Song: Jump (Van Halen)
I don't do a lot of covers. When I do I make every effort to have fun with them and make them my own. I will be honest with you and say flat out that I loved Van Halen back in the day - at least any album with David Lee Roth - and like many, I felt betrayed when Van Hagar became a thing. So why this song? Well, I was just surprised by it one day.
I often play this simple chord progression in C major so that clients I work with can experience successful music making using pitched instruments - xylophone, pentatonic marimba, Hapi Drum (sort of a steel drum), etc... To add some interest I might switch briefly to A minor with a descending bass line that eventually goes back to C major. There are hundreds of songs in the clinical repertoire of a music therapist using this chord progression. At some point this morphed from Harry Belafonte's version of "Jamaica Farewell" into a cover of "Jump." I knew all the words from my childhood and was pretty solid with the melody. I found that it worked well with this basic chord progression. And it was fun.
Technical Specs
Machine: Tascam 388, bounced to Pro Tools First and back to the 388 for more tracking
Pre-amp: Art Tube Pre (the one with presets for about $75)
Microphone: Audio Technica 4033
Lead Guitar: 1991 Gibson Les Paul Standard through Fender Blues with a Comptortion pedal for overdrive
Rhythm Guitar: La Patrie Concert (nylon)
Bass: 1970s Univox (Beatle copy)
Drums: brushes on 1960s Ludwig snare and hi-hats
Keys: Korg SV-1 (organ setting w/ rotary speaker), Yamaha console piano
Percussion: old wooden tambourine with drum stick
Mixed at home and mastered by Warren Gardiner at Gardiner Audio in Melbourne, AUS. Please reach out to him if you are in need of mixing and mastering services. His rates are reasonable and he does excellent listening!