the sound.
While this may not be one of those top notch threads for this board, all it takes is one listen to "Ball and Chain" from the Cheap Thrills album, and one can hear right away the bombastic style that influenced and brought about many other guitarists that we mention in here ... it's hard not to hear Gurley at times when listening to Robert Fripp, or a Dave Gilmour, or a Jimmy Page, or a Pete Townsend, or these days Steven Wilson, and many other lead guitarists that were better known for their inventiveness and desire to add something to the music ... that really made it special.

Rock'n'roll, and the rock media in general, tends to over emphasize one thing for the other, and sometimes the people that were different and made a lasting impression are not easily remembered ... but there are a lot of us that saw them that can remember a guy with a regular guitar and a sound bigger than a lot of those bomb bands out there ... and on top of it, he knew how to color Janis Joplin's special moments and add to them, helping her get stronger and better.

Not sure one can ask much more from a musician.

We, here specially, tend to not look at the developments that led to prog ... but you can easily take him apart and make a lot of prog guitarists sound like kids in the woods trying to do something to a few strings ...  and not coming up with something that is memorable and has stood the test of time ... the guitar playing on Ball and Chain separates the men from the boys, if you will.

RIP ... and all you proggies out there ... you should have the Cheap Thrills album in your collection ... so you can see where a lot of things came from and through. It's not just blues, or rock ... not even close!

Author	Message Topic Search Topic Options Post Reply Create New Topic Printable Version Translate Topic
moshkito Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member Joined: January 04 2007 Location: Grok City Status: Offline Points: 17484	Topic: RIP James Gurley Posted: January 08 2010 at 16:15
	Hi, Just came across this ... LOS ANGELES (AP) — James Gurley, the innovative guitarist who helped shape psychedelic rock's multilayered, sometimes thundering sounds as a member of Big Brother and the Holding Company, the band that propelled Janis Joplin to fame, has died of a heart attack. He was 69. Gurley was pronounced dead Sunday at a Palm Springs hospital, two days before his 70th birthday, the band announced on its website. One of many prominent guitarists to emerge from San Francisco's psychedelic music scene in the mid-1960s — others included the Grateful Dead's Jerry Garcia, Jefferson Airplane's Jorma Kaukonen and Barry Melton of Country Joe and the Fish— Gurley was hailed by many as the original innovator of the sound. While this may not be one of those top notch threads for this board, all it takes is one listen to "Ball and Chain" from the Cheap Thrills album, and one can hear right away the bombastic style that influenced and brought about many other guitarists that we mention in here ... it's hard not to hear Gurley at times when listening to Robert Fripp, or a Dave Gilmour, or a Jimmy Page, or a Pete Townsend, or these days Steven Wilson, and many other lead guitarists that were better known for their inventiveness and desire to add something to the music ... that really made it special. Rock'n'roll, and the rock media in general, tends to over emphasize one thing for the other, and sometimes the people that were different and made a lasting impression are not easily remembered ... but there are a lot of us that saw them that can remember a guy with a regular guitar and a sound bigger than a lot of those bomb bands out there ... and on top of it, he knew how to color Janis Joplin's special moments and add to them, helping her get stronger and better. Not sure one can ask much more from a musician. We, here specially, tend to not look at the developments that led to prog ... but you can easily take him apart and make a lot of prog guitarists sound like kids in the woods trying to do something to a few strings ... and not coming up with something that is memorable and has stood the test of time ... the guitar playing on Ball and Chain separates the men from the boys, if you will. RIP ... and all you proggies out there ... you should have the Cheap Thrills album in your collection ... so you can see where a lot of things came from and through. It's not just blues, or rock ... not even close!
	Music is not just for listening ... it is for LIVING ... you got to feel it to know what's it about! Not being told! www.pedrosena.com