aaa 6 SONGS CT a TT) a eer) era art Mgt) PUTT Ta UT ae a eT TD CHOOSING THE RIGHT GUITAR CUTProfiles 20 The singer-songuriter takes cover with some characteristically orig inal interpretations of other artists’ songs on It's Like This 24 Creative and viable adaptations of the Eagles’ “Desperado” and Guns N’ Roses’ “Sweet Child O' Mine” for the acoustic guitar. Features Tina Saigo Philadelphia 34 Remember all those beautiful acoustic Eagles songs you wished you could play? Here they aro in black and white tab. 40 Rosewood? Mahogany? Dreadnought? Parlor? Advice on making the right choices jor the'guitar sound you want, 46 ‘Ahands-on guide to “Maggie May, lin Win Songs Transcribed Hepariments 12 Nina Gordon, Amy Correia, Doc Watson, Evan and Jaron, John Stewart, Kasey Chambers, Stephen Lynch 91 Blind Lemon Jefferson and Blind Blake, Blur, Shawn Mullins, Rick Nelson Bax Set, Phil Foxman, Plus: Geoff Muldaur instructional video. 94 “Alvarez PD8OS-12 and Takamine FD-400SC 12-strings, TUL2 12-string, Martin DC-16GTE Acoustic-Blectric 2S ee ec GRUU TEL eee UL Es Pra aR MILO Ua ere UR fron Te Bei PA CLO eee US eezea LUFOREVERCLEAR Kudos to Tom Beaujour for his fine cover Story on Everclear [GWA #39. It's refreshing to see Art Aloxakis treated with the respect and intelligence that a songwriter of his caliber and stature ‘deserves, Mr Beaujour really seemed to have a knack for getting Art to open up about the inspirations and influences that motivate him to make music. Maybe if rock journalists spent more time getting serious with musicians, like this story did, rock and roll would not be In such a sorry state. Keep up the good work MAN FROM HOPE "Just want to say thank you very much for a great magazine—t only wish it came out ‘every week. It has helped my playing no end allowing me to make the leap from no-hoper 10 hopeful, Keep up the good work WE GOT SPUNK [can't believe that my favorite punk band, Flogging Molly i in my favorite magazine. I's great to see that GWA has the guts to give some coverage to musicians who are less concemed with mainstream success than vith putting out rian, original music that actually breaks new ground {ironical by Celving back into the past. Keep up the great work, and you'll keep me for a reader! “DAVID HIRSCH, BOSTON, MA BAD RAP Everlast took @ lot of heat from other rappers, tke Eminem, for pick ing up the acoustic guitar. But in my ‘pinion, it shows just what an artist ik Schrody Is: Not content to sit comfortably within one musical riche, he Instead chose to branch out and grow. "TOM REYNOLOS, SPOKANE, WA JAKOB'S LADDER By finding his own success outside ‘the shadow of his father’s monu mental accomplishments, Jakob Dylan should be applauded for hav- Ing broken the curse faced by many rock and roll progeny, And Guitar World Acoustic deserves some kudos as well. You'e the one maga zine that avoided the trap so many ‘other publications fall into when writing about the Walflowers: fitering the younger Dylan's work through that of his da. Thank you for the insightful look at one of todays most interesting artists JENNER, VA THE INTERNET COOL HAND UKE Ukuleles rockt I've been saying it for years, fever since | brought one back from a Hawaiian vacation that | took with my folks. Fim a singer and aspiring acoustic guitar player in a high school rock group, and my bandmates always made fun of me when | tiled to bring out my trusty uke. That i, unt | showed them the article on Everclea’s Greg Eklund. Now they've dropped their arguments and 'm happily strumming away “0RINCO22, VA THE WTERNET MISGUIDED YOUTH? | can’t tel you how happy | am to have read the "Going Up The Country” article in te lat fest issue of Gultar World Acoustic [39). | recently dscovered the music of bluesmen like Robert Johnson, Blind lake and Mississippi John Hurt but needed some guid ‘ance when it came to learning about other blues artists. Thanks to your informative cov ‘erage, 1am now set to happily abuse my VISA card in pursuit of new music RANDOLPH WOODS, ALBANY WY ‘Send leters to “Letters.” Guitar World Perey er ea acca eres Caer PUBUSHER Stoney R Hovis ELuTVE PSHE ‘Dennis. Poge associ PuusHEROVERTSIG Greg Di Benedetto. aon nour Herold Stenblot Design niecr0R Sabin Flannery anusingenron ‘an Stillman ‘wus enron Jiminy Brown vrona cowsusiat Brod Taine sean cars ‘Askold Buk, Jim Steinblott assist coro Flom Bratman enToMAL Assist irae oe aeshett Ter ten int a Rt Mah Sane kee Ste ey es soup wn rece ssc a aay Maton, ranycog e i ser res Sto woe ue orm = sone ec ae Be = cepa aes ris sem wn (peaberonen ne) Seber nie & Change Adds (22) 867-708 ‘pom ee oma edhe Se han rethis Racketbox just one day after an historic TP WRITE scpreme Cour decision effectively determined the winner of the US. presidential election. While many Americans ate hailing with relief the end of out long national Tighimare, asa guitars I fel nothing bat loom anda deep abiding biterness But what possible link can there be between this uly ele tion and the very pute tealm of the acoustic guitar? Only this While the 100 Years Bush-Core War may have sickened men ‘of good will the world over it also proved to be the geatest_ boon to. my Playing since a Brooklyn College coed named Sher! promised me a garden of delight If 1 teamed to play side one of Hot Tima ote for ote Every night forthe past month | sat with guitar in hand, oblivi- ous to the sad entreaties of my wife and child, and watched talk- ing and shrunken heads on both sides of the political divide describe the confusion. But even as I sat there transfixed by the tumult, my fingers were busy making new friends: Led Zeppelin’s "Going To California,” Fleetwood Mac's “Landslide” and a beautiful arrangement of “Greensleeves.” Yes, even as [fol- lowed every arcane and painful detail of the roller-coaster strug- gle for Florida, 1 was learning some great tunes, all from the transcription pages of Guitar World Acoustic. I had no difficulty, focusing on Bush’s boil or Gore's bald spot even as I studied Jimray Page's picking in double dropped-D tuning, and was amazed at how fluidly all the discordant talk of “rule of law” and “one person, one vote’ meshed with the mellifluous sounds coming from my guitar. Iuisall over and | am very sad. But this election has given me something far more valuable than anything transitory like faith in our politcal system or a happy personal life: three cool songs. If you're a GWA reader, you obviously understand my priorities, ‘HAROLD STEINBLATT, ‘aoe n Chet N-G-W National Guitar Workshop rock jazz blues acoustic classical "eat TFSia ° SEALE, guitar nashyilssee keyboards Lies? drums cat @lante bass yasifitten vocals ,,aystin LOCATIONS IN: Call or go online for a free brochure 1-800-234-6479 or 860-567-3736 www.guitarworkshop.com ‘raw ote summer connecritey DEERING The Great American Banjo Bela Fleck performs ‘string banjo, playe ‘The Crossfire, Patented Flectric Banjo. Ie you appreciate owning the fina banjo money can buy, a Deering banjo is your best choice DEERINGQQALITY BANOS Dep 3, POBox 188 Lend CALSK S168 Call (800) 845-791 O88 WebDecingBajscomFirst Strins f nae hii Ru “IT WAS COOL ir ned" have a following to pay there” says Amy Correia of Cafe Since, the New York City flleclub where she got her star, "People could [ust walk in off the street, without a plan, and listen.” One gets that same sense of fortuitous discovery from Corsea's Carnival Love (Capitol). Utilizing a variety of stringed instruments, including acoustic guitar, mandolin, baritone ukulele and banjo, Corteia creates hypnotic, homespun songs that draw from such influences as folk jpop, blues and French style cabaret, Add to that het mesmerizing voice and a lytical dexterity akin to Bob Dylan's, and you come up with one reat find (Correia, who grew up in a small town in Maseachusers, says her frst love was singing. she remembers singing along to the great variety ‘of musie her parents would play around the house. “We listened to quite an interesting mix—stuff like Johnny Cash, The Partridge Family, Three Dog Night, Dionne Warwick. Te as while recuperating ftom a back injury suffered in college that Coreia started playing her guitar seriously. “It became the tool to allow sme to write songs,” she says. It is the mix of Coreeia's urban poetic Iris, delivered in a traditional storytelling style, and folk-oriented stringed instrumental accompani ‘ment that i gameting for her the most atten- tion. “Tim not a great instrumentalist” she admits. "I use the instruments to accompany myself, What led me to the mandolin, banjo and ‘other stringed instruments was that these instru- ments have unique flavors, which inspire me to ‘write entirely different kinds of songs.”Funny, They Don’t Sound Boyish WHEN Witt gat atone oes wan it sea ots i IN red on dawson crt ome people ae bound to peg yas ust another boy tae. But lata's Evan and lon Lowenstein, 25, tug off te charectration. "Wren we sa ‘et out playing rock cubs ve years ago, Do bands were realy nappening yet” Evan Lowenston fois cu. "Now that we've got natonal tention, this hs suodeny become ensue The facts, 10m & ern may be sick ut st sacchane, bearing fax more resemblance to ‘he Bates or a popper Sou sium than io arocked up 'W Sy. And the record features some insta “adut" musica gues amen then aver garce guitarist Ware Ro, rummars Mick Fleetwood adn Kelner, Tom Pty keyboard player Sermont Tench and execute producer ‘ane Bure. Ar itwasadut contemporary icon Jey Bue who, rgressed by hl songcatt ‘and stage presence, aang for Evan and arn’ fst marlabl deal wth and Raced, two years ago Evan was the est of the two to bein laying music, ping up an acoustic guitar a 17 nore to workout Metalica songs. Jaron starts somewhat tr. "Whan we started out playing toget he says st Rouge ott as cick arourd, even after v's made cu fest rce record. ‘ras nti ound | could actualy create tat bac Secu" The trots tok avery bus esse approach their rusical career. "By night we wee peyrg musi But by cay we were y= ingto find ov eventing we could—ke row do we make 2 CO, how do we roacen ou fn ase twas a tremendous aroun of work” says Eva, ‘Ad bth brothers waked to Become stong acoust hm players At st, we payod acoustic gure because it was chegper” admit aor wh pay a Gibson uring is lwother faves the smal-bosied Gibson Nick Lucas reissue. "Late, we became very much interest ein presenting our songs and curses as petormers of he songs Accustic was a good way to ho tat because, when you et right cow ta song ats oot vecal and ecustic uta OL Ferste VIN efepeeenaeeteetncesisdreeealiceertaa ee ene guitar playing started playing gutar onstage whn | was 12, but it wasa't always plugged a re te ee ate rd eer ae ne ey re ee Creer erate ene ear ee ee ee eas epee eer ee ee en ae Tee eee een a eee OT a ee ar ee egy ee eet er ee et Se ee ee Pte ete ee ee ee Peete ere ed ee ee ec ee alt country stalwarts Buddy and Jue Milt. Twas realy excited to meet Bude ata festival ee een eters eee ee ern eer ers Rear ee a et ee eee ero et rete tes the touring band, while Nash Works the soundboard and mother Diane peddles shirts and Se eer Cee eer) pera ete een en rae ome won xu 13First Stringers ONIN Sugar Mama NENA ecnder ‘or veuca Sate the Taunchy alterative coc. band that has Nines As the author and lead singe of the group's Biggest hits, the snarling and very electric "Seether" and. "Volcano Gils! Gordon seemed an untkely cand Suttcorented solo albur, And ye Digit and the Rest of My Lf her solo debuts turning heads om he strength of ell dom pared ways with Veruca Sl in of masia ayes and develop songs th ower chord, Shehas a emi-seious expla Ration forthe abun's eave ow ey tite" have an amp setup in my ving Toor, which a dowels che sy But fete most privacy my bedroom, al the thoy upstairs So ended up writing moe of the esl is a album of beau pop songs ich with cay wordplay, date ‘iikough she ges to Blow of some of that characeraic ae “Hones in the Cty. “Hold On To Me and shetilerack mean choi, tensive tunes propelled. by To hp promote bes new albu, Cordon Sihch au prompted her to put catelul tecy bought a 1982 Cibson Mummingind she say proudly, °K hat Such 9 bertfal sound and a nice, small peck. eis my fist ely nice gla. nthe past L would buy a ular based on wha Tooted ie 0 | havea couple of kooky tas which nn realy sounded good For ingalocof money ona gtr beeae needed to bea beter player or someting Which is wealy stupid because this what Tye coven 10.9. with ny i 30 wy Should hve get gular”the day comes wen a song comes to me and dont put mn something disgust ing, shocking oF offensive, Il be very happy” ‘a8 Stephen Lynch of his compulsion to write ‘amesty sung and summed rock love songs that are perversely hilarious. Lynch. debut bum, A Little Bit special HaHanwhat Ae ‘Records contains such sensitive fae as "ar," ata ofan erotic reationship witha rodent and “h Month Dead the romantic story of @ young ‘man ad his gens corpse The melodies are ‘emewhet reminiscent of on ov power ballads and Barenaked Lats at ther goofs, but the na FA HPAUNa tr ‘throw a song or two into tel routines, he music and gutar are integral to what Lynch oes. All my comedy revolves around the songwriting, the singing and the songs them seve” says the Zearolé Michigan native. He pays a chery-red Alvar Songwriter 5220, mainly using the instrument as accompaniment, "acing a flourish when I can” He ‘began playing gular in college stringing together his songs with his schoo frends to ‘muse themselves and people at partes. After arcing in New Yorkin hopes of show business careere'd long been a singin high schol and colege musicals—tynch was. ‘asked by an ld colege buddy to perform his strange originals ata comedy cub Herel. tanty agreed and was pleasanty suprised by the postive response. The cub dates have tuned into radio and Comedy Central appearances, nd Lynch is current nthe midst of a national campus tou ‘Lynch expresses a particular admiration for Paul simon and Radiohead's Thom Yorks, partculaty their songwrting Interestingly for someone so dependent on Ics, Lynch always begins his own songwriting with the music “Ihave the melodies worked out beforehand and wil ly them over and over again unt a topc or tum of plese pops into my head” e expan. Those topics such asthe ric posses of romance with a person of indeterminate gender asin his song, “Mermaphrodit,” are not the stuf of ‘everyday conversation But says Lynch, "when you can pt nthe context of pretty ik tle song, it’ alt ease to talk about in font ofan audience.” fg a fiom the Kingston Trio who wrote that song for the Monkees: that be my epitaph” jokes John Stewart referring to the best-selling folk sgtoup he left more than 30 years ago, and to “Daydream Believer" the song Davey Jones took To No. 1 in 1967. Asa solo recording arts, Stewart recorded a couple of landmark albums (California Biodtines, The Phoenix Concers), and eared a Top Five smash in 1979 with *Gold*—produced by Stewart fanatic Lindsey Buckingham. which, ironically, took a soaring ‘swipe at the music industry. While Stewarts glory days on the chants ended decades ago, the veteran singer/songwster/gui tarist/ banjo player has continued to write, record and perform prolifically He's been so ace, in fay that he actually forgot about a slew of astoundingly good unreleased sessions he dd inthe ghties, cassettes of which languished in his garage until recently. They ve now been unearthed and issued as Wires fom the Bunker (Appleseed. Recordings), an adventurous outpouring of Acousticand electric guitar virtuosity that Stewart calls “an effort to merge rock wth fol tradition, Stewart became seriously interested in fll music during the lull in rock between Eli's entry Into the army and the arival ofthe Beatles. “But the Kingston Trio were doing folk with a rock and roll ethic—they were attacking it and I fll in love with their sound" Stewart handles vitally all uhe guitar (and banjo) work on Wires fom the Bunker He credits his predecessor inthe Kingston Tio, Dave Guard, ith inspiring him to play “memorable singable lines on the acoustic guitar as opposed to the faceless strumming of many folkes. There ate nods to the aggressive sound ofthe Kingston Tro onthe album, a8 well as to his “Gold”-era work, very ‘much in the intense Buckingham fingerstyle mode—though who influenced whom more hard to divine Stewart speaks admiringly of Buckinghams understanding of "the power of just hang ing on one note while al the chords move under i,” and it shows in Stewarts playing “The San Diego-bor guitarist has never been a stranger to rock. I always dhink of myself, fst ofall 5a rock and roll player and a a folk write,” he says. “Even in my it garage band in high Sschoal, Ff write songs about the Civil Wa, andthe guys inthe band would look at me funny.” coo vonasowste 15,Singer-songwriter extraordinaire Rickie Lee Jones finds fun and fulfillment in other writers’ songs. / ithe tile of ici Let Jone ne album on Artemis FTES LIKE THUS ‘essed soar, ovingng and nll calecon of cover tunes fom every comer ofthe musial map. [numerous way, Is Lie Tass ke Jones heelf—surprising (ike her cove of Frank Sinatra’ “Cyl tough (Talc “Low Spark of High Hered Boy") and sentimental ("One Hand, One Heat fom Wes Se Story. With a band that ncudes guitarist ton izael apd basi Richa Davis, the accent here defintely on fz, despite the numerous rockand roadnay songs But ones has alvaye been an amalgam of influences and interes and has steady refused to be aoa nan boe She bu onthe sen in the ate Seventies, a beretnering bohemian chick with woe hope aude and 4 huge bit single and album (‘Chuck in Lave from jones set tiled debut) Two decades later the beret 7 fone andthe hitsingls have ceed but het art and influence linger on. Once viewed by some as a female extension of her onetime boyftiend Tom Waits, Jones has established herself as a serious and innovative pop/jazz. force in her own right. Her latest project pushes the artistic envelope for cover concept. albums into a new and exciting realm. Gcurtar worto acousne: Why did you devote this album entizely o covers? IRICKIE LEE ONES: The obvious answer is | dic nt have songs of my own to do—that's the simplest answer. This might sound a little remote, but I don’t really regard songs in terms of whether or not I actually wrote them. It's all singing 10 me. If’ a beautiful song, its a beautiful song Last year | performed “I Can‘t Get Stared” with a piano player—I'd heen playing solo for awhile—and I thought ic would be a beautiful thing to do. So these ate things | did live by myself that accumulated over the last few years. After the fact of having completed an album | can’t say there was a great deal of planning, though there might have been a kind Of pregnant state before. I just can't remember. ‘wa: So how did the band and the other significant others that helped you on the album By Isaiah Trost toma wenn icome 21RICKIE. LEE JONES come 1 be? 1 see that Ren Sidean, the onetime Steve Miller Band keyboard player and jazz anist, produced some of the songs, owes: The first group of people was brought together by fen Sidean, [ told him I just wanted to work with old jazz guys. 1 had this experience a1 a gi in San Francisco where 1 sat in with tenor sax player Joe Henderson, [bassist] Ray Brown and other jazz masters It was like flying, like being lifted off the ground these people so knew what they were doing. 1 was wonderful—l wanted older guys with whorn t coil just walk in and sing these songs, We tried that the first fear days with len co-producing nd then it didn't work anymore, [Veteran keyboard player Bruce Brody seas co-producer for the rest of the album—GWA Ed.) 1 really appreciate the help and support of pro: ducers, but the bottom line is that it seems to come down 10 a sexist sort of thing—you would not have missed the fact that | was co-producer if | were a male artist. | indicate co-production and mean it fewa: It appears that the songs done with ‘ust Ben were less jazz-oriented. In fact, the song se places eh. Jones: was going to say the alluum’s in the style of Sinatra, but he wouldn't mix genres, so muich, Because our generation has {grown up with all these songs, they're just part of who we are, At the end af the day, wwe love all those songs. I don't think peo: ple in their forties have to hear everything according 10 genre. That's what's nice about the record, You grow up with your parents’ music, your music anel the music that you hear nows—and ial part of what you love. You don't have to hear a jazz record ar a rockabilly record, necessarily Yes, we'te all victims of furious marketing. but (think we can all listen to just music, {ewa: Who's responsible for the guitar play ing om the record? Jones: I'm playing all the electric guitar, and | played acoustic on “Cycles” and, 1 think, on “Trouble Man.” John Pizearelli plays all the other acousti parts. The whole alburn was recorded live inthe studio, other comes from so many Broadway, rack, Tin Pan Alley, than overdubs of electric guitar and organ and horns and strings. for this record, Tm. ising as a map the Mills Brothers [a popular tocal group of the 190" whose recondings fen jonture « swinging shyla guitar--CWA Fal] as sore of a guide twas that really sim ple rhythm guitar sound | heard my wncle play whenever he came (o visit when [vas a child, tewa: You have the pop-rock star, Ben Fol fon a couple of the cuts, aoc) with your parents’ music, your music Fate UML TES Coat you hear now— and it’s all part of Parra etm oS Jones: Ben Folds has said that his main influence is Rickie Lee Jones. 1 wouldn't have picked up on it, except that { could hhear this really, really rich love of these strange inversions on piano chords he plays. IF influenced him, he doesn’t show it by being imitative awa [How did you get stated on guitar? Jones: | was eight when my brother got guitar, and [think 1 worked out “Taps” on WAL 12 oF 13, 1 snuck into his toom and ‘worked out the bassline of “Ticket to Ride. By 16, played pretty well. (think. I didn’t Teacn to tead music ancl never used finger- picks. 'd pick suff ap from 2 girlfriend, but ‘mostly just listened closely to records wa: Was folk music important to your development? Do you see yourself in any way as a product of the Joni Mitchell school? Jones: I never came from a fo thing, which ‘was what Joni Mitchell was, but from a pop, r&b and show tune place. I could never sing folk; | don’t have a soprano voice. That's why it always irritated me to be identified ‘with Joni Mitchell, Not that I didn’t like her, but 1 think it’s inaccurate—and extremely sexist—to st gest were alike musically because we look alike. W's a dis: service to me, and ultimately to both of ‘awa: So who did influence your develop: ment as a guitarist? Jones: | listened 0 Taj Mahal 2 lot as a teen-ager. | had records by Wishbone Ash, Humble Pie and Jeff Beck, I tiked bands like Traffic. 1 was Iyricoriented, and guitar sounds were coloration for me. | loved Cat Stevens and Neil Young, and 1 worshipped at the altar of Van Mortison. And I liked Laura Nyro as a lyrics. ‘owa: Where did you pick up your percus sive, ethereal kind of sound on the gui sones: | really learned most of my tech nique listening to Taj Mahal and Stephen Still. [like to play the guitar percussive: ly. | don't realy Tike to do much finge picking, athough | liked Taj style—i'sa friendlier kind C@wa: One guitarist you've had a close asco ciation with is Leo Kottke, who appeated fon your album, Traffic from Paradise, in the carly Nineties, Jones: Leo Kottke gave me a Taylor guitar and that’s the one I Tike to play. The guitar Thad atthe time, a white Takamine, didn't have any particular worth. | told Lo about that: two days later, the Taylor came in the mail. It came full of all his music and his fingers. Vim serious—when 1 sat down 10 play that guitar was a much better player. 1d always sit and play with Leo, Gawa:The most acoustic, and the most typ. ical, album you've ever done is Naked Songs [Reprise, 1995], where you'e featured live and alone, 4s0NES: Seeing Leo perform solo was inspira tional. I thought that it would be so cool to do an entire show by myself. It wasn't so much stripping the songs down 3s standing alone in front of an audience that was important to m ‘ewa: Ghosyhead {1997|, your last album before I's Lie This, appears to be out of print somes: | was at Reprise when 1 recorded it and then took it with me when I went to ‘Mercury, Within a yeas, Danny Goldberg, who had signed me to Mercury, was fired: 1 was fired with him, And Ghostyhead was the sacrificial lamb. Mercury kept it but didn't release it ‘ewa: Some of your songs are so closely iden: tifled with you. Do you ever get tired of any of them? oso 8Sweet Capi po 0 Mine Solo acoustic adaptations * maemo (oo Pereecctien and Guns N’ Roses’ “Sweet Child O’ Mine”by JIMMY BROWN melody or chord voicing if t sounds pleas ing andl feels easies to play.) Fuse a fatpick to perform this part. but feel free to play it fingerstyle or use hybrid picking (pick and fingers). Now to “Desperada’s” accompaniment, which in the original version is rendered with great sensitivity and attention to, dynamic detail, For the frst verse, strum the chords illustrated in FIGURE 2 with a soft toch and a simple, steady quarter-note thythm. Again. you may prefer to pluck the strings instead of strumming them to RE 3 shows the chords you'll need to play the achieve a more pinnistic feel. F song’ fist chorus. For this part, you can use a laid-back strumming pattern, interspers ing eighth notes and few Loths into the uarter-note pulse. After the fact, L noticed and second-position chord that the first. pris Ise here are more or less the same as those employed by lames Taylos, though without a capo, on his classic acoustic bal lad, “Sweet Baby lames (Steer Baby James) (UF they're good enough for IT then they're or “Unplagging!”) The chord. progression on the second certainly good enovig verse of “Desperado” isthe same as the first verse, with the exception af the G6 chord (all chotd names ate relative to the capo), Instead of playing this ehord for the last wo beats of the second and sixth measures (at 132 and 1:48 respectively), substitute a bassline “walldlown” back the D chord Using the G, D/F# and A7/E-voicings depict ed in FIGURE 4, The second chorus differs somewhat from the firs, as well. Instead of playing tim7, then U7, in the seventh bar (2:24), strum the Eim7 chord shovwn in FIG URE 5 for the entize measute (Followed by Azsusd and A7) The song's third and final verse, like the fist, goes to G6 on the last two beats of the second and sixth measures, but the €/D chord on beats three and four of the fist placed by a Cr 1p9jt# bassline "walkup” from D to G. FIG: URE 6 illustrates these two passing chords (heard at 2:33 and 2:49). Beginning with the seventh measute, Don Henley employs and fifth measures is Figures 17 are be played with a capo a he fit re. Al ablture potions and chord shapes are ‘lative tothe capa All noes and chords sound a perfect fourth higher than writen (key af). FFGURE “Desperado planoinware ae ge RE 6 @ & Zee & fim oc © a off ao & = ce (Oat pausing on A7susd before ending the song brilliant vocal “tag” to bring the song co a dramatic climax (he sings the lyric “Let somebody love you" three times, using dif ‘with a restatement of the first two bars of the intro (end on aD chord with a pro- nounced elegant strum). We now move effortessly from our arrangement of @ midSeventies country: ferent melody notes over different chords cach time). Play the voicings shown in FIG URE 7 behind these Inst three vocal lines, tumeumuoseume 25pop piano ballad to an acoustic adaptation of a late-Fighties hard: rock anthem, Guns N’ Roses’ “Sweet Child O' Mine." The immedi ate challenge here isto play Slash’ catchy and melodic electric gui {ar intro in a manner which evokes the original and yet makes sense fon the acoustic, | overcame this hurdle by placing a capo at the sixth fet, where as depicted in FIGURE 8, | play the intro an octave lower using several open-string notes. This interval pattern, which ‘was originally played in the 12th position in the key of D (the actu al pitch being Db, since all the guitars on the original recording ‘were tuned down one halE-tep), is performed here as if it were in (transposed, via the capo, up three whole steps to the original key Cf D flat. Playing the intro this way enables you to allow all the notes in each measure to ring together, which sounds more flow. ing—and more acousticsh—than it docs playing them marcato Figures 8-10 are played wit a cape at the sist ft. ll ablature postions and chord shapes are Felative tothe cao. All motes and chords sound thre whole step higher than written (key of Db) FOURE “Snes Chit Oia efor sons. eee FGURES “Spee hd OMe” vere nd chars chord 2 © mee) D ineronst ridge and otro chords on Geeta 7 “DESPERADO” Wes ne Msc by Donley and Glo Fey Coy USI Al igs sensed y Permission WARNE ES “SWEET CHILD O' MIE Words nd Ms by xR Say Sa pete 3 AL LEONARD CORPORATN 78 WOODY CREEK MUS UCATONS US IN, Mm FL32014 ut ose Meagan, and Stove Aer yh © 1907 NSN ROSES MUSE ASAP). erate Cope Seed AS Reseed (detached) a la the original version, which was backed by a full rhythm section, The only thing you may find difficule about performing the song's intro this way i fin ‘ering the second chord shape (Am), I this unusual grip feels uncomfortable to you. try practicing it with the capo moved up a couple of frets until your hand gets used to grabbing the shape, after which you can move the capo back down Deploying the capo at the sixth fret makes the rest of “Sweet Child O° Mine” a breeze to play. Simply stram the open chords illustrated in FIGURE 9 for the song's verse and chorus sections, and those depicted in FIGURE 10 for the bridge, guitar solo and outro sections. Use a laid-back eighth-note “pendulum” strumming pat tern forthe verses, moving your picking hand down and up across the strings, even if you choose not to strum every single eighth note As in the original version the first two chords ofthe chorus (inthis @ D and F) should be punctuated with accented strums separat ed by rests Playing the song this way should provide you with a full-sounding and satisfying “one-man-band your voeal. When performing “Sweet Child O' Mine” in an “unplugged setting, realize that i’ perfectly okay to cut the “solo” accompaniment to section a litle shor if there's no one else playing a lead with you {lt you do have another guitarist joining you. youll be able to replicate the beautiful sonority that results from playing th repeat tc intro figure over the verse chord progression as Guns N’ Roses ultarists Slash and Izzy Stalin’ dion the original recording. The combination of the two guitar parts sounds especially gorgeous on the second chord, where the AMT arpeg gio is superimposed over the F chord, ceat ing an Fo/9#11 sound.) As alas, allow yourself to follow your musical instincts when strumming, adding accents oF using consecutive downstrokes during certain part of the song if you are so moved. Also keep in mind that when using 2 capo you always have the option of low ering the song toa different key to suit your (or another singer's) vocal range. See you 26 ca wa ee26 samaowy sceWeta a tO ier tees oe OTe) ditional A Sree Pes tones on Sailing to Philadelphia. eae Coen ee er eet eee stratocaster wall of ire air of wistful melancholy tothe album. Straits hits ike “Sultans of swing” and with the gultarist’s current band, Se eee ee ee eae at coed guitarist sensibility emerged fom Glenn Tilbrook and Chris ifford, time to time during his tenure with Salling to Philadelphia embraces. a Dire Straits witness, for example, the range of roots music styles, from evocative resonator guitar work on bluegrass and blues to rockabily and Romeo and Jule" or the crisp nylon even a touch of mariachi, The ttle string arpegglations of “Private track was inspired by a Thomas ear et Se ee have also played a large role in exploits of charles Mason and Cee ee ee eset ya plored the early American wider: Cee ee Ro) steeped in angle American folk guitar Dixon line, the traditional boundary traditions. These Influences make between the north and south. Their themselves heard on the his new adventures become a kind of ea ee eed ee te ee eee ea cases Knopfiers songwriting, vocals America's musical terrain. But wile re ee es ee ae em eo eed eee ee ee et Pree ‘wm voussousre 29Gumak wom acousnic: Sailing (0 Philadelphia's title track—along with other songs on the album—evokes both sides of the American dream, There's that sense of wide open spaces, freedom and newness, butalso a sense ofthe inherent divisiveness ‘of American society: black vs. white, the Mason and Dixon line MARK kNoprLER: That is perceptive of you But, you know, when I started the record, 1 ‘wasn't even thinking of thematics a all was only after Id written “Sailing to Philadelphia" that 1 realized that I vas leaning in certain directions, and that the album was really about America and ‘American music. Sort of the journey that music has made back and forth between Europe and America ‘wa: Why did you choose James Taylor for the duet in ‘Sailing to Philadelphia?” kwoprten: | think alot of songwriters hear voices in their head that go with the susie they're writing, 1 just had James in ‘mind for that melody and for the charac ter in the song, It's a bit like casting a ‘movie. We were doing a ltl bit of work together, anyway. James asked me to pro duce some stuff, and I suggested that he ‘might just want to come and watch my band working and maybe we could record a couple of things for him. He came by and I used that time to record the “Sailing to Philadelphia” thing, And it worked out beautifully | think. James! ‘own accent is perfect for that English West Country accent of his charact Charles Mason. They're related, linguisti- cally and historically | guess. ‘owa: Several of the songs on the new album draw from American folk ballad melodies and chord progressions. “Speedway at Nazareth” is per- haps the best example. It’s an old ballad melody that crops up in Woody Guthrie's "Buffalo Skinners,” among other places. Were you consciously trying to reference that tradition? moerusk: Definitely. { wrote the song many years ago, but it always began with the same Tine, “After 2000 came 2001." liked the idea of treating the futuee as though it were the past. So I wanted the beginning of the song to just fall into folklore, as it were. | wanted it to begin with thet bluegrass Appalachian-ballad kind of a mood. But then it goes someplace else. Although | think the Moog part in the beginning tells {you right from the start that its gonna go someplace else ‘ewa: How long ago did you write the song? sovorrusn: 1 think I fist started eying 10 record it in "93. ‘owa: On first glance it seems a nice piece of fiction—the hard travels of an itinerant 30 smu won sce racecar driver. You've done a bit of auto rac- ing yourself, haven't you? And you had a crash in 1986, worrusR: Oh well, I didn't have much of a crack, I mean, everybody crashes. No, that song wasn't really too much to do with me A friend of mine, [auto racer] Stephan Johansen, once told me about his rookie season, traveling around, Itwas really about the Indianapolis 500, about what he had to “Pm very lucky that I had rock and roll, blues and folk roots to draw upon.” Spepspraspsnresesnrssesssesesrerasere rarer Se do to qualify, that got me started on that song, For me, it just represents the strugle Whatever the prize is at the end, you need certain qualities to get through. You need perseverance and toughness to get through, ‘no matter how illogical it might seem to an ‘outsider, That attracts me somehow. ‘awa: I guess you can draw an analogy to an itinerant rock musician, touring around the country, which is the theme of several other songs on the album, like "The Last Laugh,” and “Do America.” seworrusn: Yes, that’s very much part of it ''m just auracted to people who don‘ quit. ‘awa: Were you a big fan of American folk music growing up? wworsueR Of course. Once my dad had sprung for ared Hofner electric guitar, I did n't have the heart to ask him for an ampli et, So I used to end up borrowing friends acoustic guitars. And that got me into the folk clubs, From the age of 11, I got hooked on Bob Dylan's first album [Bob Dylan (Cohurbia}. And my interest in te blues was also developing around then. 1 really wanted to play American folk music and Bes. And! found out, ofcourse, that fot of American folk songs were im fact the Celtic fol songs of the Scots, English and Irish | heard an ae lot ofthat msc aswel inthe cubs and that influenced me too. So 'm very lc that {had rock and ral, lesan flkoots to dave upon twas pleased that | managed t0 go dovn those different avenues atthe same time wn: Did playing ingericked acoustic tarly on have something to do with the fingerpicking syle that you later devel- oped on cleric guitar iorriee: Absolutely | ust started break- ing the rules of folk fingerpicking. | advanced that fingerpicking syle into Country blues, and. began’ emulating things like stride piano styles, Bling Blake, ragtime, western swing and all the rest of that. That's how the sie just bas cally evolved toma: Speaking of the blues {noticed the song “Tunkie Doll” quotes the melody fiom Mississippi Fred McDowell's "You Gotta Move xnorrse Yeah I just all comes out. All that stuf. never thinkof specifi tiles at all, but 1 suppose it is thal, yeah. Or “Siting on Top of the Worl.” It goes i, gets squeezed around a bit and comes fut ay something ese 1 think a Tot of Songwriters are that way. You're just a Sponge You absorb stuf. 1 only realized 2 couple of months ago that the fist song. on the album, “what Ie” has gitar ick thats slighty reminiscent of 2 song called “The Bonny Banks of Loch Lomond.” which g0es “you take the high road and fl ake the low road, and Il be in Scotland before you." Its-a very wellknown Scottish song that | used to sing when | was a tny re boy in Glaggow. And the song 1 seote ie about Edinburgh! So these thing est hap pen unconsciously, The lst thing I would dream of would be to steal the phrase direct awa: Did you discover country. music around the sme time you were playing all these other styles! E iorriee Fd listened to county music on f the radio asa very small child without even £ realizing it was countty music. Some of € those songs made their way onto children’s © radio, like Buel ves stuff And you'd hear Ray Charles singing country songs on the radio, We didn't now he was black or that he was considered an r&b rather than a country anst. I didn't even ove the term “county and western,” If we heard a DonMARK KNOPELER Gibson song like “Sea of Heartbreak,” we just thought itwas a pop song, But I was ls. tening to it all madly and absorbing it all. So 1 think its just natural for me to fit it right in with all of that. ‘ewa: Tell me about some of the guitars you used on Sailing to Philadelphia, worrtsn: Well, there's a Gibson Southern Jumbo; a ‘52 or ‘53. You know, that was a good year for guitar building, I's a great tle guitar for the kind of flarpicked strum- ‘ming | do on the record, ‘ewa: Have you had it for a while? oorruan: Not a great deal of time. Not as long as my other flattop that 1 use for peers nee ae ern Peace Monat amen acs 22 sumawa nome recording a lot, a Gibson Advanced Jumbo from 1938, And talking about lat-tops, I've got a new Martin dreadnaught, just loaned to me by the factory, and boy are they mak: ing good guitars now. Absolutely magnifi fewa: One often sees you in photos these days posing with big archtops—fat old jazz guitars veworrtsn: Well, just because | love them. I really love the Gibson Super 400) although I didn’t get one on the record, ‘owa: Several of the tracks on zhe album— like “What It Is" and "Who's Your Baby Now" —sound like they have two or more wheel acoustic guitars layered, and maybe one is capoed, eworrusn: That's what it is, I'm on the Advanced, 1 think. And [co-guitarist] Richard Bennet is hitting his Gibson J-45, He's got a magnificent flattop that I try to get on record as often a8 I can. Richard is, Using a capo, I believe. Yeah, that’s two good flat-tops being thrashed to within an. inch of their lives. ‘wa: Ever since you featured one on the cover of Brothers in Arms, you've been asso- ciated with resonator guitars. When did you first become interested in them? wopeuex: I was about 19 oF 20 I got my frst National. 1 was always the Nationals, because of the blues thing. could already “Elmore James" it, so playing country blues bottleneck style was as natural as breathing ‘wa: The sound made by those steel res. ‘onator guitars bears interesting similarities, to that Stratocaster out-of-phase pickup tone that became your sonic signature. Both speak very prominently in the mid range. veworrur: Yeah, that's right. I've never thought of it diat way before, but I think that's pretty perceptive. The National seems to have its own voice when you pluck it, even with the fingers I's neither a wooden thing nor an electric thing, Maybe thats why it manages to find its way onto so many records. It just seems to find its own. line space. Its like a piano-guitar some: times, when i’ played with the fingers. And there's something rather magical about a silver guitar. Maybe it's just that childish attraction to something vulgar [laughs] 1 don’t know what it is, But I loved them from the get-go. wa: Do you have a bunch of National steels now? vwoer.sa: I only have two. I found the fire fone around 1969, advertised in Exchange ‘and Marts magazine for 85 pounds [apprax. $200 at the time. | just borrowed the ‘money, borrowed a car and drove to North Wales in the pouring rain. I got this guitar and was so pleased. It was a tri-cone. And. then a few years later I managed to buy a friend's Duolian. The one that’s on the ‘cover of Dite Straits] Brothers in Arms. ‘ewa: Do you have any strong preferences for the type of microphones you use for recording acoustic guitar? xworruen: I have one that’s a fairly recent discovery, the Audio Technica 451, which is ‘a new microphone, surprisingly enough, but seems to work great. I's a litte pencil ‘mic, and you can just fool around with positioning it until you can get a sweet spot for acoustic guitar. awa: What is it that you like about an acoustic guitar rhythm—as opposed to an ‘NTN oH EB