Very entertaining, thanks for the post. Although a riff can be any repeating motif, rock guitarists tend to think of them more in terms of repeating single note phrases. (Don't you hate know-it-alls.) Stairway to Heaven we would consider more arpeggios than a riff. Still, there's no doubt it's the most instantly recognizable set of arpeggios in rock music history, (although don't play it in a music store....that could get you shot, or, at least, dirty looks and a possible toss out the door.)
I'd like to add a couple more classic riffs,
(1) Sunshine of your Love - Cream
(2) Heartbreaker- Led Zeppelin
(3) Aqualung- Jethro Tull

and a few more obscure
(1) Blood of the Sun - Mountain
(2) Nantucket Sleigh Ride (the bridge riff) - Mountain
(3) Siberian Khatru - Yes

Thanks again for a great post! Classic stuff.

That's not Jethro Tull . . . it's Witness

Silvercord: Two references

1) The Jethro Tull song, "A Passion Play."

``Do you still see me even here?''
(The silver cord lies on the ground.)
``And so I'm dead'', the young man said --- over the hill
(not a wish away).
My friends (as one) all stand aligned although their taxis came too late.
There was a rush along the Fulham Road.
There was a hush in the Passion Play.

2) Ecclesiastes, 12th chapter:

Remember Him before the silver cord is severed and the golden bowl is crushed, the pitcher by the well is shattered and the wheel at the cistern is crushed; then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it.
"Vanity of vanities," says the Teacher, "all is vanity!"


(God, that was depressing)

Tags changed from "metallica,jethro,tull,mary!,choggie" to "metallica, jethro, tull, mary, choggie" by gold star member choggie.

I don't know! My kids and I are have been taking the last couple of weeks off.

About the music... Well I was a girl during the 70's, my parents had me late in life and my brother's were 8 and 12 years older than me. So musically, I like a little bit of everything.

After seeing your profile I should have sniffed out some Jethro Tull too.

In reply to your comment:
“Hey Swampy,

You are back with a vengeance! I am just going to go through all the Rock and Roll videos you posted and upvote every one of them. I think you must have grown up around the same influences as I did. Have you been saving these up or are you just having an epiphany?

Sc”

Jethro Tull performing an compressed version of Thick as a Brick at Madison Square Garden in New York City, October 1978.

Ok, I think I could be Raven's dad . . . here goes:

Desert Island Stuff (not in order):

Jethro Tull - Thick as a Brick & A Passion Play and the rest
Peter Gabriel - everything
Beethoven's Symphonies
Phil Keaggy - Beyond Nature
Stevie Wonder - Songs in the Key of Life
King Crimson - everything
Mel Torme - anything
Cat Stevens - most all of it
The Who - Quadrophenia
Pink Floyd - Early years before DSOM
Van Morrison - Avalon Sunset
Beatles

I grew up with all my parent's LPs from the 70s... Jim Croce, Jethro Tull, Sonny and Cher, Joni Mitchell, Three Dog Night... all good shit... but some of my first memories are of singing John Denver songs... hence, the soft spot in my soul

What a bunch of whiners!

The flute is a heavy, metal instrument.

This is for you, choggie:

http://www.videosift.com/video/Jethro-Tull-Aqualung

Sc

Wow. Jethro Tull blazed a lot of paths.

And yet Cameo didn't nick the flute idea from them. A good flute solo would have given Cameo a second single.

Dang it, MLX!!! You post up some great stuff.

I agree with blankman, although I'd have to say that Jethro Tull put on some great tours with Aqualung, Thick as a Brick and War Child. I've seen Gabriel 5 times and he is the consummate showman. I wish I could post up some pics I took from the Berkeley, CA tour. Maybe I'll do that.

This music gets in your soul forever.

One (Hetfield/Ulrich)

The song "One" was the third single release of the "... And Justice For All" album. The song was Metallica first nomination for a Grammy award.

Album:
... And Justice For All

The song live:
Before Metallica's live performance of "One" there's always a lot of firework on stage. There's one more big explosion right after James is singing 'landmine'. Since its release it has always been a fixed part of Metallica's live show.

The Best Solos Ever Reader's Choice:
The solo of "One" reached the 7th place in the "100 Best Solos Ever Reader's Choice" in the September 1998 issue of Guitar World.

The "One" demo:
The original demo of "One" was recorded on Jaymz's 4-track right after they wrote the song in the second week of November '87. The demo is just played with guitars, drums, vocals and Kirk setting in with the same last solo is it appears on "...And Justice For All" after he'd only heard the song on the day before. The refrain is occasionally just hummed. On the demo is no bass.

The "One" video:
"One" is Metallica's first video ever. It has been shot on December 6th 1988 in a Los Angeles warehouse.

The movie clips in the "One" video:
They are from the movie "Johnny Got His Gun" which is based upon the book by Dalton Trumbo who also directed the movie in 1971. The movie is about a soldier who's arms and legs were blown away by a grenade during World War I. Metallica purchased the rights to this film to use it for the music video.

The three "One" videos:
1. Normal version:
- shows the band playing the song and the clips from the movie.
2. The shorten version:
- It shows the same like the normal version, but the video is shorter.
3. Band version:
- Shows only the band playing the song without the clips of the movie.

The single:
The single release of "One" peaked at #35 on the U.S. charts on April 9th in 1989 and on August 18 the "One" single was even certified platinum.

Metallica's first Grammy performance:
Metallica performed "One" at the Grammy Awards in 1989. They were nominated for a Grammy for the "...And Justice For All" album and the "One" single, but lost to Jethro Tull.

The intro:
In the intro there can be heard machine gun fire, explosions and a yelling soldier which all represents a war scene. In the end of the intro there can be heard a fading sound of a helicopter. The sound of the machine gun fire seems to arise again in the instrumental parts - replaced by the drums and guitars.

The inspiration:
James has been inspired by Dalton Trumbo's book/movie "Johnny Got His Gun". The idea for the song's opening riff originates from a Venom song called "Buried Alive".

The subject matter:
James' reason for writing the lyrics was the thought of beeing cut off from the outside world just like the main character of Dalton Trumbo's book/movie "Johnny Got His Gun".

Metallica about "One"
Kirk Hammett: I used a Mesa-Boogie power-amp, an '88 preamp and an Aphex paramatric EQ on this album. We wanted a clean guitar sound fo "One". The first solo went fine, but I had trouble with the second; I just couldn't nail it. I only had eight days to record all my leads because we were heading out on the "Monsters of Rock" tour. As a result, I was never happy with what was on record, and I flew to the Hit factory in New York between gigs to patch up the solos. I did the third solo in a couple of hours. I worked out the first right-hand tapping thing and from there it flowed very well. I think it worked because I was so pissed off that the second solo wasn't working out. When I had to play that live, it didn't feel right because it was so clean. So I started playing it in full volume with full distortion on my neck pick-up, and like it better. In retrospect, I think I should have played it that way on the album.

James Hetfield: I had been fiddling around with that A-G modulation for a long time. The idea for the opening came from a Venom song called "Buried Alive". The kick drum machine-gun part near the end wasn't written with the war lyrics in mind, it just came out that way. We started that album with Mike Clink as producer. He didn't work out so well, so we got Flemming [Rassmussen] to come over and save our asses. (source: GuitarWorld issue of '91) [encycmet.com]