In the pink
Wish you were here tops our online poll to find the 30 best acoustic songs of all time
The people have spoken… and they choose Gilmour. At least when it comes to their favourite acoustic song of all time. Pink Floyd’s 1975 lament to former member Syd Barrett has won out in an online poll over on Musicradar to choose readers’ favourite acoustic guitar-based track.
Wish You Were Here managed to knock the Fab Four into second, third and fourth place with Paul Mccartney-penned Beatles classic Yesterday, George Harrison’s arpeggio feast Herecomesthe Sun and Macca’s fingerstyle
workout Blackbird filling the top spaces. There was even a cheeky inclusion for the unplugged version of The Eagles’ Hotel California at number five.
David Gilmour used his 1969 Martin D-35 on the track and in 2003 told our US sister mag Guitarplayer that it was his favourite guitar – which makes it all the more impressive that he let it go in his recent charity auction at Christie’s in New York where it fetched $1,095,000 and set a new record for a winning bid on an acoustic guitar.
Another strong showing in the poll at number six is Eric Clapton and Will Jennings’ poignant Tears Inheaven, a tribute to Clapton’s son Conor who tragically died in 1991. Clapton memorably performed the song at the guitarist’s 1992 Mtvunplugged shortly after its release.
Johnny Cash’s cover of Nine Inch Nails’s Hurt, Neil Young’s Needle And The Damage Done, Bob Marley’s Redemption Song and The Boxer by Simon And Garfunkel rounded out the top ten.
In a poll that was heavy on established classics, Radiohead ( Fake Plastic Trees) and Oasis ( Wonderwall) were the closest thing to modern heroes in the top 30 – and both their songs are pushing 25 years old.