I have just started listening to the "Live in the air age" deluxe edition and i am really enjoying hearing one of my favourite albums in various different versions plus all the Modern Music tracks.
I've just listened to "Terminal Street" Leicester De Monfort Hall 12th February 1977 and at 9.40 i am sure i can hear Bill playing an E-Bow, or is it feedback?.
Does anyone remember Bill playing an E-Bow on this tour?
I've had a listen and it does sound like an ebow.
If you like feedback:
From 2:26
At the start. Cracking solo to end the song with too!
From the start.
From 1:25.
Thanks for your answers, one of the special things that i liked about Be Bop was the guitar feedback and Bill did it so well, he seemed to be the only one who could do it.
I can see the link between guitar feedback and the E-Bow, the infinite sustain.
To go back to my original question about whether the guitar solo on "Terminal Street" Leicester De Monfort Hall 12th February 1977 at 9.40 is played with an E-Bow or just guitar feedback? I have listened to the same approx one minute solo on four more concerts and i am still leaning towards the E-Bow. It sounds like it's all played with the left hand only, up and down the strings just like you would play an E-Bow.
Come on Bill, did you or didn't you play this short solo with an E-Bow?
That's the beauty of semi acoustics - if you know what you're doing you're never too far away from feedback. Bill has always been the master of this (and the ebow too!). I was also really impressed when I saw The Cult back in the 80s. Billy Duffy was playing a heavily chorused Gretsch White Falcon and was never far away from feeding back - excellent!
‘Blue As A Jewel’ 💎 is the one I always tell people is the first.
The track Autosexual from the Drastic Plastic sessions (I think) has an Ebow solo, that's circa 1977 or so.
I'm also pretty sure - although I haven't listened to it yet - that the sound on the Terminal Street performance is feedback - a semi-hollow guitar through two 100 watt amps on a small stage - it's almost inevitable, but in this case, controlled. Bill often coaxes a sustained note out once he's found the sweet spot on the night. A favourite of mine is the massive sustained G note at the beginning of the live Adventures... from that album.
TC
Interesting question. I'm no musician, but would love to know more about history of Ebow use. If a book is ever written on that theme, I guess about 90% of the index would refer to Bill Nelson related content! The Miles Davis of the guitar, in that respect. The early EBow tracks I remember are "Blue as a Jewel" (as mentioned by Steve, above), and "Sleepcycle". Both beautiful & unique tracks.
I was at that gig at DeMontfort Hall in February '77 (was also at the Sept '76 gig that was filmed and which is now part of the DeLuxe box set). I'm pretty sure no ebow was involved at that gig.
I do not remember Bill using an ebow at the Leeds Feb 13th concert I attended....twas a long time ago though ! but I believe he didnt use an ebow until the following year while recording the Drastic plastic album where it appeared on the track "Blue as a jewel" .....although Wikipedia states that "It was invented by Greg Heet in 1969, introduced in 1976 and patented in 1978."