Eric Johnson - Electromagnets - Minus Mufflers

[flyboyu777]

Gotta love Kyle Brock in that hat!!

[ringo9201]

eric johnson maestro total............ya de joven.........excelente.guitar­rista.....tal vez uno de los mas destacados de la historia de la guitarra electrica

[otcconan]

Has the Jeff Beck vibe going on there even in his hairstyle.

[4theLvofMusic1]

@otcconan This was their look and style at that time. Once Billy brought Eric into the fold, it changed their sound for the better. Eric was considerably influenced by Beck from what Billy told me. Billy was big on Zappa..hence those lamb chop sideburns. I occasionally stop by and watch this video to watch Billy, Eric, Kyle and Stephen going at it back when they all had lots of hair. The Electromagnets in many ways were a cutting edge form of music. RIP Billy

[Bendrobert2005]

jazz and rock went through a political rebellion just as much did related to the times that it was music fit the theme of free form music, this is beautiful because all the elements of that time was and is progressive at the time while other fusion albums released. Especially Miles Davis set the bar

[BlueMoonGuitar]

See a lot of references to Mahavishnu but, honestly... reminds me more of the Dixie Dregs. Awesome either way you cut it though. Cool clip!

[zr24X4ROCKS]

well ,frank zappa called them mahavishnu with a sense of humor.

[egyptian3rdeye]

This is such horrible music. How can anyone like this?

[screechkid116]

@egyptian3rdeye :) To each his own. In all honesty, even I as an EJ fan, I pretty much only like Ah Via Musicom. I don't like every song put out by every artist I like, and you don't have to either. I only have one thing to say about this video: It was the seventies...

[JusticieroDeLaMuerte]

@egyptian3rdeye What music do you like?

[TooMoLeft]

I heard Eric at the Neosho Inn in Neosho, Missouri on the Tones tour. No words to describe. He's one of the best that ever lived and one of the best living today.

[tednugentlives]

I hear some heavy Jeff Beck influences there..Geez these guys are phenomenal..

[undercoverjoe1]

@tednugentlives This was recorded the same year as Blow by Blow, one of the best albums ever, Jeff Beck's best work.

[georgesorosisgay1]

eric and randy were some skinny mo fos! but they could jam!!

[georgesorosisgay1]

holy sit! ripping! the one back then!!!

[richiepalooza]

this is funny! i remember when people used to play like this. to me it sounds like a really good Jeff Beck. Awesome.

[whitevipe309]

I'm thinking al di meola on the elegant gypsy album

[xSnoweyexp]

he actually invented the mario soundtrack :D he could have made millions with only that !! hahah

[ElectronRomance]

How old is Eric on this video?

[SuperHappyFingers]

@ElectronRomance This was taped in 1975, so Eric would have been 20 or 21 at the time.

[xSnoweyexp]

if someone would say this video was from 2010 i would believe it , jesus christ Eric hasnt aged in like a milion years !! eternal shredder !!!

[drstrangeluv1680]

Big mixture of Weather Report and Mahavishnu

[scofield335]

BILL WAS SUCH A NICE GUY RIP BILL LOVE YOU!!!!!!!

[divgtrslingr]

whos on Bass???

[ZenDriveSeven]

Rest in Peace, Bill.

[grizzledgizzard]

Wonderful, smart, high-energy music! RIP, Bil Maddox, thank you for sharing your talent with the world.

[temperedOath]

What an awful feeling I got when I heard that Bill was murdered. Heroic, selfless act of a class act! My condolences to his family and to Eric. Words don't suffice. RIP Bill. Never forgotten!

[d36williams]

RIP Bill

[aronchas]

Rest in peace Bill, a tremendous drummer.

[Tostada94]

Poor Bill... I even lived fairly close to him. such a shame.

[abvasdcf1ew123r]

RIP bill maddox

[xpaddy01]

Additionally, Eric is asked if this is the same gear in the (above) video to which he replies it's the same Les Paul (another part of the program): "...through a Boogie head and a 4x12 cabinet..."

[xpaddy01]

This is from the interview with the Electomagnets that you can find via EJs web site:

Did you use Hi-Watts on the album?

ERIC: Yeah, I used a Hi-Watt 100 head though a Marshall cabinet. And I used an early-'70s Marshall 100-watt head through a Marshall cabinet. And an Echoplex, probably the Fresh Fuzz. I used either Bill Maddox's '57 Strat, and I used my 335. Oh, and then I used a 1960 Les Paul Standard on Salem through a 100-watt Boogie head through a Marshall cabinet.

[infernalhammer]

Sweet bell bottoms EJ.

[lennmosh]

Very Jeff Beckish....

[JoeyRapps1]

ok, he's like 19 or 20 here, it's before EVH, he already kicks the shit outta Page... who the hell taught him? Pat fuckin' Morita?

[SevenCircles]

@JoeyRapps1

Really? What year was it recorded?

[strancess]

heee what a young Johnson ! I had never see him as young ! What is his age there ?

[pfeltovich]

@strancess Can you believe a mere 20-22 yrs old? He was only 19 when their only S/T album was released...

[hanksteelbranch]

Great RTF, MO inspired fusion. EJ was a total badass in those days. Anyone know what he was using for gain on this? Sounds like more distortion than a cranked amp. Boogie maybe? I see a wah or volume pedal on the floor, but no other effects.

[xpaddy01]

@hanksteelbranch In a recent interview EJ was quoted as saying the pedal was probably a Fresh Fuzz.

[BongHooitz]

Soo groovy! I love these guys! Where can I find their album?

[craigjsorensen]

@BongHooitz

Just go to Amazon and search "electromagnets." Both albums are good, but the first one (simply titled Electromagnets,) which has this song, is stronger.

Enjoy!

[jwandhistools]

1 "dislike"?

Just go slap yourself.

[nickkellie]

Eric has always been awesome!

[stevenoring]

Who's the jackass that disliked this?

[MegaTronn]

@stevenoring A Justin Bieber fan apparently.

[oatstao]

super duper. be careful if you don't own this, Youtube is shutting down accounts with no warning.

eric j is an inspiration... ! thanks for sharing..but we won't be able to share much on youtube, I'd suggest archiving your clips and post somewhere else.

[ibanezbloke]

@oatstao You can download these videos with FinalVideoDownloader - it can be used as a plugin for Mozilla.

[sako308winchester]

now that's music :D

[sergiobluesman]

nice pants mr. eric!..

[gemydaloot]

like i said this guys is like Jeff Beck, John Mc Laghlan, and Steve Morse combined into one machine !

[tonytoy1776]

Love the sonic blue strat!

[zr24X4ROCKS]

1973? yeah,  he was doing this stuff back then , ask srv, gibbons, beck, winter, he had management problems. played on a lot of other artists albums. christopher cross, carol king, and others, chops from hell

[AzWeThInKwEizZ]

Does anybody know what the time signature for this song is?

[deepislandboy]

@AzWeThInKwEizZ Well some parts are deffinately in 4/4, i'm not sure about other parts, like the intro.

[Happydays254]

what kind of pedal do you think it is?

[helpdonate1]

@Happydays254 fuzz face

[nylonsteel]

I kinda dig this stuff more than his newer material somewhat.. :)

[spentonmediocrity]

Wow,Eric Johnson with 1 pedal.

[fudgeblaster101]

I cean hear a big anonymous influence.

[My64Firebird]

Defenitely Mclaughlin and some Jeff Beck Group too. Neverthless Eric's a great player. And what about that drummer. Wow!

[pyromohanzed]

i think these guys are all paying attention to their tone before their technique and complexity. [][]

[plentiner]

how old is he now?i thought he was in his early fortys...i guesss if i do the math i could get a rough idea..i just didnt know he played this hardcore back in the 70s..shit i dont know anything..very nice though to have access to stuff like this...if i could figure out how to post shit i would put up some cool old stuff i got.that i have never seen on the net...

[fusionshredder]

@plentiner I had that same thought myself, this guy's 55! he looked like in his early 40's

[nokie2]

Its very interesting that, at 20, he already had that tone and those great lines. There were great recordings to follow but the basics are all here. There is a big jump from the style EJ played on the 1970 Mariani record to this style. He must have locked himself in a room for the 4 or 5 intervening years with those Mahavishnu records.

[Kueck10893]

Woah! Look at Johnson sporting those bell bottoms. Never thought I'd see it... But man, this was the 70s... Johnson still amazes me by what a great performer he was, at 20! He was far beyond his years with his playing at this point.

[Drblooter99]

20 years old playing like that, phew!

[jinooot]

like al di meola too...

[stevierayseanvanalle]

Ok.....Nobody smile. Cool vids though!! Thanks for posting.

[z3dSd3d]

this reminds me of John Mclaughlin

[pfeltovich]

Do you have this entire performance?

[chadewatson]

@zerokodachi -haha,i thought underground right as soon as it kicked into that part

[pfeltovich]

Thanks for the great posting!!

[nevernever4ever]

my my, wasnt he a handsome young legend! XD

i love how he always looks so concentrated while he's playing. i noticed he also never really relaxes with the guitar. he sorta leans over it. which is cool :) i do that too

[skullfoot]

what year was this in?

[pfeltovich]

1975..can you believe it??!?!

[jfrockon]

Man, there all just pups and play amazing.

[TooMoLeft]

Way cool! Sounds very much like early Mahavishnu Orchestra.

[fedjur]

Zappa referred to the Electromagnets as "Mahavishnu with a sense of humor" or something to that effect.

[diemnoctis]

@TooMoLeft Frank Zappa once said The Electromagnes were a Mahavishnu with a sense of humor :o)

[feelee15]

@TooMoLeft also soft machine

[bigbadbob58]

@TooMoLeft Indeed! I heard this guy in 1982 and I knew that he was one of the best unheard of guitar players out there....

[MrMOMOJAZZ]

Awsome! Imagination and great ideas meets great technique and playing competence.

[MrRay5150]

I like Kyle Brock's hat

[MattHurleyHimself]

I can hear a big john mglaughlin influence.

[guitarslim56]

@MattHurleyHimself I hear Electromagnets.

[bigbadbob58]

@MattHurleyHimself Yeah, but these guys are Texans!

[rockinguitar101]

Freak'n Incredable.........

[Thirdgen83]

These guys were AWESOME. Who is that keyboard player? He's as amazing as EJ...

[rjst09]

@Thirdgen83 keyboards is stephen barber

[shivkm]

what colour is his Strat? Is it Daphne Blue..... or Sonic Blue? Someone please clarify this for me.......

[zr24X4ROCKS]

remember he played on the christopher cross album

[Kirok]

His work on the Christopher Cross debut (lead on "Minstrel Gigolo") was exquisite -- very different from his sound here, which strikes me as very Beckian-by-way-of- Michael Bolin, with perhaps a touch of RTF-era DiMeola thrown in.

[TheHabit00]

yes very beckish! good call

[kevinneslund]

I know this is a bit belated but were you perhaps referring to "Tommy" Bolin rather than "Michael" Bolin? (regarding eric Johnson)

[OsvaldoPaese]

This would very much fit into the jam band scene these days. Kind of like String Cheese Incident. Eric Johnson wears many masks.

[Lockstep290]

igknightus, I must point out that while he recorded Cliffs of Dover in 1990, he actually wrote the song (main parts, obviously since parts are always changed and improved in) when he was 16.

Really wish I could find lives other than the 2 clips of The Electromagnets on the internet. Same with Mariani.

[guitarz678]

For all the influences people attribute to him in the previous comments, I have to say that the tone itself is an original all unto itself as is the phrasing. Also, while I like Mahavisnhu, I find this actually more listenable and enjoyable. Bravo!

[wileypayote]

How old is Eric Johnson? because this looks like the 70's. I thought he was still very young when tones came out in '86.

[s1914]

born 1954 I think. So 55 now.

[igknightus]

he is in his mid 50's now...he was 30 in 1990 when he recorded cliffs of dover

Age: 55 years (born August 17, 1954)

;D

[AzWeThInKwEizZ]

He was around his early 30s when Tones came out. EJ has been around for decades.

[wileypayote]

wow. there's so much music then of his that really sounds different from what I've grown accustomed to with tones and ah via musicom. I was certain tones was his debut album and he was like 23 when it came out. I guess I was wrong.

[scoobes11]

He has always looked younger than his age. And to this day has not put on a pound!

[AzWeThInKwEizZ]

Not to mention he still has all of his hair.

[Fooberedo]

I think this was in 1975, and he was born in 1954, so he was 21. I guess thats how old he was in here.

[drj602]

The influence that I seem to be hearing the most in this clip is John McLaughlin :0 !

[s1914]

Yup. Mahavishnu.

[martyteboe]

Look how young our boy is here! With a maple neck, sea foam green strat, no less!

[JuZozo]

Dear EJ.

[jfrockon]

A very young EJ and Kyle Brock. The Jeff Beck influence comes thru for sure on this. Very cool to see this. Thanks for the posting.

[aliensporebomb]

Wow, never dreamed I'd see a video of this band. Eric looks so young!

[alevkader]

GREAT !!!

[cgb1050]

How did you get ahold of this tape?

[steveo27545]

I stand corrected this band was cool,I guess I forgot , Hey! it was the 70s or 80s and I guess I may have smoked or drank something .

this site is cool

Thanks for sharing

[PerfectDistraxtion]

You can hear Eric's style forming, but I also hear a ton of 70's fusion players.

If you told me this was a recording of Tommy Bolin or John McLaughlin, I would believe it.

[RickyboyH]

Great drumming in this one! I'm mainly interested in rock and blues, but i think that jazz drummers and jazz inspired drummers often have a great sense of rythm, and that they're also a bit more versatile (not pounding on the hi-hat all the time)

[joemysteryguitar]

Love ERic. Can't believe this is available. Had the opportunity to study briefly with Bill Connors in NYC. As noted by another here, this definitely has a Return to Forever feel and there is some similarity to Bill Connor's playing, especially in the vibrato and of course the wild pentatonics. Connors 80's music was very different than this. In fact, it is very compatible with what EJ's style later became. Connors once said he was trying to cross Clapton with Coltrane. EJ and BC. are monsters

[kdjfnvjvd]

reminds me a little of R.Blackmore here.

[kdjfnvjvd]

a classic vid!! this is awesome!!

[turboneger]

ej was even very fascinating back then.

[guitormentor]

Very nice fusion! Good post, man.

Does sound like ReturnToForever. A little bit Mahavishnu Orch. too. Looks like about 1974, judging by the elephant bell-bottoms. lol. Anyone know what year this is from?

[infernalhammer]

Great strat tone. How do they memorize all this? I don't see how anybody could play this without a chart.

[PetaBeata89]

I have that Bassman cab right in front of the keyboardist. lol. it's either a 2x15 (in which case i don't own it) or a pyramid 4x12.

[sonicplayg]

eric was highly influenced by bill connors with return to forever during this time..it was bill connors that got eric into fusion

[blackbeltpatriotism]

how old is EJ here?

[cgb1050]

He's about 20.

[n0cturnalsurfer]

does anyone know the purpose of having his whammy bar like that, other than keeping it out of the way i guess?

[donostia13]

It's just to keep it out of the way, as you surmised.

Stratocasters (most) have whammy bars that screw in, so if you tighten it like Eric did here, you can make it stick out of your way without flopping down.

[kilburndude1989]

i could only imagine being this good...

:(

[ksky75]

Holdsworth was around for a long time, but EJ was influenced by Beck, Jerry Reed, Mclaughlin, Hendrix, Benny Goodman to name a few.

[zosoj14]

holdsworth has been around since the late sixties

[BenFairbank]

You can totally hear the Mahavishnu influence.  A couple of note for note Mclaughlin licks in the keyboard battle.

[roccotanto]

cool video! love EJ, he is one of the best alive....

[igotwhips]

Umphrys McGee sort of sounds like this

[malmsteen64]

what was eric's age in this period?

[Hylandren]

"this is where you can see the Holdsworth influence on his playing."

-Sorry Blahman178, this was long beore Holdsworth was around.

At this point, I think it is pretty clear that Beck was influencing Ej. A number of JB licks on this clip.

What's interesting to me is that EJ's phrasing, and especially his plectrum technique are both entirely different now.

[TokeMugaba]

EJ FOREVER

[Jed9133]

he looks really thin here,i like to see a vid when he was 15 cause thats the time he bloom and make music at early age..

[zaccyo]

i really love ej....i just found MOST of this song boring. not all of it though

[zemanocka]

I saw a prog band open for KISS in Tulsa OK in '75, who had just released 'R&R All Night". I was 15, into Hendrix/Beck/McLaughlin etc, thought who is this toothpick 11-yr old kid who was flat out smokin' on a strat. Realized after 1st ACL appearance in '85 that it was EJ and EMags. It's not fair. Does this guy ever age?! Met him once, very nice cat. One of the best overall players I've ever seen.

[ejfan1]

man, he has to be like early 20's here. that tone is just crazy, just like beck. after watching this go type in jeff beck group "let me love you" and his tone sounds just like this. not as warm as ej's but you can tell that ej's tone derrived from becks. LONG LIVE EJ!!!!!!

[effsixteenblock50]

Check out Allan Holdsworth in a cowboy hat on bass! Kidding, kidding...

I like this better than anything EJ has done in the last 30 years!

[trigjeeeh]

I still listen to this record on a weekly basis

[trewkiko]

lemme buy it, im for real.

[trigjeeeh]

Hey! You can still buy it new from various sources including amazon

[malcolmriviera]

Thanks! Saw them in 1976 when I was in college at NC State. Awesome band that never properly documented. This clip is great, thanks again.

[lifeemusicelife]

that's crazy how young they all are here

[benjorino7]

totally awewome!! i've been searching for this so long!

great great great

[theshortstop84]

FYI:

Eric Johnson - Guitar

Steve Barber - Keys

Kyle Brock - Bass

Bill Maddox - Drums

[insyncmusic]

FYI:

Eric Johnson - Guitar;

Steve Parker - Keys;

Kyle Brock - Bass;

Bill Maddox - Drums

[igotthewhip]

reminds me of The Greatful Dead

[trigjeeeh]

thanks for uploading this full song of electromagnets :)

[psychicsushizoid]

great stuff! stripped down ej, minus all the bellls and whistles.

he plays his axe here like jan hammer on his keys.

[lozzygindahouse]

check out luke skywalker

[ropiyas]

heavenly stuff!!!!

[blahman178]

i dig the fusion stuff. this is where you can see the Holdsworth influence on his playing.

[ejfan]

yayy. the whole song is up =]

[zackeriah87]

Nice! Old School.. Eric is the Best!