ROCK
BIMM Brighton’s Martin Cooper checks out the classic rock style of the late, great, and highly influential guitarist Ronnie Montrose.
Martin Cooper introduces an undersung but highly influential guitarist, Ronnie Montrose.
Ronnie Montrose is one of the great unsung heroes of rock guitar. Ronnie led the bands Montrose and Gamma in the 1970s and ’80s, and worked as a session player with top flight acts including Van Morrison, Herbie Hancock, The Edgar Winter Group and The Neville Brothers. His career blossomed again in the early 2000s, up until his tragic suicide in 2012. After the release of the first Montrose album, Ronnie was often cited as one of the most influential players in hard rock, even though he never made ‘household name’ status like some of his contemporaries.
After forming the band Sawbuck in 1969 and touring as an opening act for bigger bands of the day, Montrose was offered the chance to join Van Morrison’s band, which he did in 1971. After a stint with the Northern Irishman he joined forces with Sammy Hagar (who would later join Van Halen) on vocals, bass player Bill Church and drummer Denny Carmassi, who among other bands went on to play with Whitesnake. The Van Halen connection didn’t end with Hagar, as Montrose’s debut album was also produced and engineered by Ted Templeman and Don Landee respectively (obviously several years before they went on to work with Van Halen). Many well-known rock bands have covered Montrose songs, too, including Iron Maiden and Mötley Crue.
Ronnie Montrose has influenced a number of high profile guitar players over the years, including Def Leppard’s Phil Collen, and Steve Lukather, who compared Montrose to Jeff Beck in terms of his approach to pushing the boundaries of guitar playing. Sammy Hagar has also stated that Ronnie was a big influence on Eddie Van Halen.
The final album that Ronnie worked on, released after his death, featured a number of highly regarded rock musicians, such as Mr Big front man Eric Martin and Aerosmith guitarist Brad Whitford.
This month’s track features some classic Montrose style riffs and fiery but melodic lead lines. The chart is written in A Major (A-B-C#D-E-F#-G#), but you’ll find the G natural note figuring here and there as it lends a bluesy Mixolydian sound (A-B-C#-D-E-F#-G). The solo is based around A Minor Pentatonic (A-C-D-E-G), again with the (G) providing those dominant bluesy overtones.
NEXT MONTH Martin examines the inventive playing style of The Killers’ Dave Keuning
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