New Respect for Brown Eyed Girl

[Waynel]

Like many of the other "old dogs" I learned the lead guitar part for this song decades ago...only I just discovered I didn't. Not at least as far playing it like the lead player on the RECORDED version! Yes, I can play the scales, arpeggios, interval slides, etc. But back then I broke down some arpeggios and licks that quite honestly worked very well. It's only a I-IV-V (G,C,D) with the relative minor (EM) showing up at the end of the first verse.

However, and this was humbling, I decided to go back and learn that recorded lead part bit by bit. Simple right? Not for me. I don't know who the picker was on that recording, but Jesus, there are so many variations of arpeggios, intervals, muted notes, slides, quick (and subtle) tiny little bits, that I actually had to break down and download the Transcribe program to slow down and loop all those tiny parts. That cat had style! He started with simple little arpeggio patterns and slides and keep changing and building, changing and building and all on strings 2,3 and 4.

For years, I've watched other guitarists, and even Van's bands over the years, both live and on You Tube play Brown Eyed Girl and no one, I mean no one has played it like that guy on the recording.

He may not have been SVR or Steve V., but I respect the man's playing. Question: Who was that guy?

[barncat]

I always screw that song up when we play it.

[jguitarman]

I've always felt the same about that guy. I love the guitar playing on Here Comes The Night. Listen to the stuff he does. I'm assuming it's the same person. Maybe someone here knows who played on those studio tracks. Very tasteful playing for sure. It's simple but great.
BTW I've seen a lot of guitar players play Brown Eyed Girl wrong. The double stops are on the E & B strings, not the E & G strings.

[barncat]

Why is this same post on here twice?

[Califiddler]

Originally Posted by jguitarman

BTW I've seen a lot of guitar players play Brown Eyed Girl wrong. The double stops are on the E & B strings, not the E & G strings.

Uh oh ...

[cjburr]

From Wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_Eyed_Girl

After finishing out his contract with Decca Records and the mid-1966 break up of his band Them, Van Morrison returned to Belfast seeking a new recording company. When he received a phone call from Bert Berns, owner of Bang Records, he flew to New York City and hastily signed a contract (that biographer Clinton Heylin says probably still gives him sleepless nights.)[11] During a two day recording session starting 28 March 1967, he recorded eight songs intended to be used as four singles.[12] The recording session took place at A & R Studios and "Brown Eyed Girl" was captured on the 22nd take on the first day.[13] Of the musicians Berns had assembled there were three guitarists, including Eric Gale and Al Giorgioni, bassist Russ Savakus, pianist Paul Griffin and drummer Gary Chester.[14][15][16] It was released as a single in mid-June 1967.[17] Originally titled "Brown-Skinned Girl", Morrison changed it to "Brown Eyed Girl" when he recorded it. Morrison remarked on the original title: "That was just a mistake. It was a kind of Jamaican song. Calypso. It just slipped my mind. I changed the title."[18]"After we'd recorded it, I looked at the tape box and didn't even notice that I'd changed the title..I looked at the box where I'd lain it down with my guitar and it said 'Brown Eyed Girl' on the tape box. It's just one of those things that happen."

[Waynel]

Three guitarists? So did they splice their work together, or is there some way to tell which one of the three laid down those licks? By the way, thanks for tackling this.

[Waynel]

Originally Posted by barncat

Why is this same post on here twice?

Sorry, I'm brand new to this site. Learning the site. Won't happen again.

[No problem, all fixed. Glad you're here. Your Friendly Moderator, CS)]

[Chris S.]

Given the Wiki info above, my money's on Eric Gale. But 22 takes? Yipes. =:-O Maybe it was VM's vocal parts. ;-) CS

[jhundt]

Waynel - welcome! Did you tab out the parts as you learned them? I would sure like to see the tab for that song.

[Bonneville Bruce]

My records show these musicians on the resulting album reissue, "Bang Masters," but still no specific information on who played that part. The candidates might include Hugh McCracken, Don Thomas and/or Van himself, who is no slouch on the guitar.

If my memory serves me "Acoustic Guitar" did a transcription of BEG a few years ago, and there might be more information there.

Van Morrison: guitar, saxophone, vocals, compositions. Seldon Powell: Wind; Brooks Arthur: Vocal; Gary Chester: Drums; Cissy Houston: Vocal; Dee Dee Warwick: Vocal; Jeff Barry: Percussion/Vocal; Bert Berns: Vocal; Bob Bushnell: Bass; Artie Butler: Keyboards; George Devens: Percussion; Eric Gale: Guitar; Al Gorgoni: Guitar; Paul Griffin:keyboards; Arthur Kaplan: Wind; Herb Lovell: Drums; Hugh McCracken: Guitar; Russell Savkas: Bass; Myrna Smith: Vocal; Don Thomas: Guitar.

[barncat]

I've also been meaning to sit down with this song and learn to play it better. I've never thought it was an easy song to play right. It's even more impressive if it was improvised in the studio (sounds to me like it was). The last time I played this song in front of people, for some reason I counted it out about twice as fast as we normally play it. My fingers just wouldn't play the opening riff at that speed and I totally muffed it. An older guy who was trying to dance to it started clutching his chest and had to go sit back down at his table. It was one of the few times we actually had to stop a song and start over. I then asked the drummer to count it out and he proceeded to count it out almost as fast as I did. I muffed the intro riff again.

[ecwannabe]

Barncat, that's a great story. Stories like that always make me wish I had been in a band. Maybe now that I'm officially an old fart and don't much give a damn what folks opinion's are of me or my playing I might try it.

I too would like to see a transcription of this song, I have the acoustic guitar version but there aren't any of the lead guitar parts, just chords and words. I sort of fake my way through it, but as with most of the stuff I play, the emphasis is on the word "fake".

[Waynel]

Barncat...I'm sure my playing has caused some people cring on the dance floor, but I don't recall anyone clutching their heart! Just poking at both of us. Great story.

Jhundt...Yes, I will make my tab available. Believe or not, I've spent the past three evenings breaking this thing lick by lick and I'm only half way there. While intervals can be played anywhere on the neck, I'm am being so anal as to pinpoint the exact position for each lick. My wife agrees, I'm overly obsessive with this song but it's been haunting me for years. Give me about another week to complete it and type it up (of course, its chicken scratch right now). I intend to put a key at the top along with explanations for the styling, such as muted notes, triplets, etc. Unlike a traditional tab, mine will break down each phrasing under each chord in the progression.

[NJ Joe G]

Thank You Waynel for the amount of work you are putting into the tabs. I am looking forward to the finished project.

[Waynel]

Sitting here on my lunch hour. Your welcome, Joe.

[jhundt]

Believe or not, I've spent the past three evenings breaking this thing lick by lick and I'm only half way there. While intervals can be played anywhere on the neck, I'm am being so anal as to pinpoint the exact position for each lick.

That's interesting to me, because frequently the first thing I do with tabs is search for different positions on the neck. I have read some really great and detailed tabs where the tabber played everything perfectly in a 'closed' position somewhere up the neck, and missed all the easy open positions that I prefer.

An example is B. Mason's lovely solo on Alan Jackson's "Pop-a-top". There is one tab version that shows up everywhere on the tab sites. I couldn't get it to work for me until I deconstructed it to positions that I was familiar with. Once I learned it that way, I started working in other positions until I got back to the original tab version. Now I can play it in several different ways, and each different position has something to offer.

I am looking forward to seeing your tab. Do you use Power Tab or another tab-software? I am quite happy with Power Tab, I find it very useful, educational and easy-to-learn.

[Waynel]

jhundt...I really can appreciate what you're saying about learning licks in those easy open positions, but that is exactly why I've taken on this task. You can play let's say a C-G interval in the open position and while it is technically correct it doesn't have the same "sound." That's what intrigued me about this cat. He took some of the same licks over simple G-C, G-D cord changes and kept moving up the neck each verse...for the sound of it. Someone earlier on this thread wondered if V. Morrison was blowing the vocals because it took 24 takes. I would offer it could have been the guitarist listening to playbacks and kept building how he would play the lead, verse by verse leading to more takes. There was no digital editing back then. If you edited, you were physically splicing tape. Much faster back then to just do another take and stick in the new bits you wanted to play.

This is my first Tab, in fact, my step son introduced me to tabs several months ago. I read and write and have always done notation on treble clef. Please PM me with suggestions on free tab writing programs. Oh, the program I'm using is not a tab program. It's called Transcribe and it is simply a basic digital editing program for slowing everything down without changing pitch.

[barncat]

How's the tab coming?

[Bryan'sFSRTele]

this is the one I look off of.If you fiddle around you can get it pretty close.

http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/tabs/...l_ver3_tab.htm

but by the way I disagree and say it's played on the E and G mainly,the intro is on E and B though...

[ut4ever8]

I've always loved this song, great guitar work. I'd like to see that tab as well when you get it done. I really like this guys arrangement as well. It's not me, but I thought you all would find this interesting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rt63P6gi2c