Do you know that chord in Bonnie Raitt's "Runaway"

[fenderfan]

Anyone know what that cool chord is in Bonnie's version of "Runaway"...the one the band hits at the end of the first verse after the words "a love that was so strong".
The song itself appears to be in C, but I'm not sure what's happening with that particular chord. Thanks!

[ednew]

In the original Del Shannon version the chord was E7.

I just listened to a snippet of Raitt's version on amazon.com and could make out a G7 in the fade-in intro.

Hope that helps.

[Lyle Caldwell]

The song's in C, but the verse is in Cm. The chord behind those lyrics is G7, but then they do a D7b9 then back to G7 and then to Cm for the second part of the verse.

|---x-----3----|
|---4-----3----|
|---5-----4----|
|---4-----3----|
|---5-----5----|
|---x-----3----|

[Paul in Colorado]

I used to cover it in a duo and I played G7sus4. Add a C on the second string to a regular open G7 chord. I never listened to Bonnie's version to figure it out, but it worked for me.

If you're talking about the Bonnie Raitt version, it's in C. The verse is Cm - Bb - Ab - G7, the chorus is C (maj) and Am (repeats several times), then F - G7.

On the chord you're asking about, there are two guitars playing. It sounds like the guitar in one channel is actually playing G+7#9 to G7 (you can hear both a Bb note resolving up to a B, and a D# resolving down to a D), while the other guitar is playing G7#9 to G7+5. It's pretty dense, and then Bonnie comes in singing right on top of it. A good "compromise" voicing might be something like 3x334x to 35x46x.

Hope it helps, CS :-)

[Lyle Caldwell]

Hmm, I agree with Chris. My D7b9 sounds too Steely Dan in comparison. Cool change.

[Twangmeister]

I always go for the #9 (think "Purple Haze"), which is a real attention-getter of a chord. The easiest way to play is a typical 9th chord position (1-3-7-9) and then slide your pinky (the 9) up a half step. Amaze your friends, mystify your enemies!

Originally Posted by Twangmeister

I always go for the #9 (think "Purple Haze"), which is a real attention-getter

Yup, and in fact the guitarist on the Bonnie cut uses it quite clearly later in the song. :-) CS

[fenderfan]

Ah, the educational benefits of the TDPRI...

[Twangmeister]

playing on the Bonnie version of "Runaway." (I'd go check my ever-anachronistic album collection which is in the living room, but our dog was skunked and I can barely make it into the house without gagging, but that's another story that you didn't pay to hear! ;-) No surprise, since John was a huge fan of Jimi's and wielded a mean Strat himself.

Anyway, if you don't know John's work, his most popular stuff was with the band Orleans. Although not a Tele guy, John had some of the best Strat sounds ever in the 70's and 80's, and like George Harrison and Mike Campbell, always came up with these great, melodic parts that were noe easy feat to reproduce live. He also put out a series of solos albums, and is now reforming Orleans. Sorry for the diversion, but I figured he deserved a shout out on the board. Have fun sharpening your 9th!

Originally Posted by Twangmeister

I think it's John Hall... playing on the Bonnie version of "Runaway."

You got me curious, so I checked the credits on allmusic.com – according to their listings it's Will McFarlane. But I agree, John Hall is/was a *great* player. :-) But that's not the main reason I responded to your post:

I'd go check my ever-anachronistic album collection which is in the living room, but our dog was skunked and I can barely make it into the house without gagging

Ouch! :-( Been there, done that. Phew. Had a pair of golden retrievers who got skunked when I was living in the Hill Country outside Austin. Turns out the cure is tomato juice. Seriously. Get several big cans, give the poor pooch a tomato shampoo, scrub, let it soak in for 15-20 minutes, then rinse out. (Also, check the dog's eyes to make sure no skunk spray got in there, it can be very irritating for them.) :-(

When I did it to my guys, I took a photo, just because they looked so pitiful covered in the tomato juice. A friend later commented they looked like "golden retriever parmigiana." ;-) But it did help a lot. There was still kind a faint odor for awhile (like a couple of months), but it was MUCH better than not being able to go within 10 of them... :-|

Best of luck, CS :-)

[Twangmeister]

Thanks, Chris. Ah yes, Will McFarlane. I guess my memory is going the way of vinyl...both tasty players, and both snagged one of my dream gigs (to play with Bonnie....I mean, of course, in the musical sense...). I woked with John Hall's old bass player for awhile, and he said Hall had a photographic memory, and could double, triple, and harmonize all of his guitar parts with ease. Great tone, too. My college band opened for Orleans once and these guys were kings of the DR's-everone had two onstage (they used to switch instruments), and a bunch of extra ones in case they blew out. Probably got 'em for like 200 bucks each back then!

Our freak dog is a white Boxer named Leo (how obvious is THAT?), so we eschewed the tomato juice and went with the commercial product that we keep for special moments like this. It kind of worked, but this was the Mother of all Skunks. Now it's like Godzilla took a giant pi$$ in our house. We're burning a lot of incense and laying dryer sheets all over the place. Loved your story, though. At least our Teles don't pee, drool, and poop. Then again, they don't jump up and spontaneously lick us, either.

[fenderfan]

...I know about Orleans and their background. Before they hit it big, they were a popular llocal band called Boffalongo in upstate NY. They also had a brief period when they were called Two Ton Gripper, just before their Orleans incarnation. Fine musicians...

[Twangmeister]

They did the original version of "Dancin' In The Moonlight," right? Geeez, why do I even KNOW that?

[fenderfan]

...were you back in upstate NY in those days?