What 'oldies' have you been strumming on guitar today?

I don't ever recall seeing a thread like this before... I may soon discover there's very good reason for that though! As ever, I don't like to lay down too many rules/stipulations but...

This isn't about what you've been recording in the studio (or in your home studio etc.) Just keeping it as basic as can be - any old tune (I'm not setting boundaries for its age though) that you've been having a bash at will do. Could be favourites you play regularly or some you've tried for the first time and got a buzz out of! Acoustic, electric, Spanish - probably doesn't matter on the scale of things unless you want to add that to your post. Put a pic of the guitar up if you so wish. I was using my Freshman 12-string and this is as close to it as I can find on Google Images (mine has no pickguard, strangely...)





I do sing (to a fashion lol) but if you don't then that doesn't have to rule you out here.

Hopefully this will give a few here some ideas and inspiration (myself included of course ) and either note whatever you feel like about them here, or just list the songs if you wish - not necessarily all if you don't want to, just whatever you feel...as long as you got something interesting from it and others reading this might as I say, take some inspiration hopefully:

I'll start the ball rolling with this somewhat mixed bunch:

1) Throw Down A Line (Cliff & Hank/Marvin, Welch & Fararr)
2) A Legal Matter (The Who)
3) Lonesome Tears (Buddy Holly/The Stray Cats)
4) Angel (Hendrix/The Faces)
5) My Girl (Madness, of all people!)
6) In The City (The Jam)
7) Moonbeam Song (Nilsson)
8) Play With Fire (The Rolling Stones)
9) Sea Breezes (Bryan Ferry, with or without Roxy Music/Mike McGear)
10) You've Got To Hide Your Love Away (The Beatles)
11) I Pity The Poor Immigrant (Bob Dylan etc etc)
12) Fearless/You'll Never Walk Alone medley (Pink Floyd with Gerry & The Pacemakers)
13) Smash It Up Part One (The Damned)
14) Tangerine (Led Zeppelin)

Briefly (this post is getting long enough as it is... ) most I've played/jammed for months or years off and on and looking at it, this would be a good cross-section of some of my very favourite artists. Well, I never.

So...

I recently had the idea to do a sort of medley for #12 as it's a nod to what happens on the PF album.

#13 is the instrumental intro (rather long) and is a nice bit to flat pick - I can't say I play it exactly like the recording by some changes have to be made to arrange things for one instrument. Played that countless times and it's worth the effort to get something going with it IMO.

I've not had a crack at #3 for about 20 years but it's a great composition of his - like so many, very simple yet effective and memorable.

#6 is somewhat slowed down and works for that much better in this style, I say.

#5 & #11 I'd not tried until today and so am happy I'm getting them pretty much nailed. The latter is about my favourite Dylan song ever. Need to get the harmonica on for that. If I have the time tomorrow!


Get the idea? I'm sure you do. Make this whatever you want - let's have a laugh too if we can.

 

The last ones I ran through on my Ovation and Gibson SG were:
The Who - The Kids are Alright
The Pretty Things - Over the Moon
Matching Mole - O Caroline
Lindisfarne - Nights
The Small Faces - Afterglow
The Who - Behind Blue Eyes
Freiberg/Kantner/Slick - Harp Tree Lament
The Beach Boys - California Girls
Quicksilver Messenger Service - I Found Love
The Who - Pinball Wizard
Carl Perkins - Honey Don't
Ringo Starr - It Don't Come Easy
The Love Affair - Everlasting Love

 

Tonight I've been playing "Friends" by Led Zep, which I haven't played for at least 10 years !

 

She Loves You.
A Hard Days Night.

 

C’mon Everybody - Eddie Cochran

 

keeping my lead guitar chops up...nothing specific.

 

I've memorized (over my entire life) and keep my fingers warmed up regularly playing a lot of the older Beatles songs:

• I'm Looking Through You
• It's Only Love
• And I Love Her
• I'm Looking Through You
• If I Fell
• It's Only Love
• You've Got to Hide Your Love Away

 

A few “oldies” that I’ve been bashing around in my studio as of late:

Happy Heart - Andy Williams
Who’s Lovin’ You - Smokey Robinson & the Miracles
Thunderball - Tom Jones
Operator - Jim Croce
Killing Me Softly With His Song - Roberta Flack

 

Some regulars that I have a blast playing to myself with varying degrees of amateurishness :
Big Star - Thirteen
Beatles - Blackbird
Tom Waits - The Heart of Saturday Night
Dylan - Visions of Johanna and several others
Neil Young - Harvest Moon and several others
A few standards like Why Try to Change Me Now and Moon River

This is my strange bird of an axe, an Avian Skylark:

 

I can't do pickin' but I can do strummin' to some extent. I was strummin' Go Now before I ever heard of Bessie Banks (her version is better than the Moody Blues' or mine, it must be said). One afternoon decades ago I taught myself the chords to much of the All Things Must Pass album. Etc.

 

Today? Just jamming along with an assortment of old songs on my random player. 60s stuff.

 

"Can't Find My Way Home" Blind Faith

 

“I’ve Just Seen a Face”

 

I play a no name, battered, nylon string guitar every night. Every single night. And I do so laying down, which will ultimately cause some sort of shoulder damage, I just know it.
In any case, lately I've been playing my lazy arrangements of the following:

(The Sun Will Come Out) Tomorrow - from Annie
I've Got Friends in Low Places - Garth Brooks
Someone to Watch Over Me - Gershwin
Arthur's Theme - Christopher Cross/ Bacharach
The Lady is a Tramp - Rodgers and Hart

 

Reach Out I'll Be There - Four Tops

 

"Long Long Time" - Linda Ronstadt

 

I'll See You In My Dreams
Ain't Misbehavin'

 

These are my “go-to” warm-up songs on acoustic guitar:

‘Til There Was You
Blackbird
Yesterday
Dear Prudence
Here Comes the Sun
Pinball Wizard
Substitute
Amazing Journey/Sparks
Out of the Blue (John Lennon)
Every Day (Paul McCartney)
Calico Skies (Paul McCartney)

 

Really like the chord progression on that one.

 

Excellent! Thank you for posting. There are a handful of these I'm not familiar with at all (and can't excuse myself for it...) but I know and like all those artists too.

The Kids Are Alright will be a very early one I learned on the guitar (great for getting your head around suspended chords!) along with many others when I got a copy of the Who's Better, Who's Best compilation and pretty much locked myself in a room by myself for a couple of evenings while holidaying in a caravan. Behind Blue Eyes is a definite yes (plus Bargain and Won't Fooled Again - same album as we know...) California Girls has some great changes in it... again, it's been a long time. Pinball Wizard is another I play quite often and the Overture to Tommy, going into Captain Walker and It's A Boy I love doing when I have the energy.

Afterglow is one I've not played for a while but I love playing All Or Nothing, Itchycoo Park and Tin Solider is probably my favourite... Lazy Sunday too! Big Small Faces fan here - one of the best bands of the sixties IMO.

Honey Don't I used to play and sing in a band (1961 Gretsch Tennessean - not mine but it felt like it was when it was in my hands!) We mainly were a rockabilly outfit and did Matchbox as well as some Cash and Hank and anything we felt like really.

I may just have a go at Everlasting Love - that's one for the list. I saw singer Steve Ellis on a Sixties Gold package tour in 2017 and he still has it - he does Small Facwes conventions and treated us to All Or Nothing. Was I ever in my element...

 

Great track! I'm sure I had a go at that many moons ago - had the Complete Led Zeppelin songbook (probably published circa 1974 as it only went up to HOTH...) That's The Way is one from the same album I should give a shot... again, same album. been in the back of my mind too long to not do so... and I was upset they left it off the 'crop circles' box set as it's probably my fave Zep acoustic track. And Tangerine I love playing (mentioned in OP.)

 

I like to mess about with songs as well known as this... I'll play She Loves You (and Help) as slow ballads (although Deep Purple did with with the latter, it was a bit intense lol) and think SLY sound sweet on the Spanish/classical guitar.

A Hard Day's Night... there is that (once) elusive opening chord which requires at least a few instruments to get it exactly the same. For this reason, sometimes I'll play a suspended fourth and other times, a thirteenth. This comes down usually to what key I decide to play it it. If I'm singing it, I'll move it right down to D otherwise my voice cracks trying to do Paul's line(s).

Always so much you can do with their songs... I won't attempt to list what I like playing by them but will likely refer to other posters' mentions of whatever come up.

 

What style do you do, Michael? I didn't know you played. Til now.

 

These are all great - (excuse me for doing a tiny edit, for clarity's sake - I get confused too easily these days... ) I'll have tried them all at some time (having that songbook that lists just about everything they wrote up to going solo... I've not found one in the wrong key either which is amazing lol.) Found it hard to strum It's Only Love while singing though - it would make sense to change the pattern as I have for others... possibly make it more ballady at the same time. Have played and recorded And I Love Her a number of times with others but someone else is better singing that one than me.