"Saltwater" (Julian Lennon) - a "Kitchen Acoustic" cover

[GregB]

Here's an acoustic version of 'Saltwater' recorded in my kitchen.  Great song but shame about my own 'performance visuals' ... which remind me why I don't perform in public anymore!      But it's a wonderful freedom to get away from Pro Tools and get an 'instant' result without the usual time-intensive home-recording hassles.  In fact, just out of shot at my right elbow, there's a large fridge with a constant hum -- you'd never have THAT in a home-recording scenario!

 

 

 

If you like the song, I have attached below my personalised songsheet with chords/lyrics. (My guitar is tuned 2 semitones down, so my C will sound like your Bb.)

 

PRODUCTION

• Video: Canon 70D, 18-135mm telephoto, 1920x1080, natural light only, tripod, 24fps, autofocus.
• Audio: Zoom H1 (the first model), seen on table in front of me. Stereo mics. Recorded as MP3 320Kbps.
• Editing: Resolve 17.4 on Windows.  I top-n-tailed the performance with 3rd-party imagery to avoid looking like a complete dork during the awkward starting and finishing any song.
• Room: Our kitchen has a fully tiled floor and walls of tile, wood and glass (great natural reverb)

 

I hope this simple approach encourages others to post videos on the Forum.  Mobile phones have great cameras. Use a second or old phone for the audio, and experiment with mic distance/height to get a natural mix of voice and guitar that sounds loud but without distortion.

 

SALTWATER

Poor old Julian. Largely abandoned and ignored by his famous father it is ironic that he was later villified by the music industry for 'trading on' John Lennon's name. I rate 'Saltwater' (1991) as a great song. Performed by him, and co-written with Mark and Leslie Spiro, it was one of the very first that focused solely on the planet's growing environmental plight. His production is a throwback/copy/homage to 'Strawberry Fields', doubling down in similarity by also using what sounds like Mellotron organ and strings. But, regardless, it's a beautiful and well-structured song with wonderfully concise lyrics that still encapsulate mankind's unthinking madness. The official video did the song a great disservice ...

 

 

PERSONAL RELEVANCE

I only realised at the start of 2022, when I found the song cheat-sheets that I had made and used for public performances many years ago, that 'Saltwater' must have been a big influence on my own environmental song "Earthrise", Track 29 on 'The Flat White Album' (2020).  The following should start at the music (skipping the 60-sec visual prologue):

 

 

 

Cheers,

Greg

 

 

 

Saltwater - songsheet.pdf

[Greg M]

On 2/18/2022 at 6:58 AM, GregB said:

Here's an acoustic version of 'Saltwater' recorded in my kitchen.  Great song but shame about my own 'performance visuals' ... which remind me why I don't perform in public anymore!      But it's a wonderful freedom to get away from Pro Tools and get an 'instant' result without the usual time-intensive home-recording hassles.  In fact, just out of shot at my right elbow, there's a large fridge with a constant hum -- you'd never have THAT in a home-recording scenario!

 

 

 

If you like the song, I have attached below my personalised songsheet with chords/lyrics. (My guitar is tuned 2 semitones down, so my C will sound like your Bb.)

 

PRODUCTION

• Video: Canon 70D, 18-135mm telephoto, 1920x1080, natural light only, tripod, 24fps, autofocus.
• Audio: Zoom H1 (the first model), seen on table in front of me. Stereo mics. Recorded as MP3 320Kbps.
• Editing: Resolve 17.4 on Windows.  I top-n-tailed the performance with 3rd-party imagery to avoid looking like a complete dork during the awkward starting and finishing any song.
• Room: Our kitchen has a fully tiled floor and walls of tile, wood and glass (great natural reverb)

 

I hope this simple approach encourages others to post videos on the Forum.  Mobile phones have great cameras. Use a second or old phone for the audio, and experiment with mic distance/height to get a natural mix of voice and guitar that sounds loud but without distortion.

 

SALTWATER

Poor old Julian. Largely abandoned and ignored by his famous father it is ironic that he was later villified by the music industry for 'trading on' John Lennon's name. I rate 'Saltwater' (1991) as a great song. Performed by him, and co-written with Mark and Leslie Spiro, it was one of the very first that focused solely on the planet's growing environmental plight. His production is a throwback/copy/homage to 'Strawberry Fields', doubling down in similarity by also using what sounds like Mellotron organ and strings. But, regardless, it's a beautiful and well-structured song with wonderfully concise lyrics that still encapsulate mankind's unthinking madness. The official video did the song a great disservice ...

 

 

PERSONAL RELEVANCE

I only realised at the start of 2022, when I found the song cheat-sheets that I had made and used for public performances many years ago, that 'Saltwater' must have been a big influence on my own environmental song "Earthrise", Track 29 on 'The Flat White Album' (2020).  The following should start at the music (skipping the 60-sec visual prologue):

 

 

 

Cheers,

Greg

 

 

 

Saltwater - songsheet.pdf 314.75 kB · 1 download

Well played Greg. I do like this song by Julian Lennon, and you really did it justice. Good version