My first AVOYP of the new year is Moonage Daydream. I think it’s one of the best tracks of the early Bowie days where Mick Ronson really shines. The live performances in particular are jaw-dropping.
There’s a lot going on in the original recording, with a piano, brass, strings and (I think?) a flute. I wanted to make this cover my own so I made a little guitar arrangement of those instruments. Basically some embellishments here and there and a little lead line, nothing to fancy.
As an exercise, I also worked out a solo of my own. I don’t think’s it nowhere near as good as Ronson’s version, but that wasn’t the point. My goal for 2024 is to take my covers to another level by stepping away from copy-pasting the original recording and adding a personal touch. All in all I’m pretty happy with the result. In hindsight, I perhaps could have picked some different target notes, but I don’t want to be too hard on myself either. I really learned a lot from this.
Backing track with vocals, drums and bass. Thanks for listening and any feedback is much appreciated!
Praise the chord indeed. I found your playing exciting and a marvellous accompaniment to Ziggy and his Spiders. Mick Ronson would be pleased by your lead lines.
When the boss tags you, it’s best to respond
If I attempt a ‘cover’ with my limited chops, making it ‘my own’ is the only option
This was an absolute pleasure to watch, jeff. Not only were all the individual parts well played, but they fitted in so well with your backing track and you kept it within the spirit of the original. You are so right about the live performances. My favourite of this was from the motion picture soundtrack. Even though Mick Ronson’s pyrotechnics were astounding, I still find it difficult not to focus solely on Trevor Bolder’s bass lines
Wow, Jeff. That was something else. I listened to your video while cooking, and so I didn’t really look at your video. First I thought…no it can’t be that Jeff has the same intonation as David Bowie. Then I understood that you are not singing…
Continued cooking. Continued listening. Forgot that it’s not the original… And yes that’s a compliment coming from a huge Bowie fan - I don’t want to imply that you would have copied anything. Most of all your solo did fit THAT well to this iconic song, in my opinion.
I chose not to read your introductory words (I will that after I post this comment). With my limited knowledge, I have no constructive feedback to offer (I know I should do that).
Sounded great, Jeff ( no emoticon, because that’s how serious I am)
Sounded good to my ears. I’m not familiar with the original, so I can’t speak to your point of departure from the original. Putting your own spin on covers is a great goal and allows you to develop your own sense of musicality. Well done!
Jeff that was fantastic, loved it. Great to see in your video how all the parts go together. What an amazing song. I always thought he sang ‘spoken like a big funky bird’ but I see that’s another lyric I’ve misheard all my life. Thanks for sharing. Best wishes Alan
Wow, that was just impressive, Jeff! So well done on all the guitar layers.
I’m not familiar with the song, so no estimation how close/far from the original it was, but reading your description and seeing and listening to what was the outcome of all your thoughts behind, I’d assume you did a pretty good job on it. I loved your solo. All the guitar parts fit together so well and those embellishments here and there stood out to me. But the best thing for me is, that all parts worked together so well also with the backing track. Just a round and polished production. That was a most enjoyable listen and way above my playgrade to offer any substantial feedback. So well done!
Wow Jeff, for me that was great. Really well put together all round. I’m not familiar with that one but it just sounded great with all the parts and mixing coming together really well. It looks like a lot of work went into this
Loved the sound of the the solo at about 4:20, and again the way the different parts came together was excellent.
Excellent project, Jeff. You did a good job arranging, playing, and putting the video together. Most enjoyable. The solo sounded grand to me.
If anybody comes along and doesn’t know the song and indeed the record, then I hope Jeff’s cover will be all the encouragement you need to go to the original album, from first song to the last. Ziggy Stardust is one of my favourite albums and I’d place it among the greatest rock records of all time. Listen with headphones, turned up.
Cheers everyone. I’ve been totally down with the flu these past days, so I just came here and your kind comments made me feel instantly better.
@CD02 - It’s done with Adobe Premiere Pro, but I guess any video editing tool will do the job. Even the basic free tools. I just happen to use this (expensive) one for work.
Cool song and your cover was really interesting to watch with the guitar changes and your playing was great. It’s really interesting to see how you (and other in the community) produce such good videos. I’m not so ahead on that kind of thing but would like to be and you inspired me to try and find out.
