1986, this one track expanded my musical/guitar playing interests

axisus · September 2023

I was always buying guitar magazines, and American 'Guitar Player' mag, although often rather dull and straight faced in content, had a flexidisc inside. In the pre-internet days this was quite exciting - a way to hear something new.

April 86 featured Geddy Lee on the cover plus a Rush article, so it was a no brainer for a Rush fan like me to buy

Image: https://images.reverb.com/image/upload/s--vel1PZsh--/a_exif,c_limit,e_unsharp_mask:80,f_auto,fl_progressive,g_south,h_620,q_90,w_620/v1517602074/kx80hr7fb2tszwfghb1j.jpg

I'm sure that the Rush article was interesting, but it was the flexidisc that blew my mind - Kazumi Watanabe playing his instrumental 'Unicorn'. The playing had such power and energy once the soloing hits. The note choices were so strange to me, it was my introduction to fusion playing and it has been an interest that has lasted a lifetime.

Anyway, here's the track if anyone is interested. Very 80s sound now I guess but very cool guitar playing still - to my ears anyway!

80s pic of Kazumi

Image: https://www.innerviews.org/inner/watanabe/kazumiwatanabejaco.jpg

andy_k · September 2023

Same experience for me with Bill Connors, variations on Layla.
Still blows me away to this day, track is not available on anything other than flexi-disc, still have mine, but the YT rip was better quality than I could achieve

Last few bars still amaze me.

scrumhalf · September 2023

Some of those flexi discs were brilliant and a first taste of guitarists we hadn't yet come across over here.

Yngwie doing Black Star, EJ doing Cliffs Of Dover and a (I think) Jimmie Vaughan and Duke Robillard one.

andy_k · September 2023

I still have most of them, couple of full years worth around 83-85.
All the other mags went in the skip, couldn't part with Guitar Player, The OG of the mags.

axisus · September 2023

scrumhalf said:

Some of those flexi discs were brilliant and a first taste of guitarists we hadn't yet come across over here.

Yngwie doing Black Star, EJ doing Cliffs Of Dover and a (I think) Jimmie Vaughan and Duke Robillard one.

Yeah, I still have those first two, other memorable ones were Racer X doing Scarified and Billy Sheehan doing a number with a bass solo, I think it was called 'birds of prey'. My introductions to all those artists.

axisus · September 2023

@andy_k That was interesting! A bit more widdly than I usually listen to these days but interesting none the less. I didn't recognise the name Bill Connors so I looked him up. Apparently he played with Return to Forever so he must be a damn good guitarist!

BillDL · September 2023

I made the mistake of recording all best parts from my Guitar Player flexidiscs to audio cassette (before domestic CD Writers were available to the masses) and later threw out the flexidiscs that I had managed to kink. Of course the cassette tapes all degraded with the passing of time. Immediately I saw the name Kazumi Watanabe I could almost hear the playing in my head. The cover of that magazine is still very clear in my mind and I really enjoyed that playing. I was quite interested in guitarists like Larry Carlton and Lee Ritenour just at that time.

hollywoodrox · September 2023

Those flexi discs are ace , I’ve just been searching for my Greg Howe one with the Pepper shake on it

andy_k · September 2023

axisus said:

@andy_k That was interesting! A bit more widdly than I usually listen to these days but interesting none the less. I didn't recognise the name Bill Connors so I looked him up. Apparently he played with Return to Forever so he must be a damn good guitarist!

If you read the comments under the YT vid, you will see there was a lot of talk of a bit of beef between Bill and Holdsworth, because nobody plays like Alan, and Bill seems to have a good stab at it.
My earliest recollection of listening to this, was to think immediately that there was a tuning issue, but ( many) repeated listens just kept revealing more depth, and the bass line is just as amazing really.
I tried to find a better quality version, and never really invested the time in to his albums of the time, just this one track got under my skin.
I seem to remember in the interview in the mag, he went into a bit of depth on the recording, and it was a hasty effort, as a tribute to Clapton, and during the recording, he realised he was not going to improve on the harmonic climax at the end- so that was the end of it.
I like the idea that the original track, Layla, is inspired by somebodies descent into madness by his unattainable desire, and the guitar in this recording just seems to get madder and madder until the last few bars, when just one note rings out, and that one note still makes the hair on my arms stand up.
I even named my now 34 year old daughter Layla, as she is a 'variation' on the original.
She thinks she was named after EC's song, but in reality it is this one.

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1986, this one track expanded my musical/guitar playing interests

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