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:: Just A Little Kiss ::

:: Caravan ::

:: Baker St. Mystery ::

:: Bye Bye Blues ::

:: Guitar Boogie ::

:: Ebb Tide ::

:: Carioca ::

:: Golden Wild-Flower ::

Regardless of whether or not his name rings an, um...bell, you've certainly heard his guitar. Unless you've never listened to popular music, in which case I am now going to have to ask you nicely to leave. This man is such a part of popular music history that it's surprising to me how little I've heard about him over the years. In fact, the reason I sought out his records wasn't because of his reputation, but because I loved the guitar playing on a Lou Monte live album that I own, and Lou happened to mention his name in between songs. I am not even 100% sure that it was this Vinnie Bell on that album, but I see that this Vinnie played on Lou's "Pepino The Italian Mouse" and "Shaddup You Face," so it follows.

Even a partial list of sessions this man was in on is pretty staggering, and I doubt that a complete list will ever exist because he wasn't always credited. It's not only that Vinnie's a talented guitarist, because clearly he is, but he was a master of making sounds. He pioneered the watery guitar sound, he was doing Wah sounds before there was a proper Wah pedal, he did things that no one else was doing. In addition to that, he also invented gear. He can take credit for both the Electric Sitar and the Bellzouki, an electric Bouzouki-Guitar hybrid. There's a wealth of information and media on his website.

He didn't do a ton of solo work, but there's a handful of albums out there, including an Electric Sitar album that's fairly sought after. He had a hit with "Airport Love Theme," and played on the Godfather and Twin Peaks soundtracks. This album is a run through some standards and other songs that make a good showcase of his guitar work. Here's side A.


Tony

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 04, 2008 at 5:02 AM. You can skip to the end and leave a response.