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Myles Kennedy holds his own on guitar

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Much has already been made of the voice Myles Kennedy would bring to the table in a collaboration with Jimmy Page. But what about the fact that he's also an accomplished guitarist in his own right? Here's a look at Myles Kennedy on guitar.

Here is Myles Kennedy jamming on "Travelling Riverside Blues," a Robert Johnson song that ought to be familiar to Led Zeppelin fans. This lemon-squeezing performance is from Alter Bridge's Feb. 10, 2008, show in Copenhagen, as namechecked in the song. Drummer Scott Phillips adds some sparse accompaniment.


That's a resonator guitar he's playing in this clip. And yes, you get a sample of Kennedy's ability to hold a very long note at the end of this. What a singer!

In 2005, Alter Bridge allowed its two guitarists to take center stage for some solo features. In this Nov. 15 show at the Astoria in London, Myles Kennedy starts off this spectacle with some "Voodoo Chile," paying tribute to Jimi Hendrix. His more technical counterpart, Mark Tremonti, follows up with a taste of the Eddie Van Halen guitar solo "Eruption."



The same show also includes this cover of Led Zeppelin's "Rock and Roll" with Myles on rhythm guitar.



When Tremonti takes lead guitar, I can't help but concentrate on the steady rhythm guitar that continues throughout and think of how this would complement Page. In fact, I'm also reminded of two recent tours on which Page was assisted by at least one other guitarist when performing Led Zeppelin songs like this. He allowed this to happen with Porl Thompson of The Cure when touring with Robert Plant from 1994 to 1995 and again with Black Crowes guitarists Rich Robinson and Audley Freed in 1999 and 2000. In interviews, Page was very vocal on the latter occasion about how pleased he was to have the other guitarists with him to add layers to the music that are impossible for one guitarist except in the studio, where overdubs are fair game.

See how Myles responds to the Bristol Academy crowd in his guitar solo at the beginning of the following clip from 2006. After Tremonti's "Eruption" is a full-band rendition of a Bolero-inspired instrumental called "Ahavo Rabo Taco Salad."



There's no matching video for this pair of guitar solos, recorded Oct. 15, 2005, in Las Vegas. Again, Myles goes first, then Mark.



Myles and Mark in this video clip from the Alter Bridge show in Barcelona from May 21, 2006:



Here's one from the archives. This is from 15 years ago or more. If you're anything like me and that rhythm from the drum machine bothers you, you may want to skip right to the guitar solo beginning at 2:56. Kennedy shows off his finger dexterity in this.



Oh, and it's nice to see Myles knows what he's talking about when it comes to guitar gear. He must have fun talking gear with Jimmy Page. At 1:42, Myles has an "It Might Get Loud" moment.

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Led Zeppelin Reunion


Photo courtesy of Simon Keeping

The surviving members of Led Zeppelin regrouped in 2007, with Jason Bonham on drums, to perform a year-end tribute to Ahmet Ertegun. Their widely praised concert was witnessed in person by fewer than 20,000 people. It is likely never to be repeated, and there are no announced plans to release the concert for home viewing. However, clicking the image above will bring up multi-cam footage of the entire Led Zeppelin performance as it happened on Dec. 10, 2007, at the O2 arena in London.

Many posts on LedZeppelinNews.com have centered on the possibility of a full-scale Led Zeppelin reunion, noting particularly the inaccuracies reported by the popular press.

Page


Jimmy Page stars with fellow guitarists Jack White and The Edge in this guitar documentary, directed by Davis Guggenheim ("An Inconvenient Truth"), which had widespread theatrical showings beginning in August.

LedZeppelinNews.com provided a review of "It Might Get Loud" at that time.

"It Might Get Loud" will be released on DVD and Blu-Ray on Dec. 22 in the United States. Click here to pre-order on DVD or Blu-Ray. Prior to this, "It Might Get Loud" will be available on iTunes for two weeks beginning Dec. 8.

- What else should I know about "It Might Get Loud"?

- What else is Jimmy Page up to?

Plant


Just prior to the Led Zeppelin reunion concert in 2007, Robert Plant released the album Raising Sand with Alison Krauss. Their partnership has been the subject of much critical and commercial success, including victories at the Grammy awards two years in a row.

A follow-up to that album has been in pre-production, but Krauss's current priorities are new recordings and eventual touring with her signature band, Union Station. Progress on the second Plant/Krauss album is anticipated following the completion of the Union Station tour.

More recently, Plant entered the studio with famed U2 producer Daniel Lanois for some recording sessions, the nature of which has not been disclosed.

Following the breakup of Led Zeppelin, Plant went on to a rewarding career as a solo artist. He released six albums of his own between 1982 and 1993, two collaborative albums with Jimmy Page between 1994 and 1998, and two more solo albums since that time. Yet until Raising Sand, his biggest commercial success came in releasing an EP of classic cover material under the name The Honeydrippers.

- What else is Robert Plant up to?

Jones


John Paul Jones is now in one of the hottest and hardest rock bands, Them Crooked Vultures. The frontman, handling lead guitar and vocals, is Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age. Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters is on drums. As for Jones, he offers not only bass and keyboard but also mandolin, keytar, lap steel and whatever else is needed.

One album was released in November, and another is forthcoming. A tour of North America completed in November, and the band now heads to Europe in December and Australia in January.

- What's the latest on Them Crooked Vultures, the group featuring John Paul Jones, Dave Grohl and Josh Homme?

- What else is John Paul Jones up to?

Jason Bonham


Jason Bonham, son of the late John "Bonzo" Bonham, does not take lightly the responsibility of carrying on his father's legacy. Having made a head start at drumming while he was a child, Jason is now passing on the same lessons to a third generation of Bonham drummers.

John Bonham's death in 1980 left such an impact on the surviving members of Led Zeppelin that they knew immediately they could not continue as they were. Yet Jason Bonham's familiarity with the band made him a shoe-in to join his father's bandmates on the few occasions reunion concerts have taken place.

This year marked the 20th anniversary of Bonham's most successful album release to date, the Platinum-certified disc The Disregard of Timekeeping released by his band, Bonham. To mark the milestone, he recently toured with a new band and played under the banner of "An Evening with Jason Bonham."

In the past, Bonham has also toured and/or recorded with Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, Foreigner, UFO, Paul Rodgers, Joe Bonamassa, Virginia Wolf, Airrace, Healing Sixes and Motherland. He also acted in the movie Rock Star and appeared on the reality TV show "SuperGroup."

- What's the latest on Jason Bonham?

Who Else

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