Off Topic Saints Not606 Music Thread

Oh yeah. And some of those inner sleeves were a problem. Over here in the UK, the glue on the paper sleeves would sometimes give way, or if the pressing had a thin edge, the LP would eventually cut it's way through. In NZ, where I bought a few albums, they used a thin plastic cover which was the shape of the record. If that split, you were finished. Also, I remember one of those sleeves under going some sort of polymer change, because the next time I took out the record from the cover, the inner sleeve was a gooey, sticky mess.

 

The Beatles recorded two new songs in 1995 for the Anthology album using unfinished John Lennon demo's supplied by Yoko. Here is Free as a bird

 

The other was Real Love which George did not want to record as it was almost complete with not much left to do

 

Apt comment on today's reality

Zappa's original

 

Got back to listening to BBC's 1981 radio drama of Lord of the Rings last night. Got a few episodes into " The Fellowship.." It's still good fun, though I'm already missing Tom Bombadil. I think I'll listen to the later 1993 production which covered that bit in the hobbits adventure, before I carry on.
This evening I've been catching up on a lot of YT subscriber videos, and alongside nearly all of them has been this video. It's very nicely done, and it did remind me indirectly of LOTRs. It's Moody Blues - Are You Sitting Comfortably, plus the rest of the second side from On The Threshold of a Dream. Which is nice because someone has realised that these tracks fall in together. If ever there was a rock band that made album tracks rather than stand out singles, this is the band. Nice little reworking of the locked groove sounds too:

 

Cover versions. How many are better than originals? Time and again I have heard new versions and thought, "why didn't they just re-issue the original?"

Ok, so Joe Cocker's version of With A Little Help From My Friends is undoubedtly better than the original. Or is it? Yeah, it is.
Is Brian Ferry's version of Jealous Guy better than the John Lennon original? That's a tougher one.
How about Manfred Mann's Blinded By The Light, over the Bruce Springsteen original? That one is easy for me to say, but not everybody, I'm sure.
How about Eric Clapton's version of John Martyn's May You Never? To my mind, not a chance, but you judge:

 

No contest for me, for 3 of the 4 at least:
Joe Cocker >>> Beatles (turned a poppy jingle into a soul-filled paean)
Brian Ferry >> John Lennon (but it was released as a tribute to John)
John Martyn >>>>>>> Eric Clapton (few voices come close to JM’s)
The Boss = Manfred Mann (both versions are equally enjoyable, for different reasons)

 

Have we posted this tremendous John Martyn performance before?

 

Let’s put both versions of BBTL up, so others can choose. For me it depends what mood I’m in.

 

Well, that MM live performance sucks so hard I prefer the BS [Springsteen, not something else ] every time.
The MM version relies on it being really tight. Then it rocks. And you can spend years working out the lyrics [like I did] :

 

That is quite brilliant. Thanks for posting that!

 

How mant sheets to the wind do you think John Martyn was in that 1978 German performance, by the way?

 

That was par for the course for him, sadly. He developed Type 2 diabetes and ended up having a leg amputated a few years before he died in 2009, mostly down to his vast alcohol and other drug consumption. Another one gone far too soon, although I suppose reaching 61 was quite an achievement, all things considered.

 

Yeah, I know, which was why I speculated over how drunk he might have been rather than whether he was or not. Actually thought he'd gone earlier than 2009. And yeah, with his consumption, 61 was quite an achievement. But what a talent.

 

Every day is a school day! I never realised that Springsteen wrote it, or how brilliant the song is when he sings it.
Cheers Chilco

 

I love a good cover, and as a massive Shatner fan, here's a prime example of when a cover can be so much more interesting than the original.
If you're not a Shatner fan, I forgive you and hope you see the light one day

 

Here's another, vast improvement in my opinion - once the amazing Eva Cassidy got hold of it. Another one we lost far too young

 

Some may find this interesting. On BBC RADIO 4. Taron Egerton reads Elton John's autobiography "Me".
Episode One of Five:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m00099yp

 

Rorschach, I'm with you in the William Shatner Appreciation Society. Mainly because of James Tiberius Kirk, but also because of Shatner's distinctive acting style, because he's never been afraid to take the piss out of himself, and because he's not intimidated in doing things like that rendition of Common People. He also comes across as a flawed, but nice guy.

 

Love that version. A special mention for the great Joe Jackson doing the actual singing of course!