Windy and Warm - Definitive Version?

[Angus]

Not sure what constitutes a definitive version, but there are at least couple of sumptuous twin guitar outings by Doc and Merle - the one on On Stage is a wonderful example of clean, flawless picking, and Doc's instructional DVD is a gold mine for the techniques involved.

I've just got Tommy E's fantastic Solo Guitar book which I'd recommend to anybody as one of the best instructional books I've ever come across - his version of Windy and Warm is slightly different again. It's a bit more percussive and the 'A' section has a great (to my ears anyway) jazzy progression which fun to learn and play.

I suppose the definitive version is the one you like best, and the one that best encapsulates the essence of the piece, at any given time. I like 'em all

[thenorm]

No matter how you play it several things will happen
1. people will reckognize it
2. They will notice how you left out parts they leave in
3. They will probably think they can play it better than you.
4. They, at best, will say "He's pretty good but he's no Chet Atkins" because, after all, Chet plays the defitiver version.

The above, with some adjustments, will also apply to' I'll See You In My Dreams' but you have to substitue Merle for Chet

[punchdrunque]

Kinda like Chet told Jerry about playing or a styling of any song. There already is a Chet Atkins... find Jerry Reed's style. Just a thought.

[Greg Butler]

One of the most helpful things I came across when trying to learn to play in Chet's style was an LP from back in the 60s called "Play Guitar With Chet Atkins." "Windy and Warm" was one of the tunes on that project. Although I'd hear Chet vary from that arrangement in some ways, it is the one I've stuck with over the years.

[Terry Tolley]

I distinctly remember an interview where Chet said he rarely listened to his own records - especially at the height of his career because most of the arrangements were ones which he came up with about 5 minutes before he recorded it. The reason he often changed it is that he was one who shunned mediocrity with every fiber of his being, so his "definitive arrangement" was in a constant state of flux. The original recording is different than any live version he ever did, and the same is true with every tune he played.

Many have repeated that there is only one Chet, and I tend to agree. Chet's version of any given tune could (and often did) change, especially if it was just him or when he played with Paul. I'm sure he had to stay close to some arrangements due to the fact that there was an orchestra accompanyment involved where parts were written out and thus, not easily changeable on the fly. By now, most of us on this forum know that Chet was never satisfied with anything he ever did and to that point, he would do something different with each performance.

I know when I learn a tune that is new to me, I will try to get it exactly like a version that I have heard Chet do, but then I will change it to something I am more comfortable with simply because I am NOT Chet and never will be. I don't play Windy and Warm the same today as when I first learned it back around 1966 or so. If I am still around in 10 years, I can absolutely guarantee I won't play it the same then as I do now. Most likely - I won't be able to maintain the level of mediocrity I've achieved to this point in my playing - so I will have to modify the tune to fit what I am able to do at the time. My one year of French back in high school taught me a phrase - C'est la' vie' Loosely translated - That is life.

[George Beasley]

I would guess the definitive very is the one Loudermilk showed Chet, but I haven't heard it. I've read interviews wher he said it was pretty much the same as Chet's version....though I am sure Chet made it hs own. That being said, Chet's original album version is the one I remember, and compare others to.

[Tom Keller]

I think definitive version as used here simply means the version of a tune by a particular artist that first introduced its self to the collective consciousness. A prime example to me would be Earl Scruggs Mercury recording of Foggy Mountain Breakdown. Earl played that tune a gazillion different ways during his career but the ones that students and acolyites most often referenced was the original version. To me, one reason students or followers of an artist start copying "definitive" versions is to have a base that they then can expand on and branch out from. Just my two cents.


Tom

[MitchC]

"Definitive" ... hmmmm... not sure really. There have been so many great renditions after Chet's version.Since Chet's was the 1st really... maybe Chet's just for that fact alone ?

I personally favor Tommy Emmanuel's version and that's the version I play.

[bill park]

Find this LP and learn it from Chet himself! That's what I did (a bunch of years ago...).

[keener]

John

That was the first tune I ever learned. I was about 14 at the time, making it almost 50 years ago.

Turns out it's first youtube I ever made, too, and I posted it here about 3 years ago, right after recording it at home:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23l1lEW_B3s

I post it because it's a little different than Chet's ... when it's the first song you learn, and you're young, people ask you to play it all the time, so you look to add a little variety. In this version, I am tuned to drop d (6th string tuned to D), but still play it in Am.

W&W is still one of my favorites. Tommy Emmanuel has a totally kickass version somewhere on youtube. Richard Smith, too.

Best wishes
Bruce