Yaniv’s workshop – Andrew Bird 3-Pack!! (Plus loads of Pavement, and much more!)
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3.1 – Singles from Teenage Fanclub and Andrew Bird!
DOWNLOAD /
Teenage Fanclub, the brilliant power pop band that Kurt Cobain called “the best band in the world”, finally make their Rock Band debut! Initially lauded for the sonically dense, guitar-driven anthems that heralded them as unexpected stars of the alternative rock era, the perception of Scotland’s Teenage Fanclub transformed over time, eventually earning the group a reputation as pop craftsmen famous for a distinctive brand of classicist ’60s- and ’70s-style power pop and folk-rock. Originally centered on the talents of three singer/songwriters — Norman Blake, Gerard Love, and Raymond McGinley — Teenage Fanclub emerged in the late ’80s mixing sludgy guitar riffs and memorably hooky choruses that drew inspiration from iconic guitar rock bands like Big Star, Badfinger, and the Byrds.“The Concept” is the opening song of their 1991 masterpiece “Bandwagonesque”, and it’s one of the band’s finest moment and a brilliant showcase of their talent. It’s filled with the beautiful, catchy melodies the band are known for, with brilliant harmonies and several guitar solos – making it a great fit for Rock Band.( *** note that the drum animations have been fixed from the preview )
DOWNLOAD /Since the turn of the millennium, few pop artists have established such a distinctive aural identity as Andrew Bird. A virtuosic violinist, singer, songwriter, composer, and expert whistler, his career has undergone a wide variety of stylistic shifts from his early days playing jazz and swing music to his mid-2000s reinvention as a savvy pop sophisticate and instrumental looping pioneer.“Two Way Action”, the opening track of his brilliant record “The Swimming Hour” with his band Andrew Bird’s Bowl of Fire, is one of his rockier tracks, full of guitar and violin riffs. The song is sang almost entirely in unison with singer Nora O’Connor, the melody is complex and changes scales and yet very catchy, and it’s a perfect demonstration of Bird’s abilities as a songwriter, and the magic of his band.This Year’s Model
Let’s start with the obvious: Elvis Costello is a legend of music. But for most of us RB players, he’s mostly known as “the Pump It Up guy”. This pack has 5 more tunes from the same album. However, it’s my honest opinion that while “Pump it Up” is a good tune, it’s not even among the best on this album, let alone his career – I would rank all 5 songs here above it.
So if you liked Pump It Up, great! Here’s more and better. But if you didn’t – don’t go into conclusions and still give those tunes a shot. They’re easily among the most entertaining charts I’ve ever done – drums and bass especially.
So here we go!
“This Year’s Model is one of the most distinctively brilliant albums ever to be released. For fans of rock music bursting with wit and character, it really just doesn’t get any better than this” – Pitchfork, 10/10.
Elvis Costello was always too much of a geek for punk. His voice is too high, his background is too high class, not to mention his affection for clever geeky word play. But that’s why he’s so interesting. “This Year’s Model” is the essential “angry geek” album, full of raw emotions and anger, but also cleverness and brilliance. It’s one of those unique album where every song is better than the other one. It’s a joy on all instruments, and I’ve loved every minute of working on it.
You can also say it’s fairly well regarded:
But Costello is only half (or really, a quarter) of the story – this is an album by Elvis Costello and the Attractions, so let’s talk a bit about those Attractions. AKA one of the best backing band in rock history. They are 3 incredible players: Pete Thomas and Bruce Thomas, are, in my humble opinion, the best rhythm section in rock and roll history. Yes, I’ve thought this through. Yes, I know Led Zeppelin and the Who and the rest. Those guys are better. I wish I could find a way to describe the genius of the drums and bass on those tracks, how absolutely tight and groovy they are, carrying the songs while never eclipsing them. But I can’t. You’ll have to play those yourself to find out.
Traditionally, the third player would be a guitarist, but here we have Steve Niece, whose brilliant organ and keys are all over this fucking record. It’s really the last twist in it’s brilliance, a completely unique sound – the tightest rhythm section imaginable, a genius songwriter at the front, and this unique, colorful, brilliant organ giving this record it’s unique vibe. And than there’s Costello’s guitar, which is mostly fairly basic and sits in the back – which is why I recommend vox-taring this album (playing guitar and singing at the same time), just like Costello himself.
And now, for the songs:
No Action
Link: http://dl.c3universe…63e255.03639895
Video Preview:“I don’t wanna kiss you, I don’t wanna touch.
I don’t wanna see you cause I don’t miss you that much”.Could there possibly be a better way to open this album? With those timeless words of rage and contempt, Costello kicks off the record with an absolute bang. Not wasting any time on build up, the might Attractions come in with full power, Pete Thomas banging those drums, as Costello shoots one of his masterful creation, a song about conflicting emotions. Starting as a simple “fuck you” song to an ex, “No Action” slowly unmasks more, and evolves into a song of jealousy and burning emotion. In one of his most breathtaking verses, Costello moves from his “I don’t care about you” opening stance to something else entirely:
“Knowing you’re with him is driving me crazy,
Sometimes I call you when I know you’re not lonely,
But I always disconnect it in time”.It’s one of those sprawling beautiful songs Costello is known for, while being an absolute banger and killer rock tune. It’s a perfect opening to a classic album, and now you can play it yourself.
Also, those drums!This Year’s Girl
Link: http://dl.c3universe…204e72.61435349
Video Preview:After the blistering “No Action”, it’s time for this half-title-track (don’t worry, the other half of the title will appear too). Lead by a steady drum beat – a tribute to the Beatles “Ticket to Ride” – it is soon joined by a great synth line and beautiful melodic bass. This is another chance for the Attractions to shine, while this time the bass is the star of the show, with an absolute classic bass line, as Costello delivers another classic. A steady, brilliant tune, this is probably the easiest song from this pack, but it’s not one you want to miss!
The Beat
Link: http://dl.c3universe…9c21e0.28457250
Video Preview:The title already says it all, doesn’t it?
Track 3 of this album is another masterful tune, once again brilliant drums and bass (seeing a pattern here?), this time with slight disco influences. Costello once again demonstrates his lyrical mastery, creating a complex, funny and clever tale with his lyrics. Instruments are all an absolute blast to play, the beat (see what I did there?) is infectious, and the song climaxes as Costello delivers an absolute classic verse over a naked drums and bass arrangement with one simple keyboard line:
“I keep thinking about your mother/No I don’t wanna lick them
I don’t wanna be your lover/I just wanna be your victim
I don’t go out much at night/I don’t go out much at all
Did you think you were the only one who was waiting for a call?”Pure perfection, this one is.
(I Don’t Want To) Go to Chelsea
Link: http://dl.c3universe…7dc303.80439149
Video Preview:One of the most famous tracks from this record, Costello brings in a reggae influenced vibe (but in the coolest way possible!) as he delivers yet another brilliant tune. I know I’ve been hailing the drums and bass this whole time, but for those last two tracks, they’ve really are unbelievable. The drum track on this one is absolutely amazing – not devil tiered difficult, but it’s so clever, and has an unbelievable amount of small changes and variations, as the beat seems to change almost every line. While the bass line is absolutely groovy and fun to play. Oh, and did I mention this song has 3 keyboard solos? Because it absolutely does.
The song itself is unsurprisingly great as well, and it also includes the second half of the title (“She’s last year’s model”), as Costello rejects the over romanticism of the Chelsea area (“Oh no, it does not move me/Even though I’ve seen the movie”). It’s catchy, cool, classic and fun.
Lipstick Vogue
Link: http://dl.c3universe…ae6505.07843190
Video Preview:Last but not least, a Costello classic, straight from this genius drum pattern, to the ultra-tight (even more than usual!) drums and bass. This is one of the Attractions hardest rocking tunes, and it’s pure virtuoso – from this epic bass line, to the drums solo, to everything in between. According to AllMusic, this song “serves as a showcase for the new group’s extraordinary energy and impressive skill, while Costello plays the role of the scornful cynic, spitting bitter words of one who has suffered third-degree burns at the hands of love”.
Costello is indeed in top form – shooting gems like “Sometimes I think that love is just a tumor – you’ve got to cut it out”, “You say I have no feelings – this is a good way to kill them”, and the classic “Sometimes I almost feel just like a human being”. Instruments wise, it’s probably the best in the pack. And it’s always been one of my favorite Costello songs. I wanted to chart it for ages, but took me a while to believe I was good enough to do so! So here it is, and hopefully you’ll love it as much as I do.
4.12 – Singles by David Bowie, Tom Waits and Buffalo Springfield!
Super happy to assist CUTstudi0s on finally bringing in the already legendary “Blackstar” by David Bowie to the game! 10 minutes of pure bliss.
David Bowie – BlackstarAuthored by CUTstudi0s and yaniv297Easily Bowie’s most groundbreaking and interesting feat, Blackstar is a final breath of sorts (figuratively and literally) for Bowie’s 50+ year career, and, clocking in at just under 10 minutes on the record, it’s easily one of his longest. The song takes you through a psychedelic rock/neo-jazz infused journey inside the mind of a dying man, exploring themes of death and his acceptance of it (hints that also appeared on other songs on the record like Lazarus), before culminating into a rocking finale reminiscent of his most popular days. -CUTstudi0sAlso, two more classic singles from me:
Tom Waits – Downtown TrainAuthored by yaniv297“They say that I have no hits and that I’m difficult to work with. And they say that like it’s a bad thing.”______________________________________________________________________________Tom Waits – fittingly, he said this during his Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame acceptance speech.And indeed, Tom Waits have no “hits”, and he never really seemed to attempt any either. His arguably best work was done right in the middle of the 80’s – the height of synthesizers and drum machines – but Waits was busy recording accordions and marimbas instead. He would spend hours trying to achieve the sound he wanted organically – in various methods, such as hitting the bathroom door with a two by four to create percussion – much to the frustration of his studio engineers, who claimed they could achieve anything he wanted with modern technology. But Tom Waits is pretty stubborn.But if he ever came close to having a hit – it’s probably this song right here. It took 17 songs, but right at the end of his magnum opus “Rain Dogs”, and after going through many different genres, “Downtown Train” is the first song that have any resemblance to the decade it was released in. It’s still quite far from an actual 80’s pop tune – but the snare drum, the melodic chorus and the smooth guitar line in it definitely have their potential. Which Rod Stewart realized several years later, when his infamous pop cover of this tune became a major Billboard hit. When asked about his opinion of the cover, Waits said he liked it, because “it paid for my swimming pool”.The Tom Waits original, charted here, is widely beloved by music fans. Rock Band wise, the guitar track is the definite highlight – smooth rhythm, a catchy riff that’s inseparable from the chorus, a great solo, and a sweet outro too. Other instruments are more basic, but are all entertaining and ever present. Waits is an unique vocalist, and you get to sing along with him, and the brilliant ways in which he reinterprets the verses and the chorus. It’s a classic from a legendary artist.
Buffalo Springfield – Flying on the Ground is WrongAuthored by yaniv297From one music legend, to another – but this time we go early, really early. In fact, this album is the first time the songs written by Neil Young (and Stephen Stills) would ever be released on an album. So early that Young doesn’t even sing most of his songs yet – this tune here, while being written by Neil Young, is sung by Richard Furay, while the duo of Young and Stills contribute their harmony voices, who will become legendary in the future.Despite being written extremely early in his life, “Flying on the Ground” shows the obvious insane talent Young had, and in my humble opinion would rank (at least) among the top 20 songs Neil Young has written. He would later transform it into a slow, aching acoustic ballad – as heard on the brilliant “Live at the Riverboat” album – but this original version is upbeat, and extremely entertaining to play on all instruments. The lead guitar is everpresent through the entire song, with large amounts of nice riffs and licks, while drums and bass are similarly active and varied. Furay does a great job of delivering this beautiful melody, while the Young-Stills harmonies are already as beautiful as they would ever be. This is a fascinating glimpse into the early years of a musical legend, but most importantly, it’s an amazing song that’s extremely fun to play on all instruments.
26.4 – Two songs from John Grant!
So, when I’ve heard there’s an LGBT week happening, my first thought was “awesome, I can do some John Grant for that”. And most of you are probably thinking – “who the hell is John Grant?”.
So far that I would answer, imagine Elton John, but if Elton John was a pathetic, troubled, self-hating alcoholic, who grew up in a ultra-conservative Christian family and was raised to hate and hide his sexual identity. He’s an extremely honest and talented songwriter. And the songs charted here are named “JC Hates Faggots” and “Greatest Mother Fucker”, but they’re not humorous or outrageous or purpusely controversial – they’re honest, brilliant and true personal pieces of songwriting. So hopefully, that was enough to garner some interest!Here we go!
“GMF”, stands for “Greatest Mother Fucker”, is more of a traditional piano ballad. It’s Grant’s most popular song, and for a good reason – it’s beautiful, catchy and has some awesome lyrics. “I am the greatest mother fucker that you’re ever gonna meet” – declares Grant in the chorus of a touching personal ballad, that analyses his personality and lack of self confidence. “Go ahead and love me while it’s still a crime” – slyly referencing his homosexuality – “And don’t forget, you could be laughing sixty-five percent more of the time” – sings Grant, as this number slowly drops in the final chorus, mirroring his shattered, fake self confidence he puts on for this song.It’s a beautiful tune to sing and entertaining to play, with some awesome vocal harmonies, cool drums and bass, and really interesting melodic ideas – give it a shot!
So yeah, after “No Pussy Blues” and the lyrics of “Stagger Lee”, it seems like I’m competing with myself for the least politically correct lyrics!But seriously, this song is extremely dark, troubling and personal. Grant is an homosexual that was raised in an extremely conservative house, and the title is a direct quote form his parents. “I can’t believe I was considered taking my own life, cause I believed the lies about me were the truth” – sings Grant, in one of the most honest and heartbreaking lines I know. The choruses are sung from the perspective of his parents, who explain how Jesus hates faggots, Jews, sitcoms, parking fines, “men who cannot tame their wives”, and “pretty much anything you want him to”. It’s personal, touching and just brilliant.Musically, it’s based on some heavy synths and piano, so key players how there should have fun. There’s no guitar, but the bass is totally awesome all through the song, and there’s even a bass solo – yes, a bass solo! And drums are pretty cool as well with all kind of fills. It’s one of the most unique tunes I’ve done, musically and lyrically, and it’s just brilliant.5.14 – Paul McCartney 5-Pack!
Thanks farottone for sending me some of his old stuff to complete – hope I did a good job!
By yaniv297 || DOWNLOAD ||
Going all the way back to 1970, this is a lovely tune from McCartney’s debut album, whose release pretty much led to the official announcement that the Beatles broke up. It was actually briefly rehearsed by the Beatles for the “Let it Be” sessions – with John playing a slide guitar that wasn’t included in the final solo version. It’s another lovely acoustic love song, this time with full band and some tricky instrumental parts. Another great classic by McCartney.
By yaniv297 and Farottone || DOWNLOAD ||
yThis one probably doesn’t need too much introduction. This ballad from 1984 is one of the standouts of McCartney’s solo career, a beautiful single with a great melody, and two guitar solos by none other than David Gilmour of Pink Floyd. A huge song and we’re so happy to finally bring it to Rock Band.
By yaniv297 and Farottone || DOWNLOAD ||
The title track to Paul McCartney 1993’s album, a nice, melodic, rocking tune. The guitar chart is very interesting, with 2 solos and a lot of leads and licks spread all through the song. There’s also some really nice 3-part harmonies. Great song and a classic opener to a great album.
By yaniv297 and Farottone || DOWNLOAD ||
yaniv297 writes “Nice, beautiful acoustic love ballad from McCartney’s 1997 album Flaming Pie. Even thought that particular song was recorded way back in 1992. Guitar is fairly tricky, and vocals are really nice. A great one to chill between the rocking tunes.”
By yaniv297 || DOWNLOAD ||
Taken from 2007’s “Memory Almost Full”, “Mr. Bellamy” tells the story of a gentleman standing on top of a building and threatening to jump. A curious, jumpy and fun song, it’s a favorite of many, and absolutely great to play in Rock Band.
Fun fact: McCartney invited Thom Yorke of Radiohead to play on this tune, but Yorke declined; he said he “really liked it”, but feared he’s simply not good enough at piano to play the required part (“the piano playing involved two hands doing things separately. I don’t have that skill available”, according to Yorke).Thank you, see you next time!5.17 – “Rylan” by the National on release day!
So, how’s it going everybody? We hope you’re enjoying those vacation weeks between world tours, and rocking out to those Beatles and Ghostbyob tunes. But in case you want a bit more, here’s a little something that’s both a teaser for leg 3, and a very special (as far as I know, unprecedented) event.
As you may know, The National – one of the biggest bands in Indie Rock – are releasing their new album, “I Am Easy to Find”, today. And I’m very happy to bring you a track from this album, as a full band custom, on the day of release.
Just to be clear: this song was not available as a single (or in any other way) beforehand.
It is not a live version, or any of the previously available versions. It is the studio version, released today, and this version was not released on any platform before today.
So here we go!
(No video preview because, well, there wasn’t time to make it!).
“Rylan” was only officially released today, but National fans would have known it for a while. It was premiered 7 years ago, and played live fairly often – even as part of an official KEXP set – but never made it to the records, until now.
It’s a big anthem, that’s both joyous and sad at the same time, as per usual for the National. The story of a quiet, shy, introvert child, who wants to be special (“Rylan you should try to get some sun, you remind me of everyone”), some suicidal thoughts (“Rylan you could take the quick way out”), classic National lines (“If you want to be alone, come with me”), before exploding into an emotional climax.
It’s already shaping up to be a career highlight, and makes a great band song. You can listen to it here:
So hopefully that keeps you occupied for a while until leg 3! This is not only a special opportunity to play this song on release day, but also a teaser to a full National pack – who’ll be released as a part of leg 3! So if you like the band – there’s a lot more to look forward to
” src=”/wp-content/uploads/invision_emoticons/default_SA_smile.gif” />More from the National, and many, many other great artists, is waiting for you in Leg 3 – which beings in Friday, May 24th. So stay tuned!
Suede – Outsiders
Suede first appeared in 1989, but by 2003, they were ready to call it quits. Like many bands, though, Suede just couldn’t stay broken up, and by 2010 the band was together again. At first the reunion was only to play a few concerts, but a few became a few more, and then Suede found themselves back in the studio, recording new music. Six years later they were still going strong and still coming up with new tunes, with 2016’s Night Thoughts garnering some of the band’s highest critical accolades. “Outsiders” was that album’s lead single.
Bruce Springsteen – The Rising
Springsteen had been “The Boss” for nearly 30 years when he released The Rising in 2002. With his finger still firmly on the pulse of blue-collar America, Springsteen wrote and sang about the subjects that weighed heavily on every American’s mind that year, specifically the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001, how it changed America’s place in the world, and how Americans themselves should respond. These thoughts and verses resonated well with Springsteen’s listeners and critics, and the title track in particular was deemed one of Springsteen’s best in recent years.
6.21 – HUGE “The National” project!
The post is probably too long to copy here so I’ll just link it.
Featuring 13 new tunes from The National, including some huge hits and fan favorites. Among the songs released: Fake Empire, Terrible Love, Mr. November, Graceless, Slow Show, an epic 8-minutes live version of About Today and many more!
This has been my main charting project for a while now and it’s good to get it out there. Amazing band and I hope I did them justice!
Also, some really great openers by Wilco, Big Thief, Silver Jews and Cass McCombs!
Thanks again Egead, BornGamerRob, Derek and Zombie Capone for working with me on this project!
Hope you like it! Check out the post, it’s quite nice
” src=”/wp-content/uploads/invision_emoticons/default_SA_smile.gif” />On an unrelated note, I’ve also collaborated with AJFOne23 on Bruce Springsteen‘s masterpiece “Incident on 57th Street“. One hell of an epic song. Check this one out right here.
Also, newly available is a Spotify playlist of all the songs I’ve ever released or collaborated on! It’s quite something and it will keep growing! Listen here
” src=”/wp-content/uploads/invision_emoticons/default_SA_smile.gif” />See you next time!
7.19 – Pavement 3-Pack, The Walkmen and Mac DeMarco!
5 new songs for Pitchfork Festival project! Also all of them are now in my Spotify playlist!
The Walkmen
The Walkmen are one of the best and most underrated indie bands of the 2000’s. Mostly known for their song “The Rat” – they were dubbed a “one hit wonder” for a while – they are actually a great band. They broke up in 2012, but ended up scoring another huge hit after their breakup – when the hugely popular sitcom “How I Met Your Mother” chose their song “Heaven” as the ending track of the last episode of the hugely popular show. So whether you liked the ending or not (I hated it), that song is pretty damn good. It’s a sweet, happy and nostalgic song, with a soaring chorus – “Remember remember, all we fight for!”. Great song by a great band!
Mac Demarco
Mac DeMarco at it’s finest in one of his biggest classics. An epic, memorable guitar riff, great fun on all instruments, and Mac apologizing to his mother about being a naughty boy – this particular song was written after Mac’s mother found online a video of him sticking up drumsticks up his, well, backside. Here’s Mac himself explaining this song:
“That’s about the family. A lot of songs are about the family on the album. I did a karaoke set in Montreal last spring, and I ended up getting really, really drunk. All my clothes came off, beer got poured over me, percussive instrument tools found their way into my butt and my friend took a video of the thing. I thought it’d be funny, but it goes on YouTube and my aunt sees it, and my whole family. And they were not too pleased. My mom was like, “Mac—what’s going on?” My aunt freaked out and thought I was smoking bath salts. I didn’t present some song to say, look, I’m sorry… it was all clear before. They understand that I’m just a bit of a goof. But I thought it’d be a fun thing to write a song about, so I did.” So, hmm, yeah, thankfully we got a great song from this!
Pavement
The opening tune from their masterpiece “Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain”. “Silence Kid” includes some awesome guitar riffs, entertaining drums, great melody, provocative lyrics, a tempo change and a time signature change – all in a short, neat package of about 3 minutes. It’s a legendary opening and one of their most coveted songs.
From the same album, this is a beautiful, darker and slower tune with an epic guitar climax. The song itself – whether it’s about war or tennis – is beautiful, nuanced and (excuse the pun) – breathtaking. Singer Stephen Malkmus is very emotional – as he sings “dad, they broke me…”, and the song eventually evolves into a rousing climax of guitar arpeggios and brilliant buildup. In my opinion, one of their best songs.
It’s a sweet, beautiful and nostalgic love song – whose hook just happens to be “I could spit on a stranger”. Full of contradictions – not unusual for Pavement – it’s a song with amazing melody, a huge range of emotions and sweet instrumentation that you’d love to play. Malkmus himself has named it as “one of the 15 songs of my life”, and he said: “This song has a Beatles feel to me. It’s a pretty song in the standard tuning, which, as Rolling Stone readers know, means tuning your guitar to EADGBE, in the way that the Lord told us to do it. And it has that Nigel Godrich production — he can make the average guitar sound so good. But in Pavement fashion, the singer has to say, “I could spit on a stranger,” which is a slightly bizarre hook. Kind of dark and fucked-up.
7/26 – Suede 6-Pack and Manic Street Preachers!
Hello, time for a new release! A single by Manic Street Preachers, and a 6-pack by the magnificent Suede!
Check out the whole thing here
” src=”/wp-content/uploads/invision_emoticons/default_SA_smile.gif” />Also, song list and Spotify playlist updated!
8/25 – The Beatles and John Lennon!
Sorry for the lack of descriptions this time around – this song probably needs no introductions!It’s the f***ing Beatles and one of their most essential missing songs. Hope you enjoy it!Many many thanks to IMMCTNTJK for charting drums and helping in several other things in this custom!
On his debut solo album John Lennon closed the book on many aspects of his past. Much of the record was devoted to his troubled relationship with his parents, but The Beatles – in many ways his surrogate family throughout the 1960s – still loomed large in his life and career. On the song God he finally broke the spell, telling the world that the dream was over with his stark revelation: “I don’t believe in Beatles”.“God” is one of Lennon’s finest solo tunes, it includes an amazing vocal performance, two pianos played by Lennon and Billy Preston (which is why the keys chart have some “missing” piano licks – I couldn’t chart both all the time), great bass by Klaus Voormann and drums by none other than Ringo Starr. I hope I did this masterpiece justice!11/29 – Chart-a-Thon releases!
Honestly not the happiest release to start the party, but it’s an amazing song!
The Verve are one of those great Britpop 90’s bands. And “Urban Hymns” – which kicks off with the huge hit “Bitter Sweet Symphony” – is up there with “Different Class” “Parklife” “Dog Man Star” and “Definitely Maybe” as the great Britpop albums.
“The Drugs Don’t Work” was the second single from that album, and it’s a big one. It debuted ,at number one on the UK Singles Chart, ranked number seven on Channel 4’s list of the 100 Greatest #1 Singles, and chosen by NME as number 78 on its list “150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years” in 2011.
A sad and beautiful ballad, that might actually be about drug abuse, or might refer to the death of a sick relative, the song received a different meaning when it was – coincidentally – released a day after Princess Diana has died.
Despite the sad nature of this song, it’s actually great top play in Rock Band. Drums alternate between a disco beat and regular beats and end with a beautiful repeating pattern, guitar plays all sort of lead-slide parts through the song, in keys you get to play a whole strings arrangement, and vocals, goes without saying, are brilliant and emotional.
Here’s more Manics for you!
One of the biggest hit singles of their career, “Your Love Alone Is Not Enough” is a rousing, catch duet between lead singer James Dean Bradfield and Nina Persson of The Cardigans. It’s fun, catchy, a blast to play on every instrument, and ideally sung with a partner!
This song also references a fair share of classic rock hits:
-“Trade all your heroes in for ghosts” – Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here”.-“I could have seen for miles and miles” – The Who’s “I Can See for Miles”.-“You’re as blind as a man can be” – The Beatles’ “Nowhere Man”.-“Your eyes stayed blue, baby blue” – Badfinger’s “Baby Blue”.-“I could have placed us in exile” – The Rolling Stones’ Exile on Main Street (well, that one is stretching it a bit)And also references a previous hit by the Manics – “You Stole the Sun From My Heart” – which I also charted in the past and can be downloaded here.Despite all the fan references, this song – like any Manic songs – has a dark side in it. The title “Your Love Alone is Not Enough” is apparently a direct quote from a suicide note written by a friend of the band, while some lines – specifically “I could have shown you how to cry” – references the disappearance/suicide of former band member Richey Edwards. The song itself is a bit of a “honeypot” to get into the band – as Wire magazine noted, it reels listeners in with something fan, uplifting and glorious – “And by the end of the year, they’ll be listening to ‘Archives of Pain'”.So, hey again!
And this time a super-team of dedicated charters – FujiSkunk, drummerockband and myself – have teamed up to bring you an absolute all-time classic that was somehow missing from our DB. We’re proud to present:
This all time classic R&B ballad is now available in all it’s glory!So Lionel Richie was taken aback by the initial resistance of pop radio to the Commodores single, “Just to Be Close to You.” He decided to write a song that would be a hit on the R&B, pop, adult contemporary, and country charts. Co-produced by arranger James Anthony Carmichael and the Commodores, “Easy” went to number one R&B and number four pop in the summer of 1977. The song became an all-time classic and one of Lionel Ritchie’s signature tunes. We hope you enjoy singing and playing along!Preview video right here:Just be advised that a few problems in the video were fixed in the finished custom – most notably the ending on vocals (we changed the alternate ending but at that time I didn’t update the vocals yet…). On the custom itself it’s fixed, along with other minor issues.
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