HarpNinja
3586 posts
Nov 12, 2013
9:49 AM
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I never get tired of this CD. What was his rig? The sounds has edges to it, a sort of clarity, that is punchy yet not real harsh nor the opposite, overly compressed.
There is some great acoustic playing on the album, and he is very intentional with the use of harmonica during that set.
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Mantra Customized Harmonicas
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1847
1297 posts
Nov 12, 2013
10:13 AM
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i get a lot of request when i play my harmonica
"but i play it anyway"
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HarpNinja
3587 posts
Nov 12, 2013
11:01 AM
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Totally awesome clip! I should have noted that I was talking the whole album and not just the song.
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Mantra Customized Harmonicas
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1847
1298 posts
Nov 12, 2013
11:51 AM
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the album was recorded in arizona
very likely with the set up you see there.
he , i would think caught a flight for the gig.
part of the the album was recorded here in los angeles
if he was living out here, most likely he used his bassmann, for the gigs closer to home.
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i get a lot of request when i play my harmonica
"but i play it anyway"
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SmokeJS
183 posts
Nov 12, 2013
1:51 PM
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On the recent Blues Cruise saw Kim Wilson play almost every day. Truly outstanding both with the TBirds and sitting in with others. Blues with the Tbirds is sometimes straightahead but they often try to appeal to a wider audience and the harp might not appear at all. For me the bluesier the better. Can anyone recommend a Kim Wilson album where he's the frontman but the focus is traditional blues?
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Banyan3
25 posts
Nov 12, 2013
5:38 PM
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Tigerman and lookin for trouble, both great blues albums . I think lookn for trouble has more harp on it. tigerman he used a gibson GA-40 and a silvertone 1482 on the looking for trouble
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Barley Nectar
179 posts
Nov 13, 2013
11:55 AM
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I know the guy is King of Tone, BUT, the solo on the link that 1847 put up is too much for me. That's the problem with the 10 hole whisle, not enough sounds! I do my best to change it up constantly to keep things intresting and so does KW but blues harp can sure get borring in a hurry. That solo would have worked better for me, with a little of Adams single note style blended in there. 10 minuits of tounge blockin, come on, give it a break...BN
Last Edited by Barley Nectar on Nov 13, 2013 12:36 PM
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MP
2984 posts
Nov 13, 2013
12:12 PM
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SmokeJS,
The first three Fabulous Thunderbirds albums are full of blues and blues harp. If Wilson never recorded again that would be plenty of harp for me.
I'm glad he is still recording though. Hunch Rhythm and Reel Eleven, Take ? are brilliant blues workouts.
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i still have a little Hohner stock for reed replacement in three common keys.
when these are gone i'm out of the biz.
click MP for my e-mail address and more info.
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LIP RIPPER
708 posts
Nov 13, 2013
2:22 PM
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Essential Fabulous Thunderbirds!
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9000
183 posts
Nov 13, 2013
6:23 PM
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"10 minuits of tounge blockin, come on, give it a break...BN"
Thanks for the honesty but this is a showcase piece. He uses practically every technique that I ever even heard of including playing two different things simultaneously. KW has an incredible body of recorded work over the last several decades. I'm not too invested in his style but I'd love to be able to play that forcefully for 11 minutes while integrating as many ideas as he did! I think it's pretty easy to find good qualities in all of the touring pros, especially, the ones like KW who have been out there for so long.
All the best!
Jay
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Music speaks where words fail.
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1847
1300 posts
Nov 13, 2013
7:19 PM
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kim wilson has a lot of good stuff.
but i cannot even listen to that.
no thank you.
i could listen to whammer jammer
500 times in a row.
try that here... i double dog dare you!
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i get a lot of request when i play my harmonica
"but i play it anyway"
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Jehosaphat
601 posts
Nov 13, 2013
7:29 PM
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I sat and listened to one of Kims 10 minute solos on repeat for an hour once...it was almost like i was in a trance.
Well i had a bottle of primo red wine for company so maybe i was.
I still ocassionally, if the boss is out, put it on and bliss out.
Funny how we are all blues players but within that broad canvas there is a huge variation in what turns us on.
Nuthin' wrong with that.
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HarpNinja
3589 posts
Nov 13, 2013
7:36 PM
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Magic Dick does nothing for me. I get why Whammer Jammer is awesome, and it isn't an easy song to play, but it doesn't move me at all.
10min of Mr. Wilson does, though!
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Mantra Customized Harmonicas
My Website
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Kingley
3269 posts
Nov 13, 2013
9:02 PM
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I agree with Mike about Whammer Jammer and Magic Dick. I've seen Kim Wilson play his extended solo live and enjoyed it a lot. It's not something I'd want to listen to all the time though. I'd rather hear songs and what a harp player does behind or in between the vocals, than solo stuff most of the time. Kim Wilson is a stellar harp player and a very good singer. His body of recorded work is superb . Personally I prefer his more straight ahead blues stuff to most of the T-Birds recordings myself. I had a chance to chat with him once and he is also a hell of a nice guy.
Last Edited by Kingley on Nov 13, 2013 9:04 PM
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atty1chgo
738 posts
Nov 14, 2013
8:03 AM
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I'm kind of torn on this subject. On the one hand, Kim Wilson is a brilliant player. There are a lot of things going on in that clip, and they are happening in rapid succession and with a purpose. On the other hand, listening all night to the tone and attack in the clip posted by 1847 would be a bit painful. I hesitate to criticize the great players, but we are trying to be honest here and express our preferences.
Don't most players employ the same tone in everything that they do? I mean, listening to John Popper continuously do the same thing starts to sound like a dirge after awhile, doesn't it? Just sayin'.
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The Iceman
1275 posts
Nov 14, 2013
8:09 AM
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Great tone is just one of the building blocks towards sustained artistry.
It's what is done with the tone that is most important...i.e., note choices or melodic sensibilities.
Can the guy w/great tone sustain your interest over time with what he plays?
Kim sure does for me. Love his ideas.
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The Iceman
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HarpNinja
3590 posts
Nov 14, 2013
10:15 AM
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This is one clip from an entire show. There is a whole world of music out there not on YouTube. Growing up we had these things called CD's. They would include many songs related to each other. There was also a time where people went to live music events themselves - in real time.
At these events, believe it or not, an artist might play 2-3 hours of music for several to many people. In this era, harmonica players played in bands that were formal units and not just jams or harmonica throw downs.
It was crazy back then.
There are some ways in which this insanity was documented. Way back, Kim captured shows on February 26 and 27, 1999 at The Rhythm Room in Phoenix, AZ, and December 8 and 9, 2000 at Cafe Boogaloo in Hermosa Beach, CA. They became the album Smokin' Joint.
Kim didn't play harmonica on all the tracks. In fact, the first three don't feature harp. When he did, he blew first, second, and third position blues through both an amped rig and his vocal mic.
Using both tongue blocking and pucker playing, he played over varied grooves sometimes playing fills between vocals, starting and ending tunes, taking various lengths of solos and even busting out a chromatic.
Those were the days, I tell ya.
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Mantra Customized Harmonicas
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Frank
3272 posts
Nov 14, 2013
10:17 AM
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Whammer Jammer gives me the chills...And Kims stretched Solo is just one small part of his gigs - the full show is a mixed bag of tricks, tones and surprises - IF ANYONE knows the importance of mixing an entire evening of music up to keep things fresh and interesting... it is Kim Wilson, PLEEEEEZE :) And don't forget his "My Blues" Cd !!
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The Centipide Saloon
Tip Your Waiter Please
Last Edited by Frank on Nov 14, 2013 10:20 AM
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Kingley
3273 posts
Nov 14, 2013
10:20 AM
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CD's????? Damned whippersnappers! When I was growing up we had vinyl records and audio cassette tapes.
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harpwrench
720 posts
Nov 14, 2013
10:23 AM
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Yeah, anyone remember jamming a match book under the 8-track in your car, so the dang thing would play (through the house stereo speakers in the back seat)?
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HarpNinja
3591 posts
Nov 14, 2013
11:12 AM
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We had 8 tracks at my house growing up, but my dad also had the Miami Vice sound track, so it goes to show the quality of music I was exposed to.
I spent a ton of time with a record player listening to Billy Joel growing up. Like absurd amounts.
I thought my post was funnier implying that CD's were "old". ;)
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Mantra Customized Harmonicas
My Website
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HarpNinja
3592 posts
Nov 14, 2013
11:42 AM
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I watched the Kim Wilson vids on bluesharmonica.com last night. They are super super awesome. Going back to my OP, I like similar tones - not too distorted and with a sense of clarity. That is how he described it.
He had some interesting comments regarding tongue blocking which was cool.
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Mantra Customized Harmonicas
My Website
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chromaticblues
1515 posts
Nov 14, 2013
11:45 AM
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I really liked the Tbirds back in the late 80's. They were the only band that had a good harp player that was getting any air play. I saw them in 87' as the opening act for Crosby Stills and Nash. That was a great concert. The Tbirds played there older stuff better than the records because they were better as a band. Man they should have put out a live album that year!
CSN was very good and little did I know that was their swan song. This concert was so good My wife and I saw both of them multiple times only to realize they were at the end of their peak the first time we saw them. Oh well!
The flip side of that is hearing the Tbirds a number of times in the late 80's play songs from previous albums. They had become a Blues/Pop/Rock band, but they were playing blues at their live shows along with their radio hits. The blues songs they did play were by far better than listening to one of there albums from the early 80's. The songs might have been the same, but they were by far better by that time.
I saw Kim in the early 90's with his band after the release of "Tiger Man". From a blues standpoint that may have been his best. That was very good!
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LIP RIPPER
709 posts
Nov 14, 2013
12:51 PM
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Joe, I'm guilty.
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tmf714
2175 posts
Nov 14, 2013
1:02 PM
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The Rhythm Room session was a Brown Fender Pro on a chair-
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