Bring Back the Talk-Box - Rock's Forgotten Guitar Hero's Friend

Music Wed - Among the weird things I love is the use of the "talk-box" in classic rock songs. Now, if you are under 40 years of age, this posting will be like a musical archaeological dig because, with a few notable exceptions like Slash, Dave Grohl and Jerry Cantrell, virtually one has really used the talk-box in a popular song since the mid '80s. If you are over 40, then don't pretend you have never heard of this oddball, cool device which allows a singer to sing his lyrics through the notes he is playing on a guitar. You can legitimately debate the merits of this early attempt at synthesized musical combinations, but you can't deny you know (and probably secretly dig!) at least one talk-box song.  For the younger readers, this device works as follows - the singer/guitarist routes his voice through a clear rubber tube next to the microphone through the guitar and then plays the guitar for a voice-merged-with-guitar sounds emerging as the final result. To pull this off, you need to be both a decent singer, as well as a skilled musician who can jam sufficiently well to make a synthesized voice sound cool coming out of a guitar. I rue the day musicians stopped playing with this device because it adds such a fun and unique combination of skills to any song that makes the song unforgettable.  Here are my favorite talk-box songs (all of which should be no surprise to you over 40 readers). First is the great Joe Walsh's classic jam on "Rocky Mountain Way", which is a song that not only has a lengthy talk-box solo, but also includes comical lyrics and just good old fashioned axe work on the Gibson guitar that Joe has always favored (http://youtu.be/F1uWA7VPGiE). Obvious choice, but Joe is an endearing figure among rock guitarists and he does make the best Rock-Guitar-Faces when he plays. Next on any list like this has to be Peter Frampton's epic live version of "Do You Feel Like We Do" (http://youtu.be/y7rFYbMhcG8) - no one did more for the talk-box than Mr. Frampton because of the 20+ million copies of Frampton Comes Alive which have been purchased, not to mention the constant plays on 70's FM radio of the full jam version of this song - as an aside, I will never forgive AM radio for its insistence during the 70's on the three and one-half minute song limitation which resulted in lame, chopped-up versions of so many great songs, this one included. No RIP to AM radio - your passing is not missed.  Since most talk-box songs last at least 8-9 minutes in length, I will end with only one more classic - Motley Crüe's "Kickstart My Heart" (http://youtu.be/1PJOHbzQwGw).  This is the Crüe live in all their bombastic glory, and Mick Mars gives a very strong showing on his guitar work, including his use of the talk box. Enjoy!