Partly inspired by Peter Doggett’s comment in the recent Word In Your Ear podcast – that you could create a sizeable compilation of songs CSN&Y and their coterie wrote about each other – I started to put together just such a compilation (playlist). However, in the end I decided to broaden it out to include other songs by artists about, er, other artists. Any other suggestions for songs warmly welcomed. This is a collaborative Spotify playlist so presumably anyone can add their contributions. A few notes where the reference isn’t obvious: ‘Willy’ by Joni Mitchell is about David Crosby (William is his middle name) ‘Pretty Girl Why’ by Buffalo Springfield is about Stephen Still’s first wife, singer songwriter Nancy Priddy. ‘You Can Close Your Eyes’ by James Taylor is about Joni Mitchell. ‘Empty Garden (Hey Johnny Johnny)’ by Elton John is a tribute to John Lennon. ‘Au Contraire’ by They Might Be Giants is about David Bowie.
Most memorable improvised guitar intros
This is inspired by listening to The Beatles “Octopus’ Garden” on @Dude From Atlantis thread “The Octopus Test”.
George’s intro is just so brilliant – sets up the song, totally memorable. Made me think of Jerry Garcia’s pedal steel intro to CSNY’s “Teach Your Children.
What other fabuloid improvised guitar intros do you love? I’m not talking about a riff that forms the basis of the song (eg “Whole Lotta Love”) – I mean something that is an invention of the guitar player but just sets the scene for the song perfectly.
