Killing the Blues is a song from the recently released Raising Sand album performed by what I think is the unlikeliest duo around: Robert Plant and Alison Krauss. I'm not sure who came up with the idea to pair a hard rocker with a bluegrass player, but the combination is often magical, with lush harmonies on some gorgeous songs. My favorite from the CD is the previously mentioned Killing the Blues. Since my friend Heather also loves the song, we decided to record it together for TG.
For those of you who like folk music, but have gotten tired of songs by Peter, Paul & Mary and other folk acts from that era, the Raising Sand CD is just the ticket. It's filled with what I think of as inventive, modern folk music that oftentimes borrows from other genres -- just as folk music did back in the day.
The challenge: The song, as performed on the CD, doesn't really feature much memorable acoustic guitar work, so the challenge for me was to arrange something for the intro, the interlude, and the outro -- and I did this by just sitting and noodling with it.
Heather, who had never sung in public until last week when we did this song at a party, adds a beautiful layer of harmony on top of my melody. Enjoy.
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dennisg Killing the Blues guitar lesson review upload
Dennis,
great song. I like that duo of Robert Plant and Allison Krause as well. You really have the full performance thing down. You have not posted anything for a while. I was wondering when you were going to put something up. I really liked those guitar fills that you threw in. Keep on stumming! Beaker.
great song. I like that duo of Robert Plant and Allison Krause as well. You really have the full performance thing down. You have not posted anything for a while. I was wondering when you were going to put something up. I really liked those guitar fills that you threw in. Keep on stumming! Beaker.
Dennis and Heather,
Awesome job!!!!! Excuse me while I pick my jaw up off the floor. Dennis you amaze me. That guitar is sounding so damn sweet. Your strumming and string picking on this song was outfreakingstanding in my opinion. Nice job to the both of you!! This has to be one of my favorites so far this year. Thanks for sharing. Now I'm going to watch this again.
MarkM
Awesome job!!!!! Excuse me while I pick my jaw up off the floor. Dennis you amaze me. That guitar is sounding so damn sweet. Your strumming and string picking on this song was outfreakingstanding in my opinion. Nice job to the both of you!! This has to be one of my favorites so far this year. Thanks for sharing. Now I'm going to watch this again.
MarkM
Dennis,
I love this so much. First of all, this is such a beautiful and (to me at least) poignant song. And the harmonies on it always break my heart with how pretty they are. You guys did the song justice. Your voices really worked well together and Heather's voice rising above yours does the same thing to me that Alison Krauss's does. I was also glad to read that you'd arranged the intro, interlude and outro yourself, because the first time I listened to your version I thought, "hmm... I don't remember this interlude- but I like it!" I figured I'd just forgotten how the song is arranged as it's been a couple of months since I've listened to the original version.
This might be my favorite post ever from you.
Suzi
I love this so much. First of all, this is such a beautiful and (to me at least) poignant song. And the harmonies on it always break my heart with how pretty they are. You guys did the song justice. Your voices really worked well together and Heather's voice rising above yours does the same thing to me that Alison Krauss's does. I was also glad to read that you'd arranged the intro, interlude and outro yourself, because the first time I listened to your version I thought, "hmm... I don't remember this interlude- but I like it!" I figured I'd just forgotten how the song is arranged as it's been a couple of months since I've listened to the original version.
This might be my favorite post ever from you.
Suzi
I don't know what to say about that other than Wow. Honestly, that was a great performance from start to finish. Once again, your song selection is unusual and great at the same time. Unusual is not the word I'm looking for, but I think you know what I mean. Your friend's voice is so lovely that I would be happy to fly to the West coast with my guitar for an opportunity to play with her. Congrats to both of you on a beautiful piece of music. Your audio and video setup is really good. This would be alot to ask, but it would be very useful to see a video of how you set up such a high quality video.
Dennis and Heather,
Wow, Wow, Wow! I am totally blown away by that performance. Everything was just excellent! From the choice of song to the guitar playing to the vocals to the sound of that lovely guitar to the flowers on the table to the smiles on your faces at the end! Congratulations to both of you.
Craig
Wow, Wow, Wow! I am totally blown away by that performance. Everything was just excellent! From the choice of song to the guitar playing to the vocals to the sound of that lovely guitar to the flowers on the table to the smiles on your faces at the end! Congratulations to both of you.
Craig
What is it you sometimes say Den? "I freakin loved it!". Loved Heather's nervous intake of breath just before she began to sing, and then her beautiful harmony. Loved your arrangement. Love your creativity and the sheer quality of your performances. Quality over quantity could be your mantra, and you always make it worth the wait.
It's your Sunday, my Monday. Monday's can really suck. Not today.
It's your Sunday, my Monday. Monday's can really suck. Not today.
Heather and Dennis,
Well I think Heather's look at the end summed it up nicely, 'gee we sounded great didn't we'. Of course Heather said it more modestly and I may be missing some nuances in the translation.
Bottom line, that sounded FANTASTIC!!
Dennis your intro, fills and outros kept me engaged for the whole song, they added colour and movement to what is already a gorgeous song. Maybe you and Robert should get together for a collaboration. I'd love to see what you'd come up with.
Your harmonies with Heather were really gorgeous and the understated nature of them gave them a surprising intensity.
I think you two should perform this at your next party. It will go down a treat.
You've sure got a knack of finding and closet singers and giving them the confidence to debut on the world stage. I was really happy to be part of that audience. Please pass on to Heather that we loved her performance and hope to see you two playing again sometime soon.
Well Dennis, you never disappoint with your performances. You've taken another great song that doesn't get much exposure and made it your own.
I really LOVED it!!!! (see you've got me writing in capitals and exclamation points again).
Michele
Well I think Heather's look at the end summed it up nicely, 'gee we sounded great didn't we'. Of course Heather said it more modestly and I may be missing some nuances in the translation.
Bottom line, that sounded FANTASTIC!!
Dennis your intro, fills and outros kept me engaged for the whole song, they added colour and movement to what is already a gorgeous song. Maybe you and Robert should get together for a collaboration. I'd love to see what you'd come up with.
Your harmonies with Heather were really gorgeous and the understated nature of them gave them a surprising intensity.
I think you two should perform this at your next party. It will go down a treat.
You've sure got a knack of finding and closet singers and giving them the confidence to debut on the world stage. I was really happy to be part of that audience. Please pass on to Heather that we loved her performance and hope to see you two playing again sometime soon.
Well Dennis, you never disappoint with your performances. You've taken another great song that doesn't get much exposure and made it your own.
I really LOVED it!!!! (see you've got me writing in capitals and exclamation points again).
Michele