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Hamish Stuart, Ringo’s All-Starr Band

#22
SDC1-ClickClack said:
Indeed, Ringo and his various All-Starr Band line-ups have delivered great concerts for years and years. The idea of featuring so many artists with well-known songs in their discographies is a great way for these aging musicians to go on the road and earn some money well after their prime earning years, while sharing the physical demands of being the lead singer. (For my tastes, it's a bit too much like an oldies radio station or a jukebox stocked with only songs that got heavy airplay in decades past, but one cannot begrudge them taking the opportunity to go out and use their talents to entertain audiences while bringing in some much-needed revenue.)

It's a shame that Edgar Winter is not far more widely appreciated for his musical abilities. Yes, he can sing well (with a huge range, at least when he was younger), yes, he can play drums and keyboards, and holy crap, can he wail on the sax! Not only that, but his 1970 debut solo album Entrance is a jazz-rock tour de force, but with an emphasis on JAZZ. Most people only know him for the songs "Frankenstein" and "Free Ride" (both admittedly quite good) or his scream-heavy vocal work with the band Edgar Winter's White Trash.

That Entrance album and Edgar himself are so good that the Ed Palermo Big Band released an excellent album a couple of years ago consisting entirely of songs composed by Edgar and arranged by Palermo, including the "Winter's Dream" suite that took up the entire first side of the original album LP. As good as the big band versions are, the original album still holds up really well over 50 years later.

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SDC1-ClickClack said:
Indeed, Ringo and his various All-Starr Band line-ups have delivered great concerts for years and years. The idea of featuring so many artists with well-known songs in their discographies is a great way for these aging musicians to go on the road and earn some money well after their prime earning years, while sharing the physical demands of being the lead singer. (For my tastes, it's a bit too much like an oldies radio station or a jukebox stocked with only songs that got heavy airplay in decades past, but one cannot begrudge them taking the opportunity to go out and use their talents to entertain audiences while bringing in some much-needed revenue.)

It's a shame that Edgar Winter is not far more widely appreciated for his musical abilities. Yes, he can sing well (with a huge range, at least when he was younger), yes, he can play drums and keyboards, and holy crap, can he wail on the sax! Not only that, but his 1970 debut solo album Entrance is a jazz-rock tour de force, but with an emphasis on JAZZ. Most people only know him for the songs "Frankenstein" and "Free Ride" (both admittedly quite good) or his scream-heavy vocal work with the band Edgar Winter's White Trash.

That Entrance album and Edgar himself are so good that the Ed Palermo Big Band released an excellent album a couple of years ago consisting entirely of songs composed by Edgar and arranged by Palermo, including the "Winter's Dream" suite that took up the entire first side of the original album LP. As good as the big band versions are, the original album still holds up really well over 50 years later.

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Entrance is indeed a killer LP. As is Jasmine Nightdreams.
 
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#26
Michedelic said:
In this case, why would he bother? It's not a Judas Priest show. It looks like he has just what he needs, and with so many in the band, you'd think that stage space would be too precious to waste on something that wasn't necessary.
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I was pondering this very question as I stood in front of the stage. The array of equipment, if props, was masterfully designed to convey realism rather than "impressive wall of sound." I could imagine these old hats just wanting to have their amps behind them—Lukather's Bogners, Colin's Magnatone, some little tweed thing that Hamish played guitar through on one tune. I'm gonna say real amps.
 
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#27
IPA said:
not helping my Mustang GAS
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I played mine today for the first time in a while, after getting the tacit go-ahead from Hamish. Think maybe I'll take it to the jam Tuesday night—and maybe nothing else.
image.jpg
 
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#28
bmusic said:
I was pondering this very question as I stood in front of the stage. The array of equipment, if props, was masterfully designed to convey realism rather than "impressive wall of sound." I could imagine these old hats just wanting to have their amps behind them—Lukather's Bogners, Colin's Magnatone, some little tweed thing that Hamish played guitar through on one tune. I'm gonna say real amps.
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I see plenty of young bands still using amps. Many across the age spectrum just simply prefer them.
Going "ampless" is not a new concept, and the thing of having dummies on stage for the visuals is kind of passe' and pointless, unless it's an old school metal show with an audience that would still be impressed by that. So, if you see them, as I did at a large festival a month ago, whether they be SVT's or Rumbles, the players young or old are more comfortable with them.
 
#30
dougjwray said:
I saw this lineup last October. They were all great, and it was fun to hear Ringo play Average White Band and Toto grooves.
He's still a fantastic drummer.
I saw a different incarnation around 2000, and that lineup included Jack Bruce! :woot:
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That may have also included Dave Edmunds. My sister attended one of Ringo's shows that had the 2 of them,
and ended up chatting with Jack at a bar afterwards.
 
#31
woodyng2 said:
That may have also included Dave Edmunds. My sister attended one of Ringo's shows that had the 2 of them,
and ended up chatting with Jack at a bar afterwards.
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That was the lineup I saw. It also had Eric Carmen and Simon Kirke. Jack would play any instrument that was needed for anyone's song, and you'd hear "Thanks, Jack!" I got the impression that the other guys were a bit in awe of him.
I also liked the fact that, as a bassist, he was completely faithful to the parts on the Beatles and Free songs. No grandstanding.
 
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#32
dougjwray said:
That was the lineup I saw. It also had Eric Carmen and Simon Kirke. Jack would play any instrument that was needed for anyone's song, and you'd hear "Thanks, Jack!" I got the impression that the other guys were a bit in awe of him.
I also liked the fact that, as a bassist, he was completely faithful to the parts on the Beatles and Free songs. No grandstanding.
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Indeed, Jack Bruce is another musician whose talents were probably appreciated to the fullest extent by fellow musicians and fans discerning enough to recognize the jazz-informed sophistication of his solo albums. He's most remembered as the bass player and vocalist for Cream, of course, but his songwriting and piano skills are equally impressive. Therefore, it is easy to understand why he might have been one of the most capable "utility players" in the All-Starr Band, capable of playing whatever was required.

I recall reading an interview in which Todd Rundgren said that it was a dream come true being able to play lead guitar with Jack on songs made famous by Cream.
 
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