Tag: Open G Tuning

Lemon Squeezed Blues

Led Zeppelin.  Four English dudes who could really play, but also got their hands caught in the blues- songwriting-plagiarism cookie jar.  Despite that, I am a fan.  I would say LZ is the one band which really made me realize I like, if not love, blues music.    Personally, their first two albums (self-titled, and the cleverly titled Led Zeppelin II) are my favorites.  

If you are into the blues and/or Led Zeppelin, I would recommend the band’s BBC Sessions recording.    Somewhere in the P.G.E. (Post Grunge Era), I snagged the double cassette version of this one and was not disappointed.   When it was released in 1997, classic rock radio picked up on their cover of Robert Johnson’s “Travelling Riverside Blues” and it got plenty of airplay.

While I think our radio friends tried to run this one into the ground back in the day, I actually enjoyed listening to it today.  The song starts with a sort of excuse-me slide guitar intro by Jimmy Page then legendary drummer John Bonham and the others lock into the groove.    I could be wrong….maybe it’s the mix, but it sounds like Bonham’s drums are sort of in the background on this one. LZ’s lyrics are completely different than the original, but around the 3:30 mark you hear Robert Plant throw in several references to the mysterious, influential, epic blues dude Robert Johnson.

“Why don’t you come into my kitchen
She’s a kindhearted lady. She studies evil all the time
She’s a kindhearted woman. She studies evil all the time

Squeeze my lemon ’til the juice runs down my leg
Squeeze it so hard, I’ll fall right out of bed
Squeeze my lemon, ’til the juice runs down my leg”

Here is the original/inspiration.

There’s also “The Lemon Song” on Led Zeppelin II, but I digress.   My other bluesy favorites on BBC Sessions are the ten-minute version of the Willie Dixon/J.B. Lenoir tune “You Shook Me”, which was originally recorded by Muddy Waters if I’m not mistaken.  Not only that, but there are two versions of  the Willie Dixon-penned “I Can’t Quit You, Baby.”

 There are other oddities (“The Girl I Love She Got Long Black Wavy Hair”, “Sunshine Woman”)   and choices on BBC Sessions including live versions of “Stairway to Heaven” and “The Immigrant Song”, but the bluesy stuff works best for me.  Some blues purists may not like The Mighty Balloon, but I do.  Call it blues rock if it makes you feel better…then go squeeze a Led Lemon.

Till next time, keep your Mojo on the Horizon!

Strumming with a different paintbrush

I can remember REALLY wanting to learn how to play some Rolling Stones songs on guitar, getting a book from the library, and then thinking, “What the hell is wrong? I’m playing the chords in the book, but it doesn’t sound right – AT ALL.”   I can’t remember exactly where or when I found out, but the key to sounding like Stones guitarist Keith Richards has a lot do to with Open G tuning.

Most guitars are tuned in what’s called standard tuning:  six strings tuned to the notes    E-A-D-G-B-E.  (Eat All Day, Go to Bed Early is the easiest way to remember it.) When you strum all six of those strings at once, you don’t really get anything from the instrument. It’s a dissonant sound. For example, if you want to play a G chord, you have to put your fingers on certain strings, certain frets, and even strum certain strings.  When a guitar is tuned to Open G, you get the sound of a G chord without having to fret any notes – hence, the name.  The tuning itself is D-G-D-G-B-D.   Technically, you don’t even play the low D string in this set up and “Keef” himself has many guitars with only 5 strings on them, which are tuned to Open G.

The most interesting thing about playing in Open G, is it has a totally different FEEL.   A lot of the Stones songs make use of suspended chords, which are pretty straightforward in Open G tuning.   “Honky Tonk Women” is as good a starting point as any.    Sure, Keith played a certain type of guitar and a certain type of amp,  but I think you’ll FEEL the song on an acoustic guitar when you put it in Open G tuning.  “Brown Sugar” is also pretty straightforward once you get into the tuning.    The list goes on:  “Tumbling Dice”, Can’t You Hear Me Knocking”, “Start Me Up”,

Keith and The Stones aren’t the only musicians to use this tuning.    It’s also used by a lot of slide guitar players in blues.   George Thorogood and Bonnie Raitt pop to mind among others.   The Black Crowes’ album “Shake Your Money Maker”  also features some songs in Open G.

 

There are other open guitar tunings and many more songs in Open G .    I think I’ll compile a list of individual songs by artists other than the Stones to another blog.

‘Till next time, keep your Mojo on the Horizon.