For Those Who Like Me Have Never Seen This Before

[progeezer]

Since many here consider this a progressive piece of music as originally done, I put this on the main board.

I just found out this existed today. For me, it hovers between "wtf?" and pretty good in spots.

I've always kinda liked her anyway.

https://youtu.be/fw_Codf29Pw

[battema]

Fun :up

[Baribrotzer]

Interesting. Very.

It's hard for me to separate this from the original. Obviously, some of the instrumental parts and the broad outlines of the arrangement are ported over intact. But I guess what I question is whether it really fits into the style it's played as here - while both the original song and that style have roots in British Isles folk music, the original's fairly open-ended structure pulls fairly hard at those roots, and in a completely opposite direction from the way it's played. Oh, and it makes me wonder whether I, or anybody would pick up on it being a great song if this was the only version I'd heard, if I didn't know it was a classic adapted from a different genre. Would I hear that? Or would I just think that it wandered all over, didn't have a real chorus, and doesn't entirely work as a popular song?

Incidentally, the very end of the clip leads me to believe that it was a "wild card" encore, a completely unexpected song thrown in to startle the audience.

[progeezer]

Interesting. Very.

It's hard for me to separate this from the original. Obviously, some of the instrumental parts and the broad outlines of the arrangement are ported over intact. But I guess what I question is whether it really fits into the style it's played as here - while both the original song and that style have roots in British Isles folk music, the original's fairly open-ended structure pulls fairly hard at those roots, and in a completely opposite direction from the way it's played. Oh, and it makes me wonder whether I, or anybody would pick up on it being a great song if this was the only version I'd heard, if I didn't know it was a classic adapted from a different genre. Would I hear that? Or would I just think that it wandered all over, didn't have a real chorus, and doesn't entirely work as a popular song?

Incidentally, the very end of the clip leads me to believe that it was a "wild card" encore, a completely unexpected song thrown in to startle the audience.Believe it or not, John, I checked & she actually recorded it on her Halos & Horns album.

[adap2it]

Great pick Steve...it really is all about the music!!!! Dolly does a great tune Justice!

[rcarlberg]

Since many here consider this a progressive piece of music ...Really? Somebody thinks "Stairway" is progressive? Why, in FSM's name?

Incidentally, try listening to it without watching the video -- Parton's excessive and overfast tremelo sounds exactly like Robert Plant at 45 rpm!

[progeezer]

Really? Somebody thinks "Stairway" is progressive? Why, in FSM's name?

Incidentally, try listening to it without watching the video -- Parton's excessive and overfast tremelo sounds exactly like Robert Plant at 45 rpm!What's FSM? There have indeed been comments on this site to that effect. Not from me, however.

Plant at 45rpm may be what she was shooting for;).

[Jefferson James]

What a trip, I love this, I think she really sings the living daylight out of this. Authentic, pure and easy. I love Dolly, for America's sake. Dolly's "Here You Come Again" (written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, although Dolly can certainly write great songs on her own) is one of my favorite songs of all time, space, and breasts. A brilliant (to me) pop song. It modulates a 1/2 step three times if memory serves -- so cool (to me).

I don't know if anyone's noticed but Dolly's got huge cans.

[rcarlberg]

What's FSM? Flying Spaghetti Monster, our lard and master (blessings be upon him)

[rcarlberg]

I don't know if anyone's noticed but Dolly's got huge cans.She's wearing headphones????

[Jefferson James]

BIG ones, man. I mean, full surround.

[Baribrotzer]

Really? Somebody thinks "Stairway" is progressive? Why, in FSM's name?

It's a combination of styles - traditional British Isles folk and hard rock.
It's nearly eight minutes long.
It has the feel of going on a journey.
It gives the effect of an open-ended, non-repetitious structure, even though most of the verses have the same melody, all of it has pretty much the same seven or so chords, and it's almost all in A minor. Part of that comes from several changes in musical style, part comes from multiple bridges and transitions breaking up the verses, and part comes from the occasional D chord breaking out of that straight A minor into A Dorian.

All of those are progressive signifiers, if you ask me. Now there are certainly tunes far more proggy. But there aren't all that many that are as popular and well-known, and still manage to be even slightly proggy.

[JKL2000]

^^ Yeah, I think it fits all the Edward Macan criteria.

[Baribrotzer]

I should add that variations in the chord progression have much to do with its multiple styles and appearance of more variety than it actually has: The early part contains such medieval/folk characteristics as walking down from Am to E+, and a plagal cadence from D to Am; whereas the final portion streamlines that into a basic hard rock bar-chord Am-F-G-Am (echoing "All Along the Watchtower"). While not terribly complex, it's very well written.

[Yodelgoat]

It also has no Chorus. unless you consider the words "it makes me wonder" to be a chorus - or "and she's buying a stairway to heaven". Stairway doesnt follow the verse-chorus-verse standard fare. It is very much an "unpop" song.

[3LockBox]

I know someone who owns this album and I've had the song in my MP3 rotation for some time now.

BTW: She wrote supplemental lyrics and came up with the amended bridge on her own and got the green-light from Page and Plant themselves to add it to her version. I've never read there account of whether they liked the final product or not.

[Mstove]

Wow, that is a lot of fun. I don't care whether or not some consider the original prog, that is a really fun performance.

[BravadoNJ]

not bad.... she even wrote more words for some of the instrumental parts.
i'm not a fan of country music, but using some of those elements worked.