Thoughts on Other Musicians We Lost in 2016

Happy New Year!
Well, let's hope there aren't so many losses this year as in the annus horribilis that was 2016.

Previously in this blog, I've written (sometimes rather extensively) about musicians who were particularly important to me personally:
https://aproposno.blogspot.ca/2016/01/thoughts-on-david-bowieparti.html https://aproposno.blogspot.ca/2016/04/keithemerson.html
https://aproposno.blogspot.ca/2016/04/george-martin-true-fifth-beatle-and-more.html

For this posting, I'd like to chat about some musicians who may have been less important to me on a personal level, but still gave me food for thought on their passing. In no particular order, then:


Greg Lake

Yeah, this was quite a shocker, with the ELP/King Crimson bassist/vocalist passing from cancer at 69, the same as David Bowie.
Though I came to King Crimson in kind of a backward way (the first KC LP I bought was 1973's Lark's Tongues In Aspic, and I didn't hear the original lineup on In the Court of the Crimson King and In the Wake of Poseidon until years later), I certainly appreciated the skill the young Lake displayed on those early albums. His fluid bass playing and dramatic singing were an asset to the rather bombastic sound the group was producing at that time.
As Crimso moved to a leaner, even more improvisatory ideal, culminating in their mid- '70s peak with the Robert Fripp/John Wetton/Bill Bruford core, Lake's style may well not have suited them. In any case, the formation of ELP with Keith Emerson and Carl Palmer was the ultimate made-in-heaven match. The skillful bass and vocal styles I mentioned above really suited their music.
Lake took on producer duties for their albums, as well as writing the lyrics for all their albums, until Brain Salad Surgery, when, interestingly enough, King Crimson's OG lyricist, Pete Sinfield, took the reins.
As I mentioned in my Keith Emerson posting, a song like "Lucky Man" wouldn't have had the same effect without Lake's idea to put a heavy reverb on it. On any of their albums, the sound is always clean and rich, and that's due to Lake's producing talents.


Glenn Frey

I've never been a big fan of the Eagles, so let's get that out of the way. However, there can be no denying their pervasiveness and influence.
As a teenager in the 1970's, you couldn't go into a store, for a drive with a buddy, or listen to the radio for any length of time without hearing "Take It Easy," "Life In the Fast Lane," "Peaceful Easy Feeling," "Lyin' Eyes," "One of These Nights," "Hotel California," etc., etc.  When songs (or movies, or TV shows) are that ubiquitous, I tend to shut them out, or even develop a level of contempt for them. But perhaps, subconsciously, I did appreciate the craft of the songs, their hooks and harmonies, even if they didn't affect me emotionally or personally.
So imagine my surprise when a friend lent me a DVD of an Eagles reunion concert from a few years back (the Farewell I Tour), and damned if I didn't know every single song they played. And not only that, found myself enjoying them, too!
I guess there had been a long enough time away from the songs for that appreciation I mentioned to take hold, and work its way into my mind. Especially moving was bassist Timothy B. Schmit singing "I Can't Tell You Why," a lovely tune which I hadn't heard, literally, for decades.
(Frey also had an acting career, in several movies and TV shows, but I'm sure you'll forgive me for putting those into the "don't quit your day job" category.)


Leonard Cohen

Once again, I admit, I'm not that heavily into Leonard Cohen's music, but that's only due to a lack of effort on my part. It seemed only when other musicians, like Jennifer Warnes or Joe Cocker, did covers of his songs, that I appreciated them. Perhaps it's that famous Canadian inferiority having its insidious effect.
In any case, I only know a few songs, like "Suzanne," "So Long, Marianne," "Bird On A Wire," and of course, "Hallelujah," a song that's been covered and performed hundreds of times. As it happens, it's also one of the most popular songs that the Toronto Welsh Male Voice Choir, of which I am a member, does in their concerts. It's quite astonishing to look out into the audience and see so many people singing along, not just with the well-known chorus, but the verses as well!
In the appreciation for his music, some may forget that Cohen was also one of the country's foremost poets and authors. I've read some of his books of poetry, and many years ago, his novel, Beautiful Losers. It's been a while, but I do remember the book being rather audacious, with stream-of-consciousness passages, as well as satirical takes on popular culture, like "The Insult That Made a Man Out of 'Mac'" bodybuilding ads that were so pervasive in comic books at the time.
It was certainly gratifying for this Canadian to hear the worldwide expressions of condolence when he passed away last year.

Prince

And, yes, here is another case where I'm not too familiar with the songs, but cannot deny their influence and ubiquitousness.
This was another musician that I kind of started off on the wrong foot with. Working at a record store in the early 1980s, I handled several of his early LPs, but particularly remember the cover of Dirty Mind, which featured Prince dressed in a short, wide-lapelled, studded leather jacket and thong - and that's all - gazing at the viewer. The word was that he was popular with the gay subculture (for such it still was at that time), so I never cared to know more about his music.
Then, along came Purple Rain, and he was everywhere - music videos were at their peak, and his sexual provocativeness and personality were pretty controversial, and not a little divisive. I did have a copy of the Purple Rain soundtrack (and saw the movie - see Glenn Frey, above), and watched a broadcast of one of his concerts, and had to admit, he had a pretty unique sound. And. yes, the electric presence of percussionist Sheila E. in the concert broadcast didn't hurt, either.
Ultimately, the way he manipulated sounds, and his restless exploration of different genres, meant that no one else sounded like Prince, and that's as high a compliment as you can pay to any musician. When someone so talented and productive dies, and they're younger than you, that's an even more profound loss.


So, let's hope my postings for this coming year will be on the occasion of happier events than those of last year. We've already gone two weeks with no bad news, so keep yer fingers crossed!