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and I see that the street musicians there have got their own PA system and electric guitars , with a mechanical drummer . It ;’ s advanced a lot further from when I was doing it — it ’ s a lot more sophisticated now , I should say . And I made very little each day . I think I pulled down maybe $ 6 , $ 7 bucks at the most , on a good day . And it ’ s funny — there was a restaurant in Ghirardelli Square , and I used to play right across the street from it . And I ’ d say , “ Someday , if I ever get successful , I ’ m gonna go have dinner at that place . Some day …” And years later , I came back , and I took my wife and my daughter , and I spoke to the waitress there , and I said , “ You know , I used to play right over there , and I always wanted to eat in this place . And now I can finally do it !” And she said , “ Oh , yeah ! You played right over there ! You were that singer with the slide thing happening — I remember you !” And I was like , “ God ! That was a thousand years ago !” I can ’ t remember the name of the restaurant , but it was a wonderful place . And I remember that I actually wore out my shoes . And a guy loaned me a pair of
shoes that were really awful shoes — they were cutting into my ankles , and my ankles were bleeding , chafing . I was really in agony . And a woman saw me playing and took my friend and me in and let us sleep on her floor one night . And she says , “ I ’ m not kidding you — you ’ re in bad shape here !” And I said , “ Yeah , but I ’ ve got these shoes , and that ’ s all I ’ ve got — I don ’ t even have any socks .” And she said , “ Listen — I just got a new credit card from Sears , and I just got it two days ago .” So she took me down to Sears , bought me a pair of shoes and a pair of socks , and I can ’ t remember her name or who she was . But my God , she was like an angel ! If I could find her today , I wouldn ’ t just buy her dinner — I ’ d buy her a seven-course dinner ! But that ’ s the kind of people who I ran into in San Francisco — I was very fortunate to bump into people who really wanted to help you out . And then I came back there a few years later and started to play around the Bay Area when our record broke . It was the Bay Area ; actually , that broke our first record — KFAT and KSAN got us going , and we went in and bombarded the
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Boarding House , it was called at the time , played around there . So it was the San Francisco Bay Area that really kicked it off for us .
IE : Not to be blithe , but dare I ask it ? Have you written your take on a “ COVID-19 Blues ” yet ? “ I woke up this morning and ..” And what ? GT : Well , you know , with the world of songwriting , I ’ ll sit there and think , “ Maybe I ’ ll write a song .” But then I ’ ll listen to Hank Williams , and I listen to Chuck Berry and The Beatles and Bob Dylan , and I go , “ Why ? These are the greatest songs ever written ! The world doesn ’ t need another one ! And those songs are still being played , over and over and over , just like The Godfather is being played over and over , or The Wizard of Oz or Gone With the Wind . Those are the greatest songs ( and films ) ever , and my little thing I write is like comedy songs , very tongue-in-cheek . If Paul McCartney is Shakespeare and Bob Dylan is Steinbeck , then George Thorogood is Rodney Dangerfield .
IE : But here ’ s a weird twist . Almost instinctively , once the pandemic hit , I started playing your first two remastered Rounder albums on the iPod . And it felt like a shot of adrenaline . It felt like punk rock . GT : Well , it ’ s funny because that first record didn ’ t get too many good reviews . And one rock critic was listening to it and said , “ Well , this guy is guy is obviously trying too hard to sound dirty and funky and make it sound authentic .” The guy really didn ’ t like it . And Billy , our bassist , laughed , and he laughed when people said the same thing about the second record . And he said , “ No , you ’ re wrong . This is as CLEAN as George can play . George has cleaned up his act for this record . You ’ re missing it — he ’ s not playing dirty on purpose . He ’ s trying to play clean — he wants to sound like Jeff beck , so he ’ s trying to smooth it out !” And that ’ s what they just didn ’ t get — that I don ’ t play dirty on purpose . Johnny Rivers and I were talking once , and I said , “ You know , with the guitar I play , I really try to get that crisp , clean
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Continued from page 24 It ’ s also a final reminder of Fetters ’ A-list chops as a formidable rock guitarist , as he peels off licks standing in for both Fred “ Sonic ” Smith and Brother Wayne Kramer . Fetters ’ love notes to his brilliant but underappreciated heroes will thrill happy listeners who view him in much the same way .
-Jeff Elbel
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PINK FLOYD Delicate Sound of Thunder Blu-ray , 3xLP Vinyl
( Pink Floyd Music )
Filmed over five nights at Uniondale , New York ’ s Nassau Coliseum in 1988 , Delicate Sound of Thunder captures the David Gilmour-led Pink Floyd touring in support of 1987 ’ s A Momentary Lapse of Reason . Fans of the post-Roger Waters Pink Floyd era will find these expanded reissues to be essential , particularly because the meticulously remixed 3xLP live album includes an entire album ’ s worth of additional material not included in the 1988 release . The full performance of “ Shine On You Crazy Diamond ( Parts 1-5 )” and its melancholy tribute to Floyd founder Syd Barrett now opens the performance on both LP and film . Several tracks from A Momentary Lapse of Reason are added to present the album ’ s complete second side in sequence , including the evocative " Yet Another Movie ," " Round and Around ," " A New Machine ( Parts 1 & 2 )," and " Terminal Frost ." A few notable trims including bassist Guy Pratt ’ s solo and the female vocal feature during “ Money ,” but the new LP edit runs roughly two and a half hours . The nearly two-hour film retains the set list from the vintage release albeit with the full “ Shine On .” A full-color version of “ The Great Gig in the Sky ” drawn from Nassau now replaces the prior clip from a gig in Versailles , France . Video throughout the film is restored from the original 35- mm footage . Guitarist Gilmour breaks the fourth wall with a big grin for the camera during “ The Dogs of War ” before trading licks with flamboyant saxophonist Scott Page , who rocks the most seriously committed mullet that 1988 has to offer . Pratt is the band ’ s most animated band member , stepping in time to the beat and leaping to punctuate big flourishes alongside drummer Nick Mason . The bassist drives the menacing groove of “ One of These Days ” with its rumbling echoed bass line accompanying Gilmour ’ s howling lap steel and Mason ’ s oceanic crashes . Pratt takes the
spotlight again during “ One Slip ” with a nimble and guttural bass feature . The expanded 11-piece line-up joins voices to form a rich choir during “ On the Turning Away .” Nick Mason ’ s powerful drum fills during the song ’ s cathartic conclusion are augmented with the additional thunder of second drummer Gary Wallis . Each of the principal players has a support player in order to honor the layered arrangements of Pink Floyd ’ s exacting studio work . Tim Renwick doubles Gilmour on guitar and vocal , offloading the occasional solo and leading the way on “ Wish You Were Here ” with rich acoustic rhythm . Jon Carin expands Richard Wright ’ s presence on keyboards and vocals . Mason and Pratt drive the tough 7 / 4 groove of “ Money ,” marking another saxophone feature for Page before Gilmour unleashes a hot blast of cool blues-based guitar licks with inimitable touch . The song also allows the band to stretch , as the arrangement takes a stylistic diversion into a reggae breakdown . Wright adds shimmer to moody pieces like “ Sorrow ,” gospel fervor to “ The Great Gig in the Sky ” ( featuring ecstatic soprano vocals by Margaret Taylor , Durga McBroom and Rachel Fury ), and stately piano to “ Us and Them .” His retro-futuristic textures augment the frenetic paranoia of “ On the Run ” from Dark Side of the Moon . Mason uses multicolored glowing drumsticks for the introduction of Dark Side of the Moon ’ s “ Time ,” with its melancholy chorus vocal sung by Wright . Gilmour ’ s vocal is limber throughout the show , ranging from the rough-hewn growl of “ The Dogs of War ” to the regretful tone of “ Us and Them .” Gilmour ’ s supple falsetto accompanies his own guitar solo during “ Wish You Were Here ,” and he sings with detached and angelic bliss during “ Comfortably Numb ” before climaxing with the most majestic of guitar solos . Pratt covers Waters ’ vocal while trading lines with Gilmour during set closer “ Run Like Hell .” The concert footage captures the band ’ s spectacular light and laser show and its use of props and pyrotechnics , along with familiar film clips projected onto the band ’ s towering cyclorama rear-projection screen . The band ’ s familiar inflatable pig prop careens over the crowd during “ One of These Days ,” flashing beady headlamp eyes .
Neither the audio or video versions feature stage banter – this music speaks for itself . Despite his reserved manner , Gilmour especially seems to enjoy the night . When he ’ s not focused intently on an intricate solo or lost in an emotional
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