Learning the La's tunes, and the old website...

[redlandsman87]

I know this should probably be on the tablature board, but I figured I would post here so it would be noticed quicker, tab board is kinda dead no offense. Please move this topic if necessary.

I've been a Lee and La's fan since god knows when, and am an avid guitarist and songwriter as a personal hobby. But regardless, for some reason I've never really gone out and learned the La's tunes except for, you guessed it, There She Goes. Lee's sudden and strange return has entrapped me once again into his lovely world of less than thirty songs, and I've finally said enough is enough, I've got to cover this man and learn his ways. Seeing the man on stage, pounding them out just as well as he did twenty years ago and with audiences still singing out word for word has really inspired me to really give The La's catalogue a proper chance and I'm itching to learn his songs, all of them if I can...the record, b-sides, unreleased.

I recall debate over tunings, with some saying the record doesn't match live, and if I really do intend to learn these I want them to be played properly. The internet has scant info on the notation of his music, few correct tabs or chords, and very few video lessons going about on youtube. A thousand and one There She Goes covers, but not one Looking Glass lesson.

Then I remembered Tab'LA'tures, an old geocites La's fansite that has sadly shut down with geocities going the way of the dodo. I can't recall the websites name, only that it had the Lazurus quote on the homepage, and many tabs for the songs.

Is this site still going around somewhere, or has it been archived? Are those tabs still running around somewhere? Can it be brought back from the dead via The Internet Wayback machine?

And if not, Is there still an large resource of La's tabs somewhere, with the proper tunings and chords, besides the tab board here and the usual stuff brought up by google searches?

Just thought I'd ask, thanks everybody, it's much appreciated. Cheers

[Tony]

http://www.oocities.org/mavers81/

[IfIHadAGun]

http://web.archive.org/web/200711210227 ... /mavers81/

I usually go to that site la, good on the enthusiasm

[oozeymc]

If I ever had a month to do it (!), I'd have a go at doing some La's tabs.

Some of the stuff on that site is right and some is a fair bit off.

[Marbled]

If I ever had a month to do it (!), I'd have a go at doing some La's tabs.

Some of the stuff on that site is right and some is a fair bit off.

You should! Cracking versions you have on your Soundcloud!!
What do you record on? PC or 8/16 Track? Wonderful sounding guitar sounds too. Job well done!

[IfIHadAGun]

I think the site gives the basic idea of the songs.

[Marbled]

I think the site gives the basic idea of the songs.

The basic ideas are cool, as I am a basic player!

But Richard Oakes didn't get the Suede guitarist job by reading tabs! He was the only one to play the correct riffs to Suede songs in all who auditioned as they'd learnt theirs off tab sites and books

[Tony]

It's a good site, but not quite a gospel, Steven who put that together did put a fair bit of work into it though, I think the tabs there were created with the idea of playing along to the album . . . which due to it pitch changes etc. meant he had to fiddle with the key, depends I know Timeless Melody for example he changed the key a few times depending on the version he was after.

Use it to get you started, and figure out the rest yourself - or use the tab forum, where incidentally I am moving the topic to We have a lot of guitarists on the board and I'm sure any tab questions will get answered as best as possible (if they haven't been covered already).

The La's tab book incidentally, is meant to be appalling . . !

[oozeymc]

Someone needs to do Knock Me Down. Now there's a challenge!

[oozeymc]

If I ever had a month to do it (!), I'd have a go at doing some La's tabs.

Some of the stuff on that site is right and some is a fair bit off.

You should! Cracking versions you have on your Soundcloud!!
What do you record on? PC or 8/16 Track? Wonderful sounding guitar sounds too. Job well done!

It's all recorded on an Apogee One audio interface with Garageband. Really basic setup, but that's my modern way of recreating the La's recording style! Guitar is a Maversonian Martin 00016RGT. That's dedication for ya! Though the bugger has been using a Martin 000M at his recent gigs. Still if you want a guitar to capture the recent La's live sound, it's now a bit cheaper.

[Ninny]

The tabs are a bit off due to me doing these tabs while I was still learning guitar. Plus the fucking album is all over the place thanks to Lillywhite altering the record speed each track to fit together all the outtakes he was left with. Timeless Melody is simply A E G D - chorus F#m D with an F# bassnote hammering on and off a G bassnote with the thumb. Any cunt with brain can work it out from the Much Music performance anyway!

Err, also I think I have D major in the Callin' All chorus which should be D minor, this was just a mistake in the writing. I heard Pete Doherty performing this with the same wrong chord, obviously the prick doesn't have a clue and looks up wrong tabs on the internet. Maybe Astrid will yield better hearing.

Another big bodge was Lookin' Glass, the chorus should be A D Dm G.

There's a bit of leeway on Over, because it's so echoey there's little help in finding the chord other than the bassnote and maybe if it's major or minor. Plus Lee must have play the tape a fuckload before submitting it to Go! Discs so the entire thing is almost a half-step up meaning you need a capo on the first fret to get it in key!

If you've learnt to play the album stuff the Kitchen tapes are easy to work out, I won't bother detailing them unless someone is really desperate. And you shouldn't be.

Whom the Gods would destroy they first make mad.

Whom the Mad would destroy they first make Gods.

Cheers.

[Phil Spector]

That Ninny fella's a wee bit sweary, eh?

[Tony]

Ninny is Steven, if you haven't guessed - swearing is one of his talents

[Ninny]

Ninny is Steven, if you haven't guessed - swearing is one of his talents

Well, I'm glad it's just 'one' of my talents. Though generally dictated it comes from my love of the Derek & Clive records, otherwise I'm quite well spoken and polite. Unless I've just come back from the pub!

Anyway, here's a tittle for the anybody who wants it - Our TIme.

The F#m* means hammer on and off the F# bassnote to the open E to the rhythm of the song.

A E F#m* E

A E - D A

A E F#m* E
It's a long way
A E F#m* E
It's a hard drive
A E F#m* E
It's a long day
A E F#m* E
It's a long time
A E F#m E D A F#m E
But the reasons unravel through the seasons I travel
D F#m E F#m E A E D A
In the lifetime - (our time) our time - our time.

This is from memory from years ago, that's yer lot, now fook off!

[the chosen one]

Yeah Steven your the man Way back in a time when there weren't any La's tabs (forget about quality ones there weren't any sort of La's tabs on the internet except his) he did the work ( I imagine lots of hours time spent working it out) and got it done.

I never got too down on the song tabs that were a lil' off considering like you say, Lillywhite was messing around with the tracks in several ways through out the album so the tabs were still cool, though I thought maybe a lil' bit of it was you making us work on our own and not making it too easy.

Never got TImeless Melody sounding like the Much Music version though