80s music on acoustic

[Sonics]

U2...



Prince...




Duran Duran...




...and erm...U2

[bones4fido]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZ8CoCy7YXY

We used to do this Smithereens song from 1986.

[steelvibe]

[Nymuso]

Originally Posted by Earl49

A great song is a great song, and will stand up to the test of being played acoustically and solo. Many good tunes are buried in heavy production values.

Earl has given the answer.

Look for the song underneath all the "stuff." If it's a good song, it doesn't matter what decade it's from.

[fazool]

This is my favorite musical- genre (80's on acoustic)

Look up some of the artists did amazing unplugged versions of their own songs.

My favorites are Triumph and Rush songs but more popular songs that translate well are:

She Sells Sanctuary (look up The Mighty Stef's version)
Turning Japanese (look up Fernan unplugged)
Hysteria fingerstyle (Look up Gianins Fiorentis)

lot's of great songs out there, especially by the original artists, too.

[Sonics]

Originally Posted by Nymuso

Earl has given the answer.

Look for the song underneath all the "stuff." If it's a good song, it doesn't matter what decade it's from.

Indeed, I considered Gaga a joke / bad Madonna clone. That was until she 'stripped' it down so you can actually hear the music (...melody, rhythm, harmony and lyric!) under all that 'production'...




...and in a similar 'keep it simple stupid' vein:

[sublro]

Wow that u2 thing was terrific! Except of course that now I want one of those Gibsons.....

[pjroberts]

Originally Posted by sublro

Wow that u2 thing was terrific! Except of course that now I want one of those Gibsons.....

Great rendition of ‘Stuck in a Monement’. I had to learn it first time I saw it, but took me a while to figure out it is in Open E — actually I didn’t figure it out, someone posted a YT video how to:-) Once tuned, it’s pretty easy to play. I’d play it more often, but that tuning thing puts a damper on things when I’m on a roll. There is another good Tongiht Show live acoustic performance with just Bono and Edge doing ‘Ordinary Love’ on a Taylor ... the house band kicks in at the end, really good (and also easy to play). Many U2 songs translate to acoustic, you just lose the Edge’s trademark effects.

EDIT: It’s the whole band acoustic, with the house band and audience joining in in typical U2 anthem style:



https://youtu.be/Fum3g86zUPc

[mattbn73]

Talk to your kids/grand kids. In the age of music downloads and streaming, my teenagers know more music from the era I grew up in than I do. If anything, it's just interesting to get an idea as to what's now considered classic, vs a song's popularity back in the day.

[Everton FC]

To keep this thread going, here are two of the greatest pop songs, of the 80's - one well known, the other obscure. Note Finn is sharing the stage w/Roddy Frame, of Aztec Camera, one of the great, under-rated songwriters of the same era. So it's tied in, intentionally.

Neil Finn - "Don't Dream It's Over"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSLKIKyg6MQ

Aztec Camera - "Orchid Girl"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtXyaltFpoM

How anyone could dislike these songs, would boggle my mind. Both very under-rated guitarists. Particularly Frame - one of the best, still.

[singlecota]

Please don’t get this as an opportunity to pump my yourube channel. I will never be a youtuber, so...
Check some of my 80’s and 90’s versions and feel free to amuse yourselves on creating your own original inspired on a cover version������

https://www.youtube.com/user/nunocasais

Keep up the good work man!
Cheers!

[RedJoker]

I have nothing to add beyond the fact that I hate you for sending me down the "Africa" by Toto rabbit hole.

Now I must learn that song!!!!!

[Sonics]

You could do no worst than delving into this man's back catalog...




...or if you want to go full-fat pretentious, his...

[Everton FC]

Originally Posted by Sonics

You could do no worst than delving into this man's back catalog...




...or if you want to go full-fat pretentious, his...

Here's McAloon on a few Prefab Sprout hits, purely acoustic. Brilliant.

When Love Breaks Down
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DZwRaC1qvw

Appetite
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6uTKJiD7iQ

[Pitar]

Sometimes When We Touch - Dan Hill and Barry Man (1977)

There's A Kind Of Hush - Herman's Hermits' version (1967)

Those Were The Days - Mary Hopkin's version (1968)

I just worked out the progressions to these as instrumentals. I suppose you could list them under cheesy at gun-point, but I always liked the melodies.