Great sax solos

[NormanD]

Incidentally, has anyone heard that urban legend that Bob Holness was the saxophonist on Baker Street? I've got a feeling that Chris Evans started that one, although it wouldn't surprise me if it was another radio broadcaster, one who shares a name with the song.

"Baker Street" is listed in Radio 2's "Sold On Song". It says:
...Urban legend has it being performed by quizmaster Bob Holness (for which we have a young Stuart Maconie to thank), but in reality the solo was performed by top sessioneer, Raphel ‘Raff’ Ravenscroft. It gave the song one of the most recognisable intros of all time and by its final return at the coda, underpinned by a swooping guitar, you knew you’d listened to one of the greatest arrangements of all time.

[NickH]

Dominic wrote:

X-Ray Spex were the first "proper" band I ever saw. Lora Logic had alredy left to form Essential Logic, one of those great shambolic post-punk bands with more ideas than ability

The first X-Ray Spex LP is superb. Wish I'd seem them perform live.

Some wailing sax suggestions below...

The Stooges - L.A. Blues (Steve McKay)

The Damned - You Know (Lol Coxhill)

Morphine - Honey White (Dana Colley)

Bonzo Dog Band - Big Shot (Rodney Slater?)

[Dominic]

Dominic wrote:

X-Ray Spex were the first "proper" band I ever saw. Lora Logic had alredy left to form Essential Logic, one of those great shambolic post-punk bands with more ideas than ability

The first X-Ray Spex LP is superb. Wish I'd seem them perform live.

Make that the only X-Ray Spex LP - you don't really need the 52-track double CD compilation with alternate takes, instrumental versions and the like.
I loved them live - it was my first gig, after all. It was in a club in Plymouth that had video screens - in 1978! I think tickets were 90p, there was no support, but I remember watching people dancing like robots to I Am The Fly by Wire. It seemed like the whole audience ended up on stage & I'm fairly sure I touched Poly Styrene.

[Charlie]

Morphine - Honey White (Dana Colley)

It's been bugging me all day that somewhere there was a baritone sax player I wanted to put in the list, and you've found him, Nick.

Great sax part on Honey White, yes, although I'd probably have plumped for Early to Bed or Like Swimming.

For the benefit of those who don't know the group - Morphine was a very unusual trio (from Boston, I think), a singer (Mark Sandman) who played 2-string bass, drums and Dana Colley on baritone. Great sound, and just about the only rock group I really liked in the past ten years. Mark died of a heart attack onstage during a gig in Italy in 1999, aged 41.

If you want somewhere to start, I'd recommend the album Like Swimming.

Nick's choice is track one on the album called Yes.

[gordonfmoore]

I'm fairly sure I touched Poly Styrene.

This is asking for a riposte, but I daren't :)

[Adam Blake]

Howard!! I've got "the great Bowie sax solo" for you!! "Tiny Girls" off Iggy Pop's "The Idiot". Gorgeous! Or, if that doesn't work there's always Steeleye Span's abominable version of "To Know Him Is To Love Him" which not only features our boy on sax but I think he produced it as well...
Hee hee!! Blackmail corner, or what?

[RobHall]

I’ve just spent a ridiculous amount of time trying to find out who played sax on Bacon Fat, but still don’t know the answer.

I found this page:
http://soulfuldetroit.com/archives/5259 ... 1031600663

which discusses the Fortune Records studio in Detroit where Bacon Fat was recorded. It says: ..."Bacon Fat" was the first song of note recorded in the building (by Andre Williams and the New Group: Steve Gaston, Bobby Calhoun, Jay Johnson and Gino Parks), in late 1956... but I have yet to figure out which of these was playing the sax. Does anybody here recognise any of these guys as a sax player?

Rob

[Dayna]

Is anyone familiar with Primrose Lane?
It's by George Wallace/Wayne Shanklin. That one has been a favorite on this oldies sation I listen to. It's got a sax solo in the middle of it.

[Des]

I went to Shanklin once - not as good as Sandown.

[NickH]

Charlie wrote:

Morphine was a very unusual trio (from Boston, I think), a singer (Mark Sandman) who played 2-string bass, drums and Dana Colley on baritone. Great sound, and just about the only rock group I really liked in the past ten years. Mark died of a heart attack onstage during a gig in Italy in 1999, aged 41.

Morphine were certainly one of the more interesting acts I heard in the mid-1990s.

I believe Dana Colley and the former drummer from Morphine are currently involved in new musical project with a very different sound. I wish I could remember the details of the impressive track broadcast on Radio 3’s Mixing It recently.

[howard male]

Nick H wrote -

I believe Dana Colley and the former drummer from Morphine are currently involved in new musical project with a very different sound. I wish I could remember the details of the impressive track broadcast on Radio 3’s Mixing It recently.

I think the band Nick is referring to is Twinemen. I have a copy of their 2002 album somewhere but can't locate it for reassessment. But fat doubled up sax riffs and woozy gothic atmospheres dominated. They were certainly interesting and seemed as much influenced by the sound of Morfine as post Sid, Pink Floyd retained the aura of his influence.

As for this list - what about Roxy Music's Andy Mackay? I'm just trying to decide on a track but at the moment I keep coming back to the glam-chanson of 'A Song For Europe' - epic, melodic, and haunting.

Or 'Editions of You' which roars along and then is seamlessly extended and echoed by Eno's synth solo - it still sounds surprisingly cutting edge and could have been recorded yesterday.

[Dayna]

I got several 60s songs from the radio with sax solos a couple nights ago. I can find out who they're by, if I should.

Your Mama Don't Dance & Your Daddy Don't Rock & Roll
I Feel Good

I really liked Love Is The Drug, when I heard it a long time ago. I'd like to find other songs by Roxy Music.

[NickH]

Howard wrote:

I think the band Nick is referring to is Twinemen. I have a copy of their 2002 album somewhere but can't locate it for reassessment.

Thanks for the info, Howard.

Any chance of a C90 copy, if you ever find your Twinemen LP?

[NormanD]

I asked on Spectropop www.spectropop.com
> Could anyone please tell me who plays the sax solo
> on The Crystals' "He's A Rebel"?

Al Kooper (amongst many others) replied:

It's a 90% chance that it was sessionman Steve Douglas. He was the soloist of choice back then. He also played many of the sax leads on the early Duane Eddy hits.

Steve & I had a West Coast-based band in the '90s, where I would play the Duane Eddy parts and he would play the parts he played on the records. Boy - did I have FUN!!!

[howard male]

Nick H wrote -

Any chance of a C90 copy, if you ever find your Twinemen LP?

Just found it! The first track actually sounds like a more primitive Goldfrapp (which is kind of good and bad). The drumming throughout is of the rather laboured slow-rock variety. But the sax does echo Sandman's full, bassy sound. But apart from the track which made me buy the album in the first place - the atmospheric but unresolved 'Learn to Fly' - a rather lacklustre affair. So, yes, Nick, it's your lucky day - you can actually have the CD!

And I just checked out Bowie's sax on 'Tiny Girls', Adam, and, yes - a fine, soaring, ray of sunlight in that otherwise dense pea-souper of an album.