Saturday, August 7, 2010

River runs deep

Just read that Eric Clapton's new album has this track, so I thought I'll have a look on the original...

It's just Am and D all the way through. Or so I hear it!

The licks he plays are A minor pentatonic... some beautiful pre-bends there on the 8th fret. Too lazy to write the licks down now, but I play the in the 1st and second minor pentatonic boxes, so at five through to 10th fret.

B:------------
G:---5-7-5--
D:-7-------7-
A:-----------

I wonder if that was any help to anybody now. :D
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14 comments:

  1. Michael TMarch 8, 2011 at 1:38 AM

    Have you figured out the progression for this track? I love it and haven't found any chords or tabs online...

    ReplyDelete
  2. weelieMarch 8, 2011 at 1:36 PM

    Hi!

    It goes back and forth between Am and D all the way through. Or so I now hear it! :D

    [Am]The river runs deep and the [D]water is cold as [Am]ice

    ReplyDelete
  3. UnknownMarch 15, 2011 at 2:46 PM

    Yep, playing to it now. Am and D throughout. I like to move it up a notch or two to Bm and E. Then you can switch between it and Right Down Here mid song. I could spend most of my time playing just that ...

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousOctober 2, 2011 at 3:50 PM

    ---------------
    ----------2----
    ----------0----
    ---2-0h2p0------
    A--0-0-------
    E----------

    That's the little riff I worked out when I was playing with it. Like you guys said before, it's just Am and D.

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousMay 26, 2012 at 7:31 PM

    Thanks - I was searching for this information too. Started listening to the River Runs Deep the other day and can't get the perfect, beautiful simplicity of the riffs out of my head.

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousJune 18, 2012 at 4:52 AM

    It is not just an Am and a D its a D7 sus 5. He plays the D7 in the third fret position but holds the root by moving his 4th finger from the D to the A on the Low E string 5th fret.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AnonymousJuly 12, 2014 at 5:06 AM

      I knew I smelt a 7th in there some place...adds flavour to a blues tunes for sure.

      Delete
  7. weelieJune 18, 2012 at 8:13 AM

    OK, Thanks!

    The root-fifth bass "line" is of course very common, and could be used on guitar in this song as well, I didn't hear it played though. Will try it once I have time.

    Could be that he uses the "C7"-shape for the D, yes. But it would not be called sus5, there is no sus5, but D7/A.

    ReplyDelete
  8. AnonymousMarch 12, 2013 at 2:15 AM

    this guy weelie seems so sure that its am and d
    but yet he is too lazy to write the licks down?
    wtf weelie take a little time and pride this is jj cale... you sell him and yourself short

    ReplyDelete
  9. weelieMarch 12, 2013 at 8:51 AM

    I am not that sure, I might be wrong, I am no pro. You have ears and hands as well, please fill in the gaps.

    If you found something in err, or something you know, please share it. This blog is just one tiny corner of my life (kids, work, hobbies, you know the drill), and for me the purpose is to share what I have so that others can correct and we gain some knowledge.

    ReplyDelete
  10. AnonymousOctober 7, 2013 at 3:02 AM

    so sad that such a great artist is gone... peaceful journey jj.. we will miss you

    ReplyDelete
  11. AnonymousMarch 13, 2014 at 1:36 AM

    Anonymous. Totally agree with you. JJ Cale was truly one of the greats; a man of humility about himself and his talent.

    Now to the song. Okay folks; let's get serious here; for just a second. Clapton AND Cale play this together on 2 different guitars not one and the bass line is on a bass!! C'mon if you are players you would KNOW this.

    The basic chord structure is Am7 and D7. Nothing suspended or inverted or anything else. JJ Cale didn't believe in making things complicated for himself. He was hard core straight up campfire chords wherever he could. IF you are truly fans of his music, you would know this.

    Clapton on the other hand plays out melody using yes; Am Pentatonic from 5th fret up including "the Clapton box". He also uses those diads for which he is so famous to add to Cale's rhythm.

    I think you guys need to listen this stuff on a hard core stereo with high end muffs instead of iPods. You WILL hear it.

    I went and purchased the sheet music. Maybe that is a good idea for you too; assuming you can read notation. 5 bucks well spent.

    ReplyDelete
  12. weelieMarch 13, 2014 at 5:35 PM

    Thanks for the comment! I was not actually referring to the Clapton version, as I strongly prefer the originals. I wonder what ever will come off the Clapton September 2013 JJ Cale tribute sessions... haven't really found much of anything on those so far, just a couple of pics on FB.

    ReplyDelete
  13. AnonymousMarch 6, 2016 at 3:49 AM

    thanks, that help!s

    ReplyDelete

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