F eb ruary 27, 1970 POSTSCRIPT Page 9
ADMISSIONS OFFICE vere B. B. King as a blues master. Listening to B. B. playing his (Continued from page 8) guitar can be a rewarding and sat .-■oon as the evaluation is complet- isfying experience. Each note he rd. The acceptances are not hand plays is crisp and sharp with no ed out all at once. “ Depending on mistakes and one can sense King’s how quickly on applicant fulfills emotional involvement in what he hir? application i*equirements, it is playing. Like the rest of the mu takes from 2 to 8 weeks to reach sic there is no waste of energy decision,” says Mr. Thomas. or superfluousness evident in the Mr. Thomas, Director of Admis guitar work. A typical King guitar sions, has been in his present pos riff usually involves intricate finger ition since February 11, 1962. Prework on the neck of the guitar viously, he had been employed as but even so, the resulting sound part of the management of the has a simple elegance and dignity J ake M ohonk Mountain House, lo that a less sensitive person could cated in Lake Mohonk, New York. not achieve. This combination of Ilf* graduated from Paul Smith’s technical ability and taste were song a mysterious sound. College in 1952 and went on to re-probably what won B. B. King the SECOND WINTER To lay the groundwork for the c< ivo a degree in Hotel Manage “Guitar Player” magazine award The year 1909 has given thedynamic Winter brothers, a solid ment from Michigan State Univer for the best blues guitarist of the and accomplished rhythm section sity. record buying public some good year (See Feb. 1970 “Guitar Playrock albums. Among these are “Ab with John Turner on drums and Mr. Thomas is assisted by his er”). Tommy Shannon on bass is em ^‘cretary, Mrs. Anne Trumbull. bey Road”, “Let It Bleed,” “ Led To add to his reputation as a ployed. The drums are especially he Director of Admissions had Zeppelin I I ”, and others. Probably, stirring guitarist, King also invades the album of last year that best noticeable when the guitar is not n< thing but praise for her fine engaged in a lightning riff, and it help. and pampers the senses with an typfied, not only the music busi is then that one can enjoy their The hard work of these two exciting and forceful vocal. Janis ness, but also the dedication of Joplin freely admits to being over those* performers, is the latest subtle rhythm. The drummer real people. Mr. Thomas and Mrs. izes that his position is not in a Trumbull, helps Paul Smith’s to whelmed by B. B. King the first Johnny W inter release, “ Second solo capacity, and with this in r'f’intain its high level of academic time she heard him sing, and by Winter,” on the Columbia label. mind, the drums become the real standards. listening to his recorded material The latest album is a vast im one can see why B. B.’s voice can provement over Johnny’s earlier foundation of the group. The* same be growling like that of an angry works, and it appears that he is cannot be said of bassist Tommy bear when he sings of woman trying to make good for the three- Shannon. The rhythms he plays are RECORD troubles or it can be sternly com hundred-thousand dollar contract simple and they distill the sound manding in tone when he says to Columbia gave him. “Second W in down to its most basic components. REVIEW his woman “I don’t want you cut ter” displays none of the trite But Shannon seems to lack the ting off your hair”. ness of W inter’s earlier work. Ra drive the other members of the In the past several years a trend Hearing the album, an empathy ther, Johnny has departed from a group have. This is not to say the in rock music has been toward in- begins to build between the musi hackneyed bluets style to fashion music suffers as a result. The other corporating rock with blues. Some cian and the listener. Experienc- his own unique sound. Not only extreme of a fiery, aggressive bas exponents of this mode of think ing an artist like B. B. King makes does Johnny play his own composi sist would tear the music apart; ing are Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, one realize that groups like Led tions, but he also treats old songs having a conservative bass player can be a hidden blessing. Elvin Bishop and others. W hat is Zeppelin and “Canned Heat” were such as “Johnny B. Goode”, “Slip It will be interesting to see what significant of this movement is that affected by the blues masters and pin’ and Slidin’,” and “Highway 61 the future has in store for Johnny its foundations are rooted in the that these rock groups attempted Revisited” in such a way that the Winter, but at least we know what native, black blues tradition of to incorporate* some of the ideas songs do not sound like gross imi this country which has been fos of these men into their own music. tations of the performers who orig the present has given us: a superb album that represents the pooling tered by men like Otis Rush, One also senses that these attempts inally recorded them. of talent of those involved in its Muddy Waters and Elmore James, failed. Throughout the album it is clear execution. Certainly the future just to name a few. One man who that W inter makes a strong at cannot belittle such an accomplish perhaps provides the basis for tempt at fashioning his own sound. ment. for to do so would be to de much of the blues-rock fusion is THE SW ISS SHOP To do this, the musicians in the prive man of his creative ability. B. B. King. One of his latest al group looked at their roles as be bums. “His Best, the Electric B. B. 37 Main St. ing basically creative rather than King,” reflects this influence King Lake Placid, N.Y traditional. The outcome is that exerts on the heavy rock music of Winter, rather than sounding like a heavy blues group, is now more WESTERN AUTO today. The Complete Ski Shop Listening to the album it be like a heavy rock group. Edgar Winter, Johnny’s younger ASSOCIATE STORE comes clear just how much influ Hart Kastle ence an artist like B. B. King ex brother, is probably most respon WINTER CAR NEEDS erts over current rock music. When Raichle “Red Hots’" sible for the new W inter sound. listening to King or any other His saxophone is used in a jazz WHOLESALE AUTO PARTS blues artist one must realize that Rieker Scott Poles role or in a yakkety sax nineteen- it was these men whose styles were Comfy Parkas fifties style as opposed to a blues W emulated by Eric Clapton, Mick format which would have used a saxophone to provide a very basic MAIN ST. SARANAC LAKE Jagger and the rest of the rock In Cooler Dorm — U quarry. rhythm. Edgar’s talents are ex Mr. Gokey: W hat makes you panded to include piano, organ, and 891 3490 One is first impressed by the think your room is cold? harpsichord. Each of these instru consciousness and tight quality of John Polacek: Well, every time ments is used in a refreshing and II. B. K in g ’s music. There appears “ I can’t find the cause of your I open the door the light goes imaginative way. to be no over-dubbing of instru on. illness.” said the intern. “Frankly, ments or vocals on the album. To match the imagination of his I think it’s because of a drinking King and the other musicians play brother, Johnny W inter plays a dis problem”. tinctive and highly polished guitar sparingly and it is easy to hear Head, Hart & Rossi Skiis “Wrell then, I ’ll come back when what is going on musically in each style that works well with the other instruments. As a guitar you’re sober”, replied his attrac song. Every instrument seems to Lange 8C Koflach Boots tive patient. have its assigned place in each style, Johnny Winter plays a suc number thus adding to the com cession of notes that follow each pactness of the music. It is this other quickly and endlessly without at much bending of the strings. On WILSON’S musical restraint that prevents the 82 Main Street sound from becoming fat and gau this album, Winter uses a W ah dy. Couple this closeness of sound Wah pedal on certain songs, which SARANAC LAKE, N.Y. with King’s guitar and vocal abil TIP TOP SPORT SHOPalters the effect of the music. On • ities and it becomes easy to see “Fast Life Rider”, Wall Wah is whv so many music aficionados re Tapper Lake, N.Y. used extensively and it gives the THE YOUNG MEN’S STORE