- "Suppose I said, colors change for...no good reason, and words will go from poetry to prose, would you want me when I'm not myself, wait it out while I am someone else. Suppose I said you're my saving grace." The demo version of "Not Myself" comes from the "Why Georgia" CD single. I'm not quite sure if record companies make CD singles anymore which is a shame because they often serve as a great place to pick up non-album B-sides and other lost treasures. "Not Myself" is one of the many great acoustic based songs on John Mayer's major label debut "Room For Squares". The demo doesn't vary all that much from the version on the album but it makes for an interesting listen. There is a great live (in studio) version of "Not Myself" recorded back in 2001 for a venture called getmusic.com. The video clip is available on Youtube and features Mayer on acoustic guitar with bassist David Labruyere. It's kinda hard for me to believe that this song came out almost 10 years ago.
2. I Need You Tonight- INXS
- "I need you tonight, cause I'm not sleeping, there's something about you girl, that makes me sweat. So slide over here, and give me a moment, your moves are so raw, I've got to let you know, I've got to let you know, you're one of my kind." INXS released "Kick" in 1987 and it's massive success made them one of the biggest bands in the world. "I Need You Tonight" went all the way to #1 and there were 3 other top 10 hits on the album. There are a lot of things to like about "I Need You Tonight"; the beat, the lyrics, the general sensuality to name a few....but it's all about the guitar riff. The hook (the guitar hook in this case) brings us back. The brilliant guitar riff is funk/soul yet the song remains rooted in rock and roll. Perhaps that's one explanation for what made it so popular in the 1st place. "I Need You Tonight" fit in on the pop top 40 stations just as well as the rock stations.
3. It's a Shame- The Spinners
- "It's a shame (sha-ame), the way you mess around with your man, it's a shame (sha-ame), the way you hurt me, it's a shame (sha-ame), the way you mess around with your man." When I think of great guitar riffs my mind doesn't go to soul music right away but in the case of "It's a Shame" we have another song where the guitar hook is out of this world. What is also out of this world is the falsetto we hear on the bridge. Of course when the Spinners sing the song it's about some girl who is doing some guy wrong. Since that sort of thing is universal it didn't take much to remake the song from the female perspective. In 1990, English female MC Monie Love remade "It's a Shame" with a hip-hop twist. I most recently heard "It's a Shame" while enjoying a boat ride in Ocean City Maryland this weekend. It was a fantastic 5 day vacation that will come to a crashing halt when I go into the office tomorrow morning. That my friends is a shame.
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