Lindsey's Abstract Conceptualizing
 

To utilize something is to use it for a purpose it wasn't specifically designed for. Lindsey became known over the years for his utilization of tools & technologies to paint sonically & to conceptualize in concrete form his abstract vision.

For example, on the Mirage album, he used & recorded guitars in various unusual ways in order to vaguely simulate keyboards & synthesizers that were popular at the time. In addition, on his 1981 solo album, he used a couple of different types of guitars (including a Gretsch) on the song "Love From Here, Love From There," playing them in odd ways in order to approximate the sound of traditional horn instruments found in small-combo jazz: namely, the clarinet, the cornet (or trumpet) & the trombone.

My question is, When did he first practice utilization in the studio? A chair is played & recorded on the track for "Second Hand News" in 1976. Also, Lindsey admits he used a vocal scat on that same track in place of a more traditional-minded lead guitar solo. Given all that, I'd say "Second Hand News" is the first recorded instance of Lindsey's utilization endeavors. What do you say?

Probably within a week of Stevie cutting him off...

Hmm, I thought "utilize" was just an unneeded synonym for "use". Anyways, I think I know of an earlier example. Gary Hodges says this in his Penguin Question and Answer:

P.S. A chair is played on "Second Hand News"? I had heard of him playing a Kleenex box, but never the chair.

lol yep! and i believe it was christine who got the honour of playing sed chair! :D

Bet she was thrilled with him after _that_ band meeting...:nod:

I've always wondered why on the Rumours Tour bootleg from Nashville Christine says "I don't think I was cut out to play the chair!" after Second Hand News :laugh: I thought she may just has taken something she shouldn't have been :o Is that what the percussion is the whole way through the song then? A chair?

In concert, yes. But I don't think we know for sure who played it on the studio track. It may have been Mick or Lindsey.

The chair playing in concert in 1977 & 1978 was in addition to Mick drumming on a full kit. In other words, it was equivalent to Stevie's banging on a triangle or a cowbell.

Ah, nice find. That certainly predates 1976.
According to the show on Rumours. Did you ever get that DVD?

The Kleenex box, from what I understand, was played during The Ledge; recorded on the floor of his bathroom.

I didn't realize "The Chair" was ever played live. I guess I've only HEARD bootlegs from that time instead of seeing them.