source file: m1391.txt Date: Mon, 20 Apr 1998 07:42:17 -0700 Subject: Just Steel From: "Bob Lee" Joseph L. Monzo's description of Duane Allman's slide guitar reminds me that many of you may be unaware of some of the excellent classic JI pedal steel recordings. At the top of my list is Buddy Emmons' excellent "Emmons Guitar Company". Buddy has switched to 12TET in recent years, but most players agree that this late 60's release is the best pedal steel album ever made. Another favorite is Jimmy Day's "Steel and Strings". The material is all country ballads - perfect vehicles for Day's perfectly tuned JI triads. Jimmy Day demonstrates his mastery by weaving those triads together with emotionally charged slide transitions. The fact that the pedal steel guitars on these classic albums are tuned in just intonation is not advertised anywhere, but it's obvious to the ear. I have little doubt that the pure intervals used on recordings like these inspired many of today's players (like me) to take up the instrument. Both of these are available on CD from Scotty's Music in St. Louis http://www.iwc.com/scottys-music/ ). The Emmons CD is listed as "Black Cover" (it's often referred to as "the black album"), and the Day CD also includes his "Steel Guitar Golden Hits" LP. -b0b- http://wco.com/~quasar