Thursday, November 25, 2010

11-25-10: Spread Your Wings And Let Me Come Inside

"Tears Of Rage" was written during Bob Dylan's "Basement Tapes" sessions with The Band in 1967, and first appeared on The Band's debut album. In addition to these two versions, this week's mix features versions by Gene Clark of The Byrds and Jimi Hendrix. A previous mix included Joan Baez's version.

Toussaint McCall's "Nothing Takes The Place Of You" was also recorded in 1967. This week also features covers by Al Green and a reggae version by Prince Buster. Also getting a reggae treatment is Pink Floyd's "Us And Them" by Frankie Paul. The original version is preceded on here by a cover of their "Wish You Were Here" by Bettye LaVette. Finally, there are two versions of the Rodgers & Hart standard "Have You Met Miss Jones?": one by Louis Armstrong and another by Art Tatum with Ben Webster.

The rest: the festive "Having Fun" by Pepe Fernandez & His Orchestra, Lil Wayne's guitar-heavy "I Am Not A Human Being", the N.W.A. diss track "No Vaseline" by Ice Cube, the M.C. Hammer diss track "H.A.A. (Here's Another Asshole)" by Black Sheep, Rod Stewart's languid "Tonight's The Night (Gonna Be Alright)" and the plaintive "If You'll Be A Baby To Me" by Hank Williams.

Having Fun Pepe Fernandez & His Orchestra
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Wednesday, November 24, 2010

11-18-10: Sometimes I Feel It's A Shame When I Get Feelin' Better When I'm Feelin' No Pain

This week's mix features Bob Dylan's "Maggie's Farm" with covers by The Specials, Solomon Burke, Toots Hibbert and Richie Havens as well as the original album version.

Other stuff: Bruce Springsteen's hopeful "The Promised Land", the loping "What I'm Here 4" by Gang Starr, the chipper "Feelin' The Spirit" by Luis Russell & His Orchestra, Sarah Vaughan's cover of "Something" by The Beatles, Gordon Lightfoot's mellow "Sundown", the contemplative "Rivers Of My Fathers" by Gil Scott-Heron and Brian Jackson, the nostalgic "Doo Rags" by Nas, the spacey "Good Thoughts, Bad Thoughts" by Funkadelic, Kanye West's tortured "Blame Game" sans comedic skit, Daniel Johnston's haunting "Dream Scream", the full band album version of "Judy And The Dream Of Horses" by Belle & Sebastian and Dock Walsh's spiritual "Bathe In That Beautiful Pool".

Maggie's Farm Bob Dylan
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Thursday, November 11, 2010

11-11-10: And I'll Never Have That Recipe Again

"Winter In America" was the title of an iconic album by Gil Scott-Heron with Brian Jackson, but they didn't believe in title tracks for albums, so the eponymous song appeared on their following album. This week's mix includes their album version as well as Gil's solo version recorded over two decades later.

Don Covay's "Funky Yo Yo" is so funky I had to include Parts 1 and 2. Also in the vein of excess is Donna Summer's 12" single version of the pop standard "MacArthur Park", which fits in her "One Of A Kind" and "Heaven Knows" before reprising the original.

I included the acoustic demo version of Big Star's "What's Going Ahn" earlier this year, the album version here is more muted emotionally with altered lyrics and guitar.

The rest: Keith Jarrett's swinging "Blue Streak", Plantlife's ethereal "Fool For U", Big Daddy Kane's funky "Smooth Operator", EPMD's swaggering "Get The Bozack", the full version of the late Supremes song "Stoned Love", the dense "Ambassadors" by Strong Arm Steady featuring Planet Asia and Chace Infinite, The Zombies' take of the Gene Vincent single "I'm Going Home", the languid "Crush" by Smashing Pumpkins, the wartime lament "I Will Be Home Again" by The Golden Gate Quartet and Nina Simone's take of the gospel standard "Nearer Blessed Lord".

Winter In America Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson
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Thursday, November 4, 2010

11-04-10: It's Never What You Do, It's How It's Done

"Black Sheep Boy", like "If I Were A Carpenter", was written by Tim Hardin and later recorded by Bobby Darin. This week's mix includes both their versions as well as covers by Scott Walker and Okkervil River.

Hardin wrote many of his more famous songs in Greenwich Village and this week's mix is very New York City-centric. Lou Reed's languid "Downtown Dirt" opens the mix and it ends with the "Closet Mix" of his band The Velvet Underground's "Candy Says". The "Closet Mix" was Reed's alternate production of their album, with the vocals more prominent.

Other New York songs abound here, including the recently-released Witmark demo of Bob Dylan's "Hard Times In New York Town" as well as Cat Power's rare Peel session cover. There's also a nod to New York hip-hop with Jay-Z's Nas-sampling "Dead Presidents II", Nas' Barry White interpolation "No Idea's Original" and old school rap from Mr. Q with the Michael Jackson-sampling "DJ Style".

Other New York-based artists here include Sonny Rollins with his version of the standard "Without A Song" and Little Jackie's retro-sounding "28 Butts".

Beyond New York, and planet Earth, are two versions of David Bowie's "Moonage Daydream": the original and a cover by Danny Michel.

The rest: the forlorn "I Told A Lie To My Heart" by Hank Williams, the giddy "Barnyard Boogie" by Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five, the chipper "Town Called Malice" by The Jam, the melodic "Starvation" by The Pioneers, the rocking "Threshold Apprehension" by Black Francis, the lushly-orchestrated "Numbered Days" by Eels, the graceful "Knocks Me Off My Feet" by Stevie Wonder and a cover of Stevie's "If It's Magic" by Cassandra Wilson.

Downtown Dirt Lou Reed
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