My Friend the Sun

[64Guitars]

Late submission for 1972 Fest. I've been working on this for a few weeks. It's been a hard one to do. I ended up re-doing the guitar parts several times. And there was lots of editing in Audacity and Bitwig to try to fix minor mistakes and timing issues with my playing. But I think it's sounding okay now. There's still lots of minor things I would have liked to fix but I got tired of working on it so I decided to post it as it is.

"My Friend the Sun" is a song by the British rock band Family. It was written by Charlie Whitney and Roger Chapman for the band's 1972 album Bandstand. John Wetton played bass and sang backing vocals on the track. The single did not make the UK Singles Chart, though I believe it has become a fan favourite.

All of the guitar tracks were done with my Godin xtSA solidbody electric using its piezo pickup and the BR-864's "NICE ACS" patch which includes the Acoustic Processor effect. Bass is my 1962 Gibson EB0. The accordion chords were played on my Yamaha PSR-2100 arranger keyboard. The accordion solo is actually a viola sample recorded in Bitwig Studio 8-Track with my Nektar SE-25 keyboard controller. The kick drum is also a sample recorded in Bitwig with my Korg nanoPAD2 pad controller. Mixing was done in Audacity.

Thanks to Oldrottenhead for doing the vocals.

My Friend the Sun

Performed by 64Guitars and Oldrottenhead

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Originally recorded by Family on their 1972 album "Bandstand"
Written by Charlie Whitney and Roger Chapman

Well I know that you're lonely
come in from the cold
Your shoes they need mending
your clothes they look old
Won't you pick up your pieces
it's never too late
Though it's never early to make a mistake
As soon as you wake

  Although there's been rain and it's coming again
  Change has to be here, obviously
  Though my friend the sun looks well on the run
  He's there in the distance if you care to see

Well I know that you're waiting
come out from your shell
There'll come a time
you'll remember it well
When they take all the good times
from chances you've had
Chances you've made
and what you've learned from the bad
It's never so sad

  Although there's been rain and it's coming again
  Change has to be here, obviously
  Though my friend the sun, he looks well on the run
  He's there in the distance if you care to see
  see

----- instrumental break -----

If the season were reason
then there'd be no doubt
A sequel of changes
worth putting you out
But on the question of whether
you heard a lie
Answer yourself looking straight in his eyes
Don't you realize

  Although there's been rain and it's coming again
  Change has to be here, obviously
  Though my friend the sun looks well on the run
  He's there in the distance if you care to see
  see

[Mike_S]

This sounds great. I am not sure if I know the original, it sounds familiar but I'm not sure. In any case it's a great tune, I enjoyed it very much. Super guitar parts, some great tones, lovely arrangement and ORH was a perfect choice for the vocal. Lovely stuff.

Mike

[StephenM]

Has a super clear Beatleish feel

[cuthbert]

Totally worth the wait. 

Not a song I'd heard before, but I sure dig your version. Some neat, intricate guitar work (has a bit of that "mandolin-style" I like so well), and James' vocal is very expressive.

Fabtastic collab, gents!

[Zoltan]

It was certainly worth the trouble. The playing performances,the vocals and production are all top notch.
I wasn't familiar with the song, but this version at least is a keeper.

I also liked the detailed breakdown how everything was done.

[Ted]

I love the subtle dissonance at the beginning of the chorus. I was unfamiliar with this song. I went and found the original, and they have folky fiddles where you have accordion. I'm a sucker for accordion, so yours is the version for me. Wetton sounds like he's trying to imitate ORH, not the other way around.

You could probably teach me a thing about how to record with a piezo pickup. The guitars sound gorgeous. I'm struggling to get a good sound from my acoustic guitar via the pickup. (Or maybe it's a "garbage in, garbage out" scenario in my case.)

Also: The quality of this song is helping me imagine life after Mac – and feeling less anxious about it. My 2017 MacBook Pro is still hanging in there, but it's just a matter of time. Already shopping.

piPod bound.

[Rene Asologuitar]

I do not know the the song, and really glad to hear this song for the first time from you.
Very nice singing and instrumentation.
I agree, with Stephen, has the Beatles vibe.
Thanks for sharing.
Rene

[maxit]

It resulted in one of the coolest soundscapes ever! super cool, bravi, it sounds like a new sergent pepper LoL!

[des0free]

High quality all around here. Not familiar with the song, but I'm a fan now!  Very nice acoustic guitar sound out of those electric/piezos - doesn't sound artificial at all.  Top vocals too. More proof 1972 was a magic year.

[Oldrottenhead]

Thanks 64 for letting me join in and also introducing me to a great song. Bravo for taking this on as it is a deceptively complicated piece, but wow you did it. This was a pleasure to try to learn but it was the most difficult song I've ever tried to sing. But it sounds so simple.
Anyway great work 64 and thanks for making me sound better than was. Lol.