Leaving Here

Leaving Here was written in 1963 by the Motown song writing team, Lamont Dozier, Brian Holland and Eddie Holland. It was released as a single in December of the same year, by Eddie Holland and made it to the 76^th spot on the Billboard top 100.  It climbed to the 27^th spot on the R&B chart.

The Who recorded the song in 1965, but didn't release it until 1985 on the compilation Who's Missing. I wonder if there was a debate over whether that album should have been called Whose Missing instead.

The song has been covered by other bands, including the Birds (not the Byrds), Motörhead, and Pearl Jam.

Eddie Holland:

The Who:

This one is pretty close. l like the Eddie Holland version better, but if someone said s/he liked the Who's (I still kind of feel like it should be Whose, I guess because Who is being used as a proper name in this case it might change the rules, but still) version better, I wouldn't think less of them for it.

Note: I also think it would be awesome if a band with a female lead singer covered this song and changed the gender roles in the lyrics. That almost always results in a superb cover, but more on that next time.

Baby I Need Your Loving

Baby I Need Your Loving was released in 1964 by the Four Tops. It was their first Motown single, and climbed to number 11 on the Billboard top 100. Johnny Rivers, who is apparently pretty famous, covered the song in 1967. If you don't know who he is: remember that song Secret Agent Man? Yeah it's that guy. For his version they dropped the G in the tile, renaming the song Baby I Need Your Lovin'. Clearly dropping the G was a good idea because Rivers’s version made it all the way to the number 3 spot.

Four Tops:

Johnny Rivers:

Well, after listening to both I certainly hope it was dropping that G that got him to the number 3 spot, because it surely couldn't be because he recorded a better version. Now, I don't want to be some kind of jerkface, Rivers's version isn't notably terrible or anything. Maybe there are even some people who really like it, I don’t know. But. When you listen to them back to back, or if you've ever heard the Four Tops version, it's pretty obvious that it's way better. If there are people out there who are like, “Nah, Johnny's got this one bra,” those people are lying to themselves. Don't be silly hypothetical group of people I just made up. Clearly the Four Tops own this one. Even Rolling Stone listed it at the 390^th greatest song of all time on their list of 500. I don't think Rivers's version is on the list.

Okay, now I'm going to keep going. I know I said that Rivers's version wasn't notably terrible, and it really isn't, but that’s because it’s a bulletproof song. Anybody and his dog could probably take a shake at it, and come out on the other end with something half decent, as long as nobody listening had ever heard the Four Tops do it. But once you've heard the Four Tops version, the Rivers version is just a boring cover. Personally, I think that if I were to say that it's half as good, that would be generous. I could spend all evening picking apart the differences and trying to explain why the Four Tops is better, but I hate doing that (which is why I very rarely do it). So I'm just going to mention one point of comparison. I think that's all I really need to do anyway. Pay attention at 1:32 in the Tops version; compare that to what happens at 1:00 in the Rivers version. Who needs more convincing than that? Nobody that's who. Oh, and for just for good measure, check out the medium shot in the Rivers video from 0:18 to 0:40. Isn't that awkward as heck? It looks like a goose just got run over by a car and is trying to climb up on the curb with two broken legs. You just feel so bad for the poor thing. It's as sad as anything.

So, uh yeah, the Four Tops win this one. But you already knew that.

Try a Little Tenderness

I chose to do this song today because Chris Brown is doing a concert in the city I live in at the end of August. It's got a bunch of people up in arms, because of his infamous assault on pop music icon Rihanna. So I thought featuring his cover and putting it up against Otis Redding would be funny, and also a great way to cash in on all the negative attention Chris Brown is getting.

I didn't want to do Otis again so soon. I featured him and the Temptations each doing My Girl previously. I was trying to put off repeating artists as long as I could (I haven't even featured the Four Tops yet). But in the end, I decided that cashing in on the Chis Brown abhorrence and boycotting, was just too good an opportunity to pass up.  I think I might even be a little late. People from where I live, do you still care?

Anyway, how about a little history on the song? It was written by Jimmy Campbell, Reg Connelly and Harry M. Woods, and initially recorded in 1932 by the Ray Noble Orchestra. Since then it's been covered by too many people to name. As far as I am aware, Otis's version is the best known, and really, that's as it should be.

Otis recorded his version in 1966. His band was Booker T & and M.G.'s, and Isaac Hayes produced the arrangement. The Otis version reworked the song, and gave it the powerful ending people who are familiar with the song will recognize. I don't know how much of the changes to attribute to him. I've tried listening to a few of the other versions to get a feel for the differences. His is quite different than the original. And by quite different I mean way better. I'm not saying the original is without merit however. Aretha Franklin did a version in 1962, and it seems to stay more inline with where the original went. She does sing the heck out of it though. But isn't that what you’d expect from Aretha?

Anyway, I'm getting off topic. Otis's version peaked at number 25 on the Billboard Top 100, and Rolling Stone Listed it as the 204th greatest song of all time. I don't know how I feel about that ranking. There are so many great songs, I could see it being hard to find a spot for them all in a list of 500, and I would argue that if they’re just going off of the studio version, that that might be a fair placing. I'm totally breaking my no live songs rule again and using Otis's live version from London in 1967, which is way better. You might say that's unfair, but the Chris Brown version was like fake live in a movie. So as far as I'm concerned, it's fair game. Also Chris Brown is singing Try a Little Tenderness, and he's not even sorry that he beat up a woman (at least that's what the internet told me). And, his version is totally just a poor man's version of Otis's anyway.

Well, we might as well get to the songs. I think you guys can already guess the outcome, because I have not been doing a good job of being disinterested so far.

Otis Redding:

How awesome was that? Was it the first time you heard it? I remember the first time I heard it. I was blown away. I'd heard the studio version before, and it's good, but it has nothing on that one. That’s arguably the best thing ever recorded ever!

Okay, so now you're saying, "But AJ, you named your blog after Sam Cooke’s live album, One Night Stand: Live at the Harlem Square Club [it's in Miami Florida]. Do you think that Otis’s 1967 performance of Try a Little Tenderness is better than that?" That's a good question reader. It's a pretty tough call. You see, One Night Stand is a perfect set, and to really understand how amazing it is, you have to listen to it beginning to end, otherwise you miss out on all the little nuances that make it so perfect. With Try a Little Tenderness, (Otis whole 1967 London show is amazing too by the way, also the Paris one. Really, you can't have one without the other, because they both have their strengths and weaknesses. I could do a whole post on them. Also listen to those shows!) it's more about the performance of that single song that is so amazing. It stands out above everything else in the show, which again, is saying a lot. One could argue you get the same effect with Having a Party at the end of One Night Stand, but I'd argue that Somebody Have Mercy, into Bring it on Home, into Nothing can Change this Love is just as important in making One Night Stand so perfect as the way Having a Party closes out the set is. But with Try a Little Tenderness, it's like that song could be the whole show, Once Otis starts it, nothing else he's done up until that point matters anymore. Respect, his definitive version of My Girl, the Beatle stomping version of Day Tripper, the Stone crushing version of Satisfaction, it's like they never happened as soon as that horn plays the first note. When that freight train starts rolling, there's nothing that can stop it. That steam engine is pulling 100 cars, and they're all overflowing with coal and dynamite. It takes a minute or two to really get moving but it's pulling an enormous amount of weight. It still gets up to speed before you expect, and it just keeps moving faster until it's going too fast to stay on the tracks. And finally, when it comes off, the explosion is so spectacular that it's visible for thousands of miles.

Chris Brown:

Okay, so now we get to Chris Brown. I know you don't really want to listen to it. I didn't really want to either, but we have to for the sake of posterity. I decided not to use the clip from the movie, just because I thought it was too annoying. If you want to see it you can watch it here (the lip-syncing is terrible). I don't really have too much to say about his version. I already said it was basically just a poor man’s version of Otis's and I think that sums it up fairly well. Clearly, Chris misunderstood the song, and instead of trying a little bit of tenderness, he pussyfooted around it, and did an impossibly boring version. It's kind of ironic when you consider what happens when you leave him alone in a car with a woman. At one point he asks for a witness. I laughed out loud. He also tries to do Otis's special move and sings, “NA NA NA,” but he doesn't come close to pulling it off. You know what; it's not even a poor man's version of Otis's version. It's a parody.

Long Tall Sally

You might recognize this song from the helicopter scene at the beginning of Predator or maybe you'll just recognize it as the Badass Little Richard song about having "fun." However you best remember it, Long Tall Sally is one of the best rock and roll songs of all time. Hands down. It's been covered numerous times by many well known artists. Including, but not limited to: Elvis Presley, Eddie Cochran, The Kinks, Jerry Lee Lewis, The Beatles, and of course Pat Boone.

Little Richard recorded Long Tall Sally on February 10, 1956 in New Orleans. Because Pat Boone covered Little Richard's first single Tutti-Frutti and did better with it on the American pop chart than Little Richard had, Little Richard wanted to record a song that was so upbeat that Pat Boone wouldn't be able to cover it. That didn't stop Pat though. He released his cover shortly after Little Richard.

Little Richard's version reached number 1 on the US R&B chart, Number 6 on the US pop chart, and number 3 on the UK pop chart. Boone's cover made it to number 8 on the US pop chart. So at least this time his version didn't climb higher than Little Richard's.

Little Richard:

Pat Boone:

Okay so this is the easiest one ever. The songs Speak for themselves. I don't need to say anything. Except maybe: Long tall Sally, she's built for speed, she’s got everything that Uncle John needs.

I think you know who wins.

Whiskey in the Jar

Well, I was planning on doing this one for a few weeks. I wasn't sure where I was going to fit it in until last week. Someone I follow on Twitter had pointed out that a local radio station played the Metallica version of Whiskey in the Jar several times in a row. Of course, seeing that prompted me to tweet at the radio station in a blind rage that it's unfathomable that this radio station play the Metallica version when there's a clearly superior version by Thin Lizzy.

Oh and as you may have noticed from that last paragraph, I'm totally on the Twitter. So if you want, you can follow me: @AJLezak. I tweet whenever I do a new blog post so that's a good way to see what's up.

Whiskey in the Jar is actually a traditional Irish song and has been performed by like a million different artists. It's about a Highwayman who is betrayed by his lover. Apparently, an Irish folk band called the Dubliners first made the song popular in the 60s. I think it's also worth mentioning that the Grateful Dead also do a version of the song. I chose to do Thin Lizzy and Metallica because I think they’re probably the most well known versions.

Thin Lizzy released the song as a single in 1972. It topped the Irish charts for 17 weeks, and stayed in the top 30 of the British charts for 12 weeks, where it reached as high at number 6.

Thin Lizzy:

The music video for their version is actually a live performance. I know I said I was going to avoid using live versions of songs, but I figured that if I was going to use the official Metallica music video I should use the Thin Lizzy one too. Here's the studio version of the song in case you wanted to compare that. The quality of the live version is right up there with the studio version. It just goes to show how tight they were. Thin Lizzy was super awesome live. If you're into music and this kind of hard rock is your thing and you don't have Thin Lizzy Live and Dangerous in your collection. Just stop reading this right now, Go to Amazon and order it. I'm not even kidding.

Metallica released their version in 1998. It won them a Grammy for best hard rock performance.

Metallica:

The results of this one probably aren't much of a surprise when you consider the last sentence of the first paragraph. Thin Lizzy wins. Of course they do. Who would even question that? Their version is so heartfelt. It's a traditional Irish song; these guys bleed green, and it shows in the performance. Their version has an authentic feel that sets the mood of the song and really immerses the listener in the story being told. I don't have too much to say about Metallica's version. They sped their version up a little bit, and tried to make it heavier. I find that it sounds pretty generic. To me is seems like a weaker copy of Thin Lizzy's version. If you like Metallica's version you might say I’m biased, and I totally am, but I'm also right.  

Thirteen

On this episode of my blog, I'm featuring the song Thirteen by Big Star and Covered by Elliott Smith.

The song was originally featured on the album #1 Record. It's ranked number 406 on Rolling Stone’s 500 greatest songs of all time, and they described it as "one of rock's most beautiful celebrations of adolescence," which is a very accurate description. I keep trying to describe it in another way, but all my descriptions fall short. The song is fantastic, and it captures the best parts of what it’s like to be a teenager. It turns out that quite a few people have covered this song. It’s actually 13 people including Elliott Smith. How perfect is that? I'm putting it out there right now. Nobody else can cover this song ever! I don't care how good it is, or how much you like it. 13 people have covered it. If another person covers it they'll ruin everything.

Big Star was critically acclaimed but never had much success commercially. Alex Chilton, the bands front man is probably best known for the song the Letter by the Box Tops. Alex Chilton passed away on March 17^th 2010. I remember the day really well. I was totally bummed out after hearing the news; before he died I was still hopeful that one day I might get to see him do a show. I was waiting for a university class, (I'm pretty sure it was anthropology) to start and I suddenly heard Thirteen being played down the hall. I followed the sound of the music and it led to a professor’s office. I kind of knocked on the door and stuck my head in, and mentioned to the professor that I also knew about Chilton's death. It was a little bit anti-climatic because the Professor had never listened to him before that moment and had just seen and followed a link some one had posted on facebook. I’m not going to lie, I felt a little bit awkward after, but I still think it’s a good story.

Moving on. Elliott Smith recorded Thirteen during a radio session in 1996, and it was released on is posthumous compilation album New Moon. The compilation was pretty successful and reached number 24 on the US charts. This version is a similar to Big Star's but has way less production. Which makes sense since it was recorded during a radio session. Elliot Smith has this way of making everything he touches sad as heck. He might be the saddest guy to ever live. You might be thinking, "what about Morrissey? He wrote a bunch of sad songs." That’s true but he didn't stab himself twice in the chest. Well apparently the autopsy results on whether the wounds were self inflicted was inconclusive, but that doesn’t matter Smith was really sad and it comes through in the song.

Big Star:

Elliott Smith:

I do really like both versions of this song. Smith's version is excellent. His voice comes across sad and haunted. For example the last verse reads, "if it's no, well I can go. I won't make you." I just always feel when listening to Smith's version that the answer is expected to be a definitive no, while for some reason that line seems more hopeful in the Big Star version. And overall, I just find the Big Star version to be much more polished. Chilton's vocal combined with two guitars, and the harmonies, paint such a perfect picture of adolescence. There's also that nice little guitar solo. And all of those things are why Big Star wins. 

Blinded by the Light

Last time I said I make sure it would be easy to decide the winner of the next post. And I’m fairly confident that I've managed that with this one. The song is Blinded by the Light by Bruce Springsteen, and the cover is by Manfred Mann’s Earth Band.

Bruce Springsteen:

Manfred Mann:

Springsteen recorded it for his 1973 debut album Greetings from Asbury Park N.J. It was the first single off the album. It didn't even chart.

Manfred Mann’s version was released in 1976, and it ended up being a number 1 hit! How the heck did that even happen? The only reason I can think of is that it was the 70’s. Also the cover version is Springsteen’s only number 1 writing credit ever. This is just backwards.

So I guess you can already tell who I think wins. Clearly it’s Springsteen. The Manfred Mann version just really rubs me the wrong way. It’s just got so much going on and it seems so mangled. It’s like a DDR version of the original 25 years before DDR was a thing.  There’s even a 7 minute version. Which, by the way, I sat through. I didn't use that one for the comparison because the 4 minute one is enough. I can barely get all the way through that one.

I admit, that I've talked to more than one person who says they like the Manfred Mann version more than Springsteen’s, but I’m pretty sure in nearly all those cases the person just hasn't actually heard Springsteen’s version, or they really like DDR.

Springsteen’s version is so good.  It’s classic Springsteen. Just listen to it. It’s amazing.

Actually, I credit this song for totally saving my life, well, that and the fact that I’m a superb driver. (Uh oh, it’s story time). I was totally driving my car and the guy in front of me changed lanes into a turning lane, thinking that he could go straight in it. But he couldn't when he realized that he was about to drive into a concrete barrier, he slowed right down and changed back into my lane. The speed limit was 80 kilometers per hour which is basically like 50 miles per hour for people who use miles. I did not have room to stop. A semi was passing me in the lane beside me. So I got on the gas and squeezed between the semi and the guy who dropped anchor in front of me. I was literally thinking this is my only chance, and I just went for it and some how, the next thing I new I was in the lane to my right in front of the semi and I had not crashed at all. At that point the refrain started, the part where Bruce is like, “Blinded by the light, cut loose like a deuce, another runner in the night.” So yeah that happened.