Songs you can get away with playing solo?

[TheMasterplan]

Recently I was asked to be a sort of "backup" act for when bands cancel at some of the smaller venues that my friend books for. I was looking for a variety of song, instrumental or not and of any genre that I can add to my repertoire. I would start doing this in like January I think. Any suggestions? I know a slew of classical/acoustic pieces that are instrumental - I have a bit of a hard time singing along when playing unless the vocal melody follows the guitar to a 'T'. Think Open Car by Porcupine Tree for what I can sing and play simultaneously. So give me some suggestions please.

[MaxOfMetal]

Look into artists who have done just that such Bod Dylan, Neil Young, and theres a whole bunch of Eric Clapton stuff that can be done solo. A lot of the softer acoustic Who songs can be arranged for a single guitar as well.

[Varcolac]

Damien Rice. The albums have a lot of cello, piano, bass, and all that overdubbing, but many of his songs stand on their own as acoustic guitar busking songs.

[vampiregenocide]

Try reworking some popular songs into acoustic versions.

Sober by Tool sounds great acoustic.

[Bloody_Inferno]

You also may want to incorporate classical fingerstyle plucking techniques. James Taylor songs are also good examples, plus with fingerstyle you can incorporate some piano songs (from Stevie Wonder to Alicia Keys and various pop ballads etc) into your set.

[troyguitar]

Bush - glycerine is always popular for electric guitar and voice

[Opeth21]

Any City and Colour, Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Jack Johnson sounds great solo and is fun to practice singing along at the same time with.

[TheMasterplan]

Thanks for the suggestions guys, I'll be doing some research this weekend and I've got some good stuff to start with. Can I get some more recommendations of some tunes I can play with my electric as well? Like I said Open Car by Porcupine Tree is a good example for the type of thing I can do well. Thanks again

[Randy]

There's a ton of Opeth songs that sound great soloed, acoustically.

Harvest, A Fair Judgment or Porcelain Heart come to mind first, but songs like The Drapery Falls are fair game if you replace teh br00talz vokills with a more melodic, albeit "strained" adaptation.

Also, some of the "old standby" alt-rock acoutic metal songs, like:

Staind - Outside
Seether - Broken
Stone Sour - Bother

EDIT: If you're looking for some electric songs to play, as well... consider some Tool, like Ross said. The complex stuff is mostly in the layering and the D&B department. Vocals+guitar sounds fine for 85% of their stuff. Especially any songs people would be familiar with.

[Bloody_Inferno]

Also don't be scared in rearranging songs into acoustic format. Great songs are also adaptable and can be reinterpreted through any media and instrument. You may get the same vibe, and maybe not, but that's not bad.

Jewel is quite good at this, arranging her pop album into acoustic stuff live for instance. Tool songs are also good: Sober, H, The Patient, etc.

Anything by A Perfect Circle, Tea Party, Foo Fighters as well.

More examples:
Cog - Bitter Pills
Karnivool - All I Know
Anything by Birds of Tokyo
The Butterfly Effect - In a Memory, Final Conversation, all their mellow stuff

Basically any song that can stand on it's own regardless of instrumentation or arrangement.

[pink freud]

Wish You Were Here
Fearless
Pigs on the Wing
Goodbye Blue Sky
- Pink Floyd

While My Guitar Gently Weeps
Here Comes the Sun
- The Beatles

Fake Plastic Trees
Exit Music (For a Film)
- Radiohead

The Man Who Sold the World
- David Bowie

[maxident213]

Try some Leonard Cohen, Dax Riggs, Johnny Cash, Townes Van Zandt, or Hank Williams.

also: "4th of July" by Soundgarden is a simple song that translates perfectly to a solo acoustic piece.