"I Don't Want to Know"

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I only started putting serious effort into learning "I Don't Want to Know" a few days ago, so this may be a bit rougher than most.

For instance:  I need to find a new way to play the riff because otherwise the A note sustains for too long.  I don't know the solo yet, so there's a sonic dead spot in the middle of this.  And I'm not sure if the chords are played straight or broken up into arpeggios or something.  I'll have to listen to the Decca Stereo Anthology version.

Also, to-day marks the tenth day in a row I've done VCP demos!

"Friends of Mine"

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I still have some more songs from Begin Here that I have to post rough versions of, but I decided to skip ahead to "Friends of Mine" for now.

I tried doing the vocals for this too, but they didn't turn out very well.  So either my voice changed or I'm more particular about it because I remember recording a version of this in 2010 (though - sadly - I've since deleted it).

"Can't Nobody Love You"

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Back in April, I learnt the bass part for "Can't Nobody Love You," but I never posted it.

So, again, this is long overdue.

"I Don't Want to Know"

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Lately, I've been posting rough versions of a lot of songs from the Begin Here album, and I'm getting close to the point where I can play all of the songs straight through on at least one instrument (although most of them are just the guitar chords), so I thought I would try learning some of the other ones.

So I went back to "I Don't Want to Know," which I figured out the main riff for about a year ago.  If I can trust the "date created" for the .txt file I started for it, it was 28 April 2012.

Anyway, in playing through that, I've discovered that - again - Chris White uses the F#m G A D chord progression that he's (apparently) so fond of.

"I'm Going Home"

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The isolated guitar part of this sounds even weirder than the isolated guitar part of "Sticks and Stones."  The opening notes are meant to be played on bass, but I included them anyway.

I'm not sure if I have one of the riffs right either….

Apparently, this is a cover of a song by Gene Vincent (written by Bob Bain), but unfortunately I do not have a version by Gene Vincent, even though I do have his first two albums.

"It's Alright with Me"

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I learned the bass part for this back in March, and I'd already known the chords and the riff for some time before then.

"Is This the Dream"

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It seems like I've known the bass part for this for a few months, but it's probably closer to a year or more.  I also know the first part of the electric piano solo.  I learnt it on bass, but it's a lot harder to play on electric piano.

I sort of think that the electric piano solo is in a different key from the bass part because the bass is solidly in E major, but the first notes of the electric piano solo are E, G, A, and Bb.  Aside from E, none of those notes are in the E major scale.  So something weird is going on there.

Back when the only Zombies album I had was a compilation album called Night Riding, this was my favourite song by them.

"Whenever You're Ready"

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After recording this, I found that I had a version of just the bass part that dates from 12 September 2012.  So this is long overdue.

I've been working on learning the guitar parts, and The Decca Stereo Anthology has helped somewhat, but the riff is the only guitar part I know so far.

"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.