Bernie and his bender
Speaking of which, I wonder how many songs he actually uses it on? I can hear it on:
Take It Easy
Nightingale
Peaceful Easy Feeling
Tequila Sunrise
He probably uses it on Most Of Us Are Sad too, although he doesn't bend on it, I don't think.
I don't hear it after Desperado. In his book, Felder says Glenn and Don didn't like the sound of Bernie's bender. If that's true, it's a colossal shame.
Re: Bernie and his bender
The title of this thread made me laugh
Re: Bernie and his bender
I don't know much about guitar equipment, but isn't it true that the use of a bender makes the instrument sound more "countrified"? If so, I guess that's why it doesn't appear after Desperado. Correct me if I'm wrong.Originally Posted by Scarlet Sun
Always in our hearts, Never forgotten
Re: Bernie and his bender
train leaves here this morning
Felder's book is, well, a long time gone and memories that appear different in the rear view mirror. I'm sure he thinks things went the way he remembers them... but they are through a pretty big fogbank of filters that include really thinking he was a full member.
Glenn and Don loved country rock artistically, but their pretensions to stadium rock stardom and megalomania frequently outweighed their artistic vision...
Both were obsessed to being the 'cool kids' since they hadn't been in their youth... so, they had to get up that hill first... Bernie using a bender and being true to his country rock artistic vision was a stark reminder to Glenn and Don of what they started out to do and decided to abandon (after On the Border)
The bender tele that Bernie played is a really interesting guitar (put together by Dave Evans of San Jose, CA) built by Dave Evans from pieces in his place in LA... a lot of bender fans think Dave's design is better than Gene Parson's and Clarence White's. They had the first one, the second went to Bob Warford (now an attorney in so cal) you can hear Bob's on Linda Ronstadt's "Willin"... Bob is an amazing guitarist and forever linked with Clarence for a host of reasons.
The B Bender was seen by guys like Jimmy Page who were blown away after visiting the palomino club and hearing the guys using a bender...
You can hear Jimmy using it in a rudimentary way on "all my love" and "ten years gone"
on Page, he is usually associated with Les Paul guitars and marshall amps, but recorded most of his electric stuff with a fender telecaster and a small supro amp! pretty funny, a whole generation of guys playing one thing and wondering why it didn't sound exactly right...
If you listen to old Emmylou Harris records with Albert Lee, he had an evans and used it a ton... I love bbenders and have two guitars fitted with them (one a parsons white, and one a hipshot) they are pretty cool and really fun to use, but tricky to learn.
I hope your daughter never has to find out how funny rape is. -Sodascouts
Re: Bernie and his bender
oh yeah, right . . . but no actual bending on that either
+1
long or short throw?
Re: Bernie and his bender
Thanks bb. I know that when the Eagles started out, they made a conscious decision not to have a pedal steel player like most of the earlier "country rock" bands (Flying Burrito Brothers, Poco). The bender was a good compromise for a while. Peaceful Easy Feeling is probably the best example. Check out Bernie "getting the Leadon out" using the bender at the 2 minute mark:
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44_rtJxPg0s[/ame]
High up on his own, the Eagle flies alone and he is free...
Re: Bernie and his bender
Scarlet,
there is bending on 'train'... listen for it.. it is there, I play that solo... you can do it without bending, but it is fo' real when you use it...
my PW is a long throw (but I hybridized it a bit) in the clarence style...
the key to the bernie sound is adding a tiny bit of phase...
gettheleadonout... and the burritos had Sneaky who was a 'weird' steel player (with the B6 stuff and using an old fender rather than a modern steel)... Rusty Young was also kind of a challenge to the steel community because he was the first guy to play 'lead steel' (I don't mean like the Speedy West stuff) and to kind of drive the band... Rusty is a virtuoso, but I think that Glenn and Don (rightly so) chose to go bender a la the byrds rather than hiring lloyd Green or something...
Ronstadt split the difference, she used Eddie Black, Warford and then later added Danny Dugmore to play guitar and steel... Dugmore was great because he enjoyed playing bit parts and could rock on guitar, but play traditional supporting steel (like the killer part on Crazy)
sorry for the ramble...
oh yeah, I only mentioned Led Zep for two reasons: 1) anyone who wanted another example of hearing 'bender' guitar and 2) the irony that Glenn and Don would look down on the bender as not being 'rock' enough and yet LZ played teles and benders! irony!
I hope your daughter never has to find out how funny rape is. -Sodascouts
Re: Bernie and his bender
I'll listen to it. I'm sure your correct. I believe his Evans bender was a short throw, correct? That's why it's hard to tell when he's using it sometimes, like on Take It Easy.
Do you think that those two had much to do with Bernie's acquistion of a bender?
Re: Bernie and his bender
Dave's bender is just one throw, so no choice there as far as I know.
The long throw, short throw thing came along with the more modern country players who wanted to bend really "fast" which the short throw facilitated.
your second question is a great one! these are just opinions, so what the heck do I know.... buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuut,
Glenn and Don were neophytes when they hooked up with Bernie and Randy. Bernie and Randy had all the credibility and pedigree... I think they got a deal because G & D had looks and talent and they knew that Randy and Bernie were first rate and could make great music.... soooo, I think they may not have even known what a bender was... they just knew that Bernie was legit--> on guitar, banjo, harmony arranging.
If you want a fun listen--> go get Restless Heart's "Big Iron Horses"
That is Bernie baby! those are the vocals we really love... and that the Eagles lost when they lost Meisner and Leadon.
It is interesting to hear how different the parts started getting when they get to One of these Nights. Much more LA style mixed with Muscle Shoals than the country rock from the earlier records. Still great, but other than "hollywood waltz" and "lyin eyes" (which I only include because someone else will think it a legit country rock song, when it is just soft rock to my ears.. the descending maj to maj7 thing is more bobby goldsboro than bobby bare)
anyway, fun to talk about this stuff!
I hope your daughter never has to find out how funny rape is. -Sodascouts
Re: Bernie and his bender
In John Einarson's book Desperados, Gene Parsons says that they sat him down in a Laurel Canyon coffee shop to tell him about their new band, and that they were friends. Also in the book, Einarson reckons that the Ballad Of Easy Rider album probably had a significant influence on the Eagles' sound. That's why I started that other thread
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