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Gone again
Graham Bonnet has teamed up with Marty Friedman of Megadeath fame to record a new version of Since You’ve Been Gone.
Graham Bonnet shares his thoughts on the song:
When we first began recording the album Down To Earth, we had already created a new sound that was quite different from the Ronnie James Dio-era. It was meant to be more radio-friendly, but it also had a more modern sound with lyrical content that dealt with real life. When manager Bruce Payne brought the song ‘Since You Been Gone’ to the band, everyone was a bit dismayed. It didn’t sound anything like the other songs on the record and was almost pop-like in comparison. Some of the guys were very vocal about their negative feelings about the song. The original version that was presented to us was very different from the song we ended up recording. We received a version recorded by a South African all-girl band called Clout. We changed the chorus ad-libs to sound harder, more hard rock but even then, Cozy threatened to leave the band if we did the song. When the final product was complete, we were all excited by the outcome. It turned out much better than expected. Roger suggested an intro with multiple voices in the vein of a madrigal and it added an unexpected aspect to the song that was quite favorable. Even though we all were happy with the end result, we were stunned by how the song was received. Everyone seemed to love it and to this day, when we play the song live, there isn’t one single audience member not singing along with us. It has appeared in countless movies and TV shows, the most recent being the third instalment of the Guardians Of The Galaxy series. Russ Ballard, who penned ‘Since You Been Gone’, is an incredible songwriter and to this day, is the only outside writer whose material I will record. In essence, I have to acknowledge that SYBG kickstarted my career in rock and there is no end in sight.
Thanks to BraveWords for the info and quote.
Unauthorized copying, while sometimes necessary, is never as good as the real thing
Graham’s still got the pipes! This is a pretty good version. I like the original best (including Head East’s rendering), but the musicians did a superb job.
March 25th, 2024 at 21:17It’s a catchy tune and Bonnet’s voice owns it right from the first note of the verse. It opened new doors for Rainbow (and closed a couple forever).
But … We’re writing the year 2024, Rainbow’s version was recorded in 1979 and already then wasn’t what I would call a cutting edge arrangement, but very AOR drawing-by-numbers. The riff introduction (which, frankly, Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich would not have played much different on one of their 60ies singles, perhaps adding hand claps to it), the – yawn – staccato piano (God bless Jon Lord for regularly going out of his way avoiding that) and half-time breakdown in the middle, the “bricklayer-commercial” key change of the chorus after that. Everything about that arrangement cries late 70ies/early 80ies convention – in comparison, SOTW is unorthodox in arrangement.
And I can’t help it, but I find all known arrangements of that song rather similar, nobody dared do anything real different with it:
1. Russ Ballard’s original, poppy and a little faster than other versions + a synth solo at the end:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_v0bDfZytwk
2. The Clout version which inspired Bruce Payne to play it to Cozy and Ritchie, drum rolls and a piano/Hammond-heavy verse:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sUJOgbe2Wk
3. The Head East version which sounds a bit mannered to me: More, but this time weird drum rolls, it neither grooves nor rolls, which is relatively rare with US bands, I’m surprised.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYR64gDU2Po
4. The Currie Twins with Steve Lukather on guitar supplying a Queen’ish backing, this pretty much crossed with Rainbow’s version (not sure whether they had heard Rainbow’s version before, probably not) and, yes, it features handclaps galore:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzofZh6hFMQ
5. Impellitteri give it a hair metal treatment, not bad in my book, but hardly a revolutionary take:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Gwk6mb3VtA
6. Brian May is even more conventional and sticks to the script, but worth watching for the background girls if – to quote Freddie M – “you’re that way inclined”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3qqRZhWzDI
7. This has a nice unplugged and grown-up feel, but the arrangement is again rather standard:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jq799Vf_auQ
I don’t really see what the new reworking by Marty Friedman adds to the story. We already knew that Marty can play guitar and Graham can sing.
In hindsight, the Guardians of the Galaxy version which gave the song cinemascopic orchestral bombast and turned it into this grandiose ballad is the most interesting rearrangement/reconstructing/remix of the song. And who doesn’t like a green-skinned Zoe Saldana?!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JG2OnMC9_uQ
March 26th, 2024 at 01:07Boring
March 26th, 2024 at 07:22‘Roger suggested an intro with multiple voices in the vein of a madrigal.’
I never really thought of it like that, but it makes perfect sense now.
March 26th, 2024 at 08:56Catchy tune – still is, the simple ones are usually the best.
Dio & Bonnet era Rainbow was just great!
March 27th, 2024 at 09:22Russ Ballard plays the arrangement as the the Rainbow version live.
Not sure why GB needs to record it again having done the GB Band recording in 2016.
March 27th, 2024 at 12:48@6 said…
qt.” (I’m) Not sure why GB needs to record it again having done the GB Band recording in 2016 “…
Graham’s likely winding-up his career I’d suggest, & possibly book-ending it with the tune that started-it-all-off for him, at least that what the article indicates…
GB qt.” In essence, I have to acknowledge that SYBG kickstarted my career in rock, and there is no end in sight “.
Peace !
April 1st, 2024 at 07:20Wasn’t he a household commodity in your neck of the eucalyptus trees, Gregster?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HbEh0fy4io
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1S64DvC7HM
He even had a – faintly reminiscent looking – guitarist with a funny hat (in the first vid, in the second one Moody has taken it off, good shot of him at 00:45 in full mustached glory).
April 1st, 2024 at 17:16