Paul Nelson could be called a guitarist’s guitarist – but as a songwriter and producer he’s much more than that.
The Berklee grad was a respected studio ace, performing with rock, pop and blues musicians. He later helped resurrect Johnny Winter’s career, writing songs and producing his albums (along with managing him), leading to a Grammy award for them both for Winter’s last album, 2015’s Step Back.
He continues to write, produce and perform, and currently leads the blues-rock Paul Nelson Band. Nelson joined Ross Boissoneau to discuss the albums that shaped his career:
JEFF BECK – BLOW BY BLOW (1975): I was at Berklee studying with Steve Vai when I heard that. His sound – it doesn’t sound like a guitar; it sounds like a human voice. It was produced by [long-time Beatles collaborator] George Martin – that’s not a bad deal. The thing with Blow By Blow and [Beck’s subsequent album] Wired was it allowed blues guys and rock guys to say, “I can play what I’m playing over sophisticated chord changes.” The harmonies had different values. That’s why they call it fusion. The grooves! “Freeway Jam” was a biggy for anyone.
LED ZEPPELIN – PHYSICAL GRAFFITI (1975): Jimmy Page’s playing, the songwriting, the vocals, even the artwork. Their first album was kind of thin, then something happened. It went in every direction. Page used all these different tunings. I studied everything – [Black] Sabbath, [Lynyrd] Skynyrd, male vocalists, female, different genres. I started as a session guy, and Page started as a session guy.
B.B. KING – LIVE AT THE REGAL (1965): Every musician has to have this under his belt. A lot of players have cited it – Beck, Mick Taylor, [Eric] Clapton. You can tell his style from one note. It’s the blues root, but certain changes that people hadn’t heard before. Take that [blues] as the starting point and then add some more harmony and structure. You can’t lose by starting with B.B. I got to hang with B.B. a lot. He was such a gentleman.
WHAT I’M LISTENING TO NOW: I’m still listening to Billy Cobham’s Spectrum – that album was without a doubt one of the first crossover/fusion things. Billy, Jan Hammer, you had a rock guy [Tommy Bolin] playing rock licks over the changes, playing bent notes, trills, dive bombs, using distortion. And you had Billy Cobham, coming out of Mahavishnu [Orchestra]. That could be a little out there. Like with Blow By Blow and Wired, the guitar was the verse, the chorus and the solo instrument.
- Tower of Power, Jennifer Hudson, Ben Folds + Others: 2024’s Seasonal Sounds - November 25, 2024
- Dave Bainbridge of Downes Braide Association: The Albums That Shaped My Career - October 9, 2024
- Greg Cahill of Special Consensus: Albums That Shaped My Career - September 16, 2024
