Slide Guitar Lesson: The Cruel Sea Pt 2 “This Is Not The Way Home”

There have been so many examples of great slide guitar playing in pop & rock music over the years that when we think about songs that feature slide guitar, we soon get a long and impressive list. So for fans of slide guitar (and I’m one) we have plenty of music to explore and enjoy!

George Harrison

Starting with George Harrison playing slide with the Beatles, The Traveling Wilburys and of course his own solo recordings, he creates atmosphere and excitement in a song that’s unique to the slide guitar.

Think of “My Sweet Lord” without slide…

George also made guest appearances on other people’s recordings like Belinda Carlisle’s “Leave A Light On” and it’s always the same effective result.

Duane Allman, The Allman Brothers Band

If you haven’t heard Duane Allman playing slide with the Allman Brothers Band you must.

Duane was such an innovative and powerful slide player he had his own individual style and sound which influenced so many players.

“Dreams” & “Statesboro Blues” are two Allman’s tunes that feature Duane on slide that you really should hear.

The Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones recordings are full of great slide playing like Brian Jones on “Little Red Rooster” and Keith Richards “You Got The Silver”.

I loved Mick Taylor’s slide playing on “Stop Breaking Down” from the album Exile on Main Street which earned him the nickname “The English Duane Allman” and on Sticky Fingers the song “Sister Morphine” saw the unforgettable slide guitar performance of Ry Cooder guesting with the Stones.

Eerie and ominous was his playing on the Stones classic, we can easily see why Ry Cooder had such a successful solo career based largely on his slide playing.

I remember hearing Ry Cooder’s live album “Showtime” for the first time and being stunned by his slide playing on “The Dark End Of The Street” and “Jesus On the Mainline“.

Leo Kotke’s “When Shrimps Learn To Whistle” was equally impressive.

David Lindley

Then there’s David Lindley playing his slide “masterclass’s” on Jackson Browne’s tunes like “The Fuse”, “Your Bright Baby Blues” and “Running on Empty” to name just a few, I’ve always found David Lindley’s playing to be the last word on good musical taste.

Dave Hole

Here in Australia we have our own slide guitar monster “Dave Hole”. Along with Derek Trucks, Dave is one of the great slide guitar players in the world today.

Kirk Lorange

Kirk Lorange did some great slide work with Richard Clapton and with his band “Chasin The Train” which
I enjoyed but Kirk told me that he considered his best playing as a guest on someone else’s recording to be was on “Hot Town” by Jon English. Kirk’s playing on Hot Town is really something.

As I said, it’s a long impressive list and I’ve transcribed most of the songs I’ve mentioned here when I created the series of slide guitar lessons that I did for Australian Guitar Magazine.

The Cruel Sea’s “This is Not The Way Home”

One memorable lesson I did was for The Cruel Sea’s “This is Not The Way Home”.

It’s a great tune that works as a song because of the slide guitar riffs. While some songs are enhanced by the slide guitar, “This is Not The Way Home” is about the slide so I think it’s very important to explore and learn this Cruel Sea classic for its simple but effective ideas.

Check out the filmed lesson, download the tab and once you’ve learnt the parts play along with the recording and backing tracks that I made for you.

You’ll get a lot out of this song, I did