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Andy Summers
by DtmrCls＠aol.com 27 Jan '02

27 Jan '02

I've got another opinion on seeing Andy Summers live. He simply can't play. It's not that it's jazz and the melodies are strange. His guitar playing is full of mistakes. And the tunes are boring and awful. During his Police days he had many effects to cover up his inabilities as a guitar player. And - like The Edge - that worked perfectly. But I won't pay money to see him live again. And I can't read any more from the people who talk themselves into thinking that Oysterhead produce good music. Don't be too angry, it's just a personal opinion. Dietmar

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Andy
by The Steel Chick 27 Jan '02

27 Jan '02

All right-- a non-Sting-themed thread, finally! ;) Dietmar, I'm not gonna cut you down for expressing your opinion (especially since, as a non-musician, I can't argue in the same terms), but I do want to ask you a question. If Andy Summers is not a "good" guitar player, who is, in your estimation? Who do you look up to as being in the vanguard? I always thought Andy was great because of his distinctive sound. Could it be that you just prefer a different type of playing? jENNIFER "I don't matter, you don't matter Neither does this mindless clatter." -P.T. _________________________________________________________________ Chat with friends online, try MSN Messenger: http://messenger.msn.com

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RE: [Police] Re: Andy Summers
by Mario Palacios 27 Jan '02

27 Jan '02

You obviously do not know anything about the guitar. This man has had a prolific career playing different style techniques. This man is someone I can look up to as a guitar player and always will. Yes I bought the video and yes he is good. Get your head out of the shallow gutter scumbag and pick on someone who doesn't know how to play the guitar...

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Re: Andy Summers
by Greg Danielak 27 Jan '02

27 Jan '02

On Andy Summers... > His guitar playing is full of mistakes. What guitarist doesn't make mistakes? If no guitarist in the history of guitar playing was ever to make a mistake, the current state of guitar players would be BORING. Hendrix made zillions of mistakes - the way he reacted and bounced back afterwards with total soul is why people consider him 'the greatest.' Andy has a similar quality that, a shame, not many people can understand. Andy CONSTANTLY takes risks during playing. I have seen this everytime I listen to or hear him play. Andy DOES make mistakes. But that is not what being a 'good' guitar player is about. Andy is not caught up in being 'perfect.' What differentiates him from most guitar players is that he tries to draw inspiration from a feeling and then apply it instantly to guitar, instead of the other way around. It takes massive courage and fortitude to do this, and while results may be mixed, if it feels good to the performer that's all that matters. Andy's technique is extremely proficient - maybe not as accurate as Robert Fripp, but after 46 years of playing all types of guitar styles he has the ability to thoughtfully shred away any of them. But he rarely uses his guitar as a showcase for his 'technique.' After all, Andy was one of the first post-punk 'anti-technique' guitar heroes. Andy has said himself, he feels he can play as fast as he can be able to express what he wants to. Once again, restraint is the key word in his playing. Andy doesn't want to show he's a 'good guitar player', he merely wants to express himself, like any true musician would, instead of getting caught up about 'should I flatten the fifth in this chord to prepare for the turnaround in bar 32?' As a guitar player I feel playing without mistakes is BORING. Security and safety in guitar playing are DULL. How can things move on without mistakes? This is why on-the-edge guitar players like David Rhodes, Reeves Gabriels, Andy Summers, Robert Fripp, David Torn, Steve Vai and The Edge are my most liked guitar players - you never know where they'll end up and it is EXCITING. If you want virually perfect guitar playing, go listen to Francisco Faeiri or Yngwie Malmsteen or some other boring souless shredder. I doubt you'll sit through half their records, though. > During his Police days he had many effects to cover up his inabilities as a guitar player. And - like The Edge - that worked perfectly. Inabilities? He has played in every style you can imagine. He mastered the classical guitar. And yet he still welcomed the challenge of punk into his guitar vocabulary. The only 'inability' Andy has in his guitar playing is the 'inability' to show off his dazzling scale technique and emit oogling 'wows' from the audience. This was never legit to him OR the Edge. As for effects, that was part of the whole guitar rebellion in the 80's. There used to be a time where, if you used a chorus pedal in a song, people would look at you like you had two heads!! Andy hepled this become more acceptable. And then effects were ABUSED. Effects became part and parcel of the 'excess' of the 80's. There was not ONE SONG on the radio where there was NOT a chorus pedal on after Andy came. EVERYONE used effects back then, but Andy was one of the few guitarists who used them EFFECTIVELY, like colours in a painting. This is one of the biggest misconceptions about his playing, and it isn't true at all. He was even brave enough to drop effects all together and focus simply on playing. Tell me another 'guitar hero' in the 80's who did that. Oh wait - there was no post-punk guitar player who had the technique of a Joe Satriani in the 80's, except for Andy Summers. Too bad he didn't show off on stage, maybe then he would have became 'acceptable' to guitarists. It's not a case of what's hard to play or not hard to play. The end product is always MUSIC. Look at Robert Johnson's Crossroads - easiest song ever to play, yeah, but could you hit that one note the way Robert Johnson himself did? I think not, unless you were extremely talented. > Have a look at his guitar teaching video. I don't understand what you mean, because this cancels out EVERYTHING you said earlier about him not being 'competent.' - If he's not competent, why the heck does he know so much about chords and theory? - If he's not competent, why the heck does he know so much about scales? - If he allegedly plays out of time, why does he talk about the importance of rhythm in soloing? He never makes a mistake during the performances on there for one, and as for the lessons, at least he doesn't wallow in self-defeat like other guitarists who make a mistake, rather he laughs them off as part of the whole experience. A guitar lesson? Without a mistake? Please. They go hand in hand for the sake of progress. > Listen to the Police live concerts. Um, okay. Brilliant improvisation and group interplay. Other guitarists would be tempted to take the spotlights for themselves during group situations. But Andy has played so many gigs in so many bands that he doesn't even think twice about it. You have to admit that if Andy played differently the way that he did on some shows it would spoil the meaning of the whole show. Instead of showing off how good he was he gives into the music, realizing that sometimes not playing anything is just as powerful as playing at all. > I'll get more hate mail (I hope) when I admit that I was laughing for 2/3 of his concert. Well, this explains everything. I have met and talked to many people who have not just 'misunderstood' Andy's guitar playing, but downright loathed it, and they're all the same as this dude. It seems like you are a negative person seeking negative attention. You hope to get hate mail? I don't even want to make the effort to write to you. ~ Greg Danielak Zenyatta Andatta - The Unofficial Andy Summers Website : http://web.tiscali.it/andatta/

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New member
by Ricardo de la Vega 27 Jan '02

27 Jan '02

Hi everybody, I´m a new member. I wish to find Sting and Police concerts collectors. You can check my collection at: http://usuarios.tripod.es/StingCollection/ Cheers Ricardo

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Re: [Police] Andy
by Maartje van der Most 27 Jan '02

27 Jan '02

Hi Jennifer and all, I saw him with his trio here in Amsterdam two months ago. I also thought they were great, especially the drummer who was slamming his heart out :)! I had the perfect spot (apart from being next to the boxes), right in front of Andy. Made some cool photos too. Just thought I'd share.. Maartje >From: "The Steel Chick" <metalmena(a)hotmail.com> >To: police(a)mailman.xmission.com >Subject: [Police] Andy >Date: Sat, 26 Jan 2002 20:19:44 -0800 > >Hi all, > >Saw the Andy Summers Trio last night at the Baked Potato in Hollywood...a >very cool show. Andy played wonderfully and the bassist and drummer were >both great. A perfect evening, excepting the assholes sitting behind me >who >talked through most of the first set. I mean, why pay $15 cover and not >listen to the music? >:-( > >ANYway, I still had a great time...the music is what mattered. I'd >definitely go again. > >Jennifer > >"I don't matter, you don't matter >Neither does this mindless clatter." -P.T. > > >_________________________________________________________________ >Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device: http://mobile.msn.com > > >_______________________________________________ >Police mailing list >Police(a)mailman.xmission.com >http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/police _________________________________________________________________ Download MSN Explorer gratis van http://explorer.msn.nl/intl.asp.

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Re: [Police] Andy Summers
by Stingfan222＠aol.com 27 Jan '02

27 Jan '02

If we're giving opinions, I liked their music, but not that nasally voice and those lyrics. Just my two cents! Michelle In a message dated 1/27/02 5:15:00 AM, DtmrCls(a)aol.com writes: >Oysterhead produce good music.

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Original "Until" for download here!!!
by Mikkel Z. Herold 27 Jan '02

27 Jan '02

I'm passing this on from Phil who is having trouble sending mail to the list: Hi, I've found the original version of Until! You can download this brilliant song as superb quality (MP2) at: http://www2.hdm-stuttgart.de/~pj01/sting/ I already danced a waltz with my girlfriend. It was her birthday-dance.....WHAT A DAY!!!!! Phil __________________________________________________________ "And my sanity scans the horizon" (Sting, "The wild wild sea") http://www.mzh.dk

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Re: Andy Summers
by DtmrCls＠aol.com 27 Jan '02

27 Jan '02

Hi, As I'm able to play guitar and bass I know when someone makes mistakes or is out of rhythm. I still say that he's not a very good guitar player. I'll get more hate mail (I hope) when I admit that I was laughing for 2/3 of his concert. I thought it was really funny. Dennis Chambers was really great, though. And it's not just this one concert that I watched. Have a look at his guitar teaching video. Listen to the Police live concerts. I love the sound and everything but, well... I won't mention it again... It's just a feeling that too many people want to like the solo projects of Sting, Stewart and Andy. If you really enjoy it I envy you. Dietmar PS: "Every Breath You Take" is not too hard to play.

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Andy
by The Steel Chick 26 Jan '02

26 Jan '02

Hi all, Saw the Andy Summers Trio last night at the Baked Potato in Hollywood...a very cool show. Andy played wonderfully and the bassist and drummer were both great. A perfect evening, excepting the assholes sitting behind me who talked through most of the first set. I mean, why pay $15 cover and not listen to the music? >:-( ANYway, I still had a great time...the music is what mattered. I'd definitely go again. Jennifer "I don't matter, you don't matter Neither does this mindless clatter." -P.T. _________________________________________________________________ Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device: http://mobile.msn.com

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