Need Song Advice (again)

[Ravon]

Thanks to LTG and the motivation its given me, I think I've found my niche. I've been super fortunate to have met a very fine singer and piano player willing to let me accompany her on guitar. Musically, we like the same songs and it seems we have the same ideas on whats going to work for us. She's a trained/degreed musician so she's light years ahead of me but she's patient Thank Goodness. She grew up singing Gospel. The best part of it all is she's willing to sing my song selections. Right now its a duet with occasional strained harmonies on my part. I have a very good bass player and drummer if need be later on but we want to get the songs tight between us first, then maybe... Anyway, we're looking for some ideas and thought I'd ask for some suggestions from ya'll. Blues, Jazz, Bluegrass, Rock...we're open to suggestions. Heres what we're working on now

• 'More Than Words'- Everly Brothers

• 'Something in the Water'-Brooke Fraser[list:1pf6pcq0]

'C.S. Lewis Song' -Brooke Fraser[/list:u:1pf6pcq0]

• 'Stronger Than Me'- Amy Winehouse

• 'Game of Love'- Michelle Branch'

• 'Your Love is King'- Sade

• 'Love Like This'- Natasha Bedingfield[list:1pf6pcq0]

'Viva La Vida'-Coldplay'Black and Gold'- Adele

• [list:1pf6pcq0]'I Can't Make You Love Me'- Bonnie Raitt

Thanks All![/list:u:1pf6pcq0][/list:u:1pf6pcq0]

 

[fearless]

One great soulful song that rarely gets covered is "Night Train" by Rickie Lee Jones. No piano part but it could be adapted.
"Easy Money" off the same album (self-titled) is a good one too, but quite bass-driven.
I'm also a fan of Joan Armatrading - "Show Some Emotion" (from album of same name) or "Warm Love" (from same album). Guitar and piano parts. Some of her earlier stuff is also great and could be well suited to a guitar/piano duet.
Here's one of her earlier ones "Willow" live, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=520ZLkzKRII

 

[jmac]

I would suggest anything by the Nat King Cole trio (piano, guitar, bass). Or is that stuff too old for your tastes?

 

[Ravon]

Those are all great selections. While she honestly can probably sing anything, I find she's leaning toward a more blues/groove music Armetradin/Jones would be good. However she's nixing the Sade song as she just felt it wasn't 'her'. The great thing is she's willing to sing 'male' songs. She's younger and never heard of Robert Cray's 'Smoking Gun' and wants to try that next (Pentacostal church player all her life). She wants me to learn 'Give a Little Bit' and when I said its an old SuperTramp song and she didn't know who that was. Funny too that she suggested 'More Than Words' that was covered by the band Extreme. Those guys always kinda gave me the creeps but I told her since its actually an Everly Bros. tune I'll do it :wink: . The Nat King Cole stuff would be great as we're doing 'Walkin' After Midnight' by Peggy Lee and we're looking at a couple Julie London tunes. I'm finding doing a duet is a little tougher than expected as she's not playing piano on most of these songs. And since I'm no Joe Pass I might have to bring a bass into the mix soon. Thanks all.

 

[Ravon]

Those are all great selections. While she honestly can probably sing anything, I find she's leaning toward a more blues/groove music Armatrading/Jones would be good. However she's nixing the Sade song as she just felt it wasn't 'her'. The great thing is she's willing to sing 'male' songs. She's younger and never heard of Robert Cray's 'Smoking Gun' and wants to try that next (Pentacostal church player all her life). She wants me to learn 'Give a Little Bit' and when I said its an old SuperTramp song and she didn't know who that was. Funny too that she suggested 'More Than Words' that was covered by the band Extreme. Those guys always kinda gave me the creeps but I told her since its actually an Everly Bros. tune I'll do it :wink: . The Nat King Cole stuff would be great as we're doing 'Walkin' After Midnight' by Peggy Lee and we're looking at a couple Julie London tunes. I'm finding doing a duet is a little tougher than expected as she's not playing piano on most of these songs. And since I'm no Joe Pass I might have to bring a bass into the mix soon. Thanks all.

 

[Ian]

Brooke Fraser is a Kiwi girl.... Tried any Alison Krauss/ Robert Plant numbers from Raising Sand ?

 

[bronzeback]

Here's a good 'un :

Title: It's Too Late
Artist: Carole King
transcribed: rjmcpher@uci.edu

notes: Carole King plays the piano and I just arranged the piano chords
for solo acoustic guitar here. Note that you can substitue a D7 for the
D6 if you prefer the bluesy sound. I'll put my chord voicing choices at
the bottom but this is all from ear so feel free to choose different
chords.

It's Too Late (Carole King)

Am7 D6 (little riff notes E G A A A G E) (2x)

Am7 D6
Stayed in bed all morning just to pass the time
There's something wrong here there can be no denying
Am7 Gm7 Fmaj7
One of us is changing or maybe we've just stopped trying

|[chorus]
| Bbmaj7 Fmaj7
|And it's too late, baby, now it's too late
|Though we really did try to make it
| Bbmaj7 Fmaj7 Dm7 E7sus4 E7
|Something inside has died and I can't hide and I just can't fake it


Am7 D6
It used to be so easy living here with you
You were light and breezy and I knew just what to do
Am7 Gm7 Fmaj7
Now you look so unhappy and I feel like a fool

--chorus--

--instrumental built on alternate chord changes--

Dm7 Fmaj7 G7sus G7 Cmaj7 Fmaj7 Cmaj7 Fmaj7


Am7 D6
There'll be good times again for me and you
But we just can't stay together don't you feel it too
Am7 Gm7 Fmaj7
Still I'm glad for what we had, and how I once loved you

--chorus--

chords:
Am7 = x02010 or 575555
D6 = 200202 or x00777
D7 = x54500 (it is really D13 -5 but it substitutes for D6 well)

 

[griehund]

How about a short journey into the doowop era?

Germaine Jackson did a nice job on "Daddy's Home"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UNy6EGVyO8
And there's Sam Cooke's "Bring it on Back"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAQE-tHjPAc

keyboard, guitar, base, harmony.

 

[Ravon]

Ian- I've become a Brooke Fraser fan, what a voice! What a face!

• Bronzeback, thanks for the chords. I'll run that by her

• Griehund,, I always enjoyed Sam Cooke. Good choice!

 

[griehund]

"Its not for me to say", but this guy was pretty good too. If you like crooners.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cd3pDM2f6Y8

 

[Ravon]

"Its not for me to say", but this guy was pretty good too. If you like crooners.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cd3pDM2f6Y8

I transcribed 'Misty' to solo guitar from that exact youtube posting not long ago. I hadn't been playing on a regular basis for several years and got the bug again so I was thinking maybe get together a solo guitar set. Anyway, until recently I had several songs transcribed and down pat and this was one of them.

 

[griehund]

I transcribed 'Misty' to solo guitar from that exact youtube posting not long ago. I hadn't been playing on a regular basis for several years and got the bug again so I was thinking maybe get together a solo guitar set. Anyway, until recently I had several songs transcribed and down pat and this was one of them.

Same here, But I got interested in learning blues and old blues songs. There's enough Johnny Mathis songs to make a whole set. Been working on Stormy Monday. Every time I feel like I've got it down pretty good I listen to another cover and get a whole different feel. Its kind of like Crossroads, probably a hundred versions but each one is a little different.

 

[Ravon]

I transcribed 'Misty' to solo guitar from that exact youtube posting not long ago. I hadn't been playing on a regular basis for several years and got the bug again so I was thinking maybe get together a solo guitar set. Anyway, until recently I had several songs transcribed and down pat and this was one of them.

Same here, But I got interested in learning blues and old blues songs. There's enough Johnny Mathis songs to make a whole set. Been working on Stormy Monday. Every time I feel like I've got it down pretty good I listen to another cover and get a whole different feel. Its kind of like Crossroads, probably a hundred versions but each one is a little different.

Exactly. At first I tried learning some standards off youtube from jazz guitar guys like Joe Pass, Kenny Burrell, etc. but all that did was confuse me on how the melodies were supposed to sound. So now I just go straight to the singers like Mathis

 

[idealassets]

She wants me to learn 'Give a Little Bit' and when I said its an old SuperTramp song

Yes, but there's a "newer" version done by the Goo Goo Dolls. You never really need to let anyone know if its the "old" or "newer" version that you are doing.

Craig

 

[jmac]

Funny too that she suggested 'More Than Words' that was covered by the band Extreme. Those guys always kinda gave me the creeps but I told her since its actually an Everly Bros. tune I'll do it

"More than words" wasn't covered by Extreme, they wrote it and are the original performers of the song. The Everly Brothers have no connection to the song.

 

[Ravon]

Funny too that she suggested 'More Than Words' that was covered by the band Extreme. Those guys always kinda gave me the creeps but I told her since its actually an Everly Bros. tune I'll do it

"More than words" wasn't covered by Extreme, they wrote it and are the original performers of the song. The Everly Brothers have no connection to the song.

Really? Darn, I was told by someone else that it was by the Everly Brothers (maybe it confused them cause it kina sounds like them). I learned it and we've worked on it so I guess we're doing it.... ewww.