Alt. Mothers

With the Day Of The Mothers nearly upon us (surely a worthy title for a missing John Wyndham novel) my thoughts have turned to things mother related… like the fabulous and funky It’s A Real Mother For Ya by Johnny Guitar Watson. If not familiar with it then check it out, and plenty of other songs by him too. He was a big influence on many other guitarists, particularly in his sound and ‘attitude’ of playing. Some of the players that were most influenced made music in the same general funky field but others were really diverse. Perhaps a good example is Frank Zappa, who is indeed quoted as saying how highly he rated Johnny, but for myself I can hear it in his playing anyway. Not so much in his wilder excursions, no, but when he plays bluesy-funk style it is to me quite obvious. There are also influences to be heard lyrically on occasion too!

I think it would be remiss of me not to mention the Mothers Of Invention (as if one ever needed an excuse) and two of their early albums, We’re Only In It For The Money and Lumpy Gravy, both of which are, to my warped mind, titles that can be easily twisted into a mental connection with the modern era’s version of what was once called Mothering Sunday (quite a sweet and parochial event). If anyone wanted to get ‘an alternative slant on alternative culture’ then the albums by The Mothers through the 1960s and into the early 1970s would be the place to go. An astounding range of musical styles and lyrical commentary (few punches pulled) combined with a level of composition and playing ability that was pretty much unheard of in the popular music world of those days. Their music really did defy categorisation and was therefore not ever big in radio world!

Of course no mother related discourse should fail to hail The Mothership, and we are talking about The Funk here, or indeed “The Fonk!” as George Duke would have it. Having played with Jean Luc Ponty in a small jazz combo, he went on to become the stalwart hub on keyboards various for Frank Zappa’s band throughout the mid 1970s, as well as getting to show his amazing vocal talents, singing some of Frank’s most ‘impossible’ parts. Check out the song Inca Roads from the album One Size Fits All for a beautiful example along with one of Frank’s finest ever ‘talking’ guitar solos, in which can be heard those… Johnny Guitar Watson influences of course! Having indulged my little ‘cleverness’ in bringing this bloggery full circle I suppose it’s time to go buy some small pieces of printed cardboard, chocolates and ‘fizz’… Diamanda and Lovely would never forgive me if I forgot to get some treats for their Best Cat Mum!