Crank It Up To Eleven! 01.27.09: In His Shoes

Posted by Sandeep Murali on 01.27.2009

There have been some incredible performers throughout the history of rock and metal. But what happens when the band is forced to replace them with another performer? To put it plainly, "Is the new guy any good"? Read on.





Hello there boys and girls. First up, muchos apologies for going AWOL last week. Work was a major killer and I needed time outs just to breathe, let alone pen an article. Well, not exactly, but you get the point, right? Okay. Let's get back to the regularly scheduled program, then.

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I Remember You... And your music:

This article was inspired by Led Zep's decision to not go ahead without Plant. Almost poetic in a way that the band's original chapter ended with the loss of another member (Bonham). This brought me to think, are there really IRREPLACABLE musicians out there? How are some of the guys who were (un)fortunate enough to follow the big names into the spotlight currently faring? Let's take a look, shall we?

Steve Morse

Let's admit the obvious. Richie Blackmore is among the closest a human being can get to being a god on a six string. But he was also a horrible pain in the you-know-where to work with. After his less-than-amicable split with them in 1975, Deep Purple was left in a limbo. Sure, the band had many things that were less than ideal going for them, but this WAS a major issue. The band went through breakups, a dead guitarist, reunions and walk outs since his first departure and all through that, it was pretty clear that Blackmore was an unavoidable commodity. So when he walked out for the final time in 1993, they NEEDED someone substantial. They thought they had that in Satriani, but contractual obligations decided otherwise. The answer came in the form of one Steve Morse.



Morse, who's known for founding Dixie Dregs is a true virtuoso at his art. He's a pleasure to watch live and I have to say, I enjoy the hell out of him performing Blackmore originals. He truly revitalized a band that was falling into shambles; creatively and personally. The man may not be considered "Purple enough" by the purists (or the snobs), but he has one thing that Blackmore will never have. The ability to get along with fellow band members. And that, I dare say, is the most important thing of all.








Watch Morse match Gillan note-for-note in (ironically) one of Blackmore's best works and you'll see a chemistry that was rarely seen in the original iteration of the band. The guys look genuinely happy to be out there performing (at a ripe old age, no less), and that's good 'nuff for me.

Jason Newsted

AKA the man who was unfortunate enough to follow the footsteps of one of the most revolutionary bassists in the history of Metal. Clifford Lee Burton was a true revelation when it came to bass playing. I consider every single person who ever worked in Metallica as amazing musicians, but Cliff was something else. The man was a monster on stage, used a multitude of effects to create a sound of his own (And made sure that the bass was not relegated to the sidelines) and most importantly, was the true force that helped Metallica evolve their sound from the raw aggression seen in Kill 'em All to the more complex arrangements seen in Ride the lightning and more obviously, Master of Puppets. So when Metallica tragically lost him in a bus accident in Sweden, they clearly lost more than a bass player.



...and in came Jason "Newkid".



As admitted by Lars and James later, Jason never really got a fair break. The band was taking their grief out on him regularly. The man was hazed on almost a daily basis and of course, we all know how he got next to no frequencies to play with in ...and justice for all. Most importantly, he didn't get an iota of the creative freedom that Cliff enjoyed in the band. Unlike Hammett, who grew into being "One of the boys" (One with limited creative freedom, that is), Jason always remained "Newkid". Perhaps, the difference lay in the fact that Hammett replaced a despised member while Newsted came in place of a cherished one.



When I look back at Jason's 15 year tenure with Metallica, I see a lot of unfulfilled potential. I saw stage presence that almost rivaled that of Cliff's, solid backing vocals and creativity that never really got its day in the sun. Even in the much maligned "Rockstar: Supernova", he was easily my favorite element. When I look at Jason, I see a worthy replacement for Cliff. A shame that he was never used the way he should have been.








A treat for all those who saw Jason's unfulfilled potential.

Kirk Hammett

...and how can we not talk about the other "Newkid" in Metallica?


Dave Mustaine can safely be considered as one of the corner stones of Bay area Trash Metal. The man is in the forfront of those who shaped the "sound" of this particular genre of music. The man was on top of the world in a band that was destined to do great things in the future. Seemingly, nothing could stop him. Except himself, that is. Dave apologetics call it jealousy, Lars and James faithfuls call it an inability to keep himself in check, but whatever it was, it ended up in Dave getting kicked out of the band unceremoniously. And with that went an exceptional guitar player and a great songwriter.



After scouting a few fellow bands, Metallica shortlisted Exodus guitarist Kirk Hammett for the job. The man certainly had the credentials, being a student of Joe Satriani and all. But was he the right man to replace Dave Mustaine? Debatable. Make no mistake, I really love Hammett's playing style. He has influenced several players throughout the years and makes lead guitar playing looks a lot simpler than it really is. He's a true "Company man" and has rarely said a bad word about his bandmates even when it's apparent that they had him on a tight leash. Truly, a guitarist you'd love to work alongside.



But he's no Mustaine.



Hammett definitely held Metallica together in a way that Mutaine never could and for that, he earns my respect. But in the end, it all comes down to sheer talent on the fretboard and here, Mustaine clearly outscores Hammett. And that's not a knock on the latter man.








Although, Kirk DOES occasionally channel Mustaine during rehearsals.

Johny Solinger

Now there's a name I bet not many of you would recognize. For the uninitiated, Solinger is the man Skid Row Chose to replace Sebastian Bach with, when the latter was shown the door in a manner not dissimilar to Mustaine's departure.



Sebastian Bach is one of my all time favorite vocalists. I doubt many would disagree that he is one of the best in the business, considering that the man can hold his own sharing a stage with Rob fucking Halford. Skid Row is responsible for some of my all time favorite songs and Bach was the voice behind every single one of them. So when he was replaced with an apparent nobody, I was angered. As were many others. The band has put out two albums since Solinger joined and if you recall my column from a while back, I didn't have too many nice words to say about them.



But Since then, I have given both albums a fair bit of listen and I gotta say, Solinger deserves more credit than I gave him. The man actually has a pretty decent vocal range and while it's not a patch on Bach's, it still suits Skid Row's brand of music pretty well.







The final word? Solinger is not perfect, but he's making the most out of the opportunity that he has been given. But with Skid Row going through another round of ego clashes and infighting, his efforts may sadly be forgotten by history.

Janick Gers

The iteration of Iron Maiden that consists of Harris, Murray, Smith, McBrain and Dickinson is in my opinion, the most perfect lineup a metal band would ever have. (Although, Ben may disagree. ;-) )The duo of Murray and Smith is most definitely my all time favorite lead pair. But at the end of the 80's, the band was creatively exhausted and Adrian Smith left the band to further his creativity elsewhere. The band needed a replacement and in stepped Gers, who played for Dickinson in his solo album. Fear of the dark saw sizable contributions from Gers and is one of my favorite albums from the band. But things soon went downhill from there and Dickinson left the band. The Blaze Bayley era was pretty unexceptional (Although I DO love "Sign of the cross") and things looked bleak for Eddie and the boys.



Until 1999, that is.



Coz that is when both Dickinson and Smith returned to the band. Surprisingly, they decided to keep Gers on and the band now officially had three guitarists. Was that a good decision? Oh hell yes! While Murray and Smith were almost fluid-like in their lead playing, Gers added a raw aggression and excitement that perfectly complimented the ace duo. Plus, the man was literally the bomb live. At fifty one years of age, he is still one of the most energetic guitarists out there and has taken Maiden live shows to a whole new level. Quite the feat, considering the lofty heights they had already achieved. Definitely a worth replacement for Smith and even better now that they compliment each other.







Up the irons!

Never say goodbye:

Well, that's all we have time for today. Do let me know of your thoughts regarding these choices plus others that you think are worthy of their places as replacements of your favorite performers. We will look into more cases in the next column.




Rock on and see y'all next Tuesday.