TheJohnny7Band wrote: A lot of players think that to do a song verbatim is the goal. A lot of people like to hear songs very close to the original track. I don't. I think it's a trap, it's boring, and I am guilty of doing it myself a lot. I think the best covers are always option #3. Where the player takes a basic song framework and pours their own fresh groove, inspiration, and interpretation on it. Really epic covers don't come from the local bar band hitting every note. Epic covers are loaded with fresh groove and inspiration like when Hendrix covered Dylan, Santana covered Peter Green, EVH covered Roy Orbison, Rush covered Eddie Cochran, SRV covered Hendrix, Clapton covered Robert Johnson, and on and on.
"Take what you need and make it your own" is the old bluesman philosophy and it still rings true today. Cover songs that really move an audience are familiar songs with fresh, interesting and new ideas that take a song through a whole new door.
You know, I used to think like this. Now that I've been in a cover band, I have a different perspective.
People who know guitar, or who pay attention to that instrument and the solos of songs, they WANT you to hit every note - on certain songs. That's what they want to see. And they get disappointed when you don't hit every note on a signature solo.
But that's the key - signature solos on certain songs. Some solos are just wanking anyway; so you can take liberty with them, do them better, have fun with them.
But some songs - people want to hear exactly the way it is on an album. "Crazy Train", for example. If you screw that one up, people get disappointed.
So the key, for me, as a lead player, is to figure out what songs I have to be exact on, and which ones I can play with.
What I've come to learn is this: every song in the set list is unique and different and presents a different problem when it comes to connecting with an audience. Some songs you need to nail exactly. Others you don't. It just depends on the song. Sometimes all you need to do is get the mood of the solo right and not the exact notes. But the song and how well people know it will generally dictate that for you. Sometimes it's enough to hit a few signature notes in a solo. And sometimes you just gotta suck it up and learn the whole thing note-for-note.
So, I guess my point is: There is no "BEST" way for all songs. Some covers deserve to be embellished or changed and they actually sound better when you do that. And some need to be played exact...
