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From: Alec Drachman
Date: Tue, 13 Apr 1999 23:21:18 -0400
Subject: Re: Mick Jagger Harmonica: Who can resist? (LONG RETORT TO MANY REPLIES)

Richard W. Rinn wrote:

> >Keith Relf is the guy who turned me on to harp. Listen to "New York City
> Blues",
> >recorded during the Beck era. I still love this solo. It is nothing fancy,
> but
> >contains great phrasing and perfectly captures the mood. He describes
> staring
> >down a big, black shiny shotgun in the hands of his girlfreind's dad and
> then
> >sings "This is how I was, Oh No,..." and then lays down the perfect harp
> track.
> >IMO, this is way better than "generic, British Invasion stuff".
>
> Yep, know it well. I mean, he may have had a few good moments, but in
> general, I just think he's pretty average... I prefer Van Morrison's
> playing with Them. Different strokes for different folks, then...
>
> >No offense to Jack Bruce (I am a huge Cream fan - love the harp on "From
> Four
> >Until Late" and "Train Time") but I can't put him in the same league as
> Magic
> >Dick.
>
> Hmmm... Is this leading into techno-battle territory?! If they're both
> good, they're both in the same league. They may be good in different ways,
> some more easily quantifiable than others, but good is good.

I guess I respectfully disagree. Good is good but I think the term "same league"
implies that they are somewhat equally proficient. My guess is that Magic Dick
could play anything that Jack Bruce could play but not vice-versa. Still, you
make a good point and if Jack Bruce is better to your ears, then to you he is
better. I must point out, though, that there is much more to Magic Dick than
what you have heard on the Geils records. Of course, the same may be true of
Jack Bruce with regards to his Cream recordings.

> >You want Soul?
>
> Shooooo 'nUFF!
>
> >Have you heard the Bluestime albums?
>
> Nope.

You've mentioned that you like Junior Wells and Howling Wolf. I'm quite sure you
would like Dick's playing on these albums. I highly recommend "Little Car Blues"
on Rounder.

> >Jack Bruce is a
> >fabulous musician and his phrasing is great, but his harp playing (at least
> with
> >Cream) is fairly basic stuff.
>
> Well it must be the phrasing that turns me on, plus just the sound of the
> harp, which echoes the sound of his singing voice (which I love).

Me too!

> >Magic Dick, on the other hand, is a true monster
> >on the harp - the extent to which I have only realized in recent years. He
> is
> >one of those guys that I couldn't fully appreciate until I really started
> >learning the subtleties of different embouchures and articulations.
>
> To be honest, that's pants. Music can mean a lot of things to a lot of
> people. In my opinion, the single most pointless is the one where other
> musicians are impressed on a technical level. Steve Cropper eats Steve Vai
> on guitar to these ears any day. The technical level doesn't matter ONE
> IOTA if you can put your thing across well with what you've got. I mean, it
> may be fun in a trainspotterly type of way to musician types of above
> average intelligence, who want somewhere to aim their grey matter, but it's
> just a side-line. Like the paint job on your car versus the running,
> comfort, reliability, safety (and quality of elephant catching aparatus).
>
> I must re-iterate however that I do not class Magic Dick with the soul-less
> (dare I say it) John Popper (ooh!) type stuff. When I hear his harp
> playing, I enjoy it on a personal, human level, so technique can't be the
> only thing on his mind (surely not, with a monicker like that!).
>
> I hope I'm putting myself across well enough here... I'm not saying that
> the learning of different techniques, or adding further hues to your
> pallette is pointless, just that having these things does not necessarily
> add anything of any real value (!). Oh, man, I give up.

You make some good points here. However, while things like articulation don't
necessarily add value, they certainly can when in the employ of a great artist.
To me, Magic Dick is such an artist, as is Rob Paparozzi who was the first to
suggest to you that Magic Dick was more than just "accomplished" on the harp.

> >As I start to push into middle age, I am learning a couple of things: As I
> get
> >older, my Dad gets smarter and smarter and as I learn more harp, Magic Dick
> gets
> >better and better.
>
> Tell me, do you dig Howlin' Wolf's harp playing? When I'm driving in my
> car, listening to a tape, and the Wolf comes on and blows some harp, that
> really makes me feel good. That's all I need.

On that, we certainly agree. I love Howlin' Wolf. His version of "Evil" is in my
top 5 list of all time great blues songs.

Take care,

Alec