Blues Unusualist Troy Mercy (former guitarist with Booker T and The Fabulous Thunderbirds) has trouble choosing just one lick, but settles on "Tam Lin" by Fairport Convention.
Troy Mercy: I get all confused when asked "What's your favorite?" I don't really think like that. There's simply too many things that thrill me and why the hell would you want just one? But, here's a humdinger for ya' anyway.
Fairport Convention's LP Liege & Lief is a collection that consistently over the years has inspired me. That band of Dave Mattacks, Ashley Hutchins, Simon Nichol, Dave Swarbrick, Richard Thompson, and Sandy Denny were living in a creative spike of lightning for this one. The MO here is administering that invigorating jolt of electrified rock 'n' roll unto some very finely selected folksongs of a bygone era.
It's funny, some of the records that affect me so directly I don't listen to on overload. It's an event. I always listen to this one a full album-side at a time, too.
Oh yeah--riffs. I could easily have chosen "Matty Groves"-- good god, what a groove and how the riffs do fly on the outro! Try not to dance like mad on top of the nearest table. I'll wait... See, can't be done.
Dave Swarbrick, on the overdriven electric fiddle, utterly mops the proverbial floor with the guitar hero of your choosing during the entirety of the instrumental "Medley: Lark In The Morning". Ladies and gentlemens-- I do believe The Riff has always been with us.
But, dear reader, I chose "Tam Lin." Side B track three. The strange and ancient timing of the Stonehenge-weighted slabs Thompson drops during the vocals make my heart pump harder, my eyes get all squinty, and my head begin to bob (my doctor says it may be serious so expect a note from my lawyer, Richard). His Les Paul Goldtop tone on the somehow both ascending and descending turnaround line is breathtaking. There, I've died. You happy now?
So in conclusion I also like Howlin' Wolf's "Moaning At Midnight", Little Walter's "Mellow Down Easy", Coltrane's "A Love Supreme", and Black Sabbath's "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath."
Troy Mercy’s upcoming album, Let The Night Begin, will be available on vinyl, CD and DSPs on May 29 via Gitcha Records. Click here to pre-order the vinyl.
Photo by Karen Jerzyk
