Re: (TV) Marquee Moon study group seeking help with Marquee Moon solo.

[Russ <russvr@gmail.com>]

Hi Andy. I am curious about what you mean when you say 'unusual algorithmic
nature'. I think you are getting at something here, which may be for me,
heretofore ineffable. For me, someone from the computer science background,
algorithmic has a specific mean - that being a set of instructions to
complete some task. Computer programs can be broken down to reveal their
underlying algorithms for instance. Marquee Moon could be looked at that way
though I never have before.The rhythm guitar lines in marquee moon are
almost machine like in their certainty, their repetitiveness. From what I've
read and from discussion on this list, that rhythm line was actually
inspired by the horn lines in  James Brown's 'I feel Good'. Take a listen
and you can definitely hear it.
As for the soloing - keep in mind there are two solists - Lloyd take the
first break but the main solo , the long solo, is Verlaines. The
D-mixolydian stuff sounds right to me - I'm not a music theorist, I just
play one on television - but what is interesting about the solo is that it
is in a major key even though it is clearly modal. Maybe that's just what
D-mixolydian is. ( I usually think of modal as being something in a minor
key.) Anyway, Marquee Moon is an admirable song to work out. To me, it's not
so much a rock song as a jazz composition.
- Russ

On 5/11/07, andy fekete <andy.fekete@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> [Reposted with a sensible subject line]
>
> I'm in a group of local musicians who are studying the Marquee Moon LP in
> its entirety.  We're approaching it less like band and more like a
> semester-long college seminar that focuses a particular work of art in
> depth.  That said, our project has generated considerable interest, and
> we're rather pleased to have received invitations to play when we feel
> ready.
>
> Our strategy is to shoot for a more or less note-for-note rendition of the
> recorded version, with the full knowledge that we will of course fall
> short
> of that (individual styles and abilities being what they are) -- but in
> doing so, end up sounding closer to the original than a more loose
> approach
> might, largely because many key signature phrases are likely to survive
> our
> manglings.  This seems to be working:  we've already got the first three
> songs down -- Evil, Venus, and Friction -- and played them live in a
> teaser
> set at a local club, and audience's response was encouraging.   Next on
> our
> plate is MM and Guiding Light.
>
> My current assignment is to learn the MM solo.  I've already tabbed it out
> and have about half of it committed to finger-muscle memory, but so far I
> have not been able to decode it's unusual algorithmic nature.  I can of
> course continue learning it by rote, but I feel I'm missing a once in a
> lifetime opportunity to "crack the code", so to speak, to Verlaine's
> unique
> style of soloing.  This particular solo is in D Mixolidian, of course, but
> Verlaine is also methodically skipping certain intervals as he climbs
> around
> the scale, so that he never, ever sounds like Allman Brothers, or anyone
> else I know of for that matter.
>
> Does anyone here know what I am talking about?  If so, can you share any
> insights with me?  I have some useful notes about the solo I can post here
> if you want.
>
> Any help would be most appreciated,
>
> -A
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