Thursday, December 30, 2010

12-30-10: You Live Here, You're Taking A Chance

My last weekly mix of the year nods to the recently departed Solomon Burke, with covers of his "Cry To Me" by The Rolling Stones and Betty Harris as well as his version of the Jimmy Webb standard "By The Time I Get To Phoenix" and a rare live version of the song Tom Waits wrote for Solomon called "Diamond In Your Mind", performed with The Kronos Quartet and Greg Cohen.

Bobby Hebb also passed away this year. The story behind his hit "Sunny" is very moving. It was written in the aftermath of his brother's death and the assassination of President Kennedy. In addition to his original version is a cover by Cher.

I enjoyed the recent trend in "stripped" versions of older songs that feature more vocals and less instrumentation. This mix includes versions of Smokey Robinson's "Being With You", John Lennon's "Watching The Wheels" and "Never Can Say Goodbye" by The Jackson 5 all in the "stripped" manner. The mix ends after the Jackson 5 song with a rare fuller band demo of "That's Entertainment" by The Jam.

In between: a cover of Simon & Garfunkel's "Mrs. Robinson" by Billy Paul, Paul Simon's soulful "Love Me Like A Rock", the rare "Feels Like (Nutty Professor)" by Slick Rick, Major Lance's aptly-titled "Rhythm", Ghostface Killah's western-movie homage "Black Tequila" with Cappadonna, the pretty "Reading In Bed" by Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton, an alternate take of "Gold Dust Woman" by Fleetwood Mac, the harrowing "Streets Of New York" by Kool G Rap & DJ Polo, Ray Charles' cover of "Yesterday" by The Beatles and the sweet "When The Sun Goes Down" by Rose Maddox.

Colors Pharoah Sanders ft. Leon Thomas
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Thursday, December 23, 2010

12-23-10: So The Bible Said And It Still Is News

"God Bless The Child" was written by Billie Holiday after an argument with her mother over money. It soon became a standard and this week's mix includes both her original 1941 version and her 1956 recording as well as covers by Lou Rawls with Les McCann Ltd., Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Sonny Rollins and Richie Havens performing live.

Last week I included "Love Train" by The O'Jays. This week features a slower, churchy cover by Bunny Sigler.

The rest: the mythic "Fallin'" by Jay-Z with Bilal, Curtis Mayfield's cautionary"Billy Jack", a cover of Mayfield's "Move On Up" by The Dynamics, the funky "I Know You Got Soul" by Eric B. & Rakim, the rhythmic "Pass The Peas" by The J.B.'s, Nice & Smooth's melodic "Funky For You", Joe Bataan's cover of "Cowboys To Girls" by The Intruders, the theme to the television show The Jeffersons called "Movin' On Up" by Ja'Net Dubois and Oren Waters and Bob Dylan's wistful "Ballad In Plain D".

God Bless The Child (1941 ver) Billie Holiday
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Thursday, December 16, 2010

12-16-10: Never No Turning Back

This week's mix is bracketed by a live acoustic and the album version of Paul Westerberg's soundtrack anthem "Waiting For Somebody".

"Dark Side Of The World" was written for an intended duet between Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell. When she was too sick to record it, Dian Ross recorded her own version for her solo debut album. The solo Marvin version also on here appeared many years after it was recorded.

The rest: the blistering "Pretty Vacant" by The Sex Pistols, Jackie Morningstar's rockabilly novelty "Rockin' In the Graveyard", Kanye West's relentless "Monster" with Rick Ross as well as Jay-Z and Nicki Minaj, the suggestive "Sexy Safari" by The Afro Rhythm Group, Cyndi Lauper's giddy "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun", Dr. Dre's profane "Bitches Ain't Shit" with a young Snoop Dogg, a German version of the standard "Mean To Me" called "Sei Lieb Zu Mir" by Marlene Dietrich, the Philly-soul influenced "Right" by David Bowie, the ebullient "Love Train" by The O'Jays, T. Rex's chipper "Precious Star", a Paul Nice remix of "DWYCK" by Gang Starr with Nice & Smooth, the original 7 inch version of New Order's "Ceremony" with more echoed vocals and punchier guitar, the dreamy "Heather, Tell Me Why" by Rocketship, a hushed demo version of "The State I'm In" by Belle & Sebastian, the defiant "Take It Or Leave It" by The Rolling Stones, the crooning "Tell Me That It Isn't True" by Bob Dylan, a cover of Dylan's "Tomorrow Is A Long Time" by Sandy Denny and the country send-up "New York City" by The Jesus & Mary Chain.

Waiting For Somebody Paul Westerberg
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Thursday, December 9, 2010

12-09-10: You Already Crapped Out Twice

One song repeats on this week's mix: two covers of The Left Banke's "Walk Away Renee", by The Four Tops and a duet between Linda Ronstadt and Ann Savoy.

A mix earlier this year featured multiple versions of Tim Hardin's "Black Sheep Boy". This week I've found another: Paul Weller on a BBC appearance.

The rest: the loping "I Ain't No Joke" by Eric B. & Rakim, Sheila E's Prince-produced "The Glamorous Life", the catchy "Hungry Like The Wolf" by Duran Duran, the satirical "Synchronicty II" by The Police, Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti with the retro-sounding "Round And Round", the mellow "Eye In the Sky" by The Alan Parsons Project, Nice & Smooth's Jefferson Airplane interpolation "Do Whatcha Gotta", Bill Moss' exuberant "Sock It To 'Em Soul Brother", Ghostface Killah's Pete Rock-produced "How You Like Me Baby", Aretha Franklin's iconic version of the standard "Do Right Woman -Do Right Man", the reflective "Getting In Tune" by The Who, Bob Dylan's witty "I Shall Be Free No. 10", Jeff Buckley's live version of Dylan's "If You See Her, Say Hello", the melodic "Blue" by The Jayhawks, the chipper "Don't Cry, Honey" by Junie C. Cobb And His Grains Of Corn and Keith Richards with the stinging "You Don't Move Me".

I Ain't No Joke Eric B. & Rakim
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Thursday, December 2, 2010

12-02-10: I'm The Man That Bought Your Girl Some Hair

This week's mix is bookended with two isolated tracks of "Gimme Shelter" by The Rolling Stones: beginning with a guitar track and ending with the vocal track of Merry Clayton with Mick Jagger.

Jaydiohead is a mash-up of Jay-Z and Radiohead, on this mix is "Song and Cry" which lays Jay-Z's vocals from "Song Cry" over Radiohead's "High And Dry".

The rest: a version of the standard "Solitude" by The Red Garland Quintet featuring John Coltrane & Donald Byrd, the witty "Al Capone" by Prince Buster, the swinging "Fun City Shingaling" by Joe Quijano & His Conjunto Chachana, Patrizia & Jimmy's funky "Trust Your Child Pt. 1", Kool Keith's defiant "I Don't Play", the playful "Stone Cold Dead In the Market" by Sir Lancelot, the jazzy "Black Cow" by Steely Dan, the Steely Dan homage "Checking In, Checking Out" by The High Llamas, Sparklehorse's version of the Jimmy Webb standard "Galveston" made popular by Glen Campbell, Glen Campbell's version of Bob Dylan's "I Don't Believe You (She Acts Like We Never Have Met)", Bob Dylan's contemplative "I Dreamed Of St. Augustine", a later version of Donovan's hit "Catch the Wind", the languid "Blue Bird" by Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions, the empathetic "Stimulus Outro" by Freeway & Jake One and Clarence Profit's melancholic "Don't Leave Me".

Gimme Shelter (guitar track) The Rolling Stones
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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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Thursday, October 28, 2010

10-28-10: Rainbow, Moonbeams And Orange Snow

"Can't Find My Way Home" is an original track from the only studio album by 70s supergroup Blind Faith, which featured Eric Clapton on guitar and Stevie Winwood on vocals. In addition to the original, this week's mix features covers by Gilberto Gil and Ellen McIllwaine.

Other songs that repeat this week include Jelly Roll Morton's standard "Sweet Substitute", covered by Karen Dalton and the country standard "I Wish I Had A Nickel" by Jimmy Wakely as well as a rare demo by Hank Williams.

The version of Stevie Wonder's "Saturn" on here includes a slight edit of the song, with the sound of children playing at the end edited out. Preceding that is Gato Barbieri's cover of Stevie's "I Am Singing".

Kanye West's recently-released single "The Joy" features Jay-Z, Kid Cudi and former Gap Band singer Charlie Wilson as well as killer production by Pete Rock with a Curtis Mayfield sample.

The last two songs on here reflect a recent trend in re-released "stripped" versions of songs, with some of the production taken out to reveal crisper versions. One is a more acoustic version of John Lennon's "Woman", the other a more vocal-focussed version of "Baby, Baby Don't Cry" by Smokey Robinson & The Miracles.

The mix begins with the rare album version of James Brown's "Get Up Offa That Thing/Release The Pressure", all glorious nine minutes of it. Listen carefully and you'll hear a swipe at Barry White.

The rest: the aptly-named "Funky 2 Listen 2" by Large Professor, the wistful "I Had It All The Time" by Tyrone Davis, the menacing "Cross The Border" by Clipse, the rhythmic "Ride A White Swan" by T. Rex, the rocking "Fell In Love With A Girl" by The White Stripes, an alternate version of Bob Dylan's "Most Of The Time" and Billy Preston's funky cover of "I've Got A Feeling" by The Beatles.

Get Up Offa That Thing/ Release The Pressure James Brown
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