ARLEN ROTH – NO STONE UNTURNED
To guitarists who were raised on his uber successful “Hot Licks” instructional video series, session and touring great Arlen Roth is a legendary figure. Ranked in VG’s “100 Most Influential Guitarists of All-time” list, Arlen’s latest release is the third in a series of instrumental cover albums by Roth previously covering Simon and Garfunkel and Bob Dylan. “Paint It Black” features twelve of the most iconic Rolling Stones’ songs, arranged and performed by Roth solely on acoustic instruments.
I recently caught up with Arlen as he was preparing the release for mastering.
Tom Guerra: What was the thought process behind this album?
AR: I’d done the Simon and Garfunkel and Bob Dylan acoustic tribute albums, and I have always loved the Stones, especially their early music. A lot of their stuff is apropos for acoustic, including 12 string and slide guitar. It’s very evocative stuff, and I just thought that it would be nice to tackle, as I have the feeling for it. Those songs have always occupied a place in me, stuff like “No Expectations,” “Lady Jane” and “Under My Thumb.” I figured I’d give it a shot, and make this sort of a continuing series of acoustic renditions. I always do one of these acoustic albums in between two electric albums, in sort of a homegrown way, to keep getting my acoustic side out there.
TG: When were you first drawn to the early Stones (did you ever see them live)?
AR: I was drawn to them immediately in the beginning, and I actually ran into and recognized Charlie Watts in a music store when I was just 11! I was in Ben’s Music on 48th Street buying my first electric guitar with my Dad, and he signed an autograph…he already looked ancient to me (laughs). They were playing that night at the Academy of Music – their first New York City gig. Later on, Charlie had said I was the first kid to ever recognize him in America! I met Ron Wood once at his home in NY, and later on I met Mick Taylor when he did my “Hot Licks” video series. Mick said it was “the toughest gig I’ve ever done” (laughs). We hung out quite a bit after that and got to play some gigs together as well.
Back in those days, you had The Beatles and you had The Stones, who were very gritty. Although I was an absolute Beatles fanatic, something clicked with me with The Stones, because their music sort of just played itself. The minute I heard a Stones tune, I could relate to what they were doing on their instruments, and thought Brian Jones was a very innovative guy. I loved what they were doing with 12 string and very early on with slide guitar. Even back then, I thought their guitar playing was a little primitive, especially Keith’s leads, but I loved the sounds and textures, and that’s what I tried to capture on this record.
TG: What instruments were played on “Paint It Black”?
AR: The one I’m holding on the cover, a 1934 Gibson L-00, and I played a lot on my signature guitar, which is a Santa Cruz OM-AR model. I also played a little tiny 5-18 Martin which is like the guitar Marty Robbins used to play, and I also used a ’63 Epiphone 12 string, the equivalent to a Gibson B-25 12 that recorded really well. For slide and some lead work, I used my Mark Simon Terraplane resonator. The mandolin I used is a Rigel, which was made up in Vermont.
TG: How did you come up with the arrangements for these songs? You managed to capture both the subtlety of Keith and Brian’s chordal work while incorporating the vocalmelody.
AR: That for me, is a natural thing that I do, it just comes out of me that way. When I remember a song, I remember the textures and nuances of the record. I recently played on a Burt Bachrach tribute album and did a Dusty Springfield song “Wishin’ and Hopin’” as a solo acoustic piece, and Bachrach commented that he couldn’t believe howI got the vocal inflections, horn fills, and everything else in that song, to come through a solo acoustic guitar. And the same thing goes for these Stones’ songs.
TG: Sometimes when albums of cover songs are released, they lose the feel of the original songs in their quest to be “perfect,” yet you’ve managed to retain the soul of these tunes while adding some beautiful parts.
AR: Thank you, that’s what it’s really all about. Every song has important parts that imprint with you, to make it a complete picture and that’s the vibe I tried to capture. Thisbalbum is simply my take on some songs that I love.
TG: Will you be doing shows to support “Paint It Black?”
AR: Yes I am, I will be doing the release party up at the Dancing Cat Saloon in White Lake, NY near the Woodstock site and then I will be playing some other acoustic shows with Chris Foley on second acoustic guitar as well, to get that Stonesy two guitar “intertwined” thing going on. It’ll always be a part of my acoustic shows!
Tom Guerra