May 162025
 

IconsThe late Bernie Marsden seems universally acknowledged as one of the good guys. Possibly best known for his time in and in association with Whitesnake, he spent time also with a dizzy array of bands: U.F.O., Wild Turkey, Babe Ruth, Paice, Ashton & Lord before that, and any number of solo or semi-solo enterprises afterwards. He was a reliable provider of rock guitar, just on the more tactile and friendlier shores of metal, closer to blues rock than heavy rock. As well as being a masterful player, able to bleed notes from any of the many guitars he collected over his lifetime’s playing, he also possessed a no-nonsense meat and potatoes rock holler. He died, in 2023, having caught bacterial meningitis.

His later recordings were often made in the form of collections of songs by artists or studios influential to him: the “Inspirations” series. 2021 saw “Kings” (a tribute to B.B., Freddie and Albert, the trifecta of regal blues) and “Chess” (a tribute to the studio of Marshall Chess and the artists who were there nurtured) come out, while “Trios” (a little more self-explanatory) was issued in 2022. In similar sleeve design, the posthumous release Icons is the fourth of his last five records in the same vein. (The album between, “Working Man”, released shortly after his death, was all Marsden originals, thus breaking the pattern.)

Albums featuring the “favorite tracks” by guitarists have a vexatious history. At one end of the spectrum, in, arguably, the blues from which rock was born, there is a long tradition of recycling and repeating the same riffs and repetitions, whether acknowledged or otherwise. At the other you get the deeply divisive “superstar plus friends” sessions, pumping out easy listening lite derivatives. Carlos Santana’s “Guitar Heaven” must surely here be the nadir, and this listener’s hell. Thankfully, Icons is not that, as it it comes over just so darn genial. Indeed, such is the choice of material that anyone with longer teeth in the game, and perhaps out of touch with the current playing field of rock guitar, will get a warming flashback to their more formative days, when this sort of ticket was just the job for any red-blooded boy with a denim jacket to embroider and satchel to stencil.
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Jul 092021
 

Cover Classics takes a closer look at all-cover albums of the past, their genesis, and their legacy.

Hollywood Vampire's self-titled album

We’ve seen a few different motivations for forming supergroups, but another one is to gather together to pay homage to others. One recent example: the Sylvain Sylvain tribute by Halloween Jack, made up of Gilby Clarke (formally of Guns N’ Roses), Eric Dover (of Jellyfish), Stephen Perkins (of Jane’s Addiction), Dan Shulman (formerly of Garbage), and Steve Stevens (guitarist for Billy Idol)).

Hollywood Vampires is made up of Alice Cooper, Johnny Depp (super in a different way, but showing off his musical skills here), and Joe Perry (of Aerosmith). Although they have since worked on originals, their self-titled first album is (mostly) a cover album where the songs are chosen to pay tribute to rockers who “died from excess” in the 1970s. The irony of this is that the band is named after the drinking club for celebrities formed by Cooper in the ’70s.

Throughout their time playing together, the band has had guest features from other big stars, actors and musicians alike. They have postponed their European Tour twice now due to the pandemic, but hopefully fans will get a chance to rock out when the world settles down a bit more. Continue reading »

Jul 052021
 
Cream band

It’s supergroup week at Cover Me!

What’s a supergroup, you ask? Well, it’s a bit of a fuzzy concept, but the idea is that a supergroup is a musical endeavor that is made up of folks who have previously established their musical prowess in other contexts. It’s the opposite of when groups split up to go solo. Supergroups provide an interesting way to track the networks of musicians, and they also lend some insight into the creative motivations of musicians who have already struck it big but are looking for a change of pace. Sometimes famous solo musicians join forces; other times bands break up and reform new ones. We’ll see both combinations throughout the week. Today we start off with super supergroup orchestrator Eric Clapton and his multiple (if short-lived) collaborations with friends.

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