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Al Green |
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Monty Alexander |
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Jurassic 5 |
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Al Green’s “Love And Happiness” is one of those tunes that’s loved by all. Enjoy the original, and consider adding a couple of clever reinterpretations to your MP3 collection.
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Lady Day And John Coltrane
Did You Hear What They Said?
Winter In America (Solo Version)
Back Home (w/Brian Jackson) |
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I’ve been listening to Gil Scott-Heron’s music consistently for decades. I own about eight of his LPs, and have been on the hunt for at least two others. His recent passing merits a proper tribute.
Gil’s music was a gumbo of jazz, blues, R&B, and spoken word — Gil called it “bluesology, the science of how things feel.” He had a gift for melody and was among the most evocative lyricists that emerged from the civil rights movement. I don’t consider Gil to be a great album artist — there are many intolerable tracks in his repertoire — but when the music, lyrics, and personnel clicked (usually when Brian Jackson was involved), the impact was super powerful.
I remember going to see Gil at Yoshi’s Jazz Club in Oakland circa 1998. I am almost sure Brian Jackson performed with him that night (which rarely happened post-1980), but the Internet has not been forthcoming with corroboration. Gil wasn’t all there but it didn’t take more than a few songs for him to find his equilibrium. His voice had become hoarse, yet was no less emotive. I had hoped to see him perform again, but he seldom performed in his later years due to substance abuse and related incarcerations.
Rather than replicate a greatest hits collection, I tried to pick tracks that capture some of the emotions that have coursed through me as I contemplate Gil’s life and career.
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Stevie Wonder |
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TLC |
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Scala & Kolacny Brothers |
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This time on Musical Cousins: three totally different songs with three totally different takes on the word “creep.”
First up, Stevie Wonder’s haunting “Creepin’,” featuring backup vocals from Minnie Riperton. In this song, creep refers to the stealth way a lover invades the dream world. The melody is typical Stevie perfection, but the moody, off-kilter synth floating underneath hints at something less rosy.
In TLC’s 1994 single, “Creep,” the Atlanta trio and producer Dallas Austin made a buoyant R&B/pop classic dedicated to cheating on the one you love.
The last take on the word “creep” comes from an early Radiohead composition where the creep in question is the song’s self-hating narrator. I prefer Scala & Kolacny Brothers’s cover, used to great effect in the trailer for The Social Network. Dozens of post-pubescent Belgian girls singing in unison truly is creepy.
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Elton John |
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R. Kelly (w/T.I. & T-Pain) |
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In this post, I feature distant Musical Cousins R. Kelly and Elton John. They don’t have any obvious connection but somehow it’s clear to me that R. Kelly had “Bennie And The Jets” in mind when he wrote “I’m A Flirt.” The bouncy, driving piano lines that feed both tracks result in vastly different songs, but both are 5-star classics to this listener.
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People Say
Just Kissed My Baby
Africa Album: Rejuvenation (1974) |
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Though it’s not the most popular of The Meters’ records (I would guess it’s a tossup between Look-Ka Py Py and Fire On The Bayou), 1974′s Rejuvenation captures the transition from The Meters’ early, tight funk days to their later, jam-band incarnation.
Though The Meters haven’t released a studio album in the past 30 years, they continue to tour with some permutation of the original lineup. I’ve had the privilege of seeing them live on many occasions during the mid-1990s, and it is impossible not to seriously get down at a Meters show.
Though my perception of The Meters is rooted in their live performances, that’s a limited perspective, and there is no greater testament to this than the volumes of artists who have recorded with, covered, or sampled The Meters over the years: Paul McCartney, Labelle (The Meters were the studio band for “Lady Marmalade”), The Grateful Dead, A Tribe Called Quest, and many others.