Rock violin
January 6, 2006 2:40 PM Subscribe
I really like the violin in the beginning of The John Spencer Blues Explosion's song "Bellbottoms". What are some other bands/songs that combine bluesy rockin' electric guitar and epic-sounding violins?
Curved Air almost fit the bill, but the rock parts are nowhere near as hard as the Blues Explosion ("Bright Summer's Day '68" being maybe the one exception).
posted by PinkStainlessTail at 2:53 PM on January 6, 2006
posted by PinkStainlessTail at 2:53 PM on January 6, 2006
Jean Luc Ponty played with the Mothers of Invention on a few ocassions (on Hot Rats! for one), though his violin work is a bit jazzier than the opening of Bellbottoms.
posted by PinkStainlessTail at 2:58 PM on January 6, 2006
posted by PinkStainlessTail at 2:58 PM on January 6, 2006
Early Electric Light Orchestra - albums "No Answer" and "ELO 2", even into "On The Third Day".
posted by Dunwitty at 3:38 PM on January 6, 2006
posted by Dunwitty at 3:38 PM on January 6, 2006
A little (a lot) more out there than Blues Explosion, but check out Mahavishnu Orchestra's "Visions of the Emerald Beyond" album -- the electric violin on that disc seriously rocks.
posted by JekPorkins at 3:45 PM on January 6, 2006
posted by JekPorkins at 3:45 PM on January 6, 2006
Rush "Losing It".
BTW, I don't think that Kashmir has any violins. What you might've thought were violins is actually a Mellotron.
posted by turbodog at 3:50 PM on January 6, 2006
BTW, I don't think that Kashmir has any violins. What you might've thought were violins is actually a Mellotron.
posted by turbodog at 3:50 PM on January 6, 2006
More bluesy, but lacking power guitar: check out "Hurricane" from Dylan's Desire album.
posted by Dunwitty at 3:51 PM on January 6, 2006
posted by Dunwitty at 3:51 PM on January 6, 2006
I don't think "Losing It" has any violins or guitars, so, eh.
You might like Skyclad or they might be heavier than you're looking for, but they do have some juicy violin bits, sometimes bluesy, sometimes folky, sometimes more aggressive.
posted by Wolfdog at 4:23 PM on January 6, 2006
You might like Skyclad or they might be heavier than you're looking for, but they do have some juicy violin bits, sometimes bluesy, sometimes folky, sometimes more aggressive.
posted by Wolfdog at 4:23 PM on January 6, 2006
Frank Zappa, 50/50. The phrygian scale based distorted violin in this rocks hard. Again, this is Jean Luc Ponty.
posted by sourwookie at 7:22 PM on January 6, 2006
posted by sourwookie at 7:22 PM on January 6, 2006
I second the Dambuilders. I used to love that band and the violinist was pretty rockin.
posted by trbrts at 7:34 PM on January 6, 2006
posted by trbrts at 7:34 PM on January 6, 2006
Agree with stavx. Check out the Dirty Three.
Also, you may like some of Elliot Sharp's stuff (though far less bluesy).
posted by converge at 7:42 PM on January 6, 2006
Also, you may like some of Elliot Sharp's stuff (though far less bluesy).
posted by converge at 7:42 PM on January 6, 2006
(self-link) Boiled In Lead has always had a fiddle in its lineup - most rockin on the Antler Dance album. I am a huge fan of rock violin -- lots of other bands I work with on Omnium have fiddles, such as the Reptile Palace Orchestra from Madison.
Another 70s reference not yet mentioned is King Crimson's Larks Tongues in Aspic record from 1973 (plus their next 2 records) -- likewise there are a few Roxy Music songs with violin from the same Eddie Jobson. Some early Ultravox songs had violin as well.
I'll "third" the Dirty Three refs, and note that Warren Ellis is also on some records by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds.
posted by omnidrew at 8:43 PM on January 6, 2006
Another 70s reference not yet mentioned is King Crimson's Larks Tongues in Aspic record from 1973 (plus their next 2 records) -- likewise there are a few Roxy Music songs with violin from the same Eddie Jobson. Some early Ultravox songs had violin as well.
I'll "third" the Dirty Three refs, and note that Warren Ellis is also on some records by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds.
posted by omnidrew at 8:43 PM on January 6, 2006
is a cello acceptable?
i caught murder by death a few months ago at the urging of my brother. it's four pieces: guitar, bass, drums, and... wait for it... a cello player who also plays a mini-moog.
from their name, i expected a harshed sound but was really taken aback by them: morphine-like in heaviness, bluesy (for white kids from indiana), and definitely more mature than 4 early twenty-sometings should be creating. cool stuff, imo.
p.s.
r.i.p. mr. rawls
posted by mdpc98 at 10:16 PM on January 6, 2006
i caught murder by death a few months ago at the urging of my brother. it's four pieces: guitar, bass, drums, and... wait for it... a cello player who also plays a mini-moog.
from their name, i expected a harshed sound but was really taken aback by them: morphine-like in heaviness, bluesy (for white kids from indiana), and definitely more mature than 4 early twenty-sometings should be creating. cool stuff, imo.
p.s.
r.i.p. mr. rawls
posted by mdpc98 at 10:16 PM on January 6, 2006
You might want to check out Ashley MacIsaac. He's a Canadian of Scottish descent, and it shows in the music.
In particular, the track I remember that got the most radio play was Sleepy Maggie.
posted by thanotopsis at 6:45 AM on January 7, 2006
In particular, the track I remember that got the most radio play was Sleepy Maggie.
posted by thanotopsis at 6:45 AM on January 7, 2006
It's kinda off base, but Yellowcard have a violin as a lead instrument. They're more punky though.
posted by wackybrit at 7:04 AM on January 7, 2006
posted by wackybrit at 7:04 AM on January 7, 2006
A little late to the game here, so hopefully this doesn't get missed, but check out Brave. They recently added a violinist to their regular line-up and the resulting sound is excellent. They have a sample of their song "Words" on their homepage (along with some older violinless stuff), and the newest album "Passages" is heavy on the violin. I'll be at the show at Jaxx in Springfield, VA, on Saturday. Yay!
posted by mike9322 at 10:07 AM on January 9, 2006
posted by mike9322 at 10:07 AM on January 9, 2006
I should also mention that the violin provides only accompaniment in "Words", up till about 3:30 in. Wait for it.
posted by mike9322 at 10:12 AM on January 9, 2006
posted by mike9322 at 10:12 AM on January 9, 2006
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by doctor_negative at 2:49 PM on January 6, 2006