Best use of saxophone

[bio-smear]

I know you opened this expecting to see somebody pinching a loaf into our favorite brass/woodwind, but I have a more honorable notion about the sax, an instrument that is kinda considered gay by the rock community. I'm not a big fan myself. Visions of Kenny G or some cheesy soft jazz dudes hamming it up come to mind. Less gay is the brass section of say...soul bands like the one in that movie 'The Commitments.' Finding a place for the sax to really shine in contemporary rock music though, is tough. If you wanted to be a rock star, and you showed up to a grass roots jam with some other modern indie musicians, and you pulled that shiny dong horn out of its case, you would most likely be laughed at, unless your bandmates were pretty open minded. I'm not defending the sax here, just throwing this out. I don't play the sax, either, so I'm not looking for some sort of affirmation.

I starting thinking about this on a drive from Reno to Portland yesterday, when I threw in the INXS Greatest Hits disc, and was reminded that some people have successfully ROCKED the sax. It's not always gay. I'll throw out some examples in case you've forgotten. These aren't just solos, either. These are songs where the sax was prominently featured.

INXS: "What You Need"....fucking kickass sax usage.
Morphine: everything. These guys WERE sax. 2 saxes infact, both played by the same guy at the same time. No guitars. SAX ONLY.
Elbow: "Powder Blue" IF I remember correctly, this is hard, you have to think hard.

Ok, whattya got. No jazz, soft rock, world music, or anything like that. Rock music.

[slim]

Sax belongs buried in a horn section. Anything else is a crime against humanity or simply a gimmick (see Morphine).

[Greydon Clark]

Huey Lewis. I'm going to puke now.

[Steven S. Dallas]

We're talkin' softball...
From Maine to San Diego.
Talkin' softball...
Mattingly and Canseco.
Ken Griffey's grotesquely swollen jaw.
Steve Sax and his run-in with the law.
We're talkin' Homer... Ozzie and the Straw.

[Woodsy]

while I normally agree with slim....
Thoroughgood's bad to the Bone has a good sax part.

Do you consider James Brown "Rock Music"

I dont know if you consider Dave Matthews Rock or good for that matter.....
but it has a lotof sax.

Dont forget "st elmoos fire....."

[El Chupacabra]

David Bowie - "Young Americans"

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Also, at only April 27th, this thread shows what a long summer we have in front of us...

[powpig]

Being a headbangin' refugee from the 70s, I've always loved BOC. Their song Monsters, onea my faves offa Cultasauras Erectus has a sax solo in the middle. Always seemed outta place but after 25 years I dig it now. Sure they're some others but that's what came to mind.

As an aside, BOC will be at the Crystal Bay Club 6/23. Saw these guys headline Oakland Stadium July 4 1980. How the mighty have fallen. But I'll be there!!!

[Camilo]

Sublime - Date Rape. Only good use of sax I've heard.

[BeanDip4All]

If you’ll be my bodyguard
I can be your long lost pal
I can call you Betty
And Betty when you call me
You can call me Al

That, and a couple George Clinton songs (PFunk) have good sax.

[homerjay]

Eyes of the World with Branford.

[cj001f]

[PNWbrit]

Junior Walker

[Stu Gotz]

Born to Run.

And I will also say that the trumpet break in Stevie Wonder's "Sir Duke" is awesome.

[funkendrenchman]

Hands down, I would say the now defunkt band Filibuster, made the best use of the sax. Ska, hip hop, jazz, hip hop, scratching, and rock all fused together.

[funkendrenchman]

Born to Run.

And I will also say that the trumpet break in Stevie Wonder's "Sir Duke" is awesome.

I played that song in high school jazz band... quite a difficult song for the trumpets.


Can we have a best use of the triangle thread next?

[Obstruction]

Can't You Hear me Knockin.

[SponsoredByDuctTape]

Best use of sax = John Coltrane.
Best use of sax outside of jazz = Madness "One Step Beyond"

[waxman]

Bill Clinton using it prior to his eventual election to prove how "cool" he was(not). But the US voters ate it up....

[MarsB]

Sax belongs buried in a horn section. Anything else is a crime against humanity or simply a gimmick (see Morphine).

Bingo.

Fear hit's the nail on the head on "New York's Alright If You Like Saxophones".....

[MarsB]

Do you consider James Brown "Rock Music"

I dont know if you consider Dave Matthews Rock or good for that matter.....
but it has a lotof sax..

No jazz, soft rock, world music, or anything like that. Rock music.

Walker = Blues
Branford, Coletrane = Jazz
James, Stevie = Soul
Clinton = Funk (duh.)
DMB, Paul Simon = world, sorta? ok, maybe just Paul Simon.
Ska doesn't count, so nix Madness, Sublime and Filibuster.
I am not even going to recognize the unworthyness of that Huey Lewis or George Thoroughgood crap...

So that leaves us with just the INXS and Bowie songs? Oh, and one Springsteen. Aren't these merely proof that they managed to be good songs DESPITE their saxophone handicaps?

[bio-smear]

Can we have a best use of the triangle thread next?

Best bassline was cool, but a little general. Thousands of songs have rad basslines. You have to work to think of good sax usage. Maybe...Theremin? weeeoooweeoooo. Trombone? It's more useful as a variation slang of 'blowjob.'
Yeah I am feeling the summer fever. The weather in the NW is phenomenal this week. Time to ride/fly/bake/whatever. I got a sunburn yesterday standing in a field in Shasta for an hour. I wasn't expecting that.

Another thought: Anything higher in pitch than a baritone or tenor sax gets extra gay points.

[funkendrenchman]

Walker = Blues
Branford, Coletrane = Jazz
James, Stevie = Soul
Clinton = Funk (duh.)
DMB, Paul Simon = world, sorta? ok, maybe just Paul Simon.
Ska doesn't count, so nix Madness, Sublime and Filibuster.
I am not even going to recognize the unworthyness of that Huey Lewis or George Thoroughgood crap...

So that leaves us with just the INXS and Bowie songs? Oh, and one Springsteen. Aren't these merely proof that they managed to be good songs DESPITE their saxophone handicaps?

and why does Ska not count?

[MarsB]

Same reason as jazz, it is an established instrument of the genre- kinda like banjos to bluegrass. Every good ska band has a horn section.

[SponsoredByDuctTape]

Same reason as jazz, it is an established instrument of the genre- kinda like banjos to bluegrass. Every good ska band has a horn section.

True, but now we're getting a little picky. I consider INXS Pop, not Rock. Just where exactly does Rock begin and end? For that matter, to me, if it includes a sax it ain't Rock.

[MarsB]

Fair 'nuff.