The Birth of the Hard Rock Movement
For hard we must mean all that music, developed from the second half of
'60, that it has pushed the natural aesthetic and aggressive elements of
the rock music, expressing them through a strong instrumental characterization
and a remarkable sonic search.
Since the culture and juvenile music of those years were marked by a physical
and mental impulse of freedom, and by the taste for the "new", the "various",
the provocative act, the hard rock have been expression of that social and
cultural climate. Obviously the "hard rock" is not dulled suddenly but it
has been the ideal point of landing and convergence of various elements.
Cream |
The original shape of the rock was in the USA, in the '50. It represented
not only a new and shattering force, in closely musical sense, but it expressed
the dissatisfaction, the restlessness, the young revolting behaviour in
the comparisons of the conservative society. Rock'n'roll carried a remarkable
wind of beat and energy, imposing the idea of "young music", expression
of a new way to be. That kind of "physicalness" was an innovation in the
"White" music, but it was, since long time, an essential and constant element
of "Black" music; rock'n'roll is the result of the mix between "White" traditional
American music (country) and the "Black " music, fused in a brand new explosive
mixture, strengthened from the continuous electrification of the instruments.
Deep Purple |
In the '50, the primary source of the new young culture was ingenuous, oriented
towards an existential antagonism ("parent-sons") rather that towards a
social and political antagonism ("young men-society"), and consequently
the rock'n'roll kept a strong character of introspective music, but it never
reached up that total antagonistic and subversive strength who would have
been typical of the rock of the '60. It was within the "Beat" movement that
the first really "musically dangerous" seeds came out, a prelude to future
upsets.
Jimi Hemdrix |
The more extremist and innovating bands, during the years '62-'66, were
the Kinks, the Animals, the Savages, the Pretty
Things, and above all the Who and the Yardbirds. In the
second half of '60 the young movement and its culture were to the maximum
of their strength. The Hippies and the Beatnik, under the push of historical
events such as the slaughter in Vietnam, opposed the pacifism, the antimilitarism,
an enormous requirement of life and freedom against the outlines of the
dominant society. The world of "business" tried to pollute and to neutralize
that subversive and alarming movement, transforming it in a more innocuous
event of fashion and of money. This "design of normalization" has taken
more and more shape and effectiveness. However, during some years the Hip
and Beat culture it has been able to express itself totally, writing vibrating
and amazing pages.
Led Zeppelin |
In those years the Hard Rock was born - the most energetic, the most provocative,
the most extremist of numerous rock's sons. The hard rock therefore has
exasperated all the tensions and the ferments of years 1966-1970 and has
designed a genuine and melted identity. With the rise of the first "hard"
bands (Cream, Jimi Hendrix) the rock has made own, in a complete
way, the idea of "improvisation", of a creative instrumental freedom, until
then typical of the jazz musicians. The rock'n'roll and the "beat" were
born as "structure-song" compositions, and every attempt of improvisation
was much limited: the hard rock smashed every temporal, sonorous and emotional
dimension, and the concerts turned into strong sensational events; the music
slid free, powerful and dragging. Moreover, Jimi Hendrix and Jeff
Beck made giant steps into the use of the electric instruments.
Uriah Heep |
All the rock universe would have to thank those 2 genius for the following
evolution of the rock music. Therefore it was possible to create distorted
sonic dimensions; nobody could think such development in music a few years
before. Hard rock, more than every other genre of music, placed its attention
on the soloistic role of the musicians. In the beginning, the hard rocker,
was a sort of experimenter who explored all the possibilities of his instrument
trying to pull out every possible and imaginable sound, engaging a never
ending challenge with himself and with his instrument. The most amazing
hard rock musicians (Jimi Hendrix, Ritchie Blackmore, Jimi
Page), after having "squeezed" until the end their instruments and after
having played them atrociously and played in the more absurd positions,
they destroyed them on the stage, because in this way they were able to
obtain new unknown sounds.
This challenge never could not happen in the jazz or in the other less energetic
and elettrificate musical shapes of the hard rock. Who did not understand
this particular relationship between musician and his own instrument, has
always thought that the destruction of the instruments was only a spectacular
aspect of the show. As long as the business world was not able to bridle
the creative energy, the hard rock has known its best moments. But during
the years '72-'75, the business world around the hard rock increased its
dimension, so the quality of the hard music has gone. |
