Brother Tuck
43 posts
Aug 04, 2013
5:27 AM
|
For my money, one of the greatest harp players ever was Al Wilson. There have been many great ones and there are multiple great ones today and I love them all. But for me personally, Al "Blind Owl" Wilson takes the cake as far as pure tonal quality and musicianship goes.
Listen to his brilliant work on "On The Road Again" and "Rolling And Tumbling", for instance. The man was a harp master in every respect. Never too much and always just enough. His licks were haunting, even mesmerizing.
I read the book "Living The Blues" by Fito de la Parra, the drummer for Canned Heat. I highly recommend the read for anyone interested in a great but raw story about real life in a 60's band and what it was like. Al Wilson had some issues that eventually contributed to his early death, but his music and harp playing will live on forever with me.
Blow On, Blind Owl. Blow On...
Brother Tuck
Last Edited by Brother Tuck on Aug 04, 2013 6:14 AM
|
Lmbrjak
159 posts
Aug 04, 2013
3:30 PM
|
Haunting and mesmerizing are great words to describe his playing Brother tuck. Here's a good example:
|
Lmbrjak
160 posts
Aug 04, 2013
3:47 PM
|
here's another
|
TheoBurke
447 posts
Aug 04, 2013
4:02 PM
|
Al Wilson was an early influence on me, and he remains a hero for his tone, his power, his simple but innovative phrasing. Loved this tune to pieces:
----------
Ted Burke
http://www.youtube.com/user/TheoBurke?feature=mhee
http://ted-burke.com
tburke4@san.rr.co,
|
cyclodan
20 posts
Aug 04, 2013
4:12 PM
|
Yeah in my early deformative years, as teen in the late 60s and well before I ever picked up a harmonica, Canned Heat was one of my main connections to the blues.
When I did start to play I began to fall back on a lot of the riffs I had heard Al play. Now 40 some years later still trying to attain at least some of that tone and phrasing that the Owl laid down.
|
Goldbrick
248 posts
Aug 04, 2013
7:36 PM
|
Hellava slide player too
Drifter is a great cut with that fat tone
Last Edited by Goldbrick on Aug 04, 2013 7:43 PM
|
