Yesterday evening I had a much rewarding and pleasant listening session… I was alone but not lonely with Bert Jansch’s “Rosemary Lane” and “It don’t bother me” and Nick Drake’s “Pink Moon”.
It was sometime I didn’t listen to these marvelous discs; the last few weeks I listened to a lot of ECMs’ and other quite adventurous music so, a spontaneous thought crossed my mind: what makes Bert Jansch and Nick Drake immortal?
Why does this music never grow tiresome or boring, even after fifty years? I sincerely love ECM’s vision, most of ECM’s artists are absolute virtuosos of adamant technical skill! … but who’ll remember this highly polished music in the future?
What makes these guitar sounds—so “imperfect” (both Bert and Nick favored well-worn strings, with a tone almost muted and muffled by use and sweat-induced oxidation)—so unique and inimitable? Bert’s voice cracks in a deeply human way; he interprets the lyrics, truly living them and his vocal technique is at the antipodes of a conservatory-trained singer…
The same goes for Nick... but, BUT listening to this music, time ceases to flow conventionally, and one remains spellbound by such simplicity and beauty!
Art reaches senses and soul… you time-travel to youth and loves, not thinking to mikes and studio gimmicks.
After listening to those wonderful albums, I also changed the strings on my own Martin OM-42, shifting from an ultra-precise—almost cold and sterile—sound made with hi-tech, hi-end phosphorus bronze strings, to one that was human, fluid, and vibrant, like a voice... I simply installed some beloved, trusty LaBella Silk & Steel .012–.056 strings, almost muddy sounding vs. the a.m. modern strings and the miracle was right there at my fingertips, with a piano-like sound, expressive and rich tone at the service of my technique and execution.
It is my belief that music thrives on uniqueness, where the musician “must” find his own voice and eventual flaws are not flaws if his soul speak with a sincere, pure voice through music.
Music—composing and playing one’s own music, that is—requires freedom and a refusal to follow the herd; commercial radio has for years reflected this reality: everyone uses excessive and compulsive Auto-Tune and an embarrassing amount of overdubbing to mask an almost total lack of inspiration or any real “message.”
Food for thought, uh? Who says banal is over-simplifying?
BTW - after struggling for the past few weeks for the uninvolving feeling while playing, my guitar became a shiver-making instrument instead of an aseptic hi-end acoustic guitar, similar to countless others.
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