Thanks for talking about Robert Quine. For those that might be interested, there's a terrific interview with him in the January 1986 issue of Guitar Player magazine. He excitedly talks about all the various records that influenced his style. His enthusiasm was so infectious, it makes me miss him even more.
Always happy when someone else recognizes the brilliance of Robert Quine. And here's hoping Matthew Sweet makes a full recovery - if you haven't already, you should definitely make that video!
Quine is quite possibly the finest musician to emerge from the seventies NY Punk Rock scene. His playing is fascinating and unique. I first heard him on a 45 of Richard Hell's that a close friend bought back from New York in the late seventies. My first impressions were that he'd somehow discovered a way of stringing his guitar with rubber bands. Quine's sound encompassed Jazz, Blues and an avant guarde approach to soloing. An incredibly important and hugely under rated player who is much missed to this day.
Thanks for talking about Robert Quinel. I know him from his work with Lloyd Cole whom you neglected to mention. Those first 3 albums he recorded with him are excellent. Check them out if you are not familiar with them.
Lloyd was (and still is) amazing. I heard Lloyd once say in an interview that Matthew Sweet's original title was "Good friend" until Lloyd told him, "You should change it to "Girlfriend". The rest is history.
Thanks for talking about Robert. I'm with Kevin Boissonnault...I came to know Robert through his work with Lloyd Cole. He did some amazing work with Lloyd - true genius stuff with the most beautiful tone imaginable, I can't believe he's so well unknown. He really deserves to be talked about...lots.
For sure! Some of the soloing and lead fills on both Don’t Get Weird On Me, Babe and on the eponymous Lloyd Cole are every bit as good if not better than the Matthew Sweet stuff. He also played a gorgeous lead on Like Lovers Do from LC’s Love Story Album.
My grad work was in philosophy, and when I first heard of Robert Quine I immediately thought of W. V. O. Quine aka Willard Van Ormin Quine, who was one of the 3 or 4 greatest American philosophers of the past century. He had a chair at Harvard and despite writing about logic and the philosophy of language dropped a few hints about his love of jazz. In fact, his most important collection of essays is FROM A LOGICAL POINT OF VIEW (which contains most of his very famous essays, like the massively important paper "Two Dogmas of Empiricism"), the title of which collection is stolen from the jazz standard of a similar name. Then I discovered that he was Robert Quine's uncle. Robert isn't as famous as his uncle (well, that isn't quite right; his uncle was a massively important figure in a field most people know little about, while Robert was a bit of a cult figure for people who knew the al-rock scene especially well. As a philosopher who has a deep love of alternative rock, I like Robert more as a musician than I like his uncle as a philosopher.
I first heard Quine's guitar playing when he was duetting with Albert Collins in the intro of 'Two-Lane Highway', on John Zorn's album Spillane. That was about 1988 or so. That hooked me into both him and Collins.
I spent my career as a bassist but originally was a lead guitarist and I think I am notably being critical of a lot of famous guitarists. Not because there bad but if they do stuff I can see myself doing I'm not impressed. I think along with Marc Ribot there are most underrated guitarists and I am very impressed with what they've done.
Drummer Fred Maher was also a renowned record producer whose credits include producing Lou Reed's New York, Sweet's Girlfriend, and Lloyd Cole's Don't Get Weird on Me Babe. He was also a member of Scritti Politti during their successful US run of albums produced by veteran hit maker Arif Mardin.
Live In Italy which documents the Reed/Quine collaboration is one of my favorite guitar records. I'm surprised you didn't mention it. I have it on CD and don't know the details of its releases.
It's an amazing album. As alluded to in the video though, you can almost hear Lou getting jealous at how much attention Quine is getting on a couple of songs.
Yes, Robert played on three of my favourite Lloyd Cole albums with Fred Maher, X , Love Story and Don't Get Weird On Me Babe. I actually followed Robert from Girlfriend to Lloyd Cole before I heard of The Commotions. Kevin Boissonnault is right on.
the real hidden gem is the 2lp Live In Italy 1983 with Quine and Lou on fire ! Only issued overseas but the CD sounds incredible and they are really tight. Hope you have that show !
Yes! My favourite Lou LP and one on which Robert really shines. The solo Robert takes on Satellite of Love is absolutely stellar. Rest in Peace Bob, one of the most unique and gifted musicians of the Punk Rock era. A true trail blazer.
Aaaahhh yeah, Lou's gesture in his forgiveness of Italy: there's a back story to it: in the 1970s Italy was greatly politicized, and there were a lot of political groups who believed music should be free. They gathered outside and inside big concerts and protested, creating havoc which usually ended with a police charge and use of teargas. Notably Led Zeppelin in 1971 were victims of these circumstances, but also Lou Reed in 1975. His gig disrupted, he was so overcome with rage, onlookers remember him bashing his head against the wall. He vowed never to play Italy again. That all changed in 1981. The climate had changed, and Lou received a tremendous welcome, with tv appearances, press in major magazines , the works. He was so pleased, aided also by the beautiful venues he played, he issued "Live in Italy" (recorded live at the Verona Arena, an ancient Roman amphitheater). And of course, he had one of the best bands who ever accompanied him. Fred Maher on drums (ex-Voidoid), Fernando Saunders on bass and the great, late Robert Quine on guitar. And you are right, the reading of the old Velvet and solo Reed's classics acquire a patina of New-Wave/No Wave dissonance, the band is clearly on fire and Quine's shines exceptionally, edging Lou to give his best as a guitarist. I was a budding guitarist of 13, and that was my introduction to the genius of Robert Quine. I remained a fan, and to this day he is one of my biggest influences...
Oo awesome, I'll be checking this EP out on the elliptical tomorrow! I've loved Blank Generation for years--all the more now that I have a great-sounding original--and I finally ordered a copy of Destiny Street (currently en route from Germany).
My pal Jay played me "The Blue Mask" in 1983, and it blew my mind! After that Lou and Quine were my guideposts for what makes great guitar music. I was blown away when Matt had Quine and Richard Lloyd on the "Girlfriend" album. I got to see Richard play with Matt at First Avenue during the Altered Beast Tour. After that, I found out about Quine and Marc Ribot playing on Corrin Cruschella's album, "Valdun: Voices Of Rumansch." Ther is so much great music with Quine on it- look for John Zorn's stuff in the 1990s. His death just crushed me. But I do have one of Quine's Telecasters, thanks to Rick Kelly at Carmine Street Guitars.
Good! Quine is God! Marc Ribot himself considered and considers him a great great friend, and one of his real "teachers" in terms of attitude. There is a beautiful article Ribot wrote on Quine, you might find it online. And another one where Quine talks about those years with Lou and how they got obsessed with JJ Cale. Actually, then you start to hear JJ in Lou, which is Beauty on Beauty. Quine's playing on Lou's Live in Verona (here in Italy) is rock guitar at its danger peak.
I really enjoy all your videos. This one especially. I saw that Lou Reed tour back in the eighties. Lou seemed to be holding him back, not letting him cut loose, Lou trying to outdo him. Kind of disappointing. Lou being Lou.
I met Robert at the New York guitar show in the mid 1990’s right after Lou fired him He was a very nice guy and we engaged in conversation for a while Bring a huge Lou reed/velvet underground fan I asked about Lou his only response was “Lou reed is not a nice person”
Check out "Oh" from Hells Spurts albums but skip to 2:35 and enjoy the music The first 2 and a half minutes are meh with some of Hells worst vocals, but the rest if the track is one of my favorites.
fred mahrer was not on the blue mask the drummer was the session drumer doane perry who also played with jethro tull for a long time. the band you reference was with frenando saunders and fred mahrer was on legendary hearts. that band also was on the really good probably great " live in italy". "i love you suzanne" was on the album "new sensations " not "legendary hearts"
If you're not already familiar with his work with Zorn, the Spillane record has some crazy shit between Quine and Albert Collins. He also played on Zorn's early Filmworks,, Cobra and a whole bunch of other mid to late 80's releases. There's also a record by Ikue Mori called The Painted Desert with Quine and Marc Ribot
Greatest guitar player of all time. As ridiculous as that title is, when someone brings up that favorite 80s subject, Quine is who I think of. So inventive and earnest.
Bob Quine deserves so much better than this. You spend more time talking about Lou Reed than analyzing Quine's style. Just holding up the Blank Generation album and not talking about Quine's pioneering guitar work on the album is basically dereliction of duty. Very poorly done.
Thanks for talking about Robert Quine. For those that might be interested, there's a terrific interview with him in the January 1986 issue of Guitar Player magazine. He excitedly talks about all the various records that influenced his style. His enthusiasm was so infectious, it makes me miss him even more.
That was the first guitar magazine I ever bought, aged 16; I was lost from that day on. An amazing interview x
No one has ever looked less like a rock star, and played more like a guitar god. Quine is fantastic.
Nice detailed video with plenty of information. Thank you for creating
Thank you for this.. i love his guitar on Im your Man.
Always happy when someone else recognizes the brilliance of Robert Quine. And here's hoping Matthew Sweet makes a full recovery - if you haven't already, you should definitely make that video!
My favorite all time lead guitarist 😢. R.I.P.
Quine is quite possibly the finest musician to emerge from the seventies NY Punk Rock scene. His playing is fascinating and unique. I first heard him on a 45 of Richard Hell's that a close friend bought back from New York in the late seventies. My first impressions were that he'd somehow discovered a way of stringing his guitar with rubber bands. Quine's sound encompassed Jazz, Blues and an avant guarde approach to soloing. An incredibly important and hugely under rated player who is much missed to this day.
Love this reply and couldn't agree more.
Very good. thank you for this video. Robert Quine was hell of player.
Greetings from Bogotá, Colombia
Enjoy the weekend!
Thanks for talking about Robert Quinel. I know him from his work with Lloyd Cole whom you neglected to mention. Those first 3 albums he recorded with him are excellent. Check them out if you are not familiar with them.
This was a bit of a meandering video, love Lloyd Cole, thanks
Lloyd was (and still is) amazing. I heard Lloyd once say in an interview that Matthew Sweet's original title was "Good friend" until Lloyd told him, "You should change it to "Girlfriend". The rest is history.
wow. thank you.
My all time favorite lead guitarist😢 R.I.P.
Thanks for talking about Robert. I'm with Kevin Boissonnault...I came to know Robert through his work with Lloyd Cole. He did some amazing work with Lloyd - true genius stuff with the most beautiful tone imaginable, I can't believe he's so well unknown. He really deserves to be talked about...lots.
For sure! Some of the soloing and lead fills on both Don’t Get Weird On Me, Babe and on the eponymous Lloyd Cole are every bit as good if not better than the Matthew Sweet stuff. He also played a gorgeous lead on Like Lovers Do from LC’s Love Story Album.
My grad work was in philosophy, and when I first heard of Robert Quine I immediately thought of W. V. O. Quine aka Willard Van Ormin Quine, who was one of the 3 or 4 greatest American philosophers of the past century. He had a chair at Harvard and despite writing about logic and the philosophy of language dropped a few hints about his love of jazz. In fact, his most important collection of essays is FROM A LOGICAL POINT OF VIEW (which contains most of his very famous essays, like the massively important paper "Two Dogmas of Empiricism"), the title of which collection is stolen from the jazz standard of a similar name. Then I discovered that he was Robert Quine's uncle. Robert isn't as famous as his uncle (well, that isn't quite right; his uncle was a massively important figure in a field most people know little about, while Robert was a bit of a cult figure for people who knew the al-rock scene especially well. As a philosopher who has a deep love of alternative rock, I like Robert more as a musician than I like his uncle as a philosopher.
His solo in Waves of fear is a tragic masterpiece.
I first heard Quine's guitar playing when he was duetting with Albert Collins in the intro of 'Two-Lane Highway', on John Zorn's album Spillane. That was about 1988 or so. That hooked me into both him and Collins.
Robert Quine' most signifacant work was done togeteher with Yvan Julian in Richard Hell and The Voidoids in 1977 to 81 one of the founding Punk Bands
Arguable.
I spent my career as a bassist but originally was a lead guitarist and I think I am notably being critical of a lot of famous guitarists. Not because there bad but if they do stuff I can see myself doing I'm not impressed. I think along with Marc Ribot there are most underrated guitarists and I am very impressed with what they've done.
Drummer Fred Maher was also a renowned record producer whose credits include producing Lou Reed's New York, Sweet's Girlfriend, and Lloyd Cole's Don't Get Weird on Me Babe. He was also a member of Scritti Politti during their successful US run of albums produced by veteran hit maker Arif Mardin.
Lloyd and Quine were on those Matthew Sweet ablums!?
I gotta go back to those
Yup!
Live In Italy which documents the Reed/Quine collaboration is one of my favorite guitar records. I'm surprised you didn't mention it. I have it on CD and don't know the details of its releases.
I'll check it out!
It's an amazing album. As alluded to in the video though, you can almost hear Lou getting jealous at how much attention Quine is getting on a couple of songs.
Yes, Robert played on three of my favourite Lloyd Cole albums with Fred Maher, X , Love Story and Don't Get Weird On Me Babe. I actually followed Robert from Girlfriend to Lloyd Cole before I heard of The Commotions. Kevin Boissonnault is right on.
Fantastic!
Thank you, exactly what I was looping for
love Quine's style!
the real hidden gem is the 2lp Live In Italy 1983 with Quine and Lou on fire ! Only issued overseas but the CD sounds incredible and they are really tight. Hope you have that show !
going to have to look for that one!
Yes! My favourite Lou LP and one on which Robert really shines. The solo Robert takes on Satellite of Love is absolutely stellar. Rest in Peace Bob, one of the most unique and gifted musicians of the Punk Rock era. A true trail blazer.
Aaaahhh yeah, Lou's gesture in his forgiveness of Italy: there's a back story to it: in the 1970s Italy was greatly politicized, and there were a lot of political groups who believed music should be free. They gathered outside and inside big concerts and protested, creating havoc which usually ended with a police charge and use of teargas. Notably Led Zeppelin in 1971 were victims of these circumstances, but also Lou Reed in 1975. His gig disrupted, he was so overcome with rage, onlookers remember him bashing his head against the wall. He vowed never to play Italy again. That all changed in 1981. The climate had changed, and Lou received a tremendous welcome, with tv appearances, press in major magazines , the works. He was so pleased, aided also by the beautiful venues he played, he issued "Live in Italy" (recorded live at the Verona Arena, an ancient Roman amphitheater). And of course, he had one of the best bands who ever accompanied him. Fred Maher on drums (ex-Voidoid), Fernando Saunders on bass and the great, late Robert Quine on guitar. And you are right, the reading of the old Velvet and solo Reed's classics acquire a patina of New-Wave/No Wave dissonance, the band is clearly on fire and Quine's shines exceptionally, edging Lou to give his best as a guitarist. I was a budding guitarist of 13, and that was my introduction to the genius of Robert Quine. I remained a fan, and to this day he is one of my biggest influences...
Oo awesome, I'll be checking this EP out on the elliptical tomorrow! I've loved Blank Generation for years--all the more now that I have a great-sounding original--and I finally ordered a copy of Destiny Street (currently en route from Germany).
Wow, nice score on an original!
He was from Akron ,Ohio.
Good video. Very sad how Robert Quine's life ended. He also did a record with Jody Harris that is an avant garde master piece.
My pal Jay played me "The Blue Mask" in 1983, and it blew my mind! After that Lou and Quine were my guideposts for what makes great guitar music. I was blown away when Matt had Quine and Richard Lloyd on the "Girlfriend" album. I got to see Richard play with Matt at First Avenue during the Altered Beast Tour. After that, I found out about Quine and Marc Ribot playing on Corrin Cruschella's album, "Valdun: Voices Of Rumansch." Ther is so much great music with Quine on it- look for John Zorn's stuff in the 1990s.
His death just crushed me. But I do have one of Quine's Telecasters, thanks to Rick Kelly at Carmine Street Guitars.
Wow. I would cherish that Tele - thanks for sharing.
thank you
fred maher isn’t on the blue mask-the drummer on that record was the terrific doane perry. maher was in the live band in ‘83
Good! Quine is God! Marc Ribot himself considered and considers him a great great friend, and one of his real "teachers" in terms of attitude. There is a beautiful article Ribot wrote on Quine, you might find it online. And another one where Quine talks about those years with Lou and how they got obsessed with JJ Cale. Actually, then you start to hear JJ in Lou, which is Beauty on Beauty. Quine's playing on Lou's Live in Verona (here in Italy) is rock guitar at its danger peak.
I really enjoy all your videos. This one especially. I saw that Lou Reed tour back in the eighties. Lou seemed to be holding him back, not letting him cut loose, Lou trying to outdo him. Kind of disappointing. Lou being Lou.
Would’ve loved to have seen him back then. I saw the ‘08 Berlin show with Hunter
I met Robert at the New York guitar show in the mid 1990’s right after Lou fired him
He was a very nice guy and we engaged in conversation for a while
Bring a huge Lou reed/velvet underground fan I asked about Lou his only response was “Lou reed is not a nice person”
Wow. Thank you for sharing.
un genio quine
Naturally you misspelled his name on the screen 1:19
It's a goddamn disgrace how Quine was mixed out of so many videos.
The Hunter S Thompson of lead guitar. Fear & Loathing playing for a New York junky.
Check out "Oh" from Hells Spurts albums but skip to 2:35 and enjoy the music The first 2 and a half minutes are meh with some of Hells worst vocals, but the rest if the track is one of my favorites.
fred mahrer was not on the blue mask the drummer was the session drumer doane perry who also played with jethro tull for a long time. the band you reference was with frenando saunders and fred mahrer was on legendary hearts. that band also was on the really good probably great " live in italy". "i love you suzanne" was on the album "new sensations " not "legendary hearts"
Thanks for clarifying: I did note that Suzanne was actually on New Sensations 👍🏻
The 2011 version of Rolling Stone’s 100 greatest guitarists had Quine at 80.
i love mathew sweet and lou reed Roberts style i love too. i need to go back to girlfriend
Bob was like the antistudio hack muso star...tons of chops...listen to Girlfriend by Matthew Sweet
Got it - great album
Quine is God!
Check out John Zorn's Spillane
If you're not already familiar with his work with Zorn, the Spillane record has some crazy shit between Quine and Albert Collins. He also played on Zorn's early Filmworks,, Cobra and a whole bunch of other mid to late 80's releases. There's also a record by Ikue Mori called The Painted Desert with Quine and Marc Ribot
gotta love Lou but he could be a....
I'd take quine over Van Halen or any Shred Gtrist . He was from Akron Ohio , One of a Kind Player .
Greatest guitar player of all time.
As ridiculous as that title is, when someone brings up that favorite 80s subject, Quine is who I think of.
So inventive and earnest.
Bob Quine deserves so much better than this. You spend more time talking about Lou Reed than analyzing Quine's style. Just holding up the Blank Generation album and not talking about Quine's pioneering guitar work on the album is basically dereliction of duty.
Very poorly done.
Steve, sorry this one didn't hit on all levels for you. I appreciate you taking the time to let me know and thanks for watching.