Cover Story – Bridge Over Troubled Water

The Simon and Garfunkel album “Bridge over Troubled Water” was a rare gem in my parents 70′s album collection amonst the James Last, Shirley Bassey and Herb Alpert collections and I still have flashbacks to them and the neighbours dancing to “Cecillia” around the Tupperware Lazy Susan.

The title track is without doubt a classic of it’s time and it takes a brave person to record a cover version.

Step forward Merry Clayton (born December 25, 1948) who is an  American soul and gospel singer (both solo and back-up), and an actress.

She has provided a number of back-up vocal tracks to songs recorded by major performing artists during the 1960s, most notably with her duet with Mick Jagger on The Rolling Stones song “Gimme Shelter“.

She also sang backup on several tracks from Neil Young‘s debut album Neil Young, originally released in 1968 and also sang backing vocals on Lynyrd Skynyrd‘s “Sweet Home Alabama”.

Also, early in her career, Clayton sang backup vocals for Tom Jones, Joe Cocker (Feelin’ Alright) and Carole King.

She also originated the role of the Acid Queen in the original 1972 London production of The Who‘s Tommy.

In 1970, Clayton recorded her own version of “Gimme Shelter,” and it became the title track of her debut solo album, released that year. Her version would be the first of five singles under her name to crack the Billboard Hot 100, reaching #73.

The album also featured her version of “Bridge Over Troubled Water”

“Bridge Over Troubled Water” – Merry Clayton

To buy the music of Merry Clayton click HERE

2010 Top 30 New and Old #23

This is a late entry to my Top 30 having only bought the album last week.

John Grant is an American singer-songwriter. He recently launched his career as a solo artist, having previously been lead vocalist with The Czars.

He released his debut solo album Queen of Denmark on April 6, 2010. It was recorded in collaboration with Midlake, and released on Bella Union.

Described as a deeply personal album it was chosen as Best Album of 2010 by the music magazine Mojo.

“Where Dreams Go To Die” – John Grant

Your Beauty is Unstoppable, your confidence unspeakable
I know you know I know you know, that I know that you know
I’m willing to do anything, to get attention from you dear, even
though I don’t have anything that I could bargain with

This is like a well-oiled machine, could I please see that smile again?
It’s all that makes me feel like I am living in this world, I see you closing
all the doors, I see the walls as they go up, I know it’s what you have to do
I’d probably do the same thing to, my dear

Baby, you are where dreams go to die, and I regret the day
your lovely carcass caught my eye, baby, you are where dreams go to die
and I’ve got to get away I don’t want to but I have to try, oh baby

You have to play your part my dear, I’ve written it all down for you
it doesn’t matter if the things, you say to me aren’t true,
just do it then I’ll let you go, just say the words and say them slowly
I promise i’ll tell no one, yes I cross my heart and hope to die

To buy the music of John Grant click HERE

My favourite Rolling Stones album has always been “Let It Bleed” with 1978′s “Some Girls” also a personal favourite.

I never really saw what all the fuss was about regarding “Exile On Main Street” that was until I bought the remastered edition back in March and suddenly it all clicked and made sense, now it must be the “rock and roll” album by which all are judged, totally majestic!

“Loving Cup” – The Rolling Stones

To buy the music of The Rolling Stones click HERE

To view a previous post on The Rolling Stones click HERE

Fiona’s favourite Stones track was “Gimme Shelter” from “Let It Bleed” so here as a bonus is a great cover version by Merry Clayton

“Gimme Shelter” – Merry Clayton

To buy the music of Merry Clayton click HERE

It’s Only Arctic Roll (But I Like It)

An Arctic roll is a British dessert made of vanilla ice cream wrapped in a thin layer of sponge cake to form a roll, with a layer of raspberry flavoured sauce between the sponge and the ice cream.

The dessert was invented in the 1950s by a Czech lawyer, Ernest Velden, who had emigrated to England in 1939.  He set up a factory in Eastbourne producing Arctic Roll in 1958, and the dessert quickly became very popular.

During the 1980s more than 25 miles of Birds Eye Arctic Roll was sold each month, however, sales slumped during the 1990s and eventually the manufacturer of Arctic Roll, Birds Eye, stopped producing the dessert.

The 2008 economic downturn saw the reappearance of Arctic Roll as consumers increasingly looked for low-cost foods.

While some consumers view the Arctic Roll as comfort food, others view it as old fashioned and the food writer Nigel Slater has even described it as tasting of “frozen carpet”.

Nonetheless, Birds Eye reported “overwhelming consumer demand” for the dessert. Indeed, from when Birds Eye started marketing Arctic Rolls again in December 2008 until April 2009, sales of the product were estimated at £3.5 million, or 3 million boxes (around 250 miles of Arctic Roll).

Commentators suggest that aside from Arctic Roll’s low price, many consumers buy the dessert out of feelings of nostalgia.

A number of UK supermarkets sell their own brand versions of Arctic Roll, both chocolate and raspberry variants, and did so even when Birds Eye were not marketing the product.

“It’s Only Arctic Roll (But I Like It)” – The Rolling Stones

To buy the music of The Rolling Stones click HERE

Blast From The Past – Devo

Devo (pronounced /ˈdiːvoʊ/ DEE-voh, originally /diːˈvoʊ/ dee-VOH) are an American band formed in Akron, Ohio in 1973.

While in the US they are perhaps best known for their 1980 hit “Whip It”, which made it to #14 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

The band in the UK, and particularly to me,  are best identified via their cover of the Rolling Stones “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” which was released as a single in 1977.

“(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” -  Devo

Gerald Casale has stated that Mick Jagger’s assertion that he liked Devo’s rendition was “a setup” and that a Warner Brothers lawyer had asked him to approve the cover.

 Steve Huey of Allmusic stated that the cover version “reworks the original’s alienation into a spastic freak-out that’s nearly unrecognizable”.

Their style over time has shifted between punk, art rock, post-punk, and New Wave. Their music and stage show mingle kitsch science fiction themes, deadpan surrealist humor, and mordantly satirical social commentary. Their often discordant pop songs feature unusual synthetic instrumentation and time signatures that have proven influential on subsequent popular music, particularly New Wave, industrial and alternative rock artists.

Devo was also a pioneer of the music video, creating many memorable clips for the Laser Disc format, with “Whip It” getting heavy airplay in the early days of MTV.

One of their more famous phrases from the single “Jocko Homo eventually became the title for their 1978 debut album “Are We Not Men? : We Are Devo”

They tell us that
We lost our tails
Evolving up
From little snails
I say it’s all
Just wind in sails
Are we not men?
We are Devo!
Are we not men?
D-E-V-O

We’re pinheads now
We are not whole
We’re pinheads all
Jocko homo
Are we not men?
We are Devo!
Are we not men?
D-E-V-O
Are we not pins?
We are Devo!

Monkey men all
In business suits
Teachers and critics
All dance the poot
Are we not men?
We are Devo!
Are we not men?
D-E-V-O
Are we not pins?
We are Devo!
Are we not men?
D-E-V-O

I got a rhyme that comes with a riddle
O-HI-O
What’s round on the ends and high in the middle?
O-HI-O

God made man
But he used the monkey to do it
Apes in the plan
We’re all here to prove it
I can walk like an ape
Talk like an ape
Do what a monkey can do
God made man
But a monkey supplied the glue

Are we not men?
We are Devo!
Are we not men?
We are Devo!
Are we not men?
We are Devo!
Are we not men?
We are Devo!

We must repeat
D-E-V-O
We must repeat
D-E-V-O
We must repeat
D-E-V-O
We must repeat
D-E-V-O
We must repeat
D-E-V-O
We must repeat
D-E-V-O
We must repeat
D-E-V-O
We must repeat
O.K. let’s go!

The album received somewhat mixed reviews from critics and peaked at number 12 on the U.K. album charts and number 78 on the U.S. Billboard charts. Recent reviews of the album have been more uniformly positive, with the album charting on several retrospective “best of” lists from publications including Rolling Stone, Pitchfork Media and Spin.

Thereafter the quaint quirkiness of Devo faded away for me though they still exist that first album was as far as I went with them.

To buy the music of Devo click HERE

Animated Sleeves

Animated album sleeves, pointless but FUN!

For more information click HERE

“All Apologies” (Live) – Nirvana

To buy the music of Nirvana click HERE

Exile On Main Street

The Rolling Stones are to reissue their 1972 album ‘Exile On Main Street’ with 10 previously unreleased tracks on it.

The album will be reissued on May 17, and will coincide with the broadcasting of a newly filmed documentary on the band called Stones In Exile.

In addition to the original album, the rerelease will also feature 10 previously unreleased Rolling Stones songs recorded in the same period, which were unearthed during work on the reissue project.

New tracks on the re-release include ‘Plundered My Soul’, ‘Dancing In The Light’, ‘Following The River’ and ‘Pass The Wine’. Alternate versions of ‘Soul Survivor’ and ‘Loving Cup’ are also included.

The release will be available as both the original 18-track album, and a deluxe edition with the 10 bonus tracks. Meanwhile, a super-deluxe package also includes vinyl, a 30-minute documentary DVD, and a 50-page collector’s book.

Latest music and film news on Uncut.co.uk.

“Shine A Light” – The Rolling Stones

To buy the music of The Rolling Stones click HERE

Get Yer Ya Ya’s Out!

The Rolling Stones best live album by far has just been re-released in an extravagant extended package.

Here is more detail from www.rollingstone.com

In November 1969, the Rolling Stones’ staged an epic two-night stand at New York’s Madison Square Garden that provided tunes for the band’s first official Stones-approved live album, Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out! To celebrate the 40th anniversary of Ya-Ya’s!, ABKCO will release a remastered deluxe and super-deluxe edition of the live album, a three-disc/one-DVD box set complete with five unreleased songs from the MSG shows and a DVD featuring the Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out film directed by the Maysles Brothers — the documentary team behind the Stones’ classic Gimme Shelter. In the film, the Stones hang out with Jimi Hendrix and the Grateful Dead, mess around during the Ya-Ya’s cover shoot, perform the five unreleased songs and much more.

Additionally, one disc in the set will be dedicated to the sets from the MSG shows’ two opening acts, B.B. King and Ike & Tina Turner. The set will also include a replica poster and a 56-page booklet featuring photos, essays, Lester Bangs’ original Rolling Stone review of the album and much more (read Bangs’ full review here). The “super-deluxe” version of the box set will also house a three picture disc vinyl version of Ya-Ya’s, complete with etched cover images and the Stones’ signatures, as well as an enlarged version of the replica poster and 56-page booklet. To top it all off, the box set will come with a voucher allowing fans to download the Ya-Ya’s version of the Stones’ “I’m Free” for Guitar Hero 5.

The deluxe box will hit shelves November 3rd, while the super deluxe set arrives two weeks later on November 17th. Check out the track list below:

Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out! The Rolling Stone In Concert – 40th Anniversary Deluxe Box Set
Disc 1: Get Yer Ya-Ya;s Out (remastered)
1. “Jumpin’ Jack Flash”
2. “Carol”
3. “Stray Cat Blues”
4. “Love In Vain”
5. “Midnight Rambler”
6. “Sympathy For The Devil”
7. “Live With Me”
8. “Little Queenie”
9. “Honky Tonk Women”
10. “Street Fighting Man”

Disc 2: unreleased Rolling Stones tracks
1. “Prodigal Son”
2. “You Gotta Move”
3 “Under My Thumb”
4. “I’m Free”
5. “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”

Disc 3:
1. “Everyday I Have The Blues”
2. “How Blue Can You Get”
3. “That’s Wrong Little Mama”
4. “Why I Sing The Blues”
5. “Please Accept My Love”
6. “Gimme Some Loving”
7. “Sweet Soul Music”
8. “Son Of A Preacher Man”
9. “Proud Mary”
10. “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long”
11. “Come Together”
12. “Land Of 1000 Dances”
Tracks 1 – 5: B.B. King
Tracks 6 – 12: Ike & Tina Turner

DVD: Maysles Brothers’ Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out
1. “Prodigal Son”
2. “You Gotta Move”
3. “Under My Thumb”
4. “I’m Free”
5. “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”

Retailing at circa £35 I was delighted that the additional five Stones tracks could be purchased individually from iTunes including this blues standard

“Prodigal Son” – The Rolling Stones

Having not toured since April 1967, The Rolling Stones were eager to hit the road by 1969. With their two most recent albums, Beggars Banquet and Through the Past, Darkly (Big Hits Vol. 2) being highly praised, audiences were anticipating their live return. Their 1969 American Tour‘s trek during November into December , with Terry Reid, B.B. King (replaced on some dates by Chuck Berry), and Ike and Tina Turner as support acts, played to packed houses. The tour was the first for Mick Taylor with The Rolling Stones, having replaced Brian Jones shortly before Jones’ July death; the performances prominently showcased the guitar interplay of Taylor with Keith Richards.

The performances captured for this release were recorded on 27–28 November 1969 at New York City‘s Madison Square Garden, while “Love in Vain” was recorded in Baltimore, Maryland on 26 November 1969. Overdubbing was undertaken during January and February 1970 in London’s Olympic Studios. No instruments were overdubbed, although on bootlegs, examples are known of Keith Richards trying out different guitar parts (e.g. a guitar solo on “Jumpin’ Jack Flash“). The finished product featured new lead vocals on half the tracks, and added backing vocals by Richards on several others.

A third guitar is audible in the center channel during “Little Queenie”. This instrument must have been overdubbed as none of the 1969 supporting musicians played guitar.

Some of the performances, as well as the photography session for the album cover featuring Charlie Watts and a donkey are depicted in the documentary film Gimme Shelter, and shows Jagger and Watts on a road in Birmingham, UK, in early December 1969 posing with the donkey. The actual cover photo however was taken in early February 1970 in London, and does not originate from the 1969 session. The photo, featuring Watts with guitars and binoculars hanging from the neck of a donkey, was inspired by the lyrics to Bob Dylan‘s “Visions of Johanna” (although these lyrics refer to a mule).

In the Rolling Stone review of the album, critic Lester Bangs said, ” I have no doubt that it’s the best rock concert ever put on record.”

`Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out!´ The Rolling Stones in Concert was released in September 1970 – well into the sessions for their next studio album, Sticky Fingers, and was very well-received critically and commercially, reaching #1 in the UK and #6 in the US where it went platinum. Except for compilations, it was the last Rolling Stones album released through Decca Records in the UK and London Records in the US before launching their own Rolling Stones Records label.

The title of the album was adapted from the song “Get Yer Yas Yas Out” by Blind Boy Fuller. The phrase used in Fuller’s song was “get your yas yas out the door”.

To buy the music of The Rolling Stones click HERE

The World Has Gone Mad

Rolling Stones have re-released their song ‘Wild Horses’ after Susan Boyle’s rendition on The X-Factor was viewed by approximately 15 million viewers last night.

The track, originally featured on the Stones’ 1971 album ‘Sticky Fingers’, has been released as a digital package featuring the aforementioned album version and a live cut taken from their ‘Voodoo Lounge’ Tour in 1995.

‘Wild Horses’ is released today on all major download sites, whilst Boyle’s version appears on her debut ‘I Dreamed A Dream’, which became the most pre-ordered album of all time.

Latest music and film news on Uncut.co.uk

Ronnie Wood

It has been lying around the house for ages but on the back of my recent posting on Rod Stewart I have finally started to read Ronnie Wood’s autobiography “Ronnie” and what a jolly good read it is.

His early years are covered quickly and you are soon drawn into his world as a guitar slinger, finally breaking through with mod group The Birds,

thereafter going on to learn and play bass with The Jeff Beck Group where he started a long term partnership with Rod Stewart

 which progressed to The Faces and the early Rod Stewart solo albums.

After The Faces collapsed, in part due to Rod Stewart’s chasing the dollar sign with a solo career which provided commercial success if not quality product, he finally ended up as Keith Richard’s guitar weaving aide in The Rolling Stones.

Here is The Birds take on The Who’s “Run Run Run”

“Run Run Run” – The Birds

To buy the music of The Birds click HERE

 

Finally here is one of Ronnie’s favourite songs “I’m Walkin’” by Fats Domino famous as being one of, if not the, first songs to be “faded out” on vinyl.

“I’m Walkin’” – Fats Domino

The Black Crowes Rock (Funk) Out

The Black Crowes released “Before The Frost” at the end of August.

This eighth studio album from the Southern blues rockers, the follow-up to 2008′s ‘Warpaint’, is a double album with a difference – half of it is only available online. Recorded live in the studio in front of an invited audience of fans, the CD version of ‘Before The Frost’ includes a code allowingpurchasers to download a whole second album, ‘Until The Freeze’. Musically, the band are never going to reinvent the wheel, but the live setting breathes a raw immediacy into these new, classic-style rock tunes.

Before the Frost…, and its corresponding free album …Until The Freeze, were recorded over a series of five nights at Levon Helm Studios in Woodstock, NY. Although both are studio albums, all the new material was performed and recorded in front of an intimate audience of the band’s fans, making them a part of The Black Crowes musical history.

The innovative technique of inviting fans into the studio as part of the process during recording is a rare experience.

Before the Frost… features eleven new and previously unreleased Black Crowes songs including Good Morning Captain, I Ain’t Hiding, Been a Long Time (Waiting on Love), and other original songs that will serve to spotlight the bands ability to make emotional connections through their music. The free album …Until The Freeze is a nine-song collection featuring eight new original Black Crowes songs plus a cover version of the Stephen Stills classic So Many Times.

A limited edition vinyl release of Before The Frost…Until The Freeze, featuring all 20 tracks, will also be available on September 1, 2009.

Chris Robinson conceived the concept of Before the Frost…Until The Freeze.
“I think we fulfilled a musical commitment to continue on the golden road of artistic independence. Approaching 20 years into our careers, we still are ambitious enough to push ourselves to create something unique that we have never done before.”

The track which has perhaps received the most publicity is “I Ain’t Hiding” with it’s out and out funk/disco riff.

“I Ain’t Hiding” – The Black Crowes

Here are a couple of  earlier examples of the same “concept”