Visits Paris, Vol. 1 (1954)	Ritchie Valens (1959)	Complete Quartets (1961)	Trio '64 (1964)	Fifth Dimension (1965)

 

Robert Quine cites a long list of musical influences that have helped shape his sound and approach to music.

Guitarists:

James Burton ­ "He's really a genius. The way he can structure a solo, it's up there with Lester Young and Charlie Parker, as far as I'm concerned. He's taught me a lot about how to structure a solo." Quine names Ricky Nelson's Rockin' with Ricky (originally released on LP in 1984), as one of his favorite sources of Burton's inspired playing.

Chuck Berry ­ On recording 'Waves of Fear' from Lou Reed's 1982 album The Blue Mask: "The first time I heard it, I knew exactly what I would do. Got out the Fernandes, the Memory Man, the little Peavey Bandit, got that scary chorus sound, and did these Chuck Berry things up and down the neck. It just fell into place."

Ritchie Valens - "Ritchie Valens was the catalyst that got me thinking about electric guitar," he recalls. "I spent hundreds of hours listening to his records. I had never heard a sound like his before. There was a certain jazz-like phrasing in his style that really intrigued me."

Jimmy Reed ­ "I never get tired of him. A lot of strange and subtle things happen on top of that steady boogie beat. Something about him just transfixed me."

Lou Reed ­ "He was a true innovator on the guitar and was never appreciated at the time.... I completely absorbed his style."

Hank Marvin ­ "[The Shadows] were totally unknown in the States in '63, but [in England, where Quine studied for a year while in college], they were like The Beatles. Hank Marvin had a great and unique style - pure Stratocaster, with that wang bar."

Roy Buchanan ­ Quine emulated Buchanan's style when he played the solo on 'Staring in Her Eyes' from the 1982 Richard Hell & the Voidoids album, Destiny Street. "I tried to do his harmonics thing on that song, which is one of my favorites from that record."

Influential Recordings:

Visits Paris, Vol. 1 - Jimmy Raney (1954).

Complete Quartets with Sonny Clark - Grant Green (1961).

Trio '64 - Bill Evans Trio (1964).

Fifth Dimension - The Byrds (1965). "I went to play this gig. We were doing 'Eight Miles High' by The Byrds, which usually featured me on a very long guitar solo. But this night something snapped. I was playing strange, and they weren't wrong notes. Suddenly, I was in control. It's a wonderful feeling when it happens, and it doesn't happen that often ... when you suddenly are transported; you're somewhere else."

White Light/White Heat - The Velvet Underground (1967). "Hearing Lou Reed's solo on 'I Heard Her Call My Name' ... that was a major breakthrough for me. I had never heard anything remotely like that before. This Lou Reed solo was the first really surreal guitar I had heard that I could somehow relate to the rock that went before it, like Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley."

Get Up With It - Miles Davis (1972). "'He Loved Him Madly' is like my favorite track of all time ... when the smoke has cleared, that will be regarded as one of his most profound statements. You could listen to it when you're depressed, when you're having sex or whatever. Personally, I think these records have a lot in common with The Velvet Underground and The Stooges. The song 'Rated X' is a classic example of these qualities."

Raw Power - Iggy and the Stooges (1973).

On Land ­ Brian Eno (1982). "A great record - the last record to really influence me. After I heard it, that ambient thing stuck with me." Brian Eno acknowledges Quine in the album's liner notes for contributing encouragement and suggestions to the project.

 

White Light/White Heat (1967)	Get Up With It (1972)	Raw Power (1973)	On Land (1982)	Rockin' With Ricky (1984)