On Show-off #15, let's cherish the musical brilliance of John McGeoch, a Scottish musician, most well-known for his works as a guitar player/multi-instrumentalist for Magazine, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and Public Image Ltd.
Play this mix loud. Respect the wizard.
From the late 70s to the early 90s, McGeoch's style and tone; his use of textures rather than his solos, but able to dream up dramatic riffs and chord changes and blistering fills, set as one of the most important foundations of post-punk (or other related styles) guitar playing. Key characteristics of his playing style include inventive arpeggio, flange effect pedal, string harmonics and occasional disregard for conventional scales.
There are hundreds of things on the internet about his musical brilliance, some must-read archives/stories for you who are into guitar playing or just a general music fan. Search it, read it, and hear him play.
Here are some of the very best acknowledgements about his guitar wizardry.
Johnny Marr: (1) "Really my generation was all about a guy called John McGeoch, from Siouxsie and the Banshees". (2) "When I was in my teens, there weren't many new guitar players who were interesting and of their time.[...] John McGeoch. [His work] was really innovative guitar music which was pretty hard to find back then. To a young guitar player like myself, those early Banshees singles were just class". (3) "It's so clever. He's got this really good picking thing going on which is very un-rock'n'roll and this actual tune he's playing is really quite mysterious."
Budgie: "Without any disrespect to all the other guitarists we have worked with, none had the relaxed mastery and such a depth of expression as John McGeoch. No amount of scrutiny of filmed 'Live' performance tapes could reveal the subtle economy of technique that made an apparently complex phrase look so deceptively simple. Exasperated guitarists would often comment, "But his hands don’t even move!".
Siouxsie Sioux: "John McGeoch was my favourite guitarist of all time. He was into sound in an almost abstract way. I loved the fact that I could say, "I want this to sound like a horse falling off a cliff", and he would know exactly what I meant. He was easily, without a shadow of a doubt, the most creative guitarist the Banshees ever had".
The songs:
01. Siouxsie and the Banshees - Spellbound
One of the most amazing songs in history. It has everything: the drumming, the basslines, the vocals, and, of course, McGeoch's guitar. Taken from "Juju" (1981), an album which put Sioux-Severin-Budgie-McGeoch quartet as my personal S and the B favourite line-up. Just listen to that guitar intro, man.
https://www.discogs.com/artist/80501-Siouxsie-The-Banshees
02. Siouxsie and the Banshees - Fireworks
Same with the previous, this song is a pure class.
03. Magazine - Shot by Both Sides
McGeoch's first appearance in an album. Post-punk prog? Punk-prog? Err, whatever. Great song (and band), tho.
https://www.discogs.com/artist/26054-Magazine
04. Siouxsie and the Banshees - Halloween
Listen to that shrieking but perfectly toned guitar, man. It really adds the haunting energy.
05. Public Image Ltd. - The Body
McGeoch joined PiL in 1986. One of the most fascinating things about John McGeoch is his ability to adjust his playing to any kind of bands he's in, without losing his own characteristic.
http://www.pilofficial.com/info.html
06. Public Image Ltd. - Disappointed
From virtuoso-style to amazing jangly to an exploding chorus. McGeoch makes this John Lydon's sakit-hati-song incredible.
07. Magazine - A Song from Under the Floorboards
One of my favourite Magazine's tracks. Great basslines.
08. The Sugarcubes - Gold
They invited McGeoch to play the guitar on this song. Taken from their final LP, "Stick Around for Joy" (1992).
https://www.discogs.com/artist/9452-The-Sugarcubes
09. Siouxsie and the Banshees - Happy House
Taken from "Kaleidoscope" (1980), McGeoch's first LP with the Banshees (after they persuaded him to leave Magazine).
10. Peter Murphy - The Light Pours Out of Me
The Bauhaus frontman decided to do Magazine's song on one of his solos. Is there any better guitar player to play it than the original one? Of course not.
https://www.petermurphy.info/
11. Visage - Tar
You heard that great sax? Yes, John McGeoch also played the saxophone!
http://www.therealvisage.com/
12. Public Image Ltd. - Open and Revolving
Amazing guitar playing. Successfully make me air-guitaring, all the time.
13. Zzzang Tumb - Dans
Apart from his legendary guitar career, John McGeoch also produced this Swedish punk-funk band's LP. Good stuff.
https://www.discogs.com/Zzzang-Tumb-Zzzang-Tumb/release/1045095
14. Public Image Ltd. - Warrior
Dancey industrial-style guitar playing, anyone?
15. Magazine - Because You're Frightened
Perfect guitar tone (as always).
16. The Armoury Show - We Can Be Brave Again
The press sometimes cited McGeoch as "New wave's Jimmy Page" lol. Yeah, we can say this band/album/song invigorated that claim.
https://www.discogs.com/artist/92991-The-Armoury-Show
17. Magazine - My Tulpa
Listen to that distinctive 'mosquito larvae' sound.
Further hearing from John McGeoch's wizardry: The Wise Men - Knowledge, Generation X - What Do You Want?, Matthew Sweet - Brotherhood, Heaven 17 - Red.
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