ARP in the 1970s

This is Weather Report's "The Pursuit of the Woman with the Feathered Hat" from their concert in Offenbach, Germany, in September 1978. It gives a great look at how Zawinul guided the music with his two ARP 2600s. The cabinets are to his left, with the two keyboards above his electric piano. Everything other than the piano and deep bass notes is created from the 2600s, with counterpoint and melodies being reprogrammed on the fly.

This video from analoghell features Pete Townshend talking about how synthesizers like the ARP 2500 and 2600 were used to create the iconic sound of "Won't Get Fooled Again." Footage of the discussion is intercut with Pete working with the 2500 in the 1970s.

And here's the track itself, from the album Who's Next (1971). Documents of the sessions reveal that a Lowrey organ was processed through the 2500 to get the sound used on the record, originally created as a demo by Townshend. Note how the rhythmic pulse forms the backbone of nearly the entire song, preceding the same technique in disco music by several years.

"Going Mobile" from the same album features a more subtle use of the ARP as a signal processor. Pete plays his guitar through an envelope follower to get the "wow" effect; it listens to the loudness of the notes and opens and closes a filter. This was a fairly new concept in 1971, but later was made common with "auto-wah" pedals.

In this early take/promo video for the title track from the Who's massive 1978 album Who Are You, the 2600 can be heard carrying the song's rhythm throughout. It's even more prominent in the final release version of the song.

In this live performance of "Chameleon" from 1975, Herbie lets his Odyssey cut loose with everything from a funky solo to waves of noise that he seemingly controls with his hands – it's hard to tell from the film, but it looks like he might be doing it with a foot pedal, out of sight of the camera.

"Frankenstein," from They Only Come Out At Night, is performed live here in 1973. With a solid backing from his rhythm section, guitarist Ronnie Montrose, and a kid's bicycle horn, Edgar Winter blows the audience away with a performance incorporating sax, drums, and his ever-present 2600 stealing the show.

Billy Preston was famous for his use of ARP gear, as heard on this song "Space Race" from the album Everybody Likes Some Kind Of Music. Check out the Odyssey lead!

In this concert from 1975, the funk band Ohio Players gets the audience dancing with the hits "Love Rollercoaster" and "Fire". Keyboardist/vocalist Billy Beck can be seen playing a String Ensemble on the first track and a Soloist on the second.

Frank Zappa's hard-hitting band was the crucible in which many musicians were forged – but there was a lot of fun and madness along the way. In this concert from 1974 released as the record A Token Of His Extreme. George Duke does a "solo" involving Tibetan finger cymbal, a story that never gets finished, terrifying sound effects, and a shredding Odyssey solo... that turns into the Odyssey taking a solo of its own while George accompanies it on tambourine. Hang on tight, folks!

The Rolling Stones' blues stylings always needed keyboards behind them, and in this live concert from the LA Forum in 1975, an ARP Pro Soloist makes an appearance here and there as a solo instrument joining the guitars.

Elton John's massive double LP Goodbye Yellow Brick Road from 1973 opened with the instrumental "Funeral for a Friend" segueing into the FM hit "Love Lies Bleeding." The cinematic atmosphere of the track is underlaid by the sound of the ARP 2500.

This beautiful rendition of the song "Mirage" by Jean-Luc Ponty at the 1982 Montreal Jazz Festival features Allan Zavod on an amazing ARP 2600 solo. As is common for the 2600 on stage, the cabinet is set behind him while the keyboard lies in easy reach above Zavod's other instruments.

Finally, as an example of how ARP helped carry popular music out of the funk and rock of the 1970s into the synth-heavy New Wave of the 1980s, here's Ultravox playing "Reap The Wild Wind" and "The Voice" from their Monument live tour. Lead vocalist Midge Ure uses a String Ensemble, and keyboardist Billy Currie takes solos on his Odyssey with a distinct sound and playing style heard across all the band's albums.