suggestions
hi i'm looking for song suggestions to build my band's list fairly quickly. 4 piece, bass, drum, guitar, harp/voc
all the band are kinda new to blues...the bass player is simply new, but the drummer and guitarist very capable. i have limited improv skills...(working on it!) but able to pick things up copycat style pretty well
i thought Brand New Cadillac could fit in...and maybe a jimmy reed number like 'bright lights...' or '...what you want me to do?'...(although those blow bends in bright lights will bug me)...
but yeah, looking for some others which will be relatively easy to pick up and sound good in a 1 guitar, no keys band...
of course i will do this for myself but hoping you folk might help expand my mind...
thanks for those Rob.
bring it on home...the same cooke song, or the SBW2?
the sam cooke song, i have the vocal melody in my bag on the harp, and i can sing it pretty well, but my guitarist finds it too...i dunno...melodic maybe...but i am gonna try again.
i think this is the same changes as elmore james (and others) "it hurts me too" ? which is another on my list that i have been playing forever.
talk to your daughter is a favourite of mine too. thanks for reminding me of that
yeah, i have a handle on mojo, HCM, and SHC already too...and been singing stormy monday forever...but there is another band i have heard locally who do a killer version....i think i may be able to sing it better though..but maybe only when i am alone....
we have been doing Born in Chicago, Early in the Morning, Checkin up on my Baby, Folsom Prison Blues, Help Me, Have a Good Time...i bought DBs transcriptions of the big walter with carey bell album and learned all those 'have a good time' solo's...that was a trip...
and i have actually been playing Gary's Blues with them...that has been a stretch for the band...the drummer has had to learn to play the flat tyre, and it imposed some discipline on the bass to play a walking line on upbeats...i think that song has probably been the biggest learning curve for the band. its kinda good because its only 2 and a half minutes long, sounds good in D, and its a nice contrast to the rockier stuff. i can play no sweat on the chrom too which works to the same kind of groove and has some real nice choruses and licks, although it takes a while to get going. my blues is one i thought of, because it sounds so good...i havent tried to play it yet though! i got sidetracked with the chromatic for a few weeks...
i havnt tried shakey's shuffle either, but i do like big walter a lot. i'll check that one out.
thanks again, some good ideas here
Another few that are working well for me in jam situations are: Big Boss Man, I'm Tore Down and Who's Been Talking. I'm doing the vocal/harp thing on these. Who's Been Talking is a nice change of pace with the Latin groove. It's all a work in progress for me!!
yeah a couple Jimmy Reed numbers could be OK...I'm not keen on JR as a performer but they are strong songs
just listening to who's been talking now, from the london sessions record...its pretty groovy feel alright
do you have any favourite recordings of these Hank, you could point me too?
Cheers mate
dave
The ones I've kind of used as a 'guide' (I listen to several and then combine the things I like from each - like groove, vocals, harp work) are:
Who's Been Talking - Howlin 'Wolf (London Howlin Wolf Sessions) and Lucky Peterson (I'm Ready)
I'm Tore Down - Curly Bridges (Keys to the Blues), Elmore James ( Daddy Gave Me the Blues) and Powder Blues Band (Swinging the Blues)
Big Boss Man - Harpdog Brown (Above and Beyond), Jerry Lee Lewis (unknown album), Jimmy Reed (the Very Best of Jimmy Reed) and Mark Hummel (Chicago Blues Party)
I like Rob's 'playlist ' and have most of them as well in my 'repertoire'. Which version of Stormy Monday do you do Rob?
We do Stormy Monday as a really slow blues, I suppose a bit like Cotton's version on "Mightly Long Time" (which, ironically, contains no harp!). It's of one of those songs that we play a bit differently every time though as there's no head or hook as such.
I try to underpin the slow groove of the song on the chromatic (3rd in D)- nothing fancy, mostly steady tongue flutters to complement the sparse guitar work. We leave a lot of space for the vocal lines to drive home and this seems to work well, allowing for plenty of feeling and expression from the singer. The guitarist gets the extended solo (being one of his song choices!) and for my part I'll typically switch to a C diatonic for a more cutting 12/24 bar solo that contrasts with my accompaniment playing.
The overall sound is really nice and it was one of those songs that just organically turned out that way from the first attempt. How about you, or anyone else?
Love to hear it Rob - thanks for the reply.
I'm playing it in 2nd position in F(my vocal range), although I play around with it in third position on a low Eb - somehow I really like the lower tone on it. I base my version on Bobby 'Blue' Bland, so a slow version also. I like the Bb so I can work bends in on the solo to give it a plaintiff feel. I have to admit thought the more I play around with the 3rd position the more I'm liking it. Maybe next jam.
I've heard a couple of the locals do it in a more up tempo way and my tastes lean towards the slower version. Gives me time on the harp to try to be more expressive with dynamics etc.
Here's a link to Daves "Learning Your Blues Standards"
http://archive.harmonicasessions.com/apr04/standards.html
Check out some of the suggested artist & titles on youtube for a free listen
54 suggested standards on that link- now we have our work cut out!
i notice David also suggests in the intro to the standards list, learn everything Little Walter ever recorded. Wow!
BTW...
Hank, your mention of I'm Tore Down took me to Freddy King. For the 1st time. its good to save some pleasures, but i didnt realise i was doing that by ignoring FK. My introduction to "the blues" was when John Mayall came to town when i was 16. i became a fan, but i didn't realise until just this morning...32 years later...the extent to which he was copying Freddy King. In his vocal styling its very clear, but it also seems like the sound he was going for as a bandleader...listening to the early FK cuts was like listening to what JM was trying to do...just blows me out that it has taken me this long to cop an earful of Freddy King. The unsung hero of that sound has got to be Sonny Thompson's piano and songwriting though. its like Little Richard meets the blues...its a pretty commercial sound i guess..or maybe i just relate to it...love this stuff.
I play in a 5 piece with vocals separate from harp (you don't want to hear me sing!) but otherwise the same lineup. A few standards that work well for us include:
Hoochie Coochie Man
Stormy Monday
Key To The Highway
Got My Mojo Workin'
Sweet Home Chicago
Mama Talk To Your Daughter
Kind Hearted Woman
Forty Four
High Heel Sneakers
Bring It On Home
Although (maybe too) often covered, these are all good crowd pleasers when performed well. As a sideman, I often play behind the vocals as well as playing the fills so perhaps some of the tracks might be a bit more challenging if you are singing as well as blowing (Hoochie Coochie/ Mojo/ Forty Four) but would work well with a dual mic setup (vocal mic on boom, bullet in hand). How about throwing an instrumental or two in from Dave's lessons? We often do a rendition of My blues or something like John Harl's Shakey's Shuffle from the artist studies. Just a few ideas!
Rob