r/progrockmusic 4d ago

It sometimes seems to me that the goodly guitarist *Vernon Reid* qualifies as one of the 'Ultra-Virtuosity' (¡¡Yay!! 😁) guitarists: »Vernon Reid — Voodoo Pimp Stroll«

https://open.spotify.com/track/4wwB5XwT9a5nke4oQ5tydj
6 Upvotes

16 comments sorted by

9

u/Bechimo 4d ago

Cult of Personality is killer.

2

u/Frangifer 4d ago

Yep: absolutely phenominal ... love it!

... & everything he's come out with really: total genius.

1

u/blackjacktarr 4d ago

The solo is about 30 seconds of notes you'd never expect to find on a pop song. What mode am I in? What key am I in? Here, have some ridiculous shreddy sounds. Did you notice my whammy bar? Then suddenly we're picking our jaws off the floor as Corey's singing again. We're lucky to share some time on Earth with Mr. Vernon Reid.

2

u/sreglov 4d ago

Saw Living Colour recently, finally - missed them in the 90's - and they were a-ma-zing. Not prog in strict sense, but great music. Had a great evening.

2

u/Frangifer 3d ago

They still going!? Amazing! lt's good to hear that they are, anyhow: glad you enjoyed it.

2

u/sreglov 3d ago

Like many 90's band reunited ;-)

1

u/Frangifer 3d ago

I'll tell you a little story : Chuck Berry was still doing gigs until shortly before his passing in 2017 - in his nineties . And at one of these late gigs, a journalist asked him what in his opinion his very-best gigs were - the summit - expecting something like - IDK - "Atlanta, 1965", or something like that - whatever. But he replied

"these-here ones, that I'm doing right-now!"

That's a story I've heard, anyhow.

2

u/nononotes 3d ago

His solo albums are really good.

1

u/Frangifer 3d ago edited 3d ago

Yep someone @ this channel put me onto them one time I was talking about Living Colour ... & now he's 'in the top drawer' of my 'library' of phenominal guitarists ... which is my kind of music - phenominal electric guitar music.

"... ahh fay-vurr gee-tarr music mahh-saylf!" ... to quote the beginning of a certain track by John 5 .

😆🤣

John 5 — Fiddlers

.

2

u/cabell88 3d ago

I ran into Vernon many times when I worked at Sam Ash in NYC. Great guy. I remember when the first album came out. My friend and I would listen to the solos and wonder if he actually knew what he was doing, or just faking it. He has a very odd style.

Nothing really went out of key, so, we decided there was something there. He was a Hamer endorser. I had a few Hamers at the time - we talked about that.

1

u/Frangifer 1d ago edited 1d ago

Have just seen your reply - unexpected @ this later sort of time.

It's always nice to hear that a great musician is pleasant personally !

... but if they aren't ... welllllllllllll ... it doesn't put me off their music. Great artists get to be obnoxious ... if that's their 'bent'.

And yep: I agree that his style is very idiosyncratic ... but I have zero doubt that he's a truly phenominal guitarist, & would not have his output different by so much as a single iota !

... and actually ... sometimes it does go out of key ... but always in just the right degree as to constitute a true 'modulation' (in the musical sense - departing briefly from the key to bring-on a brief 'tension') ... & he's a consummate master of doing that, moreover!

2

u/cabell88 1d ago

Yeah, he was a good guy. Very approachable and easy to speak to. Never saw them. Regret that.

2

u/Active_Juggernaut484 3d ago

Love his Yohimbe Brothers LPs with DJ Logic

2

u/Frangifer 1d ago

Have just seen your reply - unexpected @ this later sort of time.

So ... Yohimbe Brothers : don't know anything about them ... but I'll definitely be following-up on your recommendation ... so thanks for it! 😁

2

u/Active_Juggernaut484 1d ago

I hope you enjoy them. I think they are so much fun and full of joy

1

u/Frangifer 1d ago edited 1d ago

I'll drop a 'ping' when I do.

... infact ... I think I'll make them the next item in my queue.

But it's already quite long, though (with Paul Gilbert , as it happens) ... so it'll be a little while yet.

 

@ u/Active_Juggernaut484

My 'queue' fnallyi got round to them ... & yep: his phenomenal guitarstry is evident in it ... but subtly transfigured into something with a character distinct from what I'm used to from him by-now.

It's a pity they didn't make more albums, though!