Solo instrumental acoustic guitar thread (with occasional vocal & duo exceptions)

Ok, not quite unplugged, but here's another cover from LZIV and jay-sus this is good. A cover of a cover, technically. This might break your eyeball levees...

 
  • Like
Reactions: C C
TheVat said:
Ok, not quite unplugged, but here's another cover from LZIV and jay-sus this is good. A cover of a cover, technically. This might break your eyeball levees...

Click to expand...

Back then the critics didn't seem to apprehend what LZ was even doing adapting those old country-blues classics. It's not like the Stones and all sorts of Blues inspired rock bands in the prior decade hadn't done that occasionally, including with old folk songs ("House of the Rising Sun"- The Animals).

JJ sort of rewinds it back to Minnie's non-plectrum guitar style, but with the raw edge and riff that LZ added in the 70s, along with his own multi-faceted techniques and improvisation.

"Memphis Minnie was known for her exceptional fingerpicking guitar style, which combined intricate licks and rhythms that influenced the development of blues music. She was a pioneer in blending traditional country blues with electric sounds, showcasing her versatility throughout her career."

Memphis Minnie and Kansas Joe
 
Last edited:
C C said:
Back then the critics didn't seem to apprehend what LZ was even doing adapting those old country-blues classics. It's not like the Stones and all sorts of Blues inspired rock bands in the prior decade hadn't done that occasionally, including with old folk songs ("House of the Rising Sun"- The Animals).
Click to expand...
Traveling Roadside Blues is another one the early Zeppelin critics didn't get, either. It was so underrated they didn't bother to release it on vinyl, and seems largely ignored. Like other LZ tracks which had spectacular instrumentals and vocals and most other bands would be happy to call their best work. Yeah it's funny that bands like CCR were reviving all sorts of American roots motifs, building up a swamp rock genre, and the critics (especially over in the UK) seemed to act like LZ should stay more in their rock lane. Wondered if it was partly the sexuality dripping from Plant, as in the "squeeze my lemon" stuff in TRB, seemed too much of "black music" for their prim and proper tastes.
 
  • Like
Reactions: C C
TheVat said:
Traveling Roadside Blues is another one the early Zeppelin critics didn't get, either. It was so underrated they didn't bother to release it on vinyl, and seems largely ignored. Like other LZ tracks which had spectacular instrumentals and vocals and most other bands would be happy to call their best work. Yeah it's funny that bands like CCR were reviving all sorts of American roots motifs, building up a swamp rock genre, and the critics (especially over in the UK) seemed to act like LZ should stay more in their rock lane. Wondered if it was partly the sexuality dripping from Plant, as in the "squeeze my lemon" stuff in TRB, seemed too much of "black music" for their prim and proper tastes.
Click to expand...

Although electric guitar tracks were added, Page also used an acoustic slide guitar. (Tuned to Open G like Robert Johnson's version, though I guess LZ's song is more a tribute to Johnson rather than a reflection of the original TRB). If that doesn't shakily qualify it for the thread, then another Justin Johnson solo can do it: JJ - acoustic fingerstyle blues guitar cover

Speaking of Robert Johnson, I'm glad one or more YouTube channels have slowed his songs down to what might be the actual, normal speed. Lessens the caterwauling effect of his voice due to those shellac records raising the pitch of everything so as to fit all the music on their limited space.

Travelling Riverside Blues
_
 
Last edited:
C C said:
Speaking of Robert Johnson, I'm glad one or more YouTube channels have slowed his songs down to what might be the actual, normal speed. Lessens the caterwauling effect of his voice due to those shellac records raising the pitch of everything so as to fit all the music on their limited space.
Click to expand...
That's helpful. YT generally allows track speed adjustments, but baking in a specific tempo restoration is probably better than just guessing and clicking 0.75 speed for playback.

And I hasten to correct my error in calling it "Roadside." Riverside! o_O:oops::)
 
Yah, this is nothing more than a kind of Bob Dylan "Don't Think Twice" level of pattern fingerpicking for backing up a non-melodic vocal narrative (excluding the very end).

To be honest, I've never even heard the Johnny Cash version. This is the 1975 original, that I first heard some years back on National Public Radio's broadcast of the The Folk Sampler. (Mike Flynn apparently retired now.)

Let Him Roll (Guy Clark)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

While in that Guy Clark vein, also from 1975 is this footage of the legendary (and tragic) songwriter who wrote one of the The Highwaymen's hits.

Pancho and Lefty (Townes Van Zandt)
 
Last edited:
TVZ may have been tragic in terms of bipolar disorder and self-medicating with booze, but when Bob Dylan goes around telling people he's a big fan of somebody, they've likely made a dent.

Here's Big Bill Broonzy - a shimmering uncut diamond at around 2:45.

 
  • Like
Reactions: C C
Bass neck, middle neck for open-string scale or modal notes, and a regular neck. While luthiers weren't wasting their time making multi-neck guitars back in the old days, the latter surely never had their full potential realized until the tapping style became widespread.

Luca Stricagnoli: "Walk of Life" (Dire Straits)
 
I generally don't care much for multi necks, it can have a gimmicky freak show vibe to it, but this was good. And of course Jimmy Page rocked his DN Gibson on various Zepp songs. The Oztrailian Daniel Champagne makes good use of sympathetic resonance on his DN.

 
  • Like
Reactions: C C
TheVat said:
I generally don't care much for multi necks, it can have a gimmicky freak show vibe to it,
Click to expand...

Triggers in me mild echoes of the carnivalesque one man band. :rolleyes:

... but this was good. And of course Jimmy Page rocked his DN Gibson on various Zepp songs. The Oztrailian Daniel Champagne makes good use of sympathetic resonance on his DN.

Click to expand...

Has a 12-string or kind of classic Leo Kottke quality to it (times two).
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Good gosh, Misko's guitar is starting to look like an armored tank. He keeps adding so much experimental gadgetry and material to it.

INTRO: In 2023 I permanently moved to Germany. [...] This is my first home away from home in Russia and I wanted to capture the feel of this little but cozy village in music. The village is called Gomaringen, but it’s not easy to remember, so I had to come up with a more catchy and memorable name. Gomaringen in English sounds almost like “Goodmorningen,” so let it be!

Alex Misko: "Goodmorningen"
 
Almost anything DF or SD interpreted by Kent is going to get exploding cardiac eyesocket emoji from me. And IGY has a special place in my heart due to having a relative who was part of that, up in the Arctic. (That, and it possibly being the only song about IGY - haven't really checked, though - could be an IGY Cantata somewhere, or perhaps a 1957 Overture...)
Anyway. Kent N seems to settle in and flow comfortably in that jazz-rock place.

In a wuwei of music...

Wu wei - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org
 
This is unpretentious and lovely, with just the touch of wistful the great Boston song calls for. (Instrumental acoustic, though Igor can't help breaking into a vocal at the end and who can blame him)

And Picardie third fans, note that sad/joy resolution on A major.

 
  • Love
Reactions: C C
TheVat said:
This is unpretentious and lovely, with just the touch of wistful the great Boston song calls for. (Instrumental acoustic, though Igor can't help breaking into a vocal at the end and who can blame him)

And Picardie third fans, note that sad/joy resolution on A major.

Click to expand...

A lot of people back then thought it was Tom Scholz's MIT wizardry and custom-made pedal effects that made Boston stand out. And minus that techno-audio roller coaster ride, the public would have othewise regarded the songs as rather mundane when divested of the enhancements. What's great about acoustic guitar instrumental covers is that they undermine theories like that (or at least the cynicism that _X_ music lacks the structural and compositional value to stand on its own two feet and be emotionally moving in a minimal, stripped-down context).
_
 
C C said:
What's great about acoustic guitar instrumental covers is that they undermine theories like that
Click to expand...
Yes!


C C said:
A lot of people back then thought it was Tom Scholz's MIT wizardry and custom-made pedal effects that made Boston stand out.
Click to expand...
It's a cheap shot. Though I can see that the Foreplay intro of "Long Time" might be a challenge to fully realize on an acoustic. :)
 
Some of you may remember in the sixties hearing this lovely bossa nova piece playing from radios, records, Muzak...."Wave," by Jobim, interpreted by solo guitarist Yenne Lee. Please let bossa nova never die.

 
  • Like
Reactions: C C
While in the Ft Worth native sons songwriter mood, here's some Roger Miller. Check out the lead guitar player when he jumps in.

 
  • Like
Reactions: C C
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top