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Post by fatfingerjohn on Nov 21, 2020 18:56:55 GMT
Hi,
I have sometimes found a 'pop' song, or 'band' piece that perhaps I quite liked but it didn't stick in the memory at all, possibly because of the style in which it was performed, or the target audience it was aimed at. So it is often a very pleasant surprise to then come across the performer(s) doing it in a very stripped back, acoustic version and, underneath all the electronic arrangements of the original (which may well have been a hit), is a superb song and performer. I'm sure we all have examples.
One recent such for me is Snow Patrol and Gary Lightbody. I have been aware of them but never really paid a lot of attention. But then I came across a couple of videos and must admit I'm pretty hooked on these 2 songs which I originally thought were more suited to the x-factor than my taste. I've attached the links below.
I'd be interested in other people who have examples of similar things i.e. a stripped-back performance to largely acoustic style which demonstrates a different, and much better, song and performance (to me/us oldies/guitarists anyway).
FFJ
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Post by cottonopolis on Nov 21, 2020 21:26:25 GMT
A Certain Ratio, Wont Stop Loving You. First up the original, then the Stripped back version.
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Post by fatfingerjohn on Nov 21, 2020 22:56:31 GMT
A Certain Ratio, Wont Stop Loving You. First up the original, then the Stripped back version. An excellent example. To me (and many may no doubt disagree), the first is over-produced, dominated by the percussive effects which incessantly obscure nearly everything else. Worst of all, the lyrics are at times lost in the production. The second version has a clarity which allows the song to present itself, rather than being a vehicle for effects. Thanks for posting this.
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stringdriventhing
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Post by stringdriventhing on Nov 21, 2020 23:27:03 GMT
This one sprung to mind. I like both versions equally. Teenage Fanclub - Everything Flows
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Post by scorpiodog on Nov 26, 2020 11:21:32 GMT
Saw an 18 year old girl at an open mic do this with just voice and a 1939 L00 Gibson guitar. It was spellbinding. There's no recording I can find of her, but it was similar to this though even more cut down. I pinched it and now play my own version.
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Post by fatfingerjohn on Nov 26, 2020 12:02:11 GMT
Saw an 18 year old girl at an open mic do this with just voice and a 1939 L00 Gibson guitar. It was spellbinding. There's no recording I can find of her, but it was similar to this though even more cut down. I pinched it and now play my own version. Hi Paul, Thanks for posting this. I'd have loved to hear the totally stripped down one, but this recording, particularly at the start, is a great example of how a song can be so different. For me the version loses it a bit towards the end when it becomes busier. I find that the 'lively' Beatles songs are great if slowed down and just backed by a simple fingerstyle acoustic. Once again they show that great melodies and lyrics have a magic of their own without being over-arranged. Hope you're all OK down sarf there. John
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mandovark
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Post by mandovark on Nov 26, 2020 13:17:56 GMT
This one is on piano rather than guitar, but it's a great example of how to take a "big" song that's usually performed as a power ballad and strip it right down. There's a very different feeling than in the better-known versions (Harry Nilsson's original, Mariah Carey's cover), but it's entirely suited to the lyrics and, for me, far more moving than the power-ballad versions.
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Post by fatfingerjohn on Nov 27, 2020 15:09:53 GMT
This one is on piano rather than guitar, but it's a great example of how to take a "big" song that's usually performed as a power ballad and strip it right down. There's a very different feeling than in the better-known versions (Harry Nilsson's original, Mariah Carey's cover), but it's entirely suited to the lyrics and, for me, far more moving than the power-ballad versions. Yes, an interesting one. The original Harry Nilson song wasn't 'full-on' at all but this simple version pulls out the emotion very well and emphasises the poignancy of the song. Thanks for posting.
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Post by Matt Milton on Dec 4, 2020 9:31:23 GMT
I'd include pretty much all of Johnny Cash's late work in this. His version of Tom Waits' 'Down there by the Train', of Nine Inch Nails 'Hurt', of U2's 'One'.
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Post by vikingblues on Dec 8, 2020 19:38:12 GMT
The older I get the more I find stripped back (and especially stripped back acoustic) versions of songs more to my taste. Original cover by Heart of Alone. I was never convinced that a tempo as fast as this evoked loneliness. Stripped back live in 2002. Which I found much more effective on an emotional level. Though to be frank I prefer the even more stripped back Floor Jansen version, where I feel I'm hearing someone telling the story that really is alone. Apologies to those of you who loved the original - many do. I guess that's music - all very subjective. Mark
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Post by tangledfool on Dec 8, 2020 20:17:35 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jan 5, 2021 1:24:11 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jan 5, 2021 1:30:43 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jan 5, 2021 1:40:01 GMT
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Post by fatfingerjohn on Jan 8, 2021 11:29:32 GMT
Some very interesting 'stripped back' songs here. Thanks to all for posting.
I try to get my guitar group to appreciate that you don't HAVE to 'copy' an original version; I know some people think that's sacrilege but I think the opposite (so long as you don't massacre it!). I'm trying to 'teach' my guitar group (which is challenging on Zoom) one of my favorite Lightfoot Songs, Early Morning Rain. It's a great one to demonstrate very difficult ways of doing it. I got them to listen to versions by GL himself (quite full-on and heavy in his early days); Paul Weller (mellower and softer) to Eva Cassidy (very much her own style as usual with changes, not just to the picking style but to some melody lines and even the verse order). There are also versions (some not so good) by Dylan, Presley and of course Peter Paul and Mary. Plus a YouTube video of Neil Young doing it at a charity concert quite recently which is a nice version.
For a VERY stripped back version here's a video below of an amateur chap, Frank Watkinson (who I listen to a lot) who is really playing it his own way. Some may find it too stripped back and possibly a bit of a dirge as a result. I love it! Close your eyes and let it drift over you.
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