performances—for instance, maybe a long
intro is shortened or adjusted to make up
for lack of an orchestra—and to a limited
degree, Urban has done so for his current
tour. For example, he kicks things off with
“Put You in a Song,” the first single from
Get Closer. Urban says the song has been
stretched and elongated to the point of
functioning almost like a remix. He also
explains that other tunes have to be tweaked
because delicate lines and musical textures
aren’t necessarily going to translate well to
large arenas.
“Like in ‘Long Hot Summer,’” which
begins with a warm, Andy Summers-like
arpeggio, “the important piece is the
electric riffs,” Urban says. “The banjo has
a nice sound to it on the record, but it’s
not something you would miss live. So I
would probably put my guy onto some
other instrument that sounds more needed
in a live situation.” As for the song’s
Police-esque vibe, Urban says, “It definite-
ly comes from that ‘Message in a Bottle’-
kind of place, but the actual lyrics were
inspired by a song called ‘Short Memory’
by Midnight Oil. ‘Short Memory’ is com-
pletely different, but the arpeggiated intro
always stayed with me, and this is sort of
a sped-up version of that with a couple of
chord changes.”
Other than the live adjustments made
to “Long Hot Summer,” Urban says his
set doesn’t require as much alteration as
you might think. “I’ve gotten to the point
where I record songs like I would probably
play them live anyway, y’know?” he says.
“Like long solos on the outros, if the songs
require them. That’s definitely an ode to the
Dire Straits records I grew up with, which
had three-minute outros—almost like a part
two of the song.”
Other than Knopfler, one of Urban’s
big guitar influences is U2’s the Edge, as
evidenced by the shimmering, echo-y part
that gently floats under the piano in “All
for You.”
“The Edge is absolutely one of the
greats,” Urban says. “We were just play-
ing today—we were trying to get a muted,
arpeggiated, single-string thing—and I was
trying to get my other guitarists to get the
right guitar to make it nice and woody in
the middle. I said, ‘Y’know, like the Edge—
that kind of thing.’ Then, I actually came
to the conclusion that it was probably more
David Gilmour than the Edge because of
that single-string thing.”
Following in Waylon’s Footsteps?
Urban’s current Get Closer tour affords
fans plenty of opportunities to check out
his guitars and be inspired by either the
vintage gear or the quirky stuff. The concert features an entirely new stage set, new
production, and a new look that fans are
going to love—including multiple stages
that enable Urban to get closer to fans all
over the venue.
During one of those forays into the
audience, it’s entirely possible that some
young boy, an eager and determined young
musician, might look upon Urban and
Clarence the Tele with the same reverence
that the Aussie once bestowed upon Waylon
Jennings and that leather-clad Broadcaster.
“It would be a huge honor—I’d better
take care of it!”
Your pedals are worth it.
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