The Marmite Effec t
Opinion-dividing tones
1. Revolution – The Beatles (1968)
Lennon’s B-side to Heyjude saw him up the ante on dirty by adopting the somewhat reckless tact of plugging his Epiphone Casino straight into the ’board with Paul and George to overload the preamps. It’s probably not a sound most fans seek to emulate but, hey, we’ll cut them some slack as they earned plenty of musical credit in their decade together.
2. Relin’ In The Years – Steely Dan (1972)
The Dan were known for recruiting the creme de la creme of musicians for session work, and Elliott Randall’s playing with his ’63 Strat isn’t the bone of contention here. More that this kind of distortion with a PAF neck humbucker through a cranked 400-watt, eight speaker AMPEG SVT bass amp sounds jarring in the context of the other instruments. But you may disagree, because one player’s bad is another’s bold…
3. Fool In The Rain – Led Zeppelin (1979)
Page’s reputation as a consummate composer and tone creator in Zeppelin is undeniable, so this was no accident. But two octaves down on an MXR Blue Box in the solo sounds like sabotage in the context of this song.
4. Layla – Derek And The Dominoes (1971)
Okay, this is controversial; great song, great players… but Duane Allman’s slide on that outro? Tuning or tape speed issues undermine his tone and it sounds far from a choice moment from a great player.
5. Heat Of The Moment – Asia (1982)
You’re a prog supergroup streamlining your songwriting and you’ve just penned your most commercial tune to date. How can you give it that finishing touch? Enter Yes man Steve Howe and his off-key outro solo with a tone to strip paint with.