Noticed there wasn’t a current Spill challenge up so I thought offer this for Wednesday’s entertainment. Let’s look for songs by a favorite artist that don’t fit their usual M.O. If Amy has the Stones doing Gregorian chants I’m calling game over. The farther from what made them famous the better. We all know the rules by now so feel free to break ‘em.
Not the style that’s different here, but the subject – some gospel from the Pie. No doubt May or AlBahooky will insist that the Violinaires’ cover be mentioned. (Yes, it may be even better.)
Wow- Steve doin’ call & response. Hell just pass the plate ’cause the Spirit’s in de house. Loved it.
Well, that’s the thing. If you want to get me to listen to gospel, then either make it ironic like the Stones, (which is why i wouldn’t count it for this topic) or funky as hell. Might as well post this cover -
I have to say that i’m confused now as to which song is actually the cover. Thunderbox was released in 1974 (and was the first version of the song that i heard), and from what i found on the web, the Violinaires’ may have been recorded earlier. In fact, it probably was, as there’s mention of Vietnam in their lyrics. But Wikipedia and other sources (fwiw) has Stevie credited as the songwriter.
Looks like the Glimmer Twins wrote for them as well.
groovy man, quite persuasive, AmyLee, you may have converted me to the Lord!
Well, what do you know. This is the song Mick and Keith wrote for the Violinaires! Daily i learn new things. It’s lovely, but guess which version i prefer.
Neil & the Blue Notes is one of those albums probably only Neil fan’s bought but it’s full of little nuggets. Neil added a full chorus of horns & used them to great effect. The song I wanted to put here is Coupe De Ville but couldn’t find a utube link so here’s a DB link.
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3815118/Neil%20Young%20-%20Coupe%20de%20Ville.mp3
That’s probably as close to jazz as you’ll hear Neil try. I love it.
Here’s Neil & the Blue Notes in concert using all the horns to full effect.
Fab topic Fintan, and thanks for stepping up to fill the void with such a doozy. If I wasn’t about to collapse into my bed…too much wine, cheese, episodes of “Bored To Death” and other forms of typical Guardian reader malaise mean my analytical brain isn’t functioning as it really shud b rite now…….
Lou Christie – Beyond The Blue Horizon (1974)
Maybe it was a desire to do more mature material.
Maybe he just couldn’t hit those falsetto heights anymore.
Maybe he just wanted to go country but do it his way.
Whatever it was, it worked brilliantly here. An odd mix of pedal steel, Dixieland-style brass, an old 1930′s pop standard, an unusual fade-in intro, big dramatic finish which wraps around to the intro again.
And not a falsetto note anywhere.
Wow – There’s a song had slipped from my memory. Lou does it nicely, just teases you on the falsetto & great arrangement .
1st thought was Golden Brown, but that was a song that got the Stranglers the dubious fame of Radio 2 airplay. This one was quite a change of pace for Genesis P Orridge & his band of art industrial racketeers:
that’s certainly not what I thought Psychic TV sounded like, I kept expecting something nasty to happen, nice contrast to my expectations.
Somehow Genesis P Orridge always manages to sound a bit sinister to me even when he’s trying to do “nice” – or perhaps especially when he’s trying to do “nice”.
Shoe had to go for a Throbbing Gristle listen for perspective. Quite a contrast with this lovely little piece of pop.
Dragon Ash – Ivory
Dragon Ash are a rock – rap – hip hop band and so have mixed and varied music influences, but in 2005 they surprised everyone by releasing the Rio De Emoticon album which was Spanish and Latin influenced and completely different from anything they did before or since.
This is the track Ivory from the album Rio De Emoticon. I hope you like it – I do ! ! !
Just so you can see a typical Dragon Ash track here is the track I love Beat Yourself. They are a very innovative group and have been together for many years now and continue to be original and fresh.
Sakura – that was very fun. Love how they used the turntable scratc in the same way flamenco uses los cajones for percussion.
Well now, as you may know I am a bit of a fan of what might be call “the dusty” end of music and hence have lots to choose from.
Initial thought was Brian Wilson’s “Great lost rap record” Smart Girls.
This specimen was recorded as part of the follow up project to his solo album of 1988.
Usually known as “Sweet Insanity” the album concerned was never released. Much of it has now leaked out, however and Smart Girls was sent out as a promo cassette to some radio stations.
I must say the initial blast of “My name is Brian !” makes my heart sink every time I hear it.
Next comes Heavy Metal thunder from a most unlikely source. Pat Boone, 50s smoothie and pizza delivery guy who, for some reason, decided to make an album of covers of “ROCK” ( with a capital “R”) songs.
Here’s Smoke on the Water which should be enough to drive the average Deep Purple fan insane .
Lastly, from the ridiculous to the even more ridiculouser. Imagine my delight when I discovered that William ( Captain Kirk) Shatner’s new album contained a cover of none other than Hawkwind’s Silver Machine !
There really are the end of days, surely this is a sign of the coming apocalypse..
Now see, I love Hawkwind and there are some great Hawkwind covers around, but I wasn’t expecting to like this so much! The man is unexpectedly talented, dond.
I An Brian cracked me up & I’m still pondering Shatner’s “vision” but I’ll not go near wingnut Boone.
I see your Pat Boone and raise you Paul Anka.
umm… words fail me.
I think this is rather lovely.
Incidentally, Shatner’s version of Bohemian Rhapsody is a thing of great genius too !
Mamma !
I just listened to Bohemian Rhapsody and I really (yes really) fell of my chair laughing ! ! !
In 1986, Depeche Mode were very much a bunch of electronic miseries, their albums were dark, verging on industrial and the themes were grim, but then there was this B side which really surprised me, it has more than one rhyme in it which makes me burst out laughing, which is probably not intentional, but the whole mood was unexpected to me, hope you enjoy it, makes me smile!
Yes, it is odd to see DM crack even an ironic smile.
For me though, the ultimate DM black sheep song is One Caress which is a typical hide-the-razor-blades song except that it’s got no synths or grungy guitars: Dave Gahan backed only by a string quartet.
It would make a pretty good horror movie theme and – judging by the video – they’ve already got the first three minutes of a movie made.
boo, the video doesn’t work in the UK, but I found it elsewhere. Isn’t it Martin Gore that is singing? (he does sound very similar on DM releases though).
Do you know I don’t listen to that album much and I hadn’t really thought about the lack of synths, how lazy of me. It is a delightful track, I agree, thanks for encouraging me to listen to with more attention!
Beth, is this DM’s prom song. It’s almost happy & you could do some 80s dance moves easily.
Vangelis has been writing and performing his distinctive music for years. His use of synthisised sound and grand productions has established him as one of the best motion picture soundtrack artists of recent years. And the music he produced for Blade Runner, one of my all time favourite films, is no exception. And yet within the soundtrack he throws in his take on this little ditty, that is so out of character.
Written by Peter Skellern and performed by Don Percival, it sits strangely within the album.
One More Kiss Dearhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8N6rRokDy-E&feature=related
BP – well done. I remember thinking this was a thirties song I’d not heard.
Tom Petty, soul singer
The song is from 1975, after Shelter Records had fired Mudcrutch but held on to TP in hopes he could have a solo career – so this is pre-Heartbreakers, though Mike Campbell is (unwillingly) playing lead guitar on this track.
Since You Said You Loved Me
treefrogdemon back in da house! Whoop whoop! How goes it all down south?
Well…there’s still lots to do, so I haven’t really noticed that I’ve retired yet. We were a bit worried that the boys would be upset when they saw their old house looking so unfamiliar, but they came round today (their mum being on strike, and the one who’s at school having no school) and were perfectly cool with it.
Plus I keep spending money! New cooker coming tomorrow for instance. I may need therapy once it all settles down.
WOw! I’ve always felt Tom has a great sense of delivery & really knows his way around a song but I never thought I’d hear it in that form. Great stuff.
Let’s get the obvious choice out of the way, then I’ll try to think of something else that I (or Mr. Steenbeck) haven’t shared with you all many times before:
Here’s Van Halen doing their normal thang:
And here’ their WTF moment, featuring Daddy Van Halen on clarinet:
DSD – WTF indeed. Love a good shufflin’ tune & that qualifies.
Sampled by De La Soul. Threw me for a loop first time I heard it!
I’d forgotten this one. Just makes you giggle huh? No limits for George.
First thought – a good 34 out of the 36 tracks off The Clash’s Sandinista.
Second thought – there’s quite a few Test Tube Babies options as they enjoy a cheeky pastiche. I wanted to post their Foot Full Of Bullets which as far as I can make out is a Johnny Cash take off, but it’s not on YT but “here’s a nice ballad…”. Don’t worry though, the lyrics confirm it’s the same old Test Tubes.
Peter & The Test Tube Babies – All About Love
Grab your honey & hold on tight. Who gives a fuck ’bout lyrics.
I posted this as an earworm a while ago, claiming it was a track by ‘Donna Roberts’. fintan saw through my ruse, by identifying Bob Weir’s voice, but I don’t think anyone would say this sounds like the Grateful Dead (whatever you think they sound like):
Still can’t hide Ace’s voice though.
Time for a couple? I’m bending the rules cos fintan said I could but also because I wouldn’t rank the following artists as absolute favourites (though my respect for Dolly has been on a steep upward climb for a while now so we’re not talking diffidence either) but they’re what came to mind so….
Dolly Parton – Busy Signal
Contributed this to a birthday CD (and heck, DsD, you can consider it contributed to yours though I don’t see you setting Dolly on the turntable for booty-shaking purposes as a rule) – it’s got the Parton twang and it was written by Ray Stevens but other than those country connections, it’s a definite Northern Soul shuffler:
And then there’s -
Vic Godard and the Subway Sect – Stamp Of A Vamp
Perfectly decent King’s Road sorts but, as I say, never up there among my punk idols. However, I’ve got to shout this because it wasn’t so much that they were a punk group, but that they seemed to have such a standard issue kind of punk sound – and it wasn’t just that this is a supper club crooner’s number but that it’s such a classy piece of supper club crooning, for which the only epithet would be (c/o John Thomson) “nice”:
Oh, Dolly. Ok here’s the deal. We get the MGs to back, throw in the Memphis horns Tom Petty to do the other half & record them on something like It Takes Two.
You could finance the recording session just on side bets at your local name it and claim it contest.
I’ve mentioned this before on RR, but I still find it rather wonderful that Pat Metheny, talented jazz guitarist but purveyor of some of the most godawful ultra-tasteful synth-laden soft jazz-rock pap known to man, decided it would be a good idea to go head to head with the great Ornette Coleman and play abstract free jazz. Obviously this is a bit of an acquired taste – it’s the only Metheny I actually enjoy listening to…
Acquiring Target
Definitely some interesting stuff in there. Very impressed with the return to theme. I’d have liked a little bit more variation in the dynamics, a few more spaces and eddys, and more interchange of phrases (but maybe I wasn’t listening hard enough). Metheny sounds the least comfortable with total freedom: you can make a lot more noises that that on a guitar.
Bit of a cheat because actually they dabbled in all sorts of genres, but I always liked this rough ‘n’ ready, stripped-back ‘cut’ from Eurythmics:
Always felt Annie should use her voice unadorned more. This is kinda along the lines what i was thinking. Great pipes.
Estrella’s Chavela Vargas cover might fit the bill here, whaddya think Fintan?
Maki – Why so it would. I’ve listened to it nearly every day for a couple of weeks.
Here it is
It’s a bolero, which is way outside her comfort zone, despite the Flamenco treatment.
This is much more her usual style (for compare and contrast purposes).
Bollocks! It’s not a bolero it’s a ranchera….
Hello Fintan. Good topic. here’s mine – can you guess what it is yet?
Ali – Great fun that. Question? Has Rolf ever done the Theme From Rawhide ’cause it sounds like he’s channeling it here.
Perhaps he should!
You were probably expecting this, but here’s Gene Vincent from the days when “Be-Bop-A-Lula” had just happened and he was billed by his record company as “The Screamin’ End”, doing what I think is the best version of “Unchained Melody”
No doubt outside his 50s groove but no one is gonna mistake him for Andy Williams (generally a good thing).
Funny you should mention Andy Williams. Here’s Gene’s 1965 take on a number which Andy Williams had a hit with in 59.
If you’d ever seen Adam and the Ants during 1977 or 1978 then you would realise this was not their usual style. An amazing choice as first single but oddly it didn’t trouble the charts unlike the subsequent crap they released.