One of the things I do whenever I’m learning a new song, is I try to find multiple versions to listen to – in this case, it’s “I Can’t Make You Love Me”. Sometimes this isn’t possible but generally there’s at least 2-3 versions of a given song out there for general consumption. The reason for me doing this is that each artist brings their own spin on a given song, which means I can hear different takes, but I can also get a better sense of the completely ‘neutral’ version of the song… the hidden structure/substrate that lies underneath singers’ versions of the song, rather than getting caught up in thinking this “ONE” version is the definitive version. Continue reading “Three Versions of the Same Song – I Can’t Make You Love Me”
Five Songs You Should Hear – John Mayer and Bonnie Raitt
I ended up having a fairly long Facebook chat with a few students today on a variety of songs, and five songs came up that I recommended they have a listen to… and they just hadn’t heard them before! So I figured I’d share the five right here for your listening pleasure!
#1 – Bonnie Raitt – I Can’t Make You Love Me
Some of you will have seen me blog about it before, but it’s excellent and WELL worth checking out.
#2 – Bonnie Raitt – Thing Called Love
This one is awesome. She’s a great slide guitar player. And Bruce Hornsby is a mean accordion player.
#3 – John Mayer & Keith Urban – Sweet Thing
I’m a big fan of John Mayer, not necessarily the most technical (or even safe singer, given his ongoing vocal health issues), but MAN he can sell a song like very few others.
#4 – John Mayer & Keith Urban – Til Summer Comes Around
I did this song a LOT with a client a year or two ago, and it really suited their voice. A really moody anthemic song, great melodic hooks throughout.
#5 – John Mayer – Free Fallin’
Save the best til last… just an awesome tune done so well by Mr Mayer.