I remember reading somewhere in an interview with Hank that he didn't like his lead sound in the mid 60s - that he kind of 'lost his way' - but some of those tunes like 'the Warlord' are among my favourites. I also used to hate 'Stingray' but it has grown on me through time - and there's a fair bit of tonal variation in Hank's sound from around that time if you think of things like 'Place in the Sun', 'Maroc 7' ''Ranka Chank' 'Tomorrow's Cancelled' and even some of the Cliff stuff like 'Blue Turns to Grey' or 'Time in Between'. Then he moved into the late 60s - 'Midnight Cowboy', 'Sacha', 'Sunday for 7 days' 'Goodnight Dick' 'and Throw Down a Line / Joy of Living with Cliff- quite a raucous sound - and then there's the experimental sounds on Rockin with Curly Leads.
Lots of different sounds - all very far removed from the early, so called 'That Sound'....
I know that Hank has gravitated back towards a classic kind of sound (though his sound has evolved through time) - but I do think that nevertheless he has experimented quite a lot with his sound and style down through the years - even through his solo period, which I think had some of the best playing in his career. If you listen to his playing down through the years there are evolving echo sounds, the DeArmond pedal / Burns sound, the Leslie speaker sound, the 'Volume pedal' sound (ie cavatina / argentina / missing), 12 string acoustic, 12 string electric, nylon strung guitars, acoustic (including the excellent guitar player album), the six string bass (stingray / thunderbirds), bouzoukis, and even a lute!
Personally - I think there is actually quite a bit of variety there - and he has shown himself a master at them all. I know that there are those out there that don't see past 1961 - but I think that there are some great sounds (not to mention playing) through both Hank's career with the Shads and also through his solo career.
Does anyone else out there have any favourite sounds beyond the so called 'that sound' that they really like? I know there are a lot of Burns enthusiasts out there certainly...
Bernie