✅ David Bowie "Golden Years" Guitar Riffs By Earl Slick & Carlos Alomar

[@rspratt]

David Bowie guitarists Earl Slick and Carlos Alomar talk about creating the guitar riffs for "Golden Years" from 1976 album "Station To Station".

[@nija1976]

+Rob Spratt Wow, what am I looking at? is this a doc thats coming out, looks brilliant... beyond cool. Not sure why I haven't heard about this yet?

[@rspratt]

+Nick Jago You're looking at outtakes of interviews that were recorded for a documentary but were never used

[@SirBiggle]

What was the documentary was this a take out from?

[@Bricameron]

I love the juxtaposition between Carlos and Earl.

[@pm8278]

me too

[@pedrocarlos4592]

The way Alomar says "funky" always puts a smile on my face.

[@johnbonamigo5696]

Folky he said

[@heavymeddle28]

One of Bowie's big strengths must have been to always seem to find the right musicians for different projects

[@ivankaramasov]

Yes, and his other strength was that he allowed the musicians great freedom and was always open to suggestions.

[@heavymeddle28]

@@ivankaramasov maaan, he was something else 😊

[@fredsmith901]

Love these Guys! Total Legends! What a combination, Earl Slick and Carlos Alomar. Bowie nailed it with these two Greats!

[@rspratt]

Couldn't agree more :)

[@philthomas8351]

Earl and Carlos were there. And on stage. Knew Golden Years would be a hit the first time I heard it. Like Heroes song too.

[@zepinousebastien1004]

Love earl a truly legend for those who’re into guitar playing

[@rspratt]

Yes he is! Thanks for commenting

[@louiesimon5292]

Love these. Love the guitars on Station to Station. It's the best.

[@BIGeSTRING]

Such a great funky guitar riff, or i can better say, one of the many nice Bowie guitar riffs

[@NachoVideo]

Fantastic! Absolutely thrilling when Slick plays the riff at 1:30!

[@rspratt]

Yes! The riff is spine-tingling :)

[@rspratt]

I've just realised that you are THE "Nacho Video", the guy who has done some amazing things with Bowie videos and footage. I'm a big fan of what you've created. Thanks for doing them. Anyone reading this, if you love Bowie, check out Nacho Video's channel at kzbin.info/door/6-GXe1clYKF8q4juAXPZIQvideos

[@NachoVideo]

Hi Rob, thanks for the plug, glad you like my work :) Do you have any more outtakes from 5 Years - or indeed anything classic Bowie and rare?

[@rspratt]

Sorry, I don't have anything else; only what I've posted on my channel. I always go to your channel for the rare stuff :)

[@jhorton4791]

Couldn't agree more - perfect editing by the filmmakers. I got a huge smile on my face.

[@paolacelletti2056]

Carlos and Earl are two true legends, two golden guitars. They manage to make David's songs magical and unforgettable just like this one, which is mind-boggling stuff ...

[@jgjunior19]

Carlos you are amazing!

[@curtmanners1182]

I like the chord progression at the turn around. It's real easy to play both guitar parts at the same time.

[@nikonezna879]

Mind you, I think Bowie was just messing with Carlos when he said he'd never heard of 'On Broadway' - Bowie improvises a snatch of it at the end of the song Aladdin Sane.

[@jhorton4791]

On first listen, that's what I thought Carlos was saying, too. But now I think he just meant that Bowie said, "No, it's not the same thing."

[@nikonezna879]

@@jhorton4791 Yes, you may be right!

[@Studio-62]

Carlos is careful not to take too much credit. Great player. Saw them both on the Let’s Dance tour.

[@rspratt]

Lucky you. I wish I'd seen him live :(

[@JdWitr]

Element's are like a Rocket Science when you add it all together 😉

[@tumbamarch89]

Bowie was at his prime in the years 1974 'til 1977.

[@nikonezna879]

I love this. I've been trying to work out how to play Golden Years ever since it came out, really. Fantastic!

[@rspratt]

Glad you enjoyed it Niko!

[@gurzair998]

Carlos seems like a fun guy!

[@djbryanladd]

Genuine genius.

[@johnhall8473]

Very helpful, thank you.

[@chrishaps6846]

He makes it look so easy ,wish I could do that .

[@rspratt]

Me too!

[@Bricameron]

I can’t get ‘On broadway’ out of my head now. 😂

[@dinkeedee]

Juicy stuff! I've always been fascinated with how great songs where put together. Thanks for this.

[@rspratt]

Glad you enjoyed it Tom

[@Bricameron]

I think most people would have been put off when they were told it’s already another song. Bowie’s genius seems to be well I like these chords so can you make it different and then I’ll add the special sauce on top.

[@Bricameron]

This is why Bowie is brilliant. He throws brilliance at his musicians. (Present tense intentional.)

[@stevekastenbaum6678]

Why can’t I find this documentary steaming in its entirety anywhere? I saw it once on PBS after Bowie’s death, and that was it. It explained so much about Bowie’s process.

[@MikeGMurphy]

Excellent!

[@jasonfrodoman1316]

Alomar is hilarious !

[@trancentralovertone]

yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah

[@Flashtofchannel]

Wonderful explanation about "how it comes out" for that beautiful song and riffs !! Thanks a lot ;-)

[@rspratt]

Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for commenting.

[@Bricameron]

Editing is great.

[@santiagofolch6262]

This brilliant,Rob. I hope you can get the documentary coming out soon.What do we have to do? it is quite amazing.

[@Ciao60]

Great stuff!!!!...

[@rspratt]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@henrikspang-hanssen6187]

Great stuff - interesting - always wondered how this riff was made

[@rspratt]

+Henrik Spang-Hanssen Glad you enjoyed it

[@peterhlinka4789]

Jeez, the ideas just flowed..

[@JohnDiPonio]

What documentary is this from? I cannot remember the name.of it.

[@rspratt]

Though filmed for a documentary, it was never used

[@matthewnewberry7275]

I won't stop hearing "On Broadway" when I listen to that classic tune now. Who came up with the fa qua quas? It made me laugh when Adam Ant put a diddly in it, Fa Diddly Qua Qua!

[@djtroublesome3749]

where did you find these outtakes from the documentary?

[@minermike61]

You don't hear this level of creativity these days. Not like this.

[@luisalbertoalomarflores5161]

EARL SOUNDED A LITTLE LIKE FUNKY BROADWAY LOL

[@Raymantico]

that's a dancey riff alright

[@dommccaffry3802]

Outside woman blues

[@twinsmm1]

whoever made the carlos alomar entry on wikipedia made it sound like carlos was responsible for all the earl slick parts.

[@rspratt]

It was probably Carlos then :)

[@twinsmm1]

@@rspratt it absolutely was NOT Carlos Alomar. I mean Carlos Alomar did the easy strumming parts. That’s all he ever does. Earl Slick does the cool riffy parts. anyone can contribute to Wikipedia. Whoever wrote that didn’t know what the hell what they’re talking about.

[@majorpentatonic2310]

​@twinsmm1 He still makes it look so easy though, way better than I could do.

[@adrianronquillo507]

Carlos was Bowie's arranger dude,and with Bowie for the longest time for a reason.

[@TweedSuit]

Slick's riff is cool but it does sound a lot like Cream's Outside Woman Blues.

[@ShiroiTengu]

It is, Slick talks about that being his inspiration in an interview he did with Reverb

[@richardclark6858]

Lol, did they get publishing?

[@randyt60]

I gotta say I'm a little confused. The opening of this song with the riff is clearly played on a Clavinet. Did they use a Guitar Synth or something?

[@rspratt]

It's Earl Slick on guitar so it must be effects we're hearing

[@zoznack]

Randal Terrens I

[@Chrisamusic1]

They weren't talking about the recording of the song, they were talking about the writing of the song. Two different things.

[@senzarivali]

Harry Maslin (the legendary producer of Station to Station) played the opening riff on Melodica!

[@Mr.Swankly]

@@senzarivali I am so dropping that in when I play this at my local, Friday: cue Golden Years- Ever since I heard this when I was 12 I've loved Maslin"s Melodica at the start. Even in this any info in 2 seconds age, THAT IS A GEM! MASLIN ON MELODICA, Fk Yeah! Thankyou that made my day.

[@jocomend]

Great, but they did not WRITE the song... same techniques were also applied with different levels of success on a numbert of not so brillant [or bad] songs... at the end it's a collaboration, collective work, but some views tend to underestimate the participation of the COMPOSER which is sick... fortunatelly there is a law for that.

[@rspratt]

As you say, it's a collaboration. Without the song to begin with, there's not much for the musicians to do; but without the world-class musicianship that helps to shape them, the songs wouldn't have ended up half as good. And let's not forget the producer's role, too.

[@Peakabike]

Guess Bowie had the talent and the name recognition to attract the proper help ! Could have been a bit more liberal with co-writing credits too !

[@hiddenagenda1779]

I don't like this . I LOOOOVE it. More if poss please!

[@rspratt]

I'm happy you LOOOOVE it. I LOOOOVE it too :) You can see all the Bowie videos I've created (so far) here: kzbin.info/aero/PLR98PbeS4aYc-nx7d39palHeUN-JDw19Z

[@Mr74261000027]

Earl comes up with everything? Hard to believe, he seems a bit arrogant

[@gurzair998]

He does and it isn't and HE isn't. He does have personality but arrogant isn't the word I'd use. In this profession, and a player of his stature you have to have a bit of that, "I can certainly do the job" for you attitude.