Hi all,

I've just posted a new live solo MP3 to my website - feel free to go and check it out and let me know what you think... It's linked from the mainpage on my site...

Steve
www.steve-lawson.co.uk

This is incredibly cool!!! And when the drums come in...WOW!

That´s cool!! :cool:

as always, you got me amazed! :)

btw... won´t you make another cd out of your MD collection soon?

When the drums come in? what have you been listening to??? there's no drums on the MP3 that I posted! LOL :o)

As for doing another album - it's in the planning stage at the moment - watch this space for more info soon... :o)

cheers

Steve
www.steve-lawson.co.uk

In my opinion that is a truly a magical piece of music Steve. You just locked me into a seriously contemplative mood, thanks. :)

Darrell,

that's really cool - it's is such a chilled out piece of music, and I find the sense of hope and expectation in the words particularly inspiring, even for an instrumental reworking.

cheers

Steve
www.steve-lawson.co.uk

I agree, I've always held a place in my heart for that song. You've definitely done it justice in your version, all the emotion that the words invoke still shine through in this instrumental form, it's all there.

I'm particularly fond of the late Israel "Iz" Kamakawiwo's rendition of it. He had such a soothing compasionate voice. I think it really served the song far better than most other singers attempts to. I think the way he splices "What a wonderful world" into the piece is great too, it's as if the two songs were meant to be together.

Darryl,

I've never heard that version (or heard of the artist!) - any idea where I can hear this tune, or anything else by him?

I find that show tunes are often very deep, largely because the currency of 'the musical' is often to deal with tradgedy and some deep emotions - Oliver and Annie looking at orphans, My Fair Lady and the plight of one working class girl used by Henry Higgins, Porgy and Bess and the slavery theme etc.

Another fave tune of mine that Intend to tackle at some point is 'wouldn't it be luverly' from My Fair Lady - given the tragic nature of the words, why on earth is it always song like a Cockney knees up jolly song????? The notion of a poor girl living on the streets singing of her longing for somewhere to live is so sad, it's always baffled me how it's usually performed. There is a great Roseanne Cash version of it on 'the Columbia Radio Hour vol 3' though... :o)

cheers

Steve
www.steve-lawson.co.uk

That was so beautiful Steve! Thanks so much for sharing it with us!

BTW-Now I'm gonna have the song stuck in my mind all day. I always found OTR a magical piece. (I'm a "Wizard of Oz" fan. Hehe).

Again, thanks! :)

Cheers,

~Stephanie

http://www.e-hawaii.com/iz/iznews-archive.htm

There's a link to the song on this page, about three quarters of the way down. Basically, what Bob Marley was to Jamaica, Iz was to Hawaii. This song is just him and his Ukulele.

Honestly I've heard more people regard to this version as being chessy than anything else, I think it's beautiful though.

It's all in his voice.


Very intesresting thoughts on show tunes Steve. I don't have much knowledge in that area, haven't listened to many. I'll add that to my list of things to look into. :)

Darryl,

thanks so much for pointing me to that - there's a gorgeous spine-tingling naive innocence to that performance. It's almost child-like in its simplicity but so full of integrity. It has a similar kind of spirit to it as the music of Mechanic Manyeruke (i don't think I spelled that right - I'll have to check the record tomorrow) - a singer from Zimbabwe (again, not certain about that! :o) who seems to sing from a similar place in his heart.

lovely stuff

steve
www.steve-lawson.co.uk

You have a way with words Steve, you perfectly articulated what I felt through listening to that piece. The best I could come up with to explain it was "beautiful". ;)

Iz most certainly brought an element of innocense to everything he played. I'm really glad you liked it bro.

I'll have to look into Mechanic Manyeruke now, thanks for brining that up.

on the theme of great versions of Somewhere Over The Rainbow, three other favourites of mine are Eva Cassidy, from the album 'Songbird', Herb Ellis and Red Mitchell from the album 'Doggin' Around' and Bill Frisell, from a live gig I taped off the radio... :o)

all well worth checking out...

cheers

Steve
www.steve-lawson.co.uk

Steve,

I've now been inspired to try and learn "Over the Rainbow" myself. The only sheet music I have to it is on piano so I've been trying to look at it from a "bass perspective" and I've noticed some of the notes get a little too low. I only have a 4-string and was hoping for a way I can substitute some of these low notes. I don't know how to go about changing it all for the bass. (I know..I know...it'd be easier if I had the bass transcription of it..yeah yeah yeah...) Any suggestions? What model/string bass did you use on your MP3?

Thanks :)

~Stephanie

Hi Steph,

if you're looking at doing anything even close to what i did on the MP3, you can bin the sheet music now! LOL - the chord progression isn't even close to the original, wasn't based on the original, and can't be explained in terms of substitutions or anything like that - it was loop I had going that the melody happened to work against in a funny kind of way.

The bass I'm using is my 4 string fretted Modulus Q4, with the opening chords looped with my Line 6 DL4.

As for doing a 'proper' solo arrangement - try changing the key - if it's too low, just move it up! :o)

get the melody down first, then a bass line, then try and put the two together, and finally work of filling in inner voices. Also, don't get caught thinking that both lines have to be going all the time - you can have bits of 'naked' melody and naked bass line as well...

have fun

Steve
www.steve-lawson.co.uk

Thanks Steve!

I'll try just what you said. The piano sheet music looked way too complicated for me. LOL.

I wish I had a recording of the song though..and I've been trying to find if I have "The Wizard of Oz" on tape (LOL) to listen to the song. The song's just been on my mind after hearing your MP3! Can't get it out of my head.

Thought maybe if I learned it myself it'd put my mind at ease. :D

...off I go.......:)

Cheers,

~Stephanie

Steph,

see if you can find a real audio or MP3 version of the Eva Cassidy version - it's beautiful, and dead easy to work out the chords and melody from.

Or if you can afford it, just buy 'Songbird' - it's a lovely album with loads of great stuff on...

Good luck

Steve
www.steve-lawson.co.uk

Wow Steve! What an original and beautiful take on one of my favorite tunes! The mood you set up with loop is just...ethereal. Amazing, truely beautiful.
It's funny, 'cos I have been doing "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" as a solo bass piece for a couple years now. I do it more as a chord/melody thing without loops....phrasing whole chords to flesh out the melody...sorta like if Joe Pass played bass, I guess. It always gets an amazing response from audiences. I guess it is true what they say about a great tune.
But I REALLY like what you did with it. Very clever and imagainative and creative. BRAVO!
Best, Max

Thanks for that Max, I'm glad you like it...

the coupling of the chords and the melody was a complete accident - I didn't play that progression with over the rainbow in mind, I just played it, and then was improvising over the top, and that tune was one of the things that came out... it just so happened that the whole tune fitted.

I might have to try a chord melody version at some point, but at the moment I'm doing 'fly me to the moon' like that, so one at a time... :o)

cheers

Steve
www.steve-lawson.co.uk