If to Shawn Lane

Perspective Rocks

So what music is it that terrence the musical omnivore actually gets into? What really is in today's diet? Perhaps some perspective might be of use here. Whilst "all" of my friends were getting into Deep Purple, Uriah Heep, Black Sabbath, etc, I was also. However, I also liked to wander out of the mainstream and listen to almost anything from Brahms, Andre Segovia, and the like as well as cute folksy Incredible String Band, the poetic Leonard Cohen and even the old English style Pentangle, plus I had quite a collection of Neil Diamond, having heard Neil on the radio singing Cherry Cherry (funky for Neil Diamond who was esentially a balladeer).

If

It was If who really sold me on getting further into jazz rock rather that straight rock which had all begun to sound the same to me around the mid '70s.

Dick Morrissey has gone on to become one of the greats of sax and flute, and Terry Smith's guitar has a sound all of it's own; often imitated but rarely surpassed.

I first heard the single "Reaching out on all Sides" on a loss leaders compilation vinyl record about 1970, maybe 71, apparently the single wasn't doing very well on the pop charts. When I discovered the If album some time later, I purchased it immediately.

Later on I purchased If2 and although I regarded it as a better album, the first album was my fave for some unknown reason. Although Sunday Sad, the Spanish sounding tune (track 2 side 1, I think) was especially nice on If2, nice wa wa Spanish electric guitar funk for much of the tune.

Jazzy rocks

Anyway, it was these two albums, along with a little help from David Clayton-Smith (if I remember his name right from Blood Sweat and Tears) in concert with BS&T, and Malo (feat Georges Santana, Corlos's brother on lead guitar) and, of course, John McLauglin (the master, although he could be a little TOO virtuoso at times), not to mention the very funky Osibissa, especially their first 2 albums, Jethro Tull (esp. This Was, but others too, prior to their Jolly Olde England songs from the Wood era) among other bands of the musically explorative '70s, that eventually led me away from rock and more in the direction of jazz.




Couldn't really get into Return to forever though in those exploratative days although I purchased one of RTF albums later on, and Chicago, I still think that for the most part ... Chicago sux.

There were many great jazz rock bands in the '70s but If was for me at least up there with the best of them and represented a more jazz than rock orientation, something missing in most other jazz rock bands of the times.

Britain didn't answer, there was no question

Many raves online describe If as Britain's answer to Chicago or Blood Sweat and Tears yet I never really thought of If as Britain's answer to BS&T, to me they were IF, and that's all there was to it, and you already know how I feel about Chicago.

These days, I am more likely to be listening to Keith Jarrett or Hiromi "HowEverYouSayHerName" Uehara, Chick Corea, Eberhard Weber, Jaco Pastorius or Jan Garbarek, although I still enjoy the funky rock stuff especially good shred or other high quality funky guitar.

Just witness Shawn Lane

Shawn Lane on YouTube



Joy to all beings
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terrence