Thoughts, please!
It’s just occurred to me that ‘If God Will Send His Angels’ by U2 is cover-able.
Is it? Am I mad for thinking that this could be done by a jazz trio? Or even beautifully with just voice and piano?
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February 8th, 2008 at 2.02am
I’m not familiar with that song and youtube is blocked here so I don’t know. Has it got proper chords or it is all just sus2 type chords that only the Edge can play ?
I’ll try and get to hear it.
February 8th, 2008 at 2.10am
this gives you a wee snippet -
http://www.last.fm/music/U2/_/If+God+Will+Send+His+Angels
- sadly, it kicks in just after that clip ends. doh!
February 8th, 2008 at 2.42am
i reckon it is probably do-able, though as usual, the distinct lack of any musical progression in U2’s songs makes it difficult. They are called U2 because all their songs have Under 2 chords.
February 8th, 2008 at 2.45am
actually it has three I think, so it may work!
February 8th, 2008 at 3.30am
ha! now only if it were three chords and the truth, it’d be Springsteen.
hmm.. maybe it’s one of those tracks which is a great recording, but not necessarily a great song.
February 8th, 2008 at 5.15am
I don’t know ONE chord.
February 8th, 2008 at 6.18am
The only chord I know is the one I pull so I can see in the bathroom when it’s dark.
February 8th, 2008 at 8.12am
I can’t even find that chord most times
February 8th, 2008 at 5.25pm
i think if you are looking at U2 songs, the starting point must be The Joshua Tree - which i really didnt like much when it came out but love now. how about ‘i still havent found what i am looking for’ or ‘with or without you’ ? both i think could be slowed down quite nicely, but i would have to leave the chord bit to you i’m afraid !
February 8th, 2008 at 5.33pm
I had wondered about songs from the Joshua Tree as well (more my era
) and thought they might lend themselves to a bit of a jazz treatment (bearing in mind the taste and musicality mentioned earlier in the week). Perhaps a bit of a bossaey type feel would work for either of the ones that Matt mentions.
Going back even further perhaps ‘In the name of love’ ?
It’s surprising what can work. I heard a version of The music of the night from Phantom done as a jazz waltz once which actually worked.
I also heard a version of the theme tune to Schindler’s List which didn’t work at all…
February 9th, 2008 at 2.35am
Matt - much as I love ‘The Joshua Tree’, I think those two songs are a) waaaaaay too famous to even attempt, unless you’re in a rock band and doing it as your Obligatory Interesting-Or-Crowd-Pleasing Cover; and b) examples of great recordings but not interesting songs per se. so as a result they wouldn’t stand up to being stripped down. which is a nice turn of phrase… but I digress. to be covered in the jazz styleee, there has to be a jazz sensibility in there somewhere… and in ‘If God Will Send His Angels’, there is. or at least, I hear one. I was curious to see if anyone else heard it too :-).
speaking of finding obscure(ish) U2 songs to cover, Cassandra Wilson saw the jazziness and beauty in ‘Love Is Blindness’ and did a great job (as always) of covering it - http://www.last.fm/music/Cassandra+Wilson/_/Love+Is+Blindness
John - you know what, I bet ‘In The Name Of Love’ is a great song. in terms of its writing. I’m just not sure whether I could be the person to do that cover. and the chords strike me as very poppy.. but then it could be arranged. as it were.
February 9th, 2008 at 2.45am
PS thank you all for your input. even about bathroom chords.