Key to the HighwayThis song has been interpreted by pretty much every blues artist worthy of the name, and I like pretty much every interpretation. It's just a flat-out perfect song - sturdy as a pillar if you need it to be, malleable as soft clay if you want it to be; play it swift, play it slow, play it plain or fancy, just fucking play it and let's ride! |
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The first version I attempted to record, I used a finger picking style, stretched the song out a bit by repeating a verse, and got myself caught in an an excruciatingly awful second guitar solo. So I cursed a bit, picked up the flat pick and jumped into this compact version, which I hope has the desired effect of leaving you wanting more, rather than wishing there were less.
The first version of Key I ever heard was off an early Chuck Berry album, back in the fifties. I played it 'til it wore out. Maybe the best version (well, my favorite, anyway) is off the Derek and the Dominoes Layla album, but that entire album is one of the two or three best in 20th century rock/blues history. I don't consider myself a "bluesman," but blues music has been as influential on what I do as any musical form - it's part of my tangle of roots. I hope you like this simple, straightforward interpretation. At the end of the song, if you keep listening, you will here my grunted comment, "Eh!" I hadn't played as well as I wanted, but then, I rarely do. Every time I play it (which has been often, lately) it comes out differently. It's never exactly what I'm reaching for, but then, very little is, and I often end up pleasantly surprised anyway.
The first version of Key I ever heard was off an early Chuck Berry album, back in the fifties. I played it 'til it wore out. Maybe the best version (well, my favorite, anyway) is off the Derek and the Dominoes Layla album, but that entire album is one of the two or three best in 20th century rock/blues history. I don't consider myself a "bluesman," but blues music has been as influential on what I do as any musical form - it's part of my tangle of roots. I hope you like this simple, straightforward interpretation. At the end of the song, if you keep listening, you will here my grunted comment, "Eh!" I hadn't played as well as I wanted, but then, I rarely do. Every time I play it (which has been often, lately) it comes out differently. It's never exactly what I'm reaching for, but then, very little is, and I often end up pleasantly surprised anyway.