The Essentials of Blues-Rock
What music genre is the greatest in the world? Quite simply, the answer is blues-rock. With its origins hailing from the great North American blues, folk and jazz players, blues-rock has become a powerful art form. Some of the greatest blues-rock groups came to prominence in the sixties. Three of the most prestigious blues-rock bands are Cream, The Jimi Hendrix Experience and Led Zeppelin. These three bands worked hard to define and redefine what rock is. When you listen to blues-rock the resonance of the guitar will course through your veins, the drum’s cadence will make your heart pound and the rhythmic bass guitar will instantly get in touch with your soul. Using these three instruments, the blues-rock sound is made.
First and foremost, the guitar stands out amongst the rest. Singing loudly and prominently, the guitar keeps the crows on their toes. The guitar is very versatile as it is able to make a steady rhythm and harmonize with the vocals, propelling the song forward. Blues-rock guitarists incorporate a soulful jazz and heartfelt blues sounds with the fast and powerful rock sound. Blues guitarists use powerful electric guitars to generate steady chord progressions that reach out to the listeners. These progressions can have a depressing and sad sound, like the “When the Levee Breaks” by Led Zeppelin, or an upbeat and peppy sound, like “Highway Chile” by The Jimi Hendrix Experience. Cream, The Jimi Hendrix Experience and Led Zeppelin had the greatest guitarist the world has ever seen playing for them. By listening to all three of these bands, you will get thorough understanding of the aspects of blues-rock and the unique styles the guitarists bring to the genre.
Although blues-rock has a certain sound, blues-rock bands can have a variety of playing styles. Eric Clapton of Cream, Jimi Hendrix of The Jimi Hendrix Experience, and Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin all have different styles that contribute immensely to the blues-rock sound. Clapton has a subtle yet elegant style compared to Hendrix and Page. Nevertheless, Clapton will always impress you with what he is able to do with the guitar. One of Clapton’s best performances can be found in the song “Crossroads” by Cream. Hendrix is certainly the most exuberant blues-rock guitarist of the three. Regarded as the best guitarist of all time, Hendrix’s style has a substantial jazz influence that is very fervent. For a good example of Hendrix’s playing, listen to “Hey Baby (New Rising Sun)” by The Jimi Hendrix Experience. Finally, Jimmy Page has the most powerful sound. Page’s playing sounds the most like rock than Clapton or Hendrix, while still having a considerable jazz/blues influence. The speed and tenacity of Led Zeppelin paved the way for heavy metal. But don’t be mistakes, blues-rock is where Led Zeppelin’s at, just listen to “Trampled Under Foot”. Without the guitar, blues-rock wouldn’t be the same.
Another key instrument to the blues-rock sound is the drums. The energy found in blues-rock comes largely in part from the drums. Traditionally, the drums have a very simple and washed down role. Before blues-rock, the drums did little more than keep the time. But the use of the drums in blues-rock is much more involved. The blues-rock drummers are highly skilled and technical players. The beats they make do much more than keep time. The best drummers will accompany the chorus and add sophistication to the music the band is making. There are different ways to do this, but many are effective. The best examples of blues-rock drummers are Ginger Baker of Cream, Mitch Mitchell of The Jimi Hendrix Experience and John Bonham of Led Zeppelin. The sounds these men produced are just as varied as the guitarists they played along with.
Ginger Baker of Cream had a deep African influence that works to create subtle yet powerful beats that make each song pop out. His playing isn’t about smashing as many drums as he can in a short period of time, but relies on having perfect time and hitting the drums exactly when they need to be hit. Baker accomplishes this with much skill. The perfect example of Bakers playing is in Cream’s “Sunshine of You Love”. Mitch Mitchell had a different style than Ginger Baker, but he was able to contribute just as much to the blues-rock sound. His style largely worked around Hendrix’s guitar by playing along with the chorus. The way he was able to accomplish this was by keeping up the energy Hendrix put out. Where as Baker had an African style, Mitchell had a more traditional rock style. “Purple Haze” by The Jimi Hendrix Experience is an excellent example of Mitchell’s technique. John Bonham, the most energetic of the three drummers, also had a unique style. Bonham helped change what a drummer could do. His high energy and high intensity style made him fit right in with the sound of Led Zeppelin. He is the heaviest drum player of these three and generates the most energy of anyone. John Bonham, and Led Zeppelin as a whole, lay the groundwork’s for heavy metal. As reference to his skill, listen to any Led Zeppelin song, especially “Moby Dick”. The drums are an important factor in the blues-rock sound.
The bass guitar is the final key ingredient to blues-rock. The bass guitar is one of great importance. The bass guitar creates the backdrop to each song and can set the mood and the tone for each song. This is fundamental because it helps accomplish everything about what blues-rock is. The bass traditionally had a steady beat that keeps the tempo of the song, and blues rock drummers mostly do this, but they also play a crucial role in keeping the music interesting and preventing each song from becoming dull. Ultimately, the bass ties everything together and the song would be lost and incomplete without it. Three bassists that accomplish this are Jack Bruce of Cream, Noel Redding of The Jimi Hendrix Experience and John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin.
Jack Bruce, of Cream was fantastic at tying the song together. His bass was always capable of keeping up with Clapton’s guitar and Baker’s drums. Bruce’s style was very basic while sounding complex, like Baker’s drum playing. By doing this, he was able to complete the sound of Cream. An example of Bruce’s capability is Cream’s “Badge”. Noel Redding was another player that could seamlessly tie each song together. His style was a little more conservative, but it certainly kept up with the energy of Hendrix’s guitar. He could be diverse when he needed to be. In “The Wind Cries Mary”, his playing is very laid-back and simple, but in “Johnny B. Goode”, he is much more energetic and he contributes a lot more. John Paul Jones may be one of the best bass players that ever touched the instrument. If you listen to him play, you wouldn’t believe he was playing on a bass guitar. His style was very fast and powerful, just like Page’s guitar and Bonham’s drums, but most importantly, it was melodic. This made it so that every member of Led Zeppelin was playing fast, powerful and harmonious tune. An example of Jones playing fast and energetic is in Led Zeppelin’s “Ramble On”. Blues-rock wouldn’t be the same without the bass guitar.
The guitar, drums and bass guitar are essential for the blues-rock sound. The guitar usually plays a fast and riff heavy tune, driving the music forward. Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix and Jimmy Page all provide amazing examples of how the guitar can do this, even though they have different styles. The drums accompany the guitar by providing an energy that can’t be achieved with a guitar. Ginger Baker, Mitch Mitchell and John Bonham are great drummers that have contributes greatly to the blues-rock sound. Finally, the bass guitar ties everything together by filling in the blank spots and providing a tempo for everyone to follow. Jack Bruce, Noel Redding and John Paul Jones are wonderful bassists that can do this without flaw. Overall, even though there are some variations in styles of blues-rock bands, the underlying style of blues-rock is very distinct.
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Works Cited
Cream. “Crossroads”. The Very Best Of Cream. ITunes, 1995. Digital
… “Sunshine of Your Love”. The Very Best of Cream. ITunes, 1995. Digital
… “Badge”. The Very Best of Cream. ITunes, 1995. Digital
The Jimi Hendrix Experience. “Highway Chile” Voodoo Child – The Jimi Hendrix Collection. ITunes, 2010. Digital
…“Hey Baby (New Rising Sun)”. Voodoo Child – The Jimi Hendrix Collection. ITunes, 2010. Digital.
…”Purple Haze”. Voodoo Child – The Jimi Hendrix Collection. ITunes, 2010. Digital
…”The Wind Cries Mary”. Voodoo Child – The Jimi Hendrix Collection. ITunes, 2010. Digital
…”Johnny B. Goode”. Voodoo Child – The Jimi Hendrix Collection. ITunes, 2010. Digital
Led Zeppelin. “When the Levee Breaks”. Mothership (Remastered). ITunes, 2007. Digital
…”Trampled Under Foot”. Mothership (Remastered). ITunes, 2007. Digital
…”Ramble On”. Mothership (Remastered). ITunes, 2007. Digital