(ME FOR YOU is now known as A LITTLE MORE THAN ME. That story’s in a blog above.)
ME FOR YOU, our most recent song, has a history. It was premiered on LOOM and then “bootlegged” from Cleveland thanks to the ReverbNation player on the Gathering Stateside page. Both of these versions are solo performances, basic guitar and voice.
We had always intended to flesh out the arrangement and posted a “studio” version at the beginning of this month.
A lot of our friends didn’t like it. one went so far as to suggested that we’d “butchered” the tune. And while we can assure everyone that no sharp implements or precision bloodletting was involved, there’s no doubt that we intended the version we posted to our page to be different from the live one. to be fair, some listeners were fine with the studio version, particularly those who had never heard the song in a live and/or solo context.
Playing solo, I am genetically predisposed to doing every song s-l-o-w-e-r onstage, so the fact that we accelerated the studio version was intentional. but after revisiting Jay Cox’s recording of that rough performance in Cleveland I’ll admit that I saw the appeal of the slower tempo, and the virtual absence of an arrangement certainly spotlit the lyric.
So, we went back to the studio version, determined to combine the appeal of both, the more soulful tempo and a less busy arrangement of the live version with the texture and polish of the studio cut.
The result is at the top of the MySpace player now. It still has Buck’s fine lead work, bass , brushed drums and a bit of harmonium but the beat is straighter, the bass rounder and that characteristic scrubbed acoustic that was the sole accompaniment live is a little more prominent.
Will it satisfy those who, for all of its flaws, embraced the live version? You tell us.
But know this, we were immensely flattered by the passion this simple song produced amongst our friends, even when the passion manifested as disapproval of the first studio cut.
Thanks, as ever, for your opinions, suggestions, kudos and support. It all fits in with the theme of the song rather nicely, don’t you think?
David Partridge