"Sticks and Stones"

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Again, since I mentioned "Sticks and Stones" a few days ago, I felt I should do a version.  Because I always play along the recording, I didn't realize how empty this sounds without drums.

This is just the riff and the chords; I don't know the solos yet.

"Road Runner"

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Because I mentioned "Road Runner" a few days ago, I thought I'd record a version of it.

I think the volume peaks a few times, but I had already adjusted the input volume twice and done a few bad takes, so I didn't feel like doing it an-other time.

"Remember You" [single version]

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While listening to The Decca Stereo Anthology two days ago, the bass part for "Remember You" didn't sound very hard.  So I sat down last night and figured it out.

It's pretty fun - especially the glissando from C to D and the arpeggios outlining B major and E major.

I already did a rough version of "Remember You" back in March, but I didn't know the bass part then, so I'll have to get around to re-doing that sometime.  (Which I'd wanted to do anyway because I know I can do it better than I did.)

The Decca Stereo Anthology

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I listened to The Decca Stereo Anthology last night.  I think it was only the second time I've listened to it since I got it a few months ago.  (I'm sort of ashamed I haven't listened to it more.)

In any case, it's a really great resource for trying to learn the parts because it's in stereo.  Things that are covered up by other parts when mixed in mono are easier to hear, especially if you listen to it in the dark, like I do frequently.

I learned "Road Runner" to a greater accuracy.  I'd known it was mostly a three-chord song with a riff in E, but I found I'd been missing a few notes.  I also finally figured out the part at the end (it's the same as a part in "Sticks and Stones," which I suppose makes sense because "Sticks and Stones" is also a three-chord song in E).

I also hadn't realized just how many songs Paul Atkinson uses his twelve-string for.  Or how good of a twelve-string player he is.

Most importantly for this project, listening to the album made me realize just how many songs I know (or know parts for) that have not made their appearance here yet.  So I'm hoping to rectify that.

"Dance in the Smoke"

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I said I wasn't going to post a version of Argent's "Dance in the Smoke" because my voice isn't suited for it, but I am anyway (without vocals though).  I know less of the solo than I thought I did.

It's a bit sparse in the "I recall it was too tall / To see the flames grow high" parts but whatever.  Also, I'm pretty sure that the chords aren't played on guitar in the original, but I find it helps to figure out the chords before working on specific parts.

"Dance in the Smoke"

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I recently figured out the opening guitar part and the chords for Argent's "Dance in the Smoke," and I tried recording a rough version this afternoon, but - like so many other songs - it's one that is not in my range/not suited to my voice.

And since - without vocals - the only interesting part would be the guitar solo (which I know only half of), I'm not going to post a version.

"She's Not There"

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I think I've learned the bass part for "She's Not There."  I've known most of the verses and the little riff that bridges the first two verses since the end of June, but then I got stuck.

But I was playing through it to-day, and I think I've figured out the part for the "Well, let me tell you 'bout the way she looked" parts.

"Rejoice"

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I learned a bit more of the opening organ part from "Rejoice" to-night.  I don't know the bass accompaniment for this new part yet, so some of the melody sounds a bit weird.  You can kind of hear how I'm hesitant to hit a few notes at the end; I think they're right, but they sound weird without the accompaniment.

"One Day I'll Say Goodbye"

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I did a rough version of this almost a year ago, so this is a bit overdue.

"Rejoice"

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I was just playing around on guitar when I discovered the first interval in Argent's "Rejoice," which is actually just an octave.  So then I figured out the first phrase.

I'm really excited about this because the opening (and closing) organ part in "Rejoice" is one of my favourite pieces of music.

"Losing You"

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I was just playing around with guitar chords (because 50/90 starts soon, and I don't really have any ideas), and part of what I played sounded familiar.  I figured out it was the first part of "Losing You" from the neglected New World album, so I just figured out the rest.

This definitively defeats my proposition that all suspended chords in the Zombies repertoire revolve around A major, as this includes both Dsus4 and Gsus4.  In fact, Dsus4 is the first chord.

I also mess up somewhere, but since this is just the chord progression and is pretty boring just on its own, I didn't particularly feel like going back to re-record it correctly.

"I Am the Dance of Ages"

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While going through and tagging all of the posts with the relevant song titles, I discovered that I'd learned the bass part to Argent's "I Am the Dance of Ages," which I had pretty much completely forgotten about.

The bass part by itself is pretty boring and doesn't sound like much, but here it is anyway!