Testament guitarist Alex Skolnick is not one to step away from a challenge, especially a musical one. The hard-rock guitarist stepped up to the plate this week after his pals Rodrigo y Gabriela challenged him — and some other artists — to perform Dua Lipa‘s hit “Don’t Start Now” with their own original spin.
“It’s been great to see the creativity of folks who’ve stepped so far,” Skolnick wrote on YouTube of his high-flying 6-minute version. “Here is my take. This was fun, but indeed a challenge!” He did have one important disclaimer: ” The original is an uptempo mainstream pop mega-hit that many would be dancing to in nightclubs at this very moment were they not stuck sat home. I went more for ambient/moody, which seems to fit the emotion being expressed in the lyrics, along with slower tempo (a bit inspired by Pink Floyd).”
He definitely stepped up, though, putting a jazz guitar spin on the song, complete with a flurry of tasty notes in the middle of the track, whose melody he said is “quite unique and contagious.” The self-avowed perfectionist said he could have spent weeks on the cover, but, inspired by Queen guitarist Brian May’s recent warts-and-all posts, he just went “full on one man jam band after the melody ends in minute two… I admit I got a little carried away Bottom line: does it work? I think so. Hey, you do the best w what y’a got. And it ain’t called a ‘challenge’ for nothing!
Watch Skolnick’s video below.
And check out Rodrigo y Gabriela’s version.
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