UGH.

Look, I dig Brian Setzer. Great talent. But to me - admittedly, not a musician - he seems to forgo the great melody of this amazing piece of music in order to throw in a lot of notes.

Look, dude, we know you can play - but how about treating the song with a little respect? It's awesome as is without all your little runs and finger-picking exercises and what not.

To me, this is the equivalent when you get a vocalist throwing in all those "vocal curlicues", turning one or two notes into a run of 15 or 20.

Too busy sounding, too distracting, and unnecessary.

I would add further, that THIS is how it's done.

Larry Carlton FTMFW.

That was horrible. Just play the farking song.

/Ritchiiiiiiiiiieee!!!!

That was atrocious. Far too many superfluous notes and too much guitar wankery, so to speak.

The Larry Carlton version is terrific.

Here's how it's done:

Link (new window)

Slide guitar only. Others need not apply.

Folderol: UGH.

Look, I dig Brian Setzer. Great talent. But to me - admittedly, not a musician - he seems to forgo the great melody of this amazing piece of music in order to throw in a lot of notes.

Look, dude, we know you can play - but how about treating the song with a little respect? It's awesome as is without all your little runs and finger-picking exercises and what not.

To me, this is the equivalent when you get a vocalist throwing in all those "vocal curlicues", turning one or two notes into a run of 15 or 20.

Too busy sounding, too distracting, and unnecessary.

I read your comment first, then watched the video, and I must disagree - it wasn't THAT bad. Some of the runs could have been more restrained, but there definitely wasn't any Malmsteen-esque wanking.

"sleepwalk?" you mean the haunting, somnolent santo & johnny tune? i like setzer as much as the next guy - but from what i'm reading here, he's ripping it up, which seems, i dunno... inappropriate.

Folderol: I would add further, that THIS is how it's done.

Larry Carlton FTMFW.

i dunno... the mullet and muscle tee kind of kill it for me.

Glenechocreek: Here's how it's done:

Link (new window)

Slide guitar only. Others need not apply.

now THAT'S what i'm talking about!

Glenechocreek: Here's how it's done:

Link (new window)

Slide guitar only. Others need not apply.

And I think the thread's over. Original artists in B&W footage FTW.

What the hell was that, a giant pedal steel board he was playing? Whew.

Wait, a surprise entry from The Ventures (new window) (new window), with Jeff Baxter on slide/steel pedal. THIS is a nice version.

Still can't beat the original, though.

Came here for a Ventures name drop. Leaving happy.

i'm kinda taken by the Satriani version... i love the note selction... keeps a very 50's groove to it while sounding very soulful

Link

Dammit uncle fester you beat me to it. BONUS: Satch's version starts and ends with a guest appearance by Robert Fripp using his weird Frippertronics.

Brian Setzer's mindblowsing version of Sleepwalk

Jesus, I just want to punch him in the face. The whole song was full of cliches and cheesy little "blues" licks. Suck it.

Lets try that again.

Brian Setzer's mindblowsing version of Sleepwalk

Folderol: UGH.

Look, I dig Brian Setzer. Great talent. But to me - admittedly, not a musician - he seems to forgo the great melody of this amazing piece of music in order to throw in a lot of notes.

Look, dude, we know you can play - but how about treating the song with a little respect? It's awesome as is without all your little runs and finger-picking exercises and what not.

Satriani actually does a very tasteful cover of this tune

Pops (new window)

lol I should read the rest of the thread before posting.

Q: How many guitar players does it to screw in a light bulb?

A: 10. One to actually do it and nine to say "Man it would have been soo much cooler if you had done it like this."

Q: How do you keep your lead guitarist from playing?

A: Put sheet music in front of him

Folderol: UGH.

Look, I dig Brian Setzer. Great talent. But to me - admittedly, not a musician - he seems to forgo the great melody of this amazing piece of music in order to throw in a lot of notes.

Look, dude, we know you can play - but how about treating the song with a little respect? It's awesome as is without all your little runs and finger-picking exercises and what not.

To me, this is the equivalent when you get a vocalist throwing in all those "vocal curlicues", turning one or two notes into a run of 15 or 20.

Too busy sounding, too distracting, and unnecessary.

Big fan of Setzer, and normally a big defender of "busy" players...but I agree with you in this case. He doesn't really do the song justice here. The Carlton version is definitive IMO, and invariably that's the comparison that's made. Setzer might do well to revisit this tune with a different approach.

I didn't know Satriani did a version of this as well. Very nicely done, and not what I'd expect from him.

FlashHarry: Folderol: I would add further, that THIS is how it's done.

Larry Carlton FTMFW.

i dunno... the mullet and muscle tee kind of kill it for me.

Seriously? What does that have to do with the music?

bush: Q: How do you keep your lead guitarist from playing?

A: Put sheet music in front of him

You may have already seen this (new window), but it bears repeating sometimes

FlashHarry 2009-03-09 08:02:47 AM
Folderol: I would add further, that THIS is how it's done.

Larry Carlton FTMFW.

i dunno... the mullet and muscle tee kind of kill it for me.

Glenechocreek: Here's how it's done:

Link (new window)

Slide guitar only. Others need not apply.

now THAT'S what i'm talking about!

All THIS plus many more including Folderal's comments.

I like Setzer - even his is early solo stuff - and DAYUM! the guy can play - but heck he needed to tone it down a little.

and the original is still the best although I would like to find
out of Junior Brown did a version.

no one beats Chet Atkins...

Link (new window)

Setzer's album version of this is very good.

That video was full of suck, though. Shame

i didn't care for it, but he looks pretty good for his age.

I like the version on The Dirty Boogie, which I guess that was based on, but that video was no great shakes.

Brain Setzer is one of the most underrated guitarists. Nice to see him get a nod on Fark. But this Sleepwalk isnt quite the one he plays on Vavoom! That one's is much better, mainly because of the whole big band behind him.

Carlton and Satriani had full bands backing, and Satriani was studio.

Setzer in the vid was live and solo, there's a huge difference. And he ripped it, gave it many augmented chords not found in other versions.

Can we all preface our comments by stating who here actually plays guitar ?

Because if you don't, just shut up, you don't know what the hell you're talking about.

I play.

I play and brian setzer blows chunks. Like I said before, he cluttered the song up with uneccessary and showy little licks and 16th note scale runs. It was pure amateur.

I play (25 years), and I know and play this tune. :-) I stand by my original comments:

"Big fan of Setzer, and normally a big defender of "busy" players...but I agree with you in this case. He doesn't really do the song justice here. The Carlton version is definitive IMO, and invariably that's the comparison that's made. Setzer might do well to revisit this tune with a different approach.

I didn't know Satriani did a version of this as well. Very nicely done, and not what I'd expect from him."

Being the submitter and the one who shot this video while the performance happened just a few feet in front of me, I may be a bit biased (okay, I am.) Carlton, Satriani, Atkins, Santo and Johnny etc - all great. But those of you judging Setzer, please post your own performances of Sleepwalk. And show us your Grammy award for said song. Setzer has one.

ahaze: Being the submitter and the one who shot this video while the performance happened just a few feet in front of me, I may be a bit biased (okay, I am.) Carlton, Satriani, Atkins, Santo and Johnny etc - all great. But those of you judging Setzer, please post your own performances of Sleepwalk. And show us your Grammy award for said song. Setzer has one.

I wasn't dogging Setzer. Sorry if I made it seem like that. He is amazing at what he does. I just was going through guitar videos on youtube and found the chet atkins and posted it. No snark intended.

Not directed at you Occam (Atkins was mentioned further up thread too) but to the folks rabidly following the "it's cool to rip on the subject" trend, calling it horrible, atrocious, and wanting to punch him in the face. I mean come on.

berniex: Carlton and Satriani had full bands backing, and Satriani was studio.

Setzer in the vid was live and solo, there's a huge difference. And he ripped it, gave it many augmented chords not found in other versions.

Can we all preface our comments by stating who here actually plays guitar ?

Because if you don't, just shut up, you don't know what the hell you're talking about.

I play.

So do I, and can't hold Setzer's guitar strap. I love his work, and I'm a big Cats fan.

That said, this is weak. Silly runs, bad timing, and no feel. I expect alot more from a legend. But he's forgiven for being so damn badass it's sick!

This thread needs more Jeff Beck.

"wanting to punch him in the face."

Me wanting to punch his face has little to do with his playing and more to do with his ugly hair and face structure.

"But those of you judging Setzer, please post your own performances of Sleepwalk. And show us your Grammy award for said song. Setzer has one."

Oooooh, he has a GRAMMY! I just jizzed myself!

mfaby: All THIS plus many more including Folderal's comments.

I like Setzer - even his is early solo stuff - and DAYUM! the guy can play - but heck he needed to tone it down a little.

and the original is still the best although I would like to find
out of Junior Brown did a version.

Junior Brown didn't, but Leo Kottke and Chet Atkins did. (new window)

Game over, no one can compete with those two.

Slamguy: I play and brian setzer blows chunks. Like I said before, he cluttered the song up with uneccessary and showy little licks and 16th note scale runs. It was pure amateur.

I also play (29 years now), and concur with this comment. The chord voicing he used were nice, but the extraneous noodling was overdone. I understand (as a showman) why he did it, as the crowd eats that shiat up, but from a musical standpoint it ruins an otherwise nice interpretation of the tune.

Ivar: This thread needs more Jeff Beck.

Thread over. Pack your stuff up and go home, kids.

The Chet Atkins vid of him playing Mr. Sandman kicked arse, too. Thanks!

/Brian Setzer fan since the early 80's
//Beck and Chet fan for longer :)
///Get off my lawn!

ahaze: Being the submitter and the one who shot this video while the performance happened just a few feet in front of me, I may be a bit biased (okay, I am.) Carlton, Satriani, Atkins, Santo and Johnny etc - all great. But those of you judging Setzer, please post your own performances of Sleepwalk. And show us your Grammy award for said song. Setzer has one.

Again, I dig Setzer in a big way. He's one of my favorite guitar players. I just didn't much care for his interpretation of this song (though I'll bet it was exciting to capture it on video - I envy you!). I play, but I'm a hobbyist, not a professional. One need not be a peer to critique, especially if one is educated on the subject.

Where is Roger Ebert's Oscar? And yet, he's widely considered the best movie critic in America today, crippled and all.

ahaze: Not directed at you Occam (Atkins was mentioned further up thread too) but to the folks rabidly following the "it's cool to rip on the subject" trend, calling it horrible, atrocious, and wanting to punch him in the face. I mean come on.

Obviously those are over-the-top comments that should be ignored. It wasn't the best version of Sleepwalk I've heard, but it totally didn't suck either. Anyone who says it did has lost perspective, and need not be argued with.