Care to Share the Peace Pipe?

I was listening to the radio the other day, and I caught a song I haven't heard or thought about in years. The song was "Peace Pipe" by the forgotten band Cry of Love. What a kick ass song, and a what a shame this group never really stuck.

This song blew me away for a number of reasons. First and absolutely foremost is the guitar work throughout this tune. The guitarist here is none other than the rock guitar virtuoso Audley Freed, more on this guy a little later in the post. The song starts off with Freed giving us a really creative little guitar riff that seems almost disjointed at first. But it only takes a few seconds for the drums and the bass to kick in, and then the odd little guitar riff goes from the questionable to the irreplaceable. At this point it becomes instantly clear that the riff is tie that binds the melody to the rhythm.

The bass, by Mr. Robert Kearns, is also killer in this song. It settles into the mix early on with a very tasteful bluesy walk by Kearns that manages to drive the verse of the song along without feeling repetitive. The drums, while nothing special to my untrained ear, hang back just enough throughout the song to also encourage the undeniable driving feel of the entire effort.

When the song's first chorus emerges at about 0.35 sec., Freed's guitar takes a noticeable turn towards increased energy, but does so without overpowering the prominence of the vocals during the song's refrain. It's at this point that we get our first taste of one of the things that makes the guitar work of Feed so impressive here. At 0.42 sec. Freed gives us a short but very sweet lick (see definition #8) to fill up what could have been a dead spot in the chorus. Small features like this may go unnoticed to many listeners, but to me they are often what separates a really cool song from an average one. At the very least, they are a sign of a talented musician.

The chorus is also the first chance we get to hear the tougher side to vocals of Kelly Holland. For me, Holland's vocals sound a little too much like our old stroking friend Billy Squire. Personally, I am not a fan of Bill Squire's work, but despite the similarity Holland's vocals work in this song. This is especially true in the chorus. The chorus melody invites Holland to be a little rough when he sings the lyrics, "Burn down..." and "Tearing the temple..." For whatever reason, the manufactured crust in his voice works for me here.

At 2:10 sec. we get our second taste of how tasteful Freed's guitar licks are in this song. As the band is building up to the monster guitar solo that's about to happen, Freed and the bass pull out a very cool descending staccato run down the neck. It struck me as a really cool way to make the listener hold their breath for the impending solo. Nice.

Then way hear it... the biggest part of the song that blew me away... the solo. This solo is, forgive me for getting a little Bill and Ted on you here, totally ripping. The way Freed utilizes double stops and multi-string bends he reminds of a modern day combination of Chuck Berry, Johnny Winter, and Hendrix. One of things that separates Freed on this solo is how clean he is able to make each note ring out despite that fact that he's got the distortion cranked up on the amp. That's a sign of a player who is a master at fretting; a player whose tone is derived more from the way he manipulates the notes on the neck as opposed to the equipment he uses. Freed rips all the way through this solo, and the energy never stops. It's a solo that grabs you by the collar at the beginning, and proceeds to shake you into submission as it slices along.

The next cool part of the song is the stop at the 2:50 sec. mark. It's just a really nice touch coming off all the energy of the solo. This is not the type of song to give you a breather by slowing down or getting weaker. The stop was a great choice.

We get a secondary solo from Freed starting at the 3:06 sec. mark, and that's where his Johnny Winter influences really show through. The song doesn't lose steam at this point either, as Freed starts mirroring the chorus melody of Holland's vocals at 3:26 sec. The songs ends with Freed finally moving up high the neck and giving us a killer series of repeating double stop bends.

An interesting note about the band Cry of Love is that they were formed in Raleigh, NC, one of the stomping grounds of the Jukebox Gyros themselves. The band fizzled out after a couple of albums, and Freed joined in as the lead guitarist of the Black Crows. Since then, Freed has made a name for himself in the jam band scene as a respected lead player. Kelly Holland is reportedly still in the Triangle area. One of my close friends, a drummer who lived in Raleigh for a while, said that he spoke with him a few times in a number of Raleigh bars.

If you're interested in another cool tune from Cry of Love, I would suggest this live version of Highway Jones, off the same album as Peace Pipe, Brother. It's another example of how huge Freed can be on the guitar.

Boomer.