Rock-Pop Covers Band Set List Suggestions Please

[twowheeledwriter]

Hi,

I've been playing with a covers band for the last 9 months and we've got to the point where we need to expand our set list. We currently have about 1.5 hours worth of material, but we're looking to add some new stuff. So, I thought some of you might have good suggestions for songs that are a) fairly easy to learn (we're all competent musicians, but not musical geniuses), crowd pleasers and c) fun to play.

The band consists of two guitars, bass, drums and female vocals.

To give you an idea of what we play, our set includes "Honky Tonk Woman", "Long Train Runnin'", "You Really Got Me", "Steady, As She Goes", "Back in the USSR", "Dancin' Till Dawn (Lenny Kravitz)", "Highway to Hell/All Right Now medley" and "One".

As you can see, we tend towards 60s/70s rock, but we've also considered "Should I Stay or Should I Go" as an example of something slightly more modern, and have been working on "Heavy Cross" by Gossip.

I'm open to suggestions from any era. Also, I'm the sole Englishman in a group of French (although the lead singer is an English and she speaks/sings English extremely well), so I'd be interested in French songs too - a bit of Serge Gainsbourg might be interesting!

Apologies if this has been covered somewhere else on Basschat - if so, please direct me to it - I searched but couldn't find anything (although I remembering once seeing a really interesting thread here on reggae songs once that was fantastic even if I hadn't heard of most of the songs).

Cheers,
Tim

[RichardH]

French speaking, you say? He's Belgian, but it's sung in French

[tombboy]

Does Your Mother Know? - Abba.
Great riff and guaranteed to fill the dance floor!!

[OldGit]

[url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=8685&st=0&p=90010&#entry90010"]Pop/Rock covers band floor fillers thread[/url]
Distill the best ones from there ...

Female Vocals? Wow, loads of great stuff including some contemporary ones.

Tina: River Deep Mountain High, Proud Mary, Steel Claw, Steamy Windows, We don't need another Hero, Nutbush, Knock on wood, come together,
Aretha: Respect, Think, Freeway of Love, I knew you were waiting for me
Dusty: Take another little piece of my heart, Son of a preacher man
Lulu: Shout, Boom bang a bash a boom (joke)
Debbie: French kissing in the USA, Call me Tide is high
Chrissie: Brass in pocket, Chain Gang, Kid, Talk of the town
Kirsty: A new England, In these shoes (brilliant), Days, Walking down Madison
Annie: Sweet Dreams, Misionary Man, Thorn in my side
Kylie: Can't get you out of my head (and Blue Monday mashup)
Duffy: Warwick Avenue, Mercy
Amy: Rehab, Valerie
Lilly: Smile, LDN,
Tings: That's not my name, Shut up,
Noisettes: Never forget you
Girls Aloud: Sound of the underground
Grace Jones: Slave to the rhytm, Pull up to the bumper baby, Demolition man, Private lives
Grace Slick: White Rabbit
Joni: Free man in paris
Kate Bush: King of the mountain, Rocket man, Them heavy people
Britney (and Richard Thompson) Oops I did it again, Hit me baby.
Supremes, Diana Ross: Can't hurry love, Keep me hanging on, Upside down, Chain reaction

Other women you could also listen to/poach from
Florence and the Machine
La roux
Lady Gaga
Alison Goldfrapp
Bjork
Laura Marling
Bat for Lashes

[twowheeledwriter]

Now That's What I Call A Reply! Thanks Oldgit for loads of really good ideas. Chrissie Hynde had been mentioned a few weeks ago but fallen off the radar out of forgetfulness.

The other blokes in the band always seem to come up with blokey ideas, whereas me (a bloke too, it has to be said) and the singer (most definitely not a bloke) are always keen to introduce something more feminine. I'll play anything with a good tune.

As for Ca Plane Pour Moi .... peut-etre pas, mais merci!

[OldGit]

[quote name='twowheeledwriter' post='840159' date='May 17 2010, 08:37 PM']Now That's What I Call A Reply! Thanks Oldgit for loads of really good ideas. Chrissie Hynde had been mentioned a few weeks ago but fallen off the radar out of forgetfulness.

The other blokes in the band always seem to come up with blokey ideas, whereas me (a bloke too, it has to be said) and the singer (most definitely not a bloke) are always keen to introduce something more feminine. I'll play anything with a good tune.

As for Ca Plane Pour Moi .... peut-etre pas, mais merci![/quote]


If you have Spotify a lot of the memory jogging and work is done for you.

Put in a track or performer you like and they will list their top tunes and also artists like them .. I had to do that for thr more contemporary stuff as I'm a bit out of touch there but the older ones I knew.

With your line up you'll need to be creative with your arrangements for some of those but if you extract the essence and find ways to reproduce it - horn lines on guitars are always interesting

[garethox]

Hangin On The Telephone - great riff and loads of energy!

[Apex]

We have a similar line-up (but with keyboards as well). We've done all the following with our female lead:

I Saw Her Standing There
Denis Denis (the semi-French version, of course!)
Run 2 U
Gimme Some Lovin'
Stuck in the Middle with you
Jumpin' JF
I'm a Believer
Midnight Hour
Take Your Mama
Caroline
Should I stay..
Brown Sugar
Sunday Girl
Summer 69
Rebel Rebel
Learn to Fly
Valerie
Time after time
Ain't no sunshine
First Cut is the Deepest
Mustang Sally
Hush
All Right Now
Johnny B Goode
Born to be Wild
C'mon C'mon
Rockin' all over the world

Plenty of good old clichés there, I'll admit, but they always seem to be the popular ones!

[Happy Jack]

Honky Tonk Women with a female vocalist?

Not sure about that ...

Do any of the guys sing?

[tauzero]

I've been throwing some suggestions at covers band B - we have both male and female lead vocals. Finding songs for male vocals is dead easy. Female:

Torn - Natalie Imbruglio
Black velvet - Alanis Morrissette
Zombie - Cranberries
Because the night - Patti Smith
Fever - Peggy Lee

[Bigwan]

[quote name='tauzero' post='840626' date='May 18 2010, 10:53 AM']I've been throwing some suggestions at covers band B - we have both male and female lead vocals. Finding songs for male vocals is dead easy. Female:

Torn - Natalie Imbruglio
[b][u][i]Black velvet - Alanis Morrissette[/b][/u][/i]
Zombie - Cranberries
Because the night - Patti Smith
Fever - Peggy Lee[/quote]
FAIL! That'd be Alannah Miles you'd be meaning!

Edited May 18, 2010 by Bigwan

[Apex]

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='840523' date='May 18 2010, 09:04 AM']Honky Tonk Women with a female vocalist?

Not sure about that ...

Do any of the guys sing?[/quote]

Er, yeah - thought I'd deleted all the ones done by our rythmn guitard...

[OldGit]

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='840523' date='May 18 2010, 09:04 AM']Honky Tonk Women with a female vocalist?

Not sure about that ...

Do any of the guys sing?[/quote]

Oh I dunno ... Tina does it justice..



Mind you the bass player forgets to not play in the verses

Edited May 18, 2010 by OldGit

[tauzero]

[quote name='Bigwan' post='840696' date='May 18 2010, 11:50 AM']FAIL! That'd be Alannah Miles you'd be meaning![/quote]
I blame my Alannisheimer's.

[twowheeledwriter]

You're all stars! I'm rehearsing tonight so I will have a chat with the singer about all your ideas. Tonight we're trying "Gimme Shelter" - which is actually a Stones song with a female vocal part (apparently Merry Clayton, who also sang on "Sweet Home Alabama" - according to Wikipedia). But, I want to move us back into this decade/century with some of your suggestions.

[quote]Mind you the bass player forgets to not play in the verses[/quote]

I always forget to play in the verses - this gives me more hands free to play the cowbell... And, yes, the song actually works with our female vocalist.

[lushuk]

Our biggest crowd pleasers are

Fat bottom girls (not sure if it would suit a female vocal:)
Since you been gone
Here I go again

[Dood]

[quote name='RichardH' post='839955' date='May 17 2010, 05:39 PM']French speaking, you say? He's Belgian, but it's sung in French
[/quote]


PLEASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSE Tell me this 'song' was recorded AFTER The Damned's 'Jet Boy Jet Girl' and not vice versa. I might shoot myself if Captain and the boys covered Plastic RubberBand or whatever his name is.

[Prime_BASS]

Gossip - standing in the way of control.

No Doubt or Gwen - I'm just a girl

jet- are you gonna be my girl

The Knack - my Sharona

Wheatus - teenage dirtbag

some of my personal favorites

[OldGit]

[quote name='Prime_BASS' post='844118' date='May 21 2010, 01:34 PM']Wheatus - teenage dirtbag[/quote]

oh yes! reminds me of this delightful cover of it by Earl Okin
(NSFW)

[RichardH]

[quote name='dood' post='844098' date='May 21 2010, 01:18 PM']PLEASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSE Tell me this 'song' was recorded AFTER The Damned's 'Jet Boy Jet Girl' and not vice versa. I might shoot myself if Captain and the boys covered Plastic RubberBand or whatever his name is.[/quote]

[url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jet_Boy,_Jet_Girl"]They both were covers of the same song by Elton Motello[/url] - so that's kind of OK.

[RichardH]

[quote name='twowheeledwriter' post='841164' date='May 18 2010, 05:27 PM']I always forget to play in the verses - this gives me more hands free to play the cowbell...[/quote]

I do the cowbell on that song too (but our vocalist is male....)

[iconic]

well, some different female frenchness...

if you prefer the first too can be sexed up ...see Kate Ryan





you could rest ya pint on the haircut




...isn't she married to Johnny Depp?

AIR...french group...but sung by Beth Hirsch...great bassline




and err..... St Etienne.....well it's a half decent french football team I'll get my coat!

Edited May 21, 2010 by iconic

[twowheeledwriter]

[quote name='iconic' post='844382' date='May 21 2010, 06:02 PM']well, some different female frenchness... [/quote]

Different female frenchness is good. Johnny and Vanessa are still an item AFAIK. The France Gall song is familiar. AIR's very mellow - haven't heard that for a while.

[quote]and err..... St Etienne.....well it's a half decent french football team I'll get my coat![/quote]

Tenuous links are good too... but why's keyboard player #1 wearing an Espana shirt? Whilst we're at it, why hasn't anyone suggested Depeche Mode?

Thanks everyone so far for the ideas - I didn't have time on Tuesday before the rehearsal to sort out a list, but this coming Monday is a public holiday in France, so I'm just putting getting the list for the singer and she says she'll take a look over it before next Tuesday (actually, just remembered the rehearsal's been moved to Thursday).

[OldGit]

[quote name='twowheeledwriter' post='841164' date='May 18 2010, 05:27 PM']I always forget to play in the verses - this gives me more hands free to play the cowbell... And, yes, the song actually works with our female vocalist.[/quote]


Your supposed to not play in the first verse ..

[twowheeledwriter]

[quote name='OldGit' post='844687' date='May 21 2010, 11:17 PM']Your supposed to not play in the first verse .. [/quote]

Well, that's what I thought!

On a serious note, is it just the first verse? I usually only play for the chorus and the solo, and avoid the verses. I use the verses to do some dancing in the style of Bill Wyman... ( - song idea #73 - (Si Si) Je Suis Un Rock Star)

Edited May 21, 2010 by twowheeledwriter