Late Beatles, Guitar Heroes, and Aural SkillsMUSC-21600: The Art of Rock Music

Prof. Freeze17 October 2016

The Beatles: Period 4• Period 4: The Splintering (1968–70)

• Personal, existential, stylistic • Apple Records• Stylistic eclecticism

• The Beatles (1968) [“White Album”]• “Back in the U.S.S.R.” (The Beach Boys, Chuck Berry)• “Blackbird” (Bob Dylan)• “Don’t Pass Me By” (country)• “Yer Blues” (blues)• “Revolution 1” (rockabilly, doo wop)• “Revolution 9” (avant-garde, musique concrète)

• Joycean stream-of-consciousness of a musical mind• Rejects melody, harmony, meter, recognizable form • Collage of tape loops (ca. 30)• Range of sound types• Extensive exploitation of production techniques

The Rise of the Guitar Hero• New London Blend: trio + guitar + blues + experimental spirit• Jimi Hendrix

• Seattle to London (via the music of the Delta, Blues)• Monterey Pop Festival (1967)• Expanded palette of rock guitar sounds• “Purple Haze” (The Jimi Hendrix Experience, 1967)

• [See listening guide]• “1983 (A Merman I Should Turn to Be)” (The Jimi Hendrix Experience, 1968)

• Inspired by avant-garde• Eric Clapton

• Cream: first power trio (electric guitar, electric bass, drums)• Most accomplished and revered blues-style guitarist• “Crossroads” (Cream, 1968)

• Cover of Robert Johnson’s song• Built on single riff, presented in bass and guitar at the beginning• 12-bar blues, with escalating series of virtuoso guitar solos

Late Beatles, Guitar Heroes, and Aural SkillsThe Beatles: Period 4The Rise of the Guitar Hero