For anyone new to these, you will soon discover these mixes range all over the musical genre map. Also, I am fond of cover songs. I often like to repeat a few different versions of a song in one mix.
For this mix, I found 4 exquisite covers of an underrated song from the Rolling Stones catalog, "Salt Of The Earth". It's a powerful, uplifting song of class consciousness that might be borderline condescending from pampered rich rock stars. So, various cover versions shade the song with different meanings.
There's a pretty acoustic version by Ian McNabb, formerly of The Icicle Works, with Mike Scott of The Waterboys that stays pretty close to the original. I love the "whoo-hoos" at the end that directly mimic the background singing from "Sympathy For The Devil", off the same great album "Beggar's Banquet" as the original. It reminds me of the fascinating Godard documentary originally titled "One Plus One", released as "Sympathy For The Devil" on dvd. It shows the Stones in the studio, constructing "Sympathy For The Devil" from scratch, and while Mick Jagger sings alone in a glass booth, the other Stones and their girlfriends improvise that "whoo-hoo" chorus.
The other versions of "Salt Of The Earth" on here include a neat reggae version by Dandy Livingston that seems a natural for Jamaican class concerns, a trippy version by Rotary Connection that brings out the hippie vibe of the song, and finally, Joan Baez's pretty and earnest version.
In between, I include Jimmy Cliff's original "The Harder They Come" as well as a little-known single released by Keith Richards in the late 70s, covering that song. I started the set with the propulsive opening track of Led Zeppelin's Houses Of The Holy, "The Song Remains The Same". Thought that was a statement of purpose, for the continuity of my little project as I start another year at this. Another song that might stretch that theme of continuity on here is Eric B and Rakim's classic "As The Rhyme Goes On".
My first playlist last year included The Kinks' "Come Dancing", this edition I've included a demo version of that off their new box set. It's a little thin and ragged, but Ray Davies' performance is very charming.
These playlists are made weekly and dated by the Thursday of that week in a given year. Five years ago, I'm surprised that I avoided the cliche of placing U2's "New Year's Day" on my 01-01-04 mix. Fear not, it is here, although in a subtly done remix off their recent War album reissue--I like this one for the naked piano chords at the beginning.
I move from the drama of that song to an oddly operatic remix of Jay-Z's collaboration with Nas, "Success", the original version is on his recent American Gangster album. I would love to hear more songs off that album given this treatment.
From there, I have an alternate version of Marvin Gaye's "Feel All My Love Inside" off his "I Want You" album. The reissues of his 70s albums are generously stuffed with alternate versions, many radically different than the released versions. This alternate is notable for a seemingly stoned Marvin requesting "another J" before asking if that was caught on tape, then laughing and rolling into the opening lines: "now we're making love/now we're making love/now we're making love/where'd you get such sweet sugar?" Poetry it ain't and his love-man shtick may have gotten a little thick by this point, but it sounds so amazing.
That's followed by the sweet Marvin Gaye tribute song "Nightshift" by The Commodores. And while we're eulogizing, Freddie Hubbard's passing last week is a good excuse to include his magnificent "Povo".
Also on here, the beautiful "Who Do You Love" by 60s soul group The Sapphires, a cool acoustic cover of "My Girl" by The Jesus and Mary Chain off their recent excellent box set of b-sides and rarities as well the Temptations turning in a cover of their own, "Hey Jude", which rolls right into Ms. Baez closing this mix.
