80s music on acoustic

[JohnnyT]

Awesome responses so far. please keep em coming!

and no I don't really care about genre or decade. just good tunes that are a bit off the beaten path and are familiar to anyone over 30 and most importantly are fun and achievable to play on acoustic.

thanks again!

[Proclaimer888]

Prefab Sprout....some great late 80' n 90's that work well with acoustic if you can believe that. Paddy expanded on the bands catalog and released acoustic versions of several of their tunes.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DZwRaC1qvw

[Sonics]

Originally Posted by Proclaimer888

Prefab Sprout....some great late 80' n 90's that work well with acoustic if you can believe that. Paddy expanded on the bands catalog and released acoustic versions of several of their tunes.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DZwRaC1qvw

Erm...interesting user name, which preempts this 80's classic:

[FrankHudson]

Originally Posted by cmd612

- There are some Aztec Camera songs I like to play, but they might be a little obscure if you're going for recognizable pop hits.

For double 80's goodness, I always loved their cover of Van Halen's "Jump".

I was playing my band's stuff in the 80s, but pop as in popular we weren't. So technically, I play 80s material when I play them now. None-the-less I think that a 12-string would work well for some of the tunes that used the all-too-common chorus effect on electric guitar.

The one 80's pop song cover I ever worked up was The Gang of Four's "I Found that Essence Rare." I slowed it down tempo-wise and did it on 12-string, and if you wham on a dissonant chord with those 12-string overtones you can get nice substitute for Andy Gill's electric guitar style.

[Stratcat77]

My solo acoustic gig is mostly 70's and 80's music. I sprinkle in some older and newer things, but the focus is on an audience that went to high school during the 70's and 80's. Here are a few from the 80s..

Died in Your Arms - Cutting Crew
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-mk...&t=0s&index=17

Little Red Corvette - Prince
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6r_6...G&t=0s&index=8

Stuck on You - Lionel Richie
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8O3...&t=0s&index=12

[Proclaimer888]

Originally Posted by Sonics

Erm...interesting user name, which preempts this 80's classic:

Yes!! The entire "This is the story" CD is absolute acoustic bliss!!

[Everton FC]

Originally Posted by Ozzy the dog

Not a huge fan of 80's pop but I do an instrumental version of Through the Barricades by Spandau Ballet that people seem to enjoy.

I've heard this done by Gary Kemp and Tony Hadley. They do "True", as well. I think this is decent stuff;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mRV4yA9xKk

And no doubt, the Proclaimers had some great songs!

To me, the best acoustic artists of the 80s, when they played acoustic;

Roddy Frame (Aztec Camera)
Everything But The Girl (Check out "Each and Every One", off Youtube - acoustic and the actual video. Pure Class)
Neil Finn
Nick Heyward
Paul Weller (and the Style Council songs played w/heavy acoustic)
Prefab Sprout
XTC
Nick Lowe
Dave Edmunds
Shakin' Pyramids (Obscure skiffle/rockabilly band - had "hits" on WYNU when I was a kid - college radio's best station, for a while).
The Replacements

Even though I don't like her music, Lauper's "Time After Time", is a great acoustic song. I think the English bands of that era had some decent pop songs that convert to all-acoustic, or at least acoustic-based tunes...

[hairpuller]

I would second XTC. If you want some real simple but melodic tunes try Jesus and Marychain, post psycho candy. REM also has some great alt country songs that beg for acoustic guitar.

Stay away from Joy Division.

scott

p.s. Let me know when you hit the 90's!!

[Methos1979]

We have just recently gone a tear of adding fun songs from the '80s to our set list that was decided '70s and '90s heavy. We are finding a whole bunch that are very easy and fun to play, and are quite well received. Here's a few of the recents:

Black Velvet (Allanah Myles)
Maneater (Hall & Oates)
Harden My Heart (Quarterflash)
Find Another Fool (Quarterflash)
Twilight Zone (Golden Earing)
(I Just) Died In Your Arms Tonight (Cutting Crew)
Call Me (Blondie)
Pour Some Sugar On Me (Def Leppard)
Billie Jean (check out the version by The Civil Wars)
Drive (Cars)

[Everton FC]

I'll add Billy Bragg, to the list.

[JohnnyT]

Originally Posted by Methos1979

We have just recently gone a tear of adding fun songs from the '80s to our set list that was decided '70s and '90s heavy. We are finding a whole bunch that are very easy and fun to play, and are quite well received. Here's a few of the recents:

Black Velvet (Allanah Myles)
Maneater (Hall & Oates)
Harden My Heart (Quarterflash)
Find Another Fool (Quarterflash)
Twilight Zone (Golden Earing)
(I Just) Died In Your Arms Tonight (Cutting Crew)
Call Me (Blondie)
Pour Some Sugar On Me (Def Leppard)
Billie Jean (check out the version by The Civil Wars)
Drive (Cars)

I recognize all these. Thanks for the list, I'll see if I can find some acoustic youtube versions of them to emulate.

[jaybones]

Driver 8 was a standard in the acoustic duo/hosting an open mic show.

So is Dead or Alive (Bon Jovi- even though they did it acoustic on an MTV Music Awards show, kicking off the whole MTV Unplugged thing).


Invisible Sun and Walking on the Moon by the Police are good acoustic songs. Also the Strontium 90 original version of Every Little Thing She Does is Magic is a killer tune.


Wooed a girlfriend by playing that one for her. Pretty easy "finger picking" (plucking really, with the fingers hitting the strings on the off beat), vocals accessible enough even for a non singer like me.


Colin Hay does a pretty sweet acoustic version of Overkill, it's almost a Men At Work cover, except he wrote it and was in that band.


Prince's Kiss is pretty cool, especially that 9th chord.

[SalFromChatham]

Originally Posted by PorkPieGuy

I love Sturgill Simpson's version of "The Promise."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEIW3zkVFb0

If you don't know this song, wait for the chorus.

Yes! Agreed.

Also check out CrowdedHouse tunes.... fall at your feet for example.

[Sonics]

This is early 90's (...so it just miss the cut), nevertheless everyone, and I do mean EVERYONE knows the chorus.

[jaybones]

There's a University of Phoenix commercial using a cover of the New Radicals' You Get What You Give (Beacon Street ft. Mackenzie Graham) that is pretty cool.

A little slowed down from the original, and I'm a sucker for a smoky female's singing voice.

I transcribed an early Nirvana song (School- I know its not 80's pop...) into a fingerpicked blues shuffle.

Wish I could post how I play it, but even though I've got Reaper on this laptop I haven't hooked up my USB interface and mic yet. Even if I had it in a .WAV file, not sure how to go about doing it.