winkrich wrote:Perhaps I can get things moving with a little discussion on the topic of “Friday on my mind.” In the wonderful little book “A pocket guide to shadow music” (Rob Bradford & Les Woosey, Ed. Malcolm Campbell) they write, “though the keyboard contribution from 2:11 on is surely too busy and over-ornate.” I would like to suggest that keyboards are not used and that the effect is produced with a guitar by doubling the playback speed. Several of the notes are markedly bent – an effect that probably wasn’t available on keyboards at the time.
The same effect is probably used to produce the “chipmunk” vocal on Chelsea Boot on the same album. What do you think?
Cheers, Richard
Back in the summer of 1967, when the "Jigsaw" LP was released, it was reviewed in the UK monthly magazine "Beat Instrumental". I almost certainly have the edition in question out in the garage, in one of my semi-legendary tea-chests, packed over thirty years ago when we moved south and inevitably, never fully unpacked since. There must be loads of interesting stuff in there. I once sent my son and his friend to have a look and they came back with a DeArmond tone/volume pedal, a Bigsby Palm-pedal and a Hofner pre-amp.
Anyway... Beat Instrumental and its review of "Jigsaw"...
All sorts of stuff was happening in 1967. In the mainstream of pop and rock (which had not yet split into pop and prog), Jeff Beck had parted from the Yardbirds and was producing singles of his own. Chris Welch of "Melody Maker" had a soft spot for Jeff's stuff and went to the trouble of explaining that part of Jeff's style was derived from Les Paul, a name with which I was only slightly familiar. Bit by bit (it was really hard before the internet), I found that Les's most famous records were multitracked and featured speeded-up guitars, á la Wout Steenhuis.
And when "Jigsaw" was reviewed, the BI writer made particular mention of the "psychedelic" sound of The Shadows on the title track and on their Les Paul approach to Friday On My Mind, with speeded-up guitars in the multi-track. By now, I was becoming a Les Paul fan, and this information stuck in my mind for that reason.
So yes... even the 16-yr-old JN was well aware - at the time - that Friday On My Mind was made with guitars in the mix, and not keyboards. I can't hear a single keyboard in the mix, and I've just listened to the Shadows version plus two backing tracks on my iPod whilst out doing my daily three-mile walk.
JN
