Brett Tuggle: Blessing or Curse?

[HejiraNYC]

I know I am going to get lots of hate for this one, but I was just wondering whether I was alone in my opinions regarding Brett Tuggle. The more I listen to recent live recordings of Stevie/FM, the more frustrated I become about Brett. Why? His playing (keyboards and guitar) just has no musical nuance or personality whatsoever. . Stevie has usually surrounded herself with some of the most talented musicians in the biz, and they usually played with a certain musical flair... subtle nuances here and there to emphasize the meaning or personality of a song. Even though he may not be the most impressive in the technical sense, I have always loved Waddy Wachtel because he had a knack for making a song come alive with his distinctive dissonant/grungy style of playing the guitar- he knew when to hold back and when to just shred away. And of course Stevie has never had a piano player before/since like Roy Bittan- mad, mad respect for Mr. Bittan. And the list of uniquely wonderful musicians goes on and on: Billy Payne, Taku Hirano, Bobbye Hall, Benmont Tench, Russ Kunkel, and, of course, Lindsey, Christine, John and Mick.

Then there's Brett Tuggle.

He plays with all of the subtlety of an axe murderer. He operates in two modes: full on. full off. Where "Sara" was played beautifully, subtly, and with quiet little runs on the tack piano by Christine, Brett just pounds it head-on, sapping it of all of its restrained, quiet beauty. Where Christine did these incredible bluesy runs on "Rhiannon," Brett just pounds out the minor chords, thereby killing the eerie/haunting vibe of the song. And I always hated how he played "Beautiful Child." And although nobody has been able to play "Landslide" on guitar like Lindsey, Brett sounds like an amateur by comparison; I could play "Landslide" better than him. I know that hired guns are not supposed to be superstars, but I don't think he has a very good basic ear for interpreting music- where to hold back, when to let go, the crescendos, etc. At least when Stevie is solo, she has a talented pianist to play the more demanding parts.

Sure, the man knows how to play the notes. And I'm sure he is a sweetheart of a man and he has been a very faithful servant for the royal FM family. But I think they are doing themselves a disservice by continuing to have him play the keyboard/guitar parts in such a lackluster fashion. It's just so frustrating to listen to him ruin the live sound, especially with FM since he is their only keyboardist. . Maybe this is a case of jack of all trades, master of nothing?