Changes to Song Choices #2

Recording for the CD starts this weekend and i've decided to make the album not just Johnny Cash songs. I have recently been listening to Sam Cooke and really like the song Wonderful World so i'm going to do a version of that as the opening track.

I've also recently learnt how to play my own unique version of Roxanne by The Police which I played at an open mic session 6.3.12 and it was really well received so i'm going to record that.

I will do the version of Ring Of Fire that i've been playing a lot recently as well because it's a personal favourite of mine to play.

I'm also going to add one of my own compositions to the CD. The song is called 'I Never Saw Her Again' and I wrote it a few months ago. I played it at Cambridge Folk Club on 2.3.12 and it went down quite well so that's going to go on the CD.

As for the order of songs the opening track is going to be Wonderful World, the second track will be Ring Of Fire, third track will be I Never Saw Her Again and to finish I will record Roxanne.

Changes To Song Choices

I have decided that instead of doing Hey Porter on the album that i'm going to do Ring Of Fire. The reason i've decided to do this is because i've been playing Ring Of Fire at some open mics round Cambridge recently and it's been well recieved.


I've also decided that instead of playing the songs just like Johnny Cash played them i'm gonna try and put my own unique spin on them. For example instead of strumming the chords in Ring Of Fire I use a technique called fingerpicking which is where you pick the individual notes of the chord to make the song have a softer, quieter touch. This technique is used a lot in Folk music. I've also found a way of using this technique in (Ghost) Riders In The Sky.

Recording

The other guitarist in my band owns a studio where he has said I can record my Johnny Cash EP - All About The Cash. However, it won't be ready until the beginning of February because he is having some building work done on it. As soon as it's finished I will be able to start recording. Whilst waiting for the studio to be done I've had time to practise the 5 songs that are going on the album.

Johnny Cash Album

I had the idea of, instead of doing a cd of my own songs, doing a cd of just Johnny Cash songs. I already know quite a few Johnny Cash songs so I need to decide which ones I would choose to record for it. I have an idea of which ones I would do but they aren't necessarily the final decision.

1. I Walk The Line

2. (Ghost) Riders In The Sky

3. Big River

4. A Boy Named Sue

5. Hey Porter!

Similar Artists Research

As I said in my previous post the artist I would really like to sound like is a Swedish folk singer called "The Tallest Man On Earth". He has a very distinctive sound and has been called a young Bob Dylan. The reason i'd like to write music similar to his is because he writes really good lyrics and chord sequences/guitar parts for his songs.

Although my favourite singer/songwriter is Johnny Cash, some of the songs i've written are a lot more acoustic/folk style as apposed to Country and Rock 'N' Roll like Johnny Cash. I would love to be able to write like Johnny Cash and i've tried but he truly was one of a kind.

Another artist that i'm a big fan of is Paolo Nutini. He released his first album "These Streets" in 2006. Fantastic Album. He has a very distinctive voice but his guitar style is quite simple compared to The Tallest Man On Earth who uses some very tricky guitar techniques. I've tried to learn some of The Tallest Man On Earth's songs and I couldn't play them. Too hard.

Extended Project Ideas

What I hope to do for my extended project is to create a short EP of 3-5 tracks that i've written myself. I need to continue writing so I can have a good amount of songs that are my own. However, if I decide to make an EP of 5 tracks one of the songs would most likely be a cover. I don't know what though yet. I have someone who is going to help me do the recordings who has recorded me in the past. 


The main person at the moment who I listen to who gives me ideas and inspiration to write is an artist called "The Tallest Man On Earth". Below is a link to his Myspace page.


http://www.myspace.com/thetallestmanonearth