Great cover songs you can JAM out to...

[darkstar11]

Hey all...

I am looking for some cover songs to play, at an average "run of the mill" bar gig. However, I am looking for tunes that we can Jam out too... have some fun. We play a few Dead and Allman Brothers tunes and they are very well received. But want to branch out more.

Any suggestions would be welcome.

[big jilm]

T-Rex "bang a gong" is a fav live.

[Phishy4]

Eyes of the world, Liz Reed, Shakedown, Jessica. Used to throw alot of those type of tunes into our regular rotation. Of course we were a jamband by definition, so they were pretty standard tunes to our audience. Now when the Zappa came out, that's when it got interesting :-)

[puckhead]

Neil Young is your answer.
nothing too tricky, it's recognizable, room to jam.

Cortez the Killer, Rockin in the Free World, Downtown, etc

[JSeth]

"The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys" by Traffic... pretty recognizeable and easy to double-up the rhythm and have some fun with it...

"Heart Full of Soul" by the Yardbirds... lots of room to move there....

"Wild Nights" by Van Morrison

[baxen]

"Spooky" by The Atlanta Rhythm Section

[tnvol]

Mississippi Queen

[dk123123dk]

Dazed and Confused, How Many More Times, Whole Lotta Love

Older Floyd, Hendrix, Cream, the doors, etc.

dk

[anais]

Originally Posted by Phishy4

Eyes of the world, Liz Reed, Shakedown, Jessica. Used to throw alot of those type of tunes into our regular rotation. Of course we were a jamband by definition, so they were pretty standard tunes to our audience. Now when the Zappa came out, that's when it got interesting :-)

Most of the Zappa "jams" were 2 chord vamps. Everything else was pretty well orchestrated...a song more than an improvisational jam. I have worked with a number of players from various Zappa bands and even they would tell you that the "jams" would get pretty worn out after a few minutes. Look at the solo sections in Inca Roads or Stinkfoot or just about any song with a solo- 2 chords.

Most of the wookies and tree thuggers in the jam scene, and I am sure you can relate by your handle, love Zappa because it 'sounds cool on drugs'- which, IF Frank were around today, he wouldn't deny that being one of the catalysts for many of the orchestrations. It's still not 'jam band' music. I would bet that Frank would cringe at the word "jam" the way Jaco despised the coin "Jazz Fusion"... appreciated in their respective scenes, and both amazing cross over musicians in those scenes, etc.

Having said that we all can't look at a word the same way. When I think of jamming I think of pure improvisation within a group, not just a guy stomping on a chordal structure while the rest of the band does exactly how they practiced it in the basement, over and over. It gets a bit lame to do, and far more if you are forced to listen to it.

I think any cover sound could be great to JAM to if you have the right approach and everyone in the group understands the tune and can improvise accordingly and feel out the timing, understand the appropriate time to unfold the themes..

3am rambling here. sorry about that- had to chime in though.

[ChmpgnSupernover]

Train Kept A-Rollin

[Jazzydave]

One that's not mentioned that often (or ever) is Shower the People by James Taylor - especially if you have some decent singers in the group. You can extend that last section out forever and the chances of getting the entire crowd singing along are pretty high!

Another one I dig is The Weight by The Band. You could also do some medleys of old blues songs...

[small axe]

zepplin, phish, and some pink floyd come to mind

[StompBoxBlues]

Also a lot of the classics... "Got my Mojo Workin'" (always surprised me just how much this song gets the crowd going...can play it for a LONG time), "Going Down", "Good Morning Little School Girl"...

In fact, if you go to Youtube, and search for Govt Mule, look for the cover songs...they know how to pick a good cover to jam to. Also the same for their live two-CD album (Deepest End, and a few others) where they had tons of guests, and if you read the liner notes, some of them had zero time for rehearsal....just agreed up front "the riff goes like this, we do this one bridge here, and jam.." I guess...sounds great.

[GCDEF]

Pearl Jam - Alive

We usually close with Zombie by the Cranberries. The chord progression in that lends itself to an extended jam.

We don't play any, but we get quite a few requests for Ted Nugent, Stranglehold particularly. That would work.

[Beng2040]

Originally Posted by anais

Most of the Zappa "jams" were 2 chord vamps. Everything else was pretty well orchestrated...a song more than an improvisational jam. I have worked with a number of players from various Zappa bands and even they would tell you that the "jams" would get pretty worn out after a few minutes. Look at the solo sections in Inca Roads or Stinkfoot or just about any song with a solo- 2 chords.

Yeah, but that stuff is really interesting to listen to anyway. Hearing what Frank could do over two chords pushed me to develop my lead phrasing beyond what I could have ever imagined myself.