Is it just me or do most of his acoustic songs, whether performed on the piano or guitar, sound a bit unrecognizable these days? Now don´t get me wrong, this is not meant as criticism in any way, it´s just that I often have a hard time recognizing the original melody in some of his current renditions of some of his wellknown songs. In the past, you could always decipher the main melody of a song, no matter how drastically different the rearranged reinterpretation of a classic song sounded. You could always hear the main melody, the chorus etc.

These days, while his guitar playing is getting better and better, I barely recognize some of his songs on the piano or the guitar, for instance Something In The Water, one of my favorite songs. I liked what he did with it in Rotterdam but, unlike previous renditions, the song was barely recognizable unless you heard the lyrics.

I´m not a guitar player myself so I´m judging by ear and I´m not really familiar with the technical details but, in a layman´s words, it sometimes sounds like he´s just playing SOMETHING but not actually the song the way we´re used to hearing it.

I will come up with more examples if necessary and maybe I´m wrong but somehow I don´t really hear the song I´m supposed to hear.

Any info on this?

KoolEaze said:

Is it just me or do most of his acoustic songs, whether performed on the piano or guitar, sound a bit unrecognizable these days? Now don´t get me wrong, this is not meant as criticism in any way, it´s just that I often have a hard time recognizing the original melody in some of his current renditions of some of his wellknown songs. In the past, you could always decipher the main melody of a song, no matter how drastically different the rearranged reinterpretation of a classic song sounded. You could always hear the main melody, the chorus etc.

These days, while his guitar playing is getting better and better, I barely recognize some of his songs on the piano or the guitar, for instance Something In The Water, one of my favorite songs. I liked what he did with it in Rotterdam but, unlike previous renditions, the song was barely recognizable unless you heard the lyrics.

I´m not a guitar player myself so I´m judging by ear and I´m not really familiar with the technical details but, in a layman´s words, it sometimes sounds like he´s just playing SOMETHING but not actually the song the way we´re used to hearing it.

I will come up with more examples if necessary and maybe I´m wrong but somehow I don´t really hear the song I´m supposed to hear.

Any info on this?

I have to agree. He played something in the water (also one of my favorites) at the los angeles 21 night stand. I didnt recognize it all until he started singing the lyrics.

WinterIsComing said:

KoolEaze said:

Is it just me or do most of his acoustic songs, whether performed on the piano or guitar, sound a bit unrecognizable these days? Now don´t get me wrong, this is not meant as criticism in any way, it´s just that I often have a hard time recognizing the original melody in some of his current renditions of some of his wellknown songs. In the past, you could always decipher the main melody of a song, no matter how drastically different the rearranged reinterpretation of a classic song sounded. You could always hear the main melody, the chorus etc.

These days, while his guitar playing is getting better and better, I barely recognize some of his songs on the piano or the guitar, for instance Something In The Water, one of my favorite songs. I liked what he did with it in Rotterdam but, unlike previous renditions, the song was barely recognizable unless you heard the lyrics.

I´m not a guitar player myself so I´m judging by ear and I´m not really familiar with the technical details but, in a layman´s words, it sometimes sounds like he´s just playing SOMETHING but not actually the song the way we´re used to hearing it.

I will come up with more examples if necessary and maybe I´m wrong but somehow I don´t really hear the song I´m supposed to hear.

Any info on this?

I have to agree. He played something in the water (also one of my favorites) at the los angeles 21 night stand. I didnt recognize it all until he started singing the lyrics.

I remember that! I was confused too

[Edited 8/28/11 18:13pm]

nursev said:

With all the legalities with WB I always wondered if he has to change the music to play the songs? But I may be wrong.

I think you're on to something.

Lol, this thread really made my day!

mzsadii said:

nursev said:

With all the legalities with WB I always wondered if he has to change the music to play the songs? But I may be wrong.

I think you're on to something.

No, he/she isn't.

'cos over the years he's changed and thinks that by changing it too, it'll make it sound better..... of course it doesn't but he could never be wrong could he?

He's just trying a differnet arrangement. This is nothing new. He's been doing this from the beginning. When did you last hear "Delerious" the way it is intended to be played? I mean the whole song, not the little "hey-this-kinda-goes-with-the-beat-from-Let's-Go-Crazy-so-let's-just-stick-this-song-in-the-middle-after-all-we-don't-have-to-play-the-whole-song-just-enough-so-people-wish-we'd-play-more" version.

mzsadii said:

nursev said:

With all the legalities with WB I always wondered if he has to change the music to play the songs? But I may be wrong.

I think you're on to something.

This is crazy!! This person is not on to anything!! That idea is ABSOLUTELY INCORRECT!!!

Dogsinthetrees said:

He's just trying a differnet arrangement. This is nothing new. He's been doing this from the beginning. When did you last hear "Delerious" the way it is intended to be played? I mean the whole song, not the little "hey-this-kinda-goes-with-the-beat-from-Let's-Go-Crazy-so-let's-just-stick-this-song-in-the-middle-after-all-we-don't-have-to-play-the-whole-song-just-enough-so-people-wish-we'd-play-more" version.

Oh, I don´t mind different arrangements every now and then. In fact, I love how he has revisited certain songs from time to time and how he´s changed the atmosphere and mood/vibe of certain songs over the years, for instance Something In The Water album version, then the 1984 version with more bass and added piano parts, then the 1984 15 minute rehearsal version, then the ONA tour version (more upbeat and breezy, airy).....I love rearranged songs...and the ones I mentioned above were ALL recognizable as the original song right when he started playing them. Sure, the arrangement was different but they all had that trademark melody of Something In The Water...but the current version....nah....not really. And I´m not just talking about that one song either...he does that with many songs these days.

I liked what he did with I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man during the 2002 Celebration at Paisley Park...it was a darker, brooding, more sinister sounding and bluesy version but it was still recognizable...but these days I can barely recognize some of the acoustic songs he plays until I hear the first line of lyrics.

I´m just wondering why he does that. I mean, he created those songs, and he´s one hell of a musician, despite all the things we criticize from time to time....but why doesn´t he just play the melodies of those songs anymore?

It's boring to play a song the same way over and over again. If you play acoustic all by yourself, you are able to go with the flow, where the music leads you, put your actual feelings in it, where you are today etc. It's also called "interpretation", one of the most interesting aspects of being a musician.

[Edited 8/29/11 13:19pm]

KoolEaze said:

Is it just me or do most of his acoustic songs, whether performed on the piano or guitar, sound a bit unrecognizable these days? Now don´t get me wrong, this is not meant as criticism in any way, it´s just that I often have a hard time recognizing the original melody in some of his current renditions of some of his wellknown songs. In the past, you could always decipher the main melody of a song, no matter how drastically different the rearranged reinterpretation of a classic song sounded. You could always hear the main melody, the chorus etc.

These days, while his guitar playing is getting better and better, I barely recognize some of his songs on the piano or the guitar, for instance Something In The Water, one of my favorite songs. I liked what he did with it in Rotterdam but, unlike previous renditions, the song was barely recognizable unless you heard the lyrics.

I´m not a guitar player myself so I´m judging by ear and I´m not really familiar with the technical details but, in a layman´s words, it sometimes sounds like he´s just playing SOMETHING but not actually the song the way we´re used to hearing it.

I will come up with more examples if necessary and maybe I´m wrong but somehow I don´t really hear the song I´m supposed to hear.

Any info on this?

This actually a GOOD thing.

how do you expect a song like something in the water to sound like it did when its a song with a lot of electronic parts in it? when you take a song like that and play it acoustically of course its going to sound vastly different.

savagedreams said:

how do you expect a song like something in the water to sound like it did when its a song with a lot of electronic parts in it? when you take a song like that and play it acoustically of course its going to sound vastly different.

I guess you haven´t heard the other versions I mentioned above then? Not electronic at all. Anyway, that was just an example. This goes for other acoustic songs as well, the main melody is mostly not there whereas a few years ago you could recognize the songs when you heard them. I was at the celebration and enjoyed the acoustic night there....that wasn´t my point. I´m just saying that these days, most of the acoustic stuff sounds pretty much the same except for the singing.

Go and listen to some acoustic renditions of the past and then some from recent shows and you´ll see what I mean. As I said above, this is not about rearranging old songs but just strumming on the guitar without really playing the main melody of some songs. The same can be said about some acoustic piano songs.

funkomatic said: