I had the pleasure of seeing maestros Mike Garson and Earl Slick in a relatively intimate hall (less than a thousand capacity) from two yards away. What a treat to see up close the skill of the original musicians of two of the most challenging and memorable of instrumental pieces. Needless to say, one of the highlights was Slick’s guitar work on Station to Station — aware of my delight he handed me his plectrum. The other highlight was Garson laying into Aladdin Sane, Sweet Thing/Candidate (more on this below) and Young Americans. Instead of going into the rabbinate, the young Garson chose music instead, forging his chops on the Borscht Belt and NYC jazz joints. Unbeknownst to him (and the rest of the band), he appeared as the sole person on stage for what was to be “the Naz'” last outing (aside from The 1980 Floor Show). One can’t really add anything to what has already said and compiled in this book about Mike. Below are some salient extracts but first, in the beginning . . .
manwithoutqualities 