Steve Shark Grapples The Grim Reaper Dept.

In a very real sense, are we not all playing Twister™ with Death©?

Death! [intones Steve Shark - Ed.] Not the cheeriest of subjects, but it comes to us all. Unfortunately, it sometimes comes way too soon and that's the theme of this screed - musicians who left us, and also left us wanting more. I've picked 15 (or have I?) out of thousands and thousands and I've been intrigued by what I found. I never really appreciated the fact that Lowell George, for example, was a mere 34 when he shuffled off this mortal wotnot. OK, I knew he wasn't old, but 34 FFS. That's no age at all...and Fred Sonic Smith - he'd been around forever, surely? [stop calling me Shirley - Ed.]
I've now concluded that our deceased musical heroes somehow remain in our minds, ageing along with us, whilst simultaneously staying as they were when we first got acquainted with them, until we start to look at the numbers and begin to face the facts about their mortality - and ours.
As for how they died...well, there's suicides, ODs, accidents and, inevitably, all that disease stuff, and often accompanied by a good helping of sheer bad luck to hurry some of these along. I'm not going to say how each or any of the below died - I refer you instead to Google, if you're that curious. I'm just going to stick with a brief comment on each track and leave you to fill in any gaps.
The only criteria I've used for my choices is that a) the subject is dead (obvs!) and b) they're under 50 (or are they?). Again, in line with my previous screeds, some of these people you'll know and some you won't. They're all worthy of further exploration and all of them left us some wonderful music.

 

Gratuitous mystery introduction (52)

Courtesy of somebody who didn't make the cut, but only by a couple of years - another shock to me. I'd have said he was way older than that when he died.

 

Kevin Gilbert (29) Last Plane Out (Toy Matinee)

Gilbert's "Toy Matinee" band released one studio album and its lead track is my choice. A dense slab of power pop with great vocals and tricksy production, it's a tale of being one of the last people to leave a war zone, but it seems more apocalyptic to me. Guy Pratt's bass playing is fantastic.

 

Steve Goodman (36) City of New Orleans

An obvious choice, perhaps, so sue me... If you don't know Goodman's original version, you'll certainly be familiar with Arlo Guthrie's earlier cover. This is a little smoother, but it has a certain quality in the vocals that celebrates the whole experience of the journey, whereas Guthrie sounds more wearied by it. 'A list' Nashville Cats all over this one!

 

Eddie Hazel (42) Lompoc Boogie

Yeah...but "Maggot Brain"! OK, this doesn't have the raw pain and sorrow of that track, but Eddie really stretches out here with just a bassist and drummer for company. There's more than a hint of Jimi in this, but also a lot of individual rhythm and lead work that made Hazel one of the finest players to take the Hendrix legacy forward. When he cuts loose with his solos, he just soars. Why Lompoc? Eddie did time there.  

 

Snakefinger (38) Kill the Great Raven

Philip Lithman - ex-Resident, ex-Chilli Willi and the Red Hot Peppers - was a walking encyclopdia of musical genres. Equally at home with Delta blues, cajun, country, electric blues and avant garde rock, Snakefinger cut some very idiosyncratic solo albums, with that quality well in evidence here in a reggae piece - complete with a sort of "Turkish" guitar solo (if it's even guitar!).

 

Danny Gatton (49) Nitpickin'

I first heard this on a Guitar Player magazine flexi-disc (remember those?) and it blew me away with its mix of rockabilly, Les Paul, jazz and blues. Not so much a jack of all trades, as the master of them all, Gatton combined dazzling technique with a willingness to play anything. He often lapsed into "cheesiness" but at his peak and with the right material, he was probably one of the best in the world. Bizarrely and coincidentally, he was going to join Lowell George's post-Feat band but Lowell died a couple of days after issuing the invitation. Lots of WTF??? moments on this track.

 

Phil Lynott (36) Dancin' in the Moonlight (Thin Lizzy)

Thin Lizzy didn't mean a lot in the US, but as well as being a very highly regarded live act in the UK, they also scored some big hits there. Phil had it all: looks, charm, bass chops and a good ear for melodic rock. In "Moonlight" he plays the small-town Lothario to a T and the whole production, with a rare use of saxes, lifts the band firmly out of the "hard rock" bracket. A great pop record!

 

Nick Drake (26) Northern Sky

This was all set to be Drake's breakthrough single, but it never got the promotion it deserved, even though it's one his most highly regarded songs. It's a plea for the light in the darkness that only love can bring. John Cale plays keyboards which create a lovely wash behind the wispiness of Nick's vocals. He's a classic case of being more famous post mortem.

 

Al Wilson (27) Poor Moon (Canned Heat)

The "Blind Owl" was responsible for the high vocals and Hookerish guitar that made many of Canned Heat's tracks so distinctive at the time. Here he sings about how he hopes the Moon isn't trashed when Man colonises it. Very innovative backing vocals and a melody line that contains lots of quirky major key notes. When the band lost Al, along with his highly individual take on the blues, they were never the same again.

  

Ollie Halsall (43) Loud Green Song (Patto)

Going on to play with John Cale, Viv Stanshall, Kevin Ayres, Grimms, Tempest and Boxer, Halsall started playing guitar in Timebox, but really blossomed on the instrument in Patto. This track was recorded in 1972 and shows Ollie letting rip with legato runs and whammy bar tricks (on a Gibson SG FFS) that paved the way for shredders like Eddie Van Halen many years later. He just may be the most influential guitarist that (almost virtually) no one's ever heard of.

 

Charlie Christian (25)

Christian was the first bebop guitarist and the first to play the instrument as if it was a horn, blowing his lines and runs as freely over the band as any sax or trumpet. On this track he's jamming at Minton's Playhouse and tearing his way through several choruses. The recording is 70 years old but still sounds fresh and vital. I love the way he repeats phrases over the chord changes. Monk may be on piano.

 

Steve Marriott (44) Out of the Blue

Small Faces and then Humble Pie...Marriott had his fair share of fame, and his less successful solo career wasn't too shabby, although much of his output was a bit "Stones lite". "Out of the Blue" also features Peter Frampton on vocals and guitar and the track brings out the best in both men, with a meaty but thoughtful production avoiding the balls-out strutty vibe that was too often Marriott's default position.

 

Gene Clark (46) So You Say You Lost Your Baby

A lot of people slagged off this album as being over-produced. Perhaps they were expecting the Byrds, but they didn't listen to how Gene was trying so hard to move on from them. Lovely breezy pop with strings and a touch of psychedelic guitar. The album credits include 3/5 of the original Byrds (including Clark), Clarence White (soon to get his wings) and lots more of those Nashville Cats.

 

(Will) Owsley (44) Oh No, the Radio

After a promising start with power poppers "The Semantics" - whose debut album remained unreleased for 3 years - Owsley went on to become guitarist for Shania Twain and Amy Grant, amongst many others, and did a hell of a lot of session work. His first solo album, catchily entitled "Owsley", is a power pop classic with enough hooks for a party of anglers and sufficient quirkiness to lift it out of the formulaic. "Radio" is well-nigh perfect with great vocals, lyrics and guitar, and a punchy (self) production.

 

Fred Sonic Smith (46) City Slang (Sonic's Rendezvous Band)

Life after the MC5 for Fred began with this single. The band only had enough money to record one track, so a single was pressed with a stereo side and a mono one, although they were both the same mix! There are the usual wonderfully snotty vocals from Fred, and the guitars, bass and drums are all as tight as a gnat's chuff - it's the 70s Detroit rock scene in one track and I love it!

 

Lowell George (34) Rock 'n' Roll Doctor (Little Feat)

"Two degrees in bebop, a PhD in swing"...the first Feat track I heard, and a masterclass in how the spaces between the notes are just as important as the notes themselves. Lowell was a superb singer and slide guitarist, as well as a consummate songwriter, and the Feat were the perfect band to showcase this. Alas, unhappy with the direction in which the band was going, he quit. As I said above, it's very hard to think he was only 34 when he died.

 

Gratuitous bonus track - Bootsy's New Rubber Band - Good Night Eddie

Put together and dedicated to Eddie Hazel by Bootsy, this features Eddie playing some beautifully limpid guitar. Fortunately, Bootsy is still with us!

"Lord, just wait in the midnight when death comes slippin' in your room. You're gonna need somebody on your bond."