Well it’s been a long time since I’ve recorded anything, let alone shared it. Here’s Alison by Elvis Costello. It’s from Justin’s Rock Songbook, so this might be a return to working my way through the rock songbook. Not sure about that yet!
This is mostly barre chords, including a C shaped one. I had a go at the intro lead lick as well. The original has lots of lead twiddling throughout but aside from the intro, I just did rhythm.
I used Moises to strip the guitar from the original Alison recording, so all the guitar you hear in the video is me. I learnt this song some time last year, but hadn’t played it in months until picking it up again this week when I figured it would be a good candidate to record!
Let me know what you think.
For those that are interested: audio recording was done with Garageband hooked up to my amp modeller. Video recorded with OBS & my camera, video edited in DaVinci Resolve.
The guitar tone , the groove and the mixing with the original track
Congrats for the barre chords workout and the finger picking
I’ll start the “intermediate stage” of the book when I finish the last 3 songs of the “beginner stage” and I’ll definitely use your performance as a reference to help me learn the song. Keep them coming
Nice and smooth and very chilled JK. I saw Elvis Costello the summer before last at an outdoor gig in Chicago and he still has it. Great song , great cover
That was great. It’s one of the songs I have wanted to learn, but I’m not at that level yet.
It’s one of my favourite Elvis Costello songs, and I have most of his albums. I got the album My Aim is True in 1977 when it came out (and I was only 13 years old). It definitely wasn’t my favourite on the album when it came out but a track that grew on me over the years. I mean, how can you understand the lyrics of that album as a 13 year old boy!!! But I bought it when I was 13 and still love it today. A good investment - the sticker on the cover says £2.39
Thanks a lot @jkahn for that video. Love your Guild too!!! Sounds really nice.
p.s. There’s a live version “Live at Holllywood High” on 7" Vinyl that’s even better than the original IMO.
How nice to see you back with a recording, JK! I like the smooth and laid back vibe you send out with this one, very gentle touch on the guitar and those tender hits on the strings are just beautiful.
Great tone too. A very decent performance!
Great recording and very enjoyable playing, JK! Thanks for sharing. First time actually hearing this song, never listened to Elsiv Costello much. Have to change it at some point.
Thank you everyone that has stopped by to drop a like or comment.
Thanks Rogier. Justin plays the chords like this in his tutorial. The pickups in the Guild are a bit louder than my Fender when it comes to the percussive hit for some reason as well
Thanks Mathieu I appreciate the kudos. Thanks for recognising the groove, being an ex-drummer I tend to emphasise the rhythm and time feel of whatever I’m playing. BTW, I skipped Ballad of Jayne and I Remember You in the rock songbook, just not keen on the songs.
Haha, I love that description Phil. Definitely a gentle touch for the feel of this one.
Thank you Dom! Appreciate your comment.
Thanks Eddie! Elvis Costello is an amazing musician, great you saw him live.
You’ll get there Ian. What was once hard becomes easy, and the impossible becomes hard. How great you’ve been into Costello for so long - I had heard of him but only discovered the song when working through Justin’s rock songbook, and came to really like it. Thanks for the listen and comment.
Hopefully there will be a few more Andrea now I’m back to playing a bit more. I hope you’re doing well and health is improving? Thanks heaps.
Thanks Brian
Haha, you got it Boris! I forgot about that! I recorded in OBS which wasn’t mirroring the image, it was really offputting. So I flipped it for recording and forgot to flip it back! Playing right handed is hard enough, I’m not going to switch any time soon
It’s taken me a long time to get my C shaped barre changes smoothly. Way longer than open chords or E/A shaped barre chords. Something to do with having the pinky on the bass note. Thanks for noticing that.
Thanks Lieven! C shape wasn’t truly necessary but Justin pointed out in his lesson it’s how the chord is voiced in the original (I think a piano chord?) so is most accurate.
Thanks Artem. You know what, I haven’t listened to Elvis Costello much either. I came across the song working through the rock songbook.
Moises is great for doing covers. Separates all the tracks, then you can lay it down in a DAW and play along with the original guitar track, or mute the guitar and play those bits yourself. Here’s a shot of Garageband with the moises tracks mixed in with my tracks.
, the groove 
I appreciate the kudos. Thanks for recognising the groove, being an ex-drummer I tend to emphasise the rhythm and time feel of whatever I’m playing. BTW, I skipped Ballad of Jayne and I Remember You in the rock songbook, just not keen on the songs.
