paulinnc wrote: ↑Fri Jan 04, 2019 6:03 pm
I could be crazy but I felt his playing was much better in the 70's. From the 80's on it just sounds like he makes little noises here and there and doesn't really play much. It could also be the guitar tone changing to that awful sound he had in the 80's and 90's. I could be wrong and just totally missing something.
What am I missing?
Continuing on my thought process earlier, his role and goal was accompaniment. Listen to early 70s and he's too often buried and indistinguishable. Getting to 73 and 74 his tone and contribution starts increasing significantly (think Keith influenced his playing in parallel with coming into his own and finding his own voice). By 76 he was on FIRE. Loved what he did in 76 and throughout the late 70s.
By the early 80s Brent gets louder in the mix and he's playing all 88 keys. Sounds great as a single instrument. But sonically, he was into everyone's frequencies and it's apparent that the other 2 big contributors (Bobby and Phil) had to change their styles to work together. Phil started to get into more adventurous territory realizing Brent's left hand was in his space. Bobby shaped his tone differently to cut into the mix and was adding more color than straight rhythm. It didn't always work, but I respect the fuck out of what he was trying to do!!!
* this is also part of the problem in the 90s when Vince joined the band. The band (heard Jerry, but uncertain) said no to the big organ B3 sound and wanted him to sit thinner in the mix. But the rest of the band was used to 10 years of SUPER FAT AND WIDE ORGAN MIDRANGE. That with some gear changes think made many shows sound sterile...