Acoustic set list

Forgive the x-post to uk.rec.motorcycles & uk.music.guitar, I read
both so here goes. I've done some acoustic duo stuff and I play in a
covers band doing guitar and backing vocals. I've been asked, by a
couple of venues, to do an acoustic set and have become tempted to put
something together. Trouble is, I'm struggling for ideas.

I'm no singer but there are some songs I can get away with. So far
I've got...

Wild Wood - Paul Weller
Back On The Chain Gang - The Pretenders
Maybe Tomorrow - Stereophonics

 

Creep - Radiohead

 

I rather like Pink Floyd's "San Tropez"; easy to play too, with only six
chords. Ideally you should have a piano accompaniment, but it's OK without.

 

Good point, I can do that one... plus a few other Foos

 

Easy to play but a fucking depressing song.

 

Never heard it Zog but I'll look it up

 

Heather and I are big fans, seen them loads, love their stuff.

 

Ziggy Stardust works quite well as an acoustic, if you can handle the ****
awful lyrics ;-)

Waterfront by J.L.Hooker. Can you growl?

Life by the drop by S.R.Vaughan is a piece of piss to play. Should really be
done on a 12 string, but run a bit of not too swampy chorus to fatten it up
and it sounds OK.

 

Crowded House

Del Amitri

Travis

....the list goes on and on.

A personal favourite "live/acoustic" is Thin Lizzy's "Dancing In The
Moonlight".
Everybody can sing the bassline, even if the don't remember the song..

Ivar

 

Difficult for the vocals to sound worse than the original, however.

Here's a challenge: I saw Lenny Kravitz do an unplugged, seven
minute-long version of "Are You Gonna Go My Way" on MTV a few years
ago. Stunning, it was.

 

C'mon young man, shirley you can do more than that?

Even songs like "All Right now" go down well acoustically. What about Hotel
California?

This is my acoustic set which seems to go down well pick a few from here: If
you need to TABS I'll mail them to you but I'm sure you've got most of them.

All or Nothing
All right now
Bad Moon Rising
Blowing In The Wind
Bring it on Home
Bye Bye Love
Cotton Fields
Crazy Little Thing Called Love
Crocodile Rock
Dock of the bay
Games People Play
Get Back
Gimme Some Loving
Give Peace a Chance
Hi Ho Silver Lining
Honky Tonk Angels
Hound Dog
House of the rising sun
I can see clearly now
I hear you knocking
I'm a Beliver
It doesn't matter any more
Keep on Running
Keep the customer satisfied
King of the Road
Knocking on Heaven's Door
Let it be
Midnight Hour
Mighty Quinn
Mustang Sally
My-Girl
Oh Boy
Proud Mary
Rave On
Rocking All over the World
Roll Over Beethoven
Singing the Blues
Spirit in the Sky
Stand by Me
Summer of 69
Sweet Home Alabama
The Last Time
We love to boogey
The Last Time
We love to boogey
Sweet Home Alabama
The Last Time
We love to boogey

 

Also true of Clapton's Unplugged.

 

Depends on your audience but for stuff that people might know:

The acoustic version of Bryan Adams' "I'm Ready", or Clapton's
"Layla".

"Wonderwall" (Ryan Adams, I think). Fleetwood Mac's "Landslide".
"Hallelujah" by pretty much everyone. Crowded House "Fall At Your
Feet".

or some nice Gordon Lightfoot. "Song for a Winter's Night".

 

Times Like These is a cracking song done acoustically

 

Run - Snow Patrol
Fall at your Feet - Crowded House
Street Spirit - Radiohead
Walk On - Neil Young
Redemption Song - Bob Marley

 

Madam George - Van Morrison. Utterly a piece of piss to play on guitar.

 

It is?

I guess that is the bit I missed then, as it sounds like a thousand other
songs sung by a thousand other singers from where I am sitting. Certainly
nothing I would want to listen to the whole way through.

Probably sound ok as an acoustic guitar number in a list of such songs
though.

 

No, I got to 4 minutes of 5:13. I would have turned it off earlier if I
wasn't typing the response.
Really 3:45 of that was unneccesary and didn't change my opinion of it.
Why, does something impressive happen in the last 1:13, like it getting in
any way good?

ok, no, I skipped to 4:39 and she starts going all maria carey on it, so I
guess the answer was it gets many times worse.

She is certainly a good singer if you like that kind of singing, although
singers for that type of music are hardly rare and it certainly doesn't do
anything for me.

 

Have you heard the chrissie hynde cover..... ?

Sublime.

 

That's a good call actually. I'll have a go.