In the sculptures found in what are thought to be the ruins of Nineveh are many representations of musicians and musical instruments. The latter appear to have been of very finished workmanship, and to have reached that stage of development where beauty and essential fitness meet on an equal footing, in fact, within their limits, the instruments of the Assyrians may be said to be artistically perfect.
Most of the sculpture work discovered at Nineveh is now in the British Museum, and reproductions of it are to be found in almost every book dealing with the history of music. Judging from the nature of the instruments represented, the music of the Assyrians must have been of a light yet somewhat subdued order, with no very pronounced effects of instrumental "colour," no blaring of large wind instruments or banging of drums. They have also arrived at some idea of a proper combination of instruments and voices.
An interesting illustration, not only of the nature of the Assyrian musical instruments, but also of the manner in which these instruments were employed in combination with voices, is afforded by a sculptural relief in the British Museum, representing a procession of musicians marching to meet a conqueror returning from battle. In front marches a man playing upon a harp, this instrument is approximately four feet high and fitted with ten strings. From the fact of his walking alone in front of his fellow musicians, this man was evidently the chief of the musicians. Behind him walk two men, one playing an instrument of the dulcimer kind, and the other a double flute.
The dulcimer player walks with his instrument resting against his breast in a horizontal position, possibly it was secured by a cord or strap passed round the player's neck. The flute-player's instrument is small, allowing him to have been a tall man; each pipe would be up to twelve inches long. Behind the flute and dulcimer-players come two more harpers, with instruments similar to that carried by the leader.
Then follow another couple, a harper and a flute-player, followed, in turn, by two other harpers, these last being followed by a harper and a drummer, the drum a very small one and apparently played with the finger-tips. This constitutes the orchestra. The rear of the procession is brought up by six adult and nine juvenile singers, the whole forming a band and chorus of twenty-six instrumentalists and singers divided as follows :-
2 Double flutes.
1 Small drum.
1 Dulcimer.
6 Singing men or women.
7 Harps.
9 Singing boys.
There is undoubtedly a strong sense of proportion and general fitness exhibited in this combination, so much so, that we can hardly imagine the disposition of this body of musicians to have been purely a matter of chance. The sharper sounding instruments, the flutes and the dulcimer, are carefully placed among the other less pronounced instruments, and considering the nature of the other instruments, the drum may be said to be sufficiently large and powerful for the purpose it had to serve.
The backbone of the band is in the harps, they represent the violins of the modern orchestra. The proportion of singers to instrumentalists, again, although somewhat unequal, according to modern ideas, is curiously like that of Handel's time.
Besides the instruments just described, the Assyrians appear to have also made use of a variety of drums, cymbals, trumpets, bells and tambourines.
The Blues Music History
I can only say with such an eclectic list of choices that you would have to narrow it down to what type of music is being played by the group, how you define success and of course, personal preference.
If you are looking for a hard-rock group, you have several selections, including Blue Cheer, a 60's group that some refer to as one of the first heavy metal bands. Their hit, a remake of Eddie Cochran's “Summertime Blues” spent ten weeks on the American Billboard Top 40, peaking at number 14 in 1968. Even with numerous personnel changes, San Francisco's Blue Cheer was able to release several breakthrough and influential albums.
However, if you are looking for commercial success and longevity, one could argue that Blue Oyster Cult, another hard-rock/heavy metal band could top that list. In 1972, with their self named debut album, Blue Oyster Cult combined the elements of hard-rock and intense touring to pave the way for their upcoming success. In 1976, they broke through to the mainstream arena and FM radio with the album “Agents Of Fortune” that included their biggest hit, the classic and infectious “Don't Fear The Reaper.” Blue Oyster Cult proved that they were more than a one-hit wonder with more than fourteen albums to their credit.
Furthermore, if you a looking for one of the top “blues” blue albums, there are several in that realm. The Blues Brothers (formed by Saturday Night Live alumni's Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi) rode the success of an SNL skit and with many superstar musicians scored several top 40 hits including “Soul Man.” Blues Traveler, with singer/harmonica virtuoso John Popper are known as a “blues jam Band” with strong improvisional skills and their top hit “Run-Around,” one of the biggest singles in 1995.
The Blues Project, a group formed in 1965 by guitarist Danny Kalb and Steve Katz, was one of the first “underground” groups in the US, mixing rock/blues/pop and folk; they compiled a couple of eclectic and revolutionary albums in the mid 60's.
But if you are looking for the definitive blues album by a blues band, John Mayall's Blues Breakers (with Eric Clapton) provide the perfect example of a blues and boogie combination extraordinarily played by the astonishing Clapton.
The psychedelic music genre is well represented with the Bronx-based Blues Magoos who charted in 1967 with “(We Ain't Got) Nothing Yet.” Throughout their short career they rode the psychedelic era horse and played a mixture of infectious rock and roll and unrelenting garage rock.
A largely unknown blue band “Blue Things” was able to mix their Byrdesque folk and energetic pop rock to become a regional success in the Midwest and Texas. Despite a national record contract with RCA, they remain one of the better examples of the mid 60's music era that you probably never heard of.
A group from Toronto, Canada named Blue Rodeo has drawn comparisons to the Beatles/Dylan with smooth harmonies and rootsy folk rock, they are certainly worth a listen if you like alternative country rock.
Other blue groups include Blue Nile, formed in 1981 in Glasgow, Scotland, were highly praised for their dreamy-pop sound. The Blue Ridge Rangers gets a mention merely because of the iconic John Fogerty, who released an album under that name (even though, technically the group was just Fogerty playing all the instruments), that although was not a huge commercial success, proved he belonged as one of the top performers in rock and roll.
“Ride Captain Ride” was a top 40 hit in 1972 for Blues Image, a rock group that featured Mike Pinera (who later joined Iron Butterfly). Blue Magic, an R & B vocal group from Philadelphia scored two top ten hits in 1974. Additionally, a group named Blue Haze, a reggae group from England secured a top 40 hit in 1972 with the song “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes.”
Now, I may not have completely answered the email question, I think that is up to personal preference and taste. But I will give you an opinion of the worst song by a blue group. That distinction belongs to Blue Swede and the remake of the song “Hooked On A Feeling,” a hit in 1974, complete with the sickening and dreaded “OOGA Chacka” lyric added to the song.
Both Mike Shaw & Robert Benson are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Mike Shaw has sinced written about articles on various topics from Arts, Keyboard Synthesizer and Guide Guitar. Mike Shaw is an organist and keyboard player and owns music websites a. Mike Shaw's top article generates over 246000 views. to your Favourites.
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