occasional dream, ten

One of the things that hits my aural g-spot, if a man’s man like myself can be allowed to have such a thing, is the crispness of the acoustic guitars on Bowie’s early 70s output.  Even Hunky Dory, written largely on and for the piano, has some of the cleanest strumming you’ll ever hear.  This cleanliness, as it were, reaches a zenith of sorts on Ziggy Stardust, but still remains quite remarkable over the next two records (not including Pin Ups, an album I don’t have much time for).  And there’s a reason things sound as distinctive as they do, namely that Bowie plays the acoustic parts on a Gibson 12-string guitar.  I have a cheapie 12-stringer myself and I must confess that I find it very difficult to play.  But if I’m having one of those days where things are going well and I get in the right groove with it, I really don’t wanna go back to a mere six strings.  On the other hand, though, I can’t put the thing down fast enough when I’m having a less than stellar day, so demoralizing it can be when I fumble with the guitar and get nothing but horrible sounding fret buzz.  Bowie had a knack for making his 12-stringer sound muscular, godly, and just fucking perfect.  But his is not a typical 12-string sound in the manner of Jim/Roger McGuinn, or George Harrison, or Johnny Marr, all of whom rely largely on jingle-jangle arpeggios to get their distinct brand of 12-string magic.  Bowie makes his 12-stringer sound like an otherworldly six-stringer, like the best six-stringer you ever heard, a guitar with tone you can otherwise only dream about.  I don’t know how he does it.  Rock ‘n Roll Suicide - which along with ‘Heroes,’ Ashes to Ashes, and All the Young Dudes, ranks as my favorite Bowie song - is the quintessence of what the 12-stringer sounds like in his hands.  What makes the performance all the more impressive is that, by the time he gets to the third verse, the bizarro chord and key changes come so fast and furious that  it’s shocking to me more people haven’t commented on Bowie the guitarist. …I fear that the 12-string guitar has become more obscure and rarified with the passage of time (not that I’m really up on the NOW in music, it’s just an intuitive feeling I have).  If I’m right, it’s really too bad.  It’s an amazingly rich instrument…at least it is when the right person is playing it.  David Bowie is the right person...