Lions - Live - Old Grey Whistle Test - May 16 1978

[Rolo]

The first album is perfect.

Period!

[herlock]

I would have loved both : eastbound train and real girl !

11 songs would have fit for an album

My opinion: those songs aren't as good as the others.

The first album is perfect.

MK never bettered it at any point.

I love the first album, it is great.
But the other albums are great too. Communiqué has some equally good songs: WDYTYG, News, OUATITW... Making Movies had increased complexity with TOL, even more so in LOG with TR... STP has a great "back to the roots" feel... I don't think we can say that MK has gone constantly downhill since the first DS album!

[wayaman]

The first album is THE album. The rest were evolving and very good but the pure and genuine DS were the ones in this record.

[Brunno Nunes]

thanks for the link Brunno

did you notce that Marks uses middle pickup for intro and midlle solo ? first he switches wrongely on middle+neck and then immediately switches on middle
on chorus TV show he used bridge pickup for the solo. very rare !

on this video from old grey whistle test show, David's cable seems a lttle bit too short ! 

I'd noticed some interesting details, but if he starts the intro using the middle pickup, why would he switch back to middle for the first solo? Note that at no point does he show changing the pickup position before starting the first solo. This leads me to believe he uses bridge and middle in the intro and continues through to the first solo. He made a mistake by going middle and neck. As you noticed, after the first note, he immediately switches to the middle pickup and continues through to the end of the song using the middle pickup. That's how I noticed it: he starts with bridge and middle, and from the first solo onward, he uses middle.

Note that he wasn't even wearing wristbands yet. The coiled cables have a distinct vintage charm and were part of the band's sound until their second American tour in September 1979.

This song, in this context, is another great example of the importance of a rhythm guitar as firm and precise as the one David always mastered with such skill. It's so solid and efficient, little is said about it, but he had his own style and was perfect for the original quartet's sound. This sound is the sum of the four elements; the absence of one breaks this alchemy, as indeed happened when he left the band; everything sounded different. For me, this pure sound is unsurpassed. I admit I'm a purist, I don't deny it! 😅

[ds1984]

The four piece was great. But then Mark gave a new direction and the vehicle had to be upgraded...

[Robson]

The four piece was great. But then Mark gave a new direction and the vehicle had to be upgraded...

Exactly! I think we all love the first album. The second one is similar, but for MK it was too much. He needed a change (DK's departure only accelerated this). He was looking for a new path, enriching the sound with keyboards, which remained until the end. Hypothetically - the direction of the first two albums could not last forever. But in 1980, I wouldn't be so sure about that. 

[dustyvalentino]

I don't think we can say that MK has gone constantly downhill since the first DS album!

I don't think anyone is saying that. But I am saying, in my opinion, the first album was never bettered.

[JF]

The link changed, its is now only a trailer and it annonces a premiere in 3 days... 

[JF]

That's how I noticed it: he starts with bridge and middle, and from the first solo onward, he uses middle.

cant' check because the whole video disapeared, but what I recall from seing the video is this :
- intro on middle
- first two verses middle+bridge
- solo on middle (with the mistake on middlle+neck at the start)
- last verse : middle +bridge again
- outro : not sure

[Ingrained]

That's how I noticed it: he starts with bridge and middle, and from the first solo onward, he uses middle.

cant' check because the whole video disapeared, but what I recall from seing the video is this :
- intro on middle
- first two verses middle+bridge
- solo on middle (with the mistake on middlle+neck at the start)
- last verse : middle +bridge again
- outro : not sure

Thats the way I saw it as well I think.

That hotter Dimarzio pickup in the middle position almost used similar to how a clean boost (pedal) could be as well maybe?

[Brunno Nunes]

That's how I noticed it: he starts with bridge and middle, and from the first solo onward, he uses middle.

I can't check because the whole video disappeared, but what I remember from watching the video is this:
- intro on middle
- first two verses middle + bridge
- solo on middle (with the mistake on middle + neck at the beginning)
- last verse: middle + bridge again
- outro: not sure

Dear JF, you're right. I just watched it carefully, and that's what you mentioned. When he's singing, he uses bridge and middle. When he does the intro and the first solo, he uses middle. However, he enters the final solo using bridge and middle, since he was singing, and you can see it. It doesn't show him switching to middle, unfortunately. Apparently, 30 seconds of the video was lost and they edited some scenes together. Maybe at some point in those 30 seconds, he changed the key to middle.

One thing is certain: he uses the middle pickup for intros and solos because during that period he used the Dimarzio in the middle. It wasn't until October 1978 that he switched from the Dimarzio to the neck. We can see this in the band's performance on Chorus TV 78. He experiments with the solo on "SOS" using the Dimarzio in the neck, and it turned out very interesting. In my opinion, this configuration continues into 1979. We can see him using this pickup in the neck on the intro and solo of "Single Handed Sailor" on Rockpalast 79, and throughout "OUATITW." In the video for "Rainbow Theatre 79," we see him using this pickup in the neck for "WDYTG," which, if I'm not mistaken, was also on "OUATITW."

Anyway, I love talking about this musical alchemy of MK's guitar sound.

[Brunno Nunes]

That's how I noticed it: he starts with bridge and middle, and from the first solo onward, he uses middle.

I can't check because the whole video disappeared, but what I remember from watching the video is this:
- intro on middle
- first two verses middle + bridge
- solo on middle (with the mistake on middle + neck at the beginning)
- last verse: middle + bridge again
- outro: not sure

Dear JF, you're right. I just watched it carefully, and that's what you mentioned. When he's singing, he uses bridge and middle. When he does the intro and the first solo, he uses middle. However, he enters the final solo using bridge and middle, since he was singing, and you can see it. It doesn't show him switching to middle, unfortunately. Apparently, 30 seconds of the video was lost and they edited some scenes together. Maybe at some point in those 30 seconds, he changed the key to middle.

One thing is certain: he uses the middle pickup for intros and solos because during that period he used the Dimarzio in the middle. It wasn't until October 1978 that he switched from the Dimarzio to the neck. We can see this in the band's performance on Chorus TV 78. He experiments with the solo on "SOS" using the Dimarzio in the bridge, and it turned out very interesting. In my opinion, this configuration continues into 1979. We can see him using this pickup in the neck on the intro and solo of "Single Handed Sailor" on Rockpalast 79, and throughout "OUATITW." In the video for "Rainbow Theatre 79," we see him using this pickup in the neck for "WDYTG," which, if I'm not mistaken, was also on "OUATITW."

Anyway, I love talking about this musical alchemy of MK's guitar sound.

Lions Solo - Old Grey Whistle Test 78

https://youtube.com/shorts/ERBXk0PwiQk?si=nDGNcSgE9Su338aW

SOS Live Chorus TV Solo 78
Dimarzio Neck Pickup
https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1B6WKLYhM8

[JF]

He experiments with the solo on "SOS" using the Dimarzio in the bridge, and it turned out very interesting.

I guess it's a typo and you meant "neck" rather than "bridge" 

[Brunno Nunes]

He experiments with the solo on "SOS" using the Dimarzio in the bridge, and it turned out very interesting.

I guess it's a typo and you meant "neck" rather than "bridge" 

Exactly, I just agreed, thanks JF! 🙌🏻