I've always believed that the 45 rpm record was god's way of telling us the max amount of time for a pop song. Then take a quick break, let the band and the audience shift gears. 4-5 seconds is enough.
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medleys?
- Thread starter morgansterne
- Start date
okcrum
in your chest
Well, 9 tunes in 12 minutes (SB halftime show) is always going to be a medley. Many times, when a band puts together a show (as opposed to sets) there's generally also a story (for the lead singer) and the band plays continuously, so there's a medley of sorts, even with the tunes joined by vamps to account for timing, narration, etc.
It's pretty rare to see a cover band out here in the sticks do this (mostly because it's actual work), but it's pretty common in a place like Las Vegas. Shows are a long standing way to get a cover band into better venues and pay.
It's pretty rare to see a cover band out here in the sticks do this (mostly because it's actual work), but it's pretty common in a place like Las Vegas. Shows are a long standing way to get a cover band into better venues and pay.
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okcrum
in your chest
I don't know about that. I've always heard people in the industry call them medleys. 
I think that definition is partly determined by the amount of dead air between songs. Vamps are optional if you run a tight show.
I think that definition is partly determined by the amount of dead air between songs. Vamps are optional if you run a tight show.
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One way to spruce up a medley is to incorporate a key change. One of my bands does a "50's medley" that starts with "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" into "Great Balls of Fire," both in E, then modulates via a four-bar chromatic walkup into "Good Golly Miss Molly" in G. The key change -- moving up, not down -- creates the impression of an increase in energy, as if we were "taking it to another level."
This is exactly how I feel! If the audience is out of their seats, don't give 'em any reason to stop dancin'! I could never get that idea through to our BL in my last band. He always wanted to talk for 2 or 3 minutes between songs. NOT a good idea. String the songs together and keep people on the dance floor.
my jazz band does the mashup thing to great advantage and we have several medleys as well. but it's the mashups that get them excited.
great concept! great 'crowd control'!
and https://www.talkbass.com/members/40hz.73668/ got it right, IMO, the 'cleverness' is about having real entertainment value.
good topic!
Simple, but true. There is nothing inherently good or bad about a medley. I've seen them done well, I've seen them done terribly.
My all-time favorite...and stolen from Sir Paul...is "Sgt. Peppers (2nd version)" morphing into "Carry That Weight / The End" complete with drum solo and guitar solo trade-offs.
Riis
Riis
4-5 seconds is an eternity. Its been my experience that people will try to sit down the very instant you stop playing a song. We try to eliminate dead air as much as possible. My earlier examples were not segues, they were proper medleys.
I've been in bands that done both medleys and segues - it can work really well. One band did Dwight Yoakam's If There Was A Way segued to the Smithereens Blood and Roses into Neil Young's Rockin' in the Free World that went over well. Another band does the Grateful Dead's Franklin's Tower and I usually sneak Chameleon into the middle of it. Another band does All Along the Watchtower in E and we sneak one of the riffs of Roundabout. On rare occasions, that same band will play a medley of '50's tunes and suddenly we go off into all sorts of direction in the key of A - Johnny B. Goode, Whole Lotta Shakin', Rock and Roll, Crazy Train, back to Johnny B. Goode is one that I remember. The crowd ate that one up. So, it can work.
Twist and Shout > La Bamba > Shout (Isley Brothers)
Went over huge and filled the dance floor. We had to follow it with a slow song however because people were exhausted by the time they got done with the whole "a little bit softer now" part.
Went over huge and filled the dance floor. We had to follow it with a slow song however because people were exhausted by the time they got done with the whole "a little bit softer now" part.
In one of my old bands, we'd start our second set around 11:30 after going on break at 11:15 (gigs usually were from 10PM to 2AM). We'd do three or four songs then our medley. It started with Runnaway by Dion and continue for the rest of the set. I can't remember what other songs were in it but it was a mix of 60's, 70's rock with some newer country (90's stuff at the time) thrown in. Our set went, 3-4 songs, medley, 2-3 songs, another slower song and then 2nd break at about 12:45 or so. It was a long medley and it went over very well.
I guess it's a bit off topic, but I did a gig with a singer who thought it would be a good idea to mash up two rhythmic feels in one song. Unfortunately she insisted on doing this by having the band switch to a shuffle feel for 32 bars right in the middle of Locomotive Breath.
Needless to say, it was a train wreck.
Needless to say, it was a train wreck.
buldog5151bass
Kibble, milkbones, and P Basses. And redheads.
Yeah, for cover bands, unless there is slow dancing to be done, ballads (and most mid-tempo songs) have no place on the set list.
I got a to Vote Maybe. Depends on the band and the song. Here in Austin "Need more cowbell" mashes hip hop and pop hard rock songs together and it is a quite great drunken experience. I dont want to even hear a Rush song let alone a medly YMMV
YMMV
We used to do The Joker (Steve Miller) and Rocky Mountain Way (Joe Walsh) with the talkbox. Even though the original recording of The Joker didn't have one, it sounded cool enough to work and led into the next song without a hiccup. Medleys, like any other material, are great for cover bands IF they are able to pull them off. Single songs or medleys can be either glorious or excruciating, depending on the planning and execution. To eliminate dead air or too much talking between songs, the song introductions (or whatever speaking was done) always had accompaniment, usually a Rhodes with a phase shifter. This didn't change the amount of time spent on introductions, etc. but made them seem less like a high school PA announcement and more like an intimate part of the show for the audience's benefit.
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