cliffs dover 84

Dumble yes, when it cost a couple of grand. Unpolished is so great. Plenty of imperfections, good stuff!
 
Yeah this was the first “televised” Eric Johnson thing I ever saw. Stumbled on it late night on PBS. Few years later he did the show with the cute haircut and the marching band jacket. Both shows are phenomenal. His tone was better back then IMO. It’s a bit muted and muffled now. The violin is missing. 😎😎😎😎
 
EJ wrote that in the 70s. I wonder how many times he has played it? Can you imagine playing that on autopilot?
 
interesting stuff. it's a very different EJ than I'm used to. way less refined, almost like he's searching or chasing an idea. I like the energy. His tone is different, aggressive high end or more hair or just...something. Was this Tones-era? Wonder if he was still working this one out?
 
i dug it. Also liked how raw it was and the fact that there is some high end in there as the time I saw him it was too smooth for my tastes personally. He played great though.
 
psychodave said:
What's interesting about this is its before Yngwie hit it big. So there is little to no Yngwie influence.... but if you notice, Eric is using lots of economy picking like Yngwie uses.
Click to expand...
Troy Grady talks about this a lot on cracking the code site. Very interesting, the Lord of Fury Yngwie. In Sweden coming up with economy and sweep like young Eric in the US. Or their technique of those techniques.
 
gtrwun said:
Yeah this was the first “televised” Eric Johnson thing I ever saw. Stumbled on it late night on PBS. Few years later he did the show with the cute haircut and the marching band jacket. Both shows are phenomenal. His tone was better back then IMO. It’s a bit muted and muffled now. The violin is missing. 😎😎😎😎
Click to expand...
That jacket from Austin city limits is nuts. Looked like it would be hard to move your arms well in it. Not only is he blessed with guitar skills out of this world. But he was also blessed with super thick hair that he has til this very day. Of course, he was blessed with thick rock hair.

I think all the raddest guitarists, by sheer force of will, defied their genetic programming and refused to go bald.
 
That was my intro to EJ, when that version of "Cliffs.." was on a Flexi-disc in Guitar Player Magazine.
I was floored the first time I played it. We listened to it on my friend's dad's big old stereo.
We all stood around just astonished at the playing and tone.
It's crazy how much EJ worked on his picking between that ACL show, and when he finally
put out "Ah Via Musicom". He really smoothed out his attack.
 
NorCal_Val said:
That was my intro to EJ, when that version of "Cliffs.." was on a Flexi-disc in Guitar Player Magazine.
I was floored the first time I played it. We listened to it on my friend's dad's big old stereo.
We all stood around just astonished at the playing and tone.
It's crazy how much EJ worked on his picking between that ACL show, and when he finally
put out "Ah Via Musicom". He really smoothed out his attack.
Click to expand...
Yeah, Eric really had an impact on me for many years. I was obsessed. Not that I wanted to play like him, but that tone was so huge. I seriously didn’t understand how he was getting that sound with a Strat. Unfortunately I burnt myself out on him. I still appreciate him and his talent though.
 
I can’t economy pick worth a damn; but I learned to emulate that rolling fives without it. I so wish I had learned economy picking when I was in my formative years but I am so dang grooved I even alternate-pick my arpeggios.

His Venus Isle/ALC-era was his technical peak. Just insane picking, note choice, vibrato, AND tone.
 
Big EJ fan. The ambitiousness of that rig is awesome.

I pick in that same angle of attack as EJ/Yngwie so I can see the connection that Grady talks about.
 
He looks like Christian Bale in that, well, vice versa though.

He's a fantastic player. Can be a little too samey for me all the time. He plays the 'Eric Johnson' style very well for decades, but I can only hear so much.
I do hate how much Joe Bonamassa has ripped off his licks so much and tarnished them a bit. Do your own shit.
I can also hear how Andy Timmons has been influenced a bit, but def not to the point of JB.
 
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