Selection of Rock & Pop Mandoling covers

[Howard33]

In my ongoing attempt to suss out interesting mandolin tidbits off the beaten path, I put together this little collection of Mandolin covers from some interesting and daring people over at YouTube.

Whether you love them or hate them, they're willing to take their mandolins on a journey that alot of players would likely scoff at, and in my book that makes them pretty darn cool. Anyway, hope you enjoy the trip...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RuD2RVxb3o - What Goes Around: Justin Timberlake.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qhtLj4g6L0&feature=related - Clarity: John Mayer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D37oFAx0H3w&feature=related - Say: John Mayer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hheF-AgCqIg&feature=related - Lucy In The Sky With Diamond: The Beatles

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIyHM51Jnb4 - Closer: Nine Inch Nails

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRIgohyKOmU&feature=related - You Shook Me All Night Long – AC/DC

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZdYm5LtEM8&feature=related - I Will Follow You Into The Dark: Death Cab for Cutie

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AyvMe9sAiU - My Love: Justin Timberlake (This young man uses an electric mandolin, a pedal and recorder to do some truly interesting stuff)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUrv-U9jHfI - While My Guitar Gently Weeps: The Beatles

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tt3fYVp1PRk - Creep: Radiohead

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95VvAP0WMmE - No Rain: Blind Melon

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIsKgI_ew_Q - Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door: Bob Dylan

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nizmcVZnySw - Easy: The Commodores

*There really should be an option to change the title of a thread, for when people like me misspell stuff.*

[Howard33]

Anyone found a video they liked out of the ones provided so far?

[cowcaster88]

My vote is for "No Rain: Blind Melon"

[chasray]

No Rain gets my vote, too.

[Patrick Gunning]

I personally like the "What Goes Around" video, and have arranged it myself w/ acoustic guitar and mando. A good song, especially the last part (coda?).

[mandolooter]

Here's another one for the rockers!

[mandocrucian]

Early '90's footage.

NH

[Bob Andress]

These kids (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSUX9byu6NY) are making a few bucks.

[Santiago]

Don't forget the entire Jim Richter channel on YouTube with a lot of great rock songs on mandolin. Hey, does anyone have the mando chords to While My Guitar Gently Weeps? The melody's easy to figure out, but I'd like to encorproate the chords.

[Howard33]

Don't forget the entire Jim Richter channel on YouTube with a lot of great rock songs on mandolin. Hey, does anyone have the mando chords to While My Guitar Gently Weeps? The melody's easy to figure out, but I'd like to encorproate the chords.

Santiago - I'm very familiar with that particular channel on Youtube. The only reason I did not add it to this selection is because I assume that most members here are already familiar with Jim and his covers.

[JeffD]

Whether you love them or hate them, they're willing to take their mandolins on a journey that alot of players would likely scoff at, and in my book that makes them pretty darn cool. Anyway, hope you enjoy the trip...




Cool stuff I admit. The only thing I take issue with is your characterization of (alot of)mandolin players as scoffers. I mean, look at the list of musical genres covered on this site.

There may be many mandolin players who would say this or that genre is not for them, but very few would say its not for the mandolin.

[Howard33]

Cool stuff I admit. The only thing I take issue with is your characterization of (alot of)mandolin players as scoffers. I mean, look at the list of musical genres covered on this site.

There may be many mandolin players who would say this or that genre is not for them, but very few would say its not for the mandolin.

JeffD- When I said that I meant in general not specifically this site. Let's face it, if more mandolinist or instrumentalists in the musical profession looked at the mandolin as something more than a "niche" instrument then we would see it's use alot more.

Maybe its that non-mandolinist don't really realize the instrument actually is versatile and has applications outside of Celtic, Bluegrass and Folk tunes. Maybe its that most mandolin players came to the instrument because of a love of the "traditional" standards and simply enjoy playing them to the general exclusion of say rock music interpretations.

But even here, there is a mountain of "traditional" material for the mandolin compared to Blues or Rock. You should pretty much forget Pop covers unless someone is willing to post a Youtube link.

Even the material listed in the tabs section of this site for Rock and Alternative is mostly Led Zepplin and that is ten of the available eighteen in that category. Compare that to any of the others and you will see that even here, general tastes run to a more traditional leaning.

Now before I get called out about the breakdown of each category in the tabs section, I realize that sections like Klezmer have even less, but you could make a case that while Klezmer is a unique style, it has sound elements in common with selections in other catgetories. The same could be said for the Jiggs, Reels and Hornpipes and Scottish tunes all having stylistic and sound similarities. Rock and Alternative are different in that they generally cannot be confused with any other category in the tabs section.

Actually, if you want to take part in an older discussion on this exact subject, you should read the previous posts in the following topic http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/showthread.php?t=48159

[JeffD]

Maybe its that non-mandolinist don't really realize the instrument actually is versatile and has applications outside of Celtic, Bluegrass and Folk tunes.

Maybe its that most mandolin players came to the instrument because of a love of the "traditional" standards and simply enjoy playing them to the general exclusion of say rock music interpretations.

But even here, there is a mountain of "traditional" material for the mandolin compared to Blues or Rock. You should pretty much forget Pop covers unless someone is willing to post a Youtube link.

Even the material listed in the tabs section of this site for Rock and Alternative is mostly Led Zepplin and that is ten of the available eighteen in that category. Compare that to any of the others and you will see that even here, general tastes run to a more traditional leaning.



Responding backwards -

There is a ton of enthusiasm on this site for jazz, and for classical. Perhaps not as measurable as tab offerings, but nontheless its evident. One might even argue that tab is used a lot more often in some genres than others, so the results might be biased. I don't know.

It would be interesting to see how and why most mandolin players got started. I think you are correct - either a love of the genre, or a particular player, Jethro, Grisman, Thile, etc. I think there are a fair amount of mandolin players who may have been originally attracted to the mandolin soley because it was not a guitar.

I myself love playing the mandolin more (sometimes much more) than I love any particular genre of music played on it.


Non-mandolinists don't, for the most part, even know what that cute little instrument is, or why our tennis racket carrier is so fat.


But to the main point, I think mandolin players, of what ever stripe, are the last to scoff at the appearance of a mandolin in a unforseen musical setting, whether they themselves would take the journey or not.

One reason (and there are folks who could debate this a lot better than me) that mandolins don't appear often in rock or pop might be the dominance of corporate music in those genres, and the general hesitancy of "big music" to take risks.

Just thinking out loud here.

The clips are real cool though, no arguement there.

[mandolooter]

I thought this was cool...
but what do I know?:popcorn:

[Howard33]

Great call mandolooter. I ran across this one as well when I was making the list. While I didn't include a link to it, it still is in my favorites. I would love to have a copy of the music sheet he has worked up. I know he sells the intro portion worked for mandolin, but not the whole song.

[journeybear]

In my ongoing attempt to suss out interesting mandolin tidbits off the beaten path, I put together this little collection of Mandolin covers from some interesting and daring people over at YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIsKgI_ew_Q - Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door: Bob Dylan

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nizmcVZnySw - Easy: The Commodores

*There really should be an option to change the title of a thread, for when people like me misspell stuff.*

Gonna have to check your suggestions out, maybe listen while I'm writing or surfing. Just wanted to say that, of course, I've jammed a zillion times over the years on the Dylan song, but the Commodores song ... I was sitting in with a couple of friends at their gig, and they launched into that. Now, this is a song I quite ignored back in the day, when IMO radio was so bad it forced me to write songs so I could hear something good (so thanks for that). To find myself suddenly playing it live - what to do? Since I was using my MandoBird through my wahwah, and since I have a pretty good ear for melody, I played the vocal backup part in the chorus, high up, with a lot of wah to sound like a Leslie, and the crowd - and my friends - loved it. :mandosmiley:

BTW, our own Bill Kirkpatrick has some songs up ...

I believe an administrator can change the thread title, but it's kind of cool, the present participle of the verb "to mandol." :grin:

[Rick Schmidlin]

I just saw a video of The Jonas Brothers with one playing the mandolin.

[Howard33]

I just saw a video of The Jonas Brothers with one playing the mandolin.

Did you immediately have to flush your eyes with saline to stop the burning?:disbelief:

[Jim MacDaniel]

Don't forget the entire Jim Richter channel on YouTube with a lot of great rock songs on mandolin...

Agreed -- Jim Richter a solo mandolin god IMHO, worthy of hero worship, and I find his rock solos as inspiring as Evan Marshall's incredible classical solos.

[Jim MacDaniel]

And be sure to check out John McGann's wonderful mandolin cover of Yes' Mood For A Day (http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/showthread.php?t=30678).

[Charles the Bear]

I think that this guitar/ mandolin version of Kids is really great.

Charles

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goHVA21BhYM&feature=related

[Jim MacDaniel]

Early '90's footage.

Rock on Niles -- that was hot :mandosmiley:

[JeffD]

Actually, if you want to take part in an older discussion on this exact subject, you should read the previous posts in the following topic http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/showthread.php?t=48159

I responded there.

[Jim MacDaniel]

This mando-driven cover of Sailin' Shoes (http://www.amazon.com/Sailin-Shoes/dp/B000QOZXNE/ref=sr_f2_1?ie=UTF8&s=dmusic&qid=1238378980&sr=102-1) by the Blue Dogs is hot.

[mandolooter]

Great tune with a mandolin included...:mandosmiley:

[journeybear]

This is The Band's version (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3Cz3iuNJXc) of Bruce Springsteen's "Atlantic City". I prefer the way they do it. Levon drives it with mandolin, there's some nice accordion work, it's really sweet. I think I even heard their version before Bruce's, so I always hear it their way in my mind. :mandosmiley:

There's also this live version (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8Q2OA4tF6Y) of Levon and friends, including members of The Max Weinberg Seven. Apparently it was St. Patrick's Day 2007, which would explain the pennywhistle solo. No explanation for the poor video and sound quality, :confused: and Levon's mandolin gets buried in the mix pretty quickly, :( so I'd stick with the studio version above. Just watch the pretty pictures of snowy fields and trees and someone's dog and dream of boardwalks and sun and sand by the sea ...:whistling:

[JimRichter]

Agreed -- Jim Richter a solo mandolin god IMHO, worthy of hero worship, and I find his rock solos as inspiring as Evan Marshall's incredible classical solos.

Remember, a follower in the Church of Jim must tithe 10% of his/her income plus one mandolin to remain true to the faith. The collection plate will soon be passed.

[Jim MacDaniel]

LOL! If you are expecting a share of my mandolin-related income, then you just might owe me money, as I've been in the hole every year since I started playing this thing!