Performance

I have a problem. A lot of the music I have been learning lately has been filtered through some great performers. So the problem is, I learn their version, and not the original. The clips above and below are perfect examples. In my opinion, the version above is vastly inferior to the version below. The song is basically the same, but below, it is filtered through the incredible style of Chris Smither.



I don't think I would have seen the potential for that song, much less have had the wherewithal to actually rewrite it in a way that turned it into such a great number. Similar things can be said of Smither's renditions of "Memphis in the Meantime" by John Hiatt, "It Ain't Easy" by Ron Davies, and, if I'm honest, most of the other covers he does.

What troubles me about this is that I feel like I ought to be listening to crappier music. Smither obviously heard these songs somewhere, and took the time to memorize them well enough to do a new arrangement of them. Which means that either my personal guitar hero must have shitty taste in music, or a great musical insight, which I lack. Moreover, I feel weird doing a cover of a cover, but I really enjoy playing these songs.

There is of course a third possibility: that I have neither a specific musical voice, nor an ability to see the good in a song aside from the performance. While it's possible that this is true, I, like all musicians have no choice but to pretend that it is not, or it would make what I do pointless. So I guess I'm going to stop worrying about it, and proceed as I have been.

I'll end on a very rocking number, performed by Alvin Youngblood Hart: "Big Momma's Door," with the tab (by AdrianD) following. You'll have to paste it into notepad to see it proper-like.

Intro:
.
D-|--0-------0----------------------|--0------------------------------|
B-|-/3------/3-------3---------3----|-/3-------3--------3-------------|
G-|--0-------0-------5-----3---5----|--0-------5---3p0--5----3--------|
D-|---------------------------------|----------------------------5~---|
G-|------0-------0-------0-------0--|------0-------0-------0-------0--|
D-|---------------------------------|---------------------------------|
.
D-|---------------------------/3----|---------------------------/3----|
B-|--------------------0------/3----|------------------------0--/3----|
G-|----------------0---0------------|------0-------0-----0---0--------|
D-|----------------0----------------|------0-------0-----0------------|
G-|------3b--0-------0-----------0--|------0---3b--0-------0-------0--|
D-|-/5----------/5------------------|-/5--------------/5--------------|
.
D-|----------------------------0----|
B-|------------------------0--/3----|
G-|------0-------0-----0---0--------|
D-|------0-------0-----0------------|
G-|------0---3b--0-------0-------0--|
D-|-/5--------------/5--------------|
.
.
Verse:
.
D-|--3h5-----3h5-----3h5---5---3----|--3h5-----5-------3-----5---0----|
B-|--3-------3-------3---------3----|--3---------------3-----3---3----|
G-|--0-------0-------0---------0----|--0---------------0-----0---5\4--|
D-|---------------------------------|---------------------------------|
G-|------0-------0-------0-------0--|------0-------0-------0-----0----|
D-|---------------------------------|---------------------------------|
.
D-|---------------------------/3----|---------------------------/3----|
B-|--------------------0------/3----|------------------------0--/3----|
G-|----------------0---0------------|------0-------0-----0---0--------|
D-|----------------0----------------|------0-------0-----0------------|
G-|------3b--0-------0-----------0--|------0---3b--0-------0-------0--|
D-|-/5----------/5------------------|-/5--------------/5--------------|
.
D-|----------------------------0----|
B-|------------------------0--/3----|
G-|------0-------0-----0---0--------|
D-|------0-------0-----0------------|
G-|------0---3b--0-------0-------0--|
D-|-/5--------------/5--------------|
.
Ending:
.
D-|------0--------------------------|
B-|-----1---------------------------|
G-|----0----------------------------|
D-|---2-----------------------------|
G-|--3------------------------------|
D-|---------------------------------|