Some Kind of Wonderful

It would seem that the rate at which I blog has slowed significantly. Don’t worry; I have a ton of excuses for why. This week my excuse is that my old back injury from when I was 21 is acting up again, and I've been in constant pain for the last few days, despite taking about 1000 milligrams of pain killers every four hours.

Today's song is Some Kind of Wonderful. It's written by John Ellison who recorded it with his group Soul Brothers Six in 1967. Their version reached number 91 on the Billboard Top 100.

Grand Funk Railroad recorded it in 1974. Their version is probably more well known. It did better on the charts, reaching number 3.

There also happens to be another song of the same name recorded by the Drifters in 1961, but that's a totally different song.

Soul Brothers Six:

Grand Funk Railroad:

This one wasn't as much of a landslide victory as I expected, but the Soul Brothers Six version is still better. I like John Ellison's vocal way better. And the part where he tells the listeners he doesn't believe they know what he's talking about, that's like the best part of the song.  Or when he says she makes him want to scream and then he does. It's those little things that make all the difference. It keeps the song fresh and reduces the repetition. I feel like Grand Funk Railroad's version is too long and gets too repetitive. I kind like their harmonies and how they have different guys singing different parts at the same time. But it's not enough. I don't know how they took their version to number 3 when the Soul Brother's version only made it to 91. But then again Huey Lewis and the News took their version to number 7 in 1994, so chart ranking might not be the best way to gauge the song.

I Heard it Through the Grapevine

Most people are probably familiar with this song. I first heard it when I was kid, by the California Raisins. It was a time in my life when giant talking raisins seemed pretty plausible. Most people are probably familiar with the Marvin Gaye version. But I think a lot of people would be surprised to learn the full story surrounding the song.

It was written in 1966 by Motown writers Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong. The song was originally recorded by Smokey Robinson & the Miracles; however, Berry Gordy, the owner of Motown Records, rejected the song telling Whitfield and Strong to make it stronger. They recorded the song again with Marvin Gaye in 1967, but it still did not please Gordy, and the song was rejected again.

After the second rejection, Whitfield recorded the song with Gladys Knight & the Pips. Gordy agreed to release this version in September of 1967. It climbed to Number 2 on the Billboard Chart.

The version of the song Marvin Gaye recorded was used on his 1968 album In the Groove (it was later renamed I Heard it Through the Grapevine). After the album was released Gaye's version started to gain the attention of Radio DJs. After the song began to grow in popularity, Gordy finally agreed to release the song as a single. It was released in October 1968, after which, it climbed to the number 1 spot on the Billboard charts, and stayed there for 7 weeks, from December 1968 to January 1969. During that time it was the Motown label’s biggest hit single.

Since its release, Gaye's version has received much critical acclaim as a soul classic. It was ranked number 80 on a Rolling Stone 500 greatest songs list, on a later version of the list it was re-ranked at number 81. The commemorative 50th Anniversary of the Billboard Hot 100 issue of Billboard magazine in 2008 listed it as the 65^th biggest song to appear on the chart. It was also inducted to the Grammy Hall of Fame for historical, artistic and significant value.

I decided that I would adhere to the Beatles precedent (Let it Be was recorded before Abby Road, yet the albums are listed in order of release), and put Knight's version first even though Gaye recorded his earlier.

Gladys Knight & the Pips:

Marvin Gaye:

This one is pretty tough. It's hard to argue with all the acclaim Gaye received for this song, but whenever I listen to Knight's version, I always think, this one is better. However, When I listen to Gaye's version, I always think, no this one is better. And right now after listening to them both back to back, that is apparent. Gladys Knight & the Pips rocked the heck out of this song, but Marvin Gaye is Marvin Gaye, and he tears this song to pieces. Marvin is the clear winner.

Stand By Me

I think most people are pretty familiar with this song. It was written by Ben E. King, Jerry Leiber, and Mike Stoller. It's based on a spiritual song called Lord Stand by Me, and has apparently been covered 400 times.  It was originally released in 1961. It reached number 1 on the R&B charts, number 4 on the pop charts and number 27 on the UK charts. It was re-released in 1986 following the Stand by Me movie, and a Levi Jeans ad, after which, it peaked at number 9 on the US pop charts and number 1 on the UK charts. It was named the fourth most recorded song of the 20^th century by BMI. Rolling Stone has ranked it number 122 on their 500 greatest songs of all time list. And it has also received a Towering Song Award from the Song writers Hall of Fame.

 So, I'm pretty sure everybody knows which cover I'm featuring. I've actually been planning on doing this one for a while, and since the last two posts where Paul posts I figured, I’d do one that featured John to balance things out.

John released his cover in 1975. It appeared on his album Rock 'n' Roll. His version reached number 20 on the Top 100 and number 30 in the UK. It did better in Canada making it to number 10.

Ben E. King:

John Lennon:

Ben E. King totally wins this one. I like John's version. I enjoy how he says stand by me extra times, but It's just not as good.

Live and Let Die

So for the second half of my Paul is doing a concert double header, I totally picked the song Live and Let Die. Yeah I know. I totally just picked the two most obvious Paul songs. Sorry if you expected more.

Paul wrote the song as the opening theme for the 1973 James Bond film of the same name. The single charted at number 2 in the US and number 9 in the UK. It was more successful than any previous Bond theme song at that time.

There's apparently a little bit of debate about the grammar of some of the lyrics. The argument is basically over whether the line reads: "this ever changing world in which we live in," which is of course incorrect, because you're not supposed to end on a preposition, or whether it reads: "this ever changing world in which we're living," which is much more correct (note: if everyone followed that rule, people would be saying which all day, which could be a good thing if you like that word). Apparently, when Paul asked, he said he couldn't remember which it was, but that he's pretty sure it was the latter. Good choice Paul. When in doubt, go with what's correct. I was always sure the former had been used though. I think Paul is just lucky that line is so ambiguous, or else instead of saying he didn't remember, he would have had to say, “Well, you know, prepositions weren't at the forefront of my thoughts while I was writing the song.” Besides, it's way better to keep people guessing anyway.

The song has been covered quite a few times. I swear everything get's covered way more than you think. I mean seriously, Geri Halliwell covered this song. If anyone who reads this actually knew that. I'm impressed. Anyway, of course I'm not featuring her version. As I'm sure you've already guessed, I'm going to feature the Guns n' Roses version. (They actually use a capital N, but I think that's dumb, so I used a lower case one. It just looks better.)

Guns n' Roses recorded their version for their 1991, simultaneous double album release Use Your Illusion. The song appears on Use Your Illusion I. It was the fourth single released from those albums. It charted at number 20, and was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1993. Also the music video for the song was made just before Izzy Stradlin (the coolest member of the band) quit the group. It is the last Gun n' Roses video in which he makes an appearance. Also the cover art of Use Your Illusion is a portion of School of Athens the Fresco by Raphael, which is kind of cool. I wonder if that was public domain or if they had to pay to use it.

Paul McCartney:

Guns n' Roses:

Okay, so I should probably clear the air, and say that I used to really like Guns n' Roses, like 10 lots worth, way more than just one. What I'm saying is, I probably liked them more than they deserved. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying they suck now; I just don’t like them that much anymore. I still think that Appetite probably deserves a spot on every top five best first full length album release list. That album is rock solid. GNR Lies is pretty good too. The first 4 tracks which were initially released at an EP before Appetite are sick. And I'll still come out and say that they would have been something to see in the early mid 80s when they were still all basically just a bunch of homeless kids who would get obliterated every night, and then blow the walls off every bar in LA. It probably would have been spectacular. But Use Your Illusion is really self-indulgent, and frankly is pretty boring. However, there are some great songs on it. I bet it could have been a great album if it had been released as just a regular one, instead of two double ones. And then the Spaghetti Incident is basically just a recording of a band breaking up. Lots of bands have done that though, so you can’t really fault them for it too much. Chinese Democracy? Yeah that's a thing. It should have been released in 99' cause all the leaked demos were better than what ended up appearing on the album. Okay, I'm being such a dick. I'm sorry Axl. I know, I know, you're an artist.

Wow. Well, I went off track there. This is getting long. I know it's not like really long. But if there's one thing I hate, it's overly long blog posts. I'll try to wrap this up quick.

So who wins? For me this one is actually pretty close. I think both are a little cheesy. Paul's is cheesy in a this is a movie theme song a about a secret agent and it sounds like it way, and GNR's version is cheesy in a heavy 90s kind of way. This one could almost be a tie for me, but I hate ties so much. I'm going to say the Guns n' Roses version wins. I kind of feel like I'm wrong, but I think I'd feel more wrong if I said Paul won. I don't know, maybe I should have made it a tie. I'd ask what you guys think, but I already know the answer: silence.

Maybe I’m Amazed

So Paul McCartney is preforming a concert in the city I live in on Monday. Because of that, I decided to do a Paul double header on my blog this weekend. If it all works out, I'll do one post today, and one tomorrow.

Today's post features Maybe I'm Amazed. Paul released it on his 1970 album McCartney, and it's dedicated to his wife Linda. That version of the song wasn't released as a single, but still received a great deal of air time on the radio. In 1976 a live version of the song from the album Wings Over America was released as a single. It charted at number 10 in the US and number 26 in the UK. Rolling Stone ranked it number 338 out of the top 500 songs of all time. It's Paul's only solo song to make the list.

In 1971 the Faces covered it on their album Long Player. They used a live version on the album, but a studio version was released as a single shortly before the album came out. I can't find any information on whether or not their version charted. I have a feeling that means it did not.

Maybe I'm Amazed has been covered several times by other artists as well. In 2011 the Paul McCartney YouTube channel even held a Maybe I'm Amazed cover contest. The winner was decided by most number of likes. A user named Troubleclef won.

Paul McCartney:

The Faces:

I just want to note that I was planning on putting the two studio versions up against each other, but I couldn't find the studio single of the Faces' version on YouTube so instead I'm putting both the live versions up against each other. I guess in the end, that's kind of fitting. You know, because Paul is playing a live concert on Monday. Anyway, here's a link to Paul’s Studio version. In case you wanted to hear it.

So I like both versions of this song. I say that like every time. I'm way too easy going for this. Anyway, Paul's is better. It just is. I love the Faces, and their version is really good. But Paul brought it on Wings Over America. Maybe he had heard the Faces' version and knew he needed to. I don't know. I also think Paul is a better singer than Rod Stewart. And I like Rod Stewart, probably more than the average person. I admit the Faces' version is little bit more lighthearted, but doing kind of a lighthearted "we're just having some fun and some drinks while we preform" was sort of their thing.

Edit: I also should probably point out that Ronnie Lane sings the opening lines of Maybe I'm Amazed in the Faces version. Sorry for overlooking you Ronnie. You're still my favorite Face. Ronnie's Ghost is all mad at me.

Born Under a Bad Sign

So that last post was a little crazy. I think I probably over used commas a little bit. I was putting parenthetical phrases everywhere. It got a little silly. Well don't worry. I'm going to try and use short sentences in this one. Let's see how that goes.

Today's song is Born Under a Bad Sign. Blues guitarist Albert King recorded it in 1967. It's the first track off of his 1967 album of the same name. It's been covered by several artists, including Homer Simpson. That's kind of neat. Jimi Hendrix does an 8 minute instrumental version. King's version made it to number 49 on the Billboard R&B chart. It also made the Rock and Roll hall of Fame's list of 500 songs that shaped rock and roll. The album itself is considered one of the most influential blues albums of the 60s. It has been inducted into the blues hall of fame under the category Classics of Blues Recordings. In 1999 it received a Grammy Hall of Fame Award. It was ranked number 499 on Rolling Stone's Top 500 Albums List, and then ranked number 491 on a revised version of the list. The 2002 reissue was named "Historical Blues Album of the Year.” Not too shabby.

Cream recorded a cover for the studio portion of their 1968 double album Wheels of Fire.  Their version wasn't a single so it did not chart. However, Wheels of fire was a number 1 album in the US, and Number 3 in the UK (it was also number 1 in Canada, and Australia. Number 16 in Norway, and number 11 on the US R&B charts).  It was the first ever platinum selling double album. Rolling Stone ranked it number 203 on its greatest albums of all time list.

Albert King:

Cream:

Okay so this song is bad as heck. I mean bad in the good way. I'll get right to the point. I like Albert King's version way better. The Cream version is pretty good. But it's once of those cases where the song itself is so good that you'd really have to mess it up to get it wrong. And I'll be straight with you. I'm not the biggest Cream fan. Don't get me wrong. They're good. I have Wheels of Fire. I have Disraeli Gears too. There's good stuff on both of those albums. They just never really blew me away. I'll come right out and say that I'm positive that Cream's Born Under a Bad Sign cover isn't the reason why Wheels of Fire was so successful. Clearly, Crossroads and White Room deserve that credit. But again I'm not trying to tear it apart. I just don't really believe Jack Bruce when he's singing about how he was born under a bad sign.  When King sings it he makes you believe (even though Booker T. and William Bell wrote it). Also, his guitar tone is way better.

The Weight

The Weight was released in 1968 by The Band. The writing credit was given to Robbie Robertson; although, Levon Helm once disputed that, saying that each of the members contributed to the song in one way or another. It appears on The Band's debut album Music from Big Pink, and was also released as a single. It's probably one of The Band's best known songs. Yet, despite being arguably one of the most recognizable songs of all time, it was not a significant main stream hit when it was first released. It peaked at number 63 on the US charts, number 35 Canada, and number 21 in the UK. Even though the Weight wasn't able to break into the top twenty in all three of those markets it has received a great deal of accolades. It is ranked number 41 on Rolling Stones 500 Greatest Songs of all Time. I'm pretty sure that's the highest out of any of the songs I've featured so far. Pitchfork Media named it the 13^th best song of the 60s, and it was named one of the 500 songs that shaped rock and roll, by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. And Personally I think that it's pretty swell, and if you've been reading along with the blog so far, you know I hold my opinion in pretty high regard.

This song has been covered like a billion times. Maybe even more than any of the other songs I've featured. But, there can only be one. And I'm choosing Aretha Franklin's cover. I think it's probably the most well known version other than the original.

Aretha released her cover in 1969 on her album This Girl's in Love with You. The album peaked at number 19 on the US pop chart, number 3 on the R&B chart, and number 12 in Canada.

The Band:

Aretha Franklin:

Okay, so this one is way harder than I thought. I was pretty sure I was going to be like, Aretha's version is really good, but The Band just did it so right she can’t over take them. But she really grooved it up. I don't even know you guys. I was going to be like, "don't worry. Aretha will get hers." And now I'm just like, "Damn. I don't know. She sings really good [Word is trying to tell me to use well here, and though I do know that is correct, I enjoy writing in a colloquial voice, and I feel that using good incorrectly in this sentence helps accentuate that voice. I also really like doing asides, as you probably can tell if you've been reading for a while, it's like I'm the Kool-Aid Man, and the you guys need me to break down the fourth wall to quench your thirst. Is the fourth wall even a thing in a blog post?] you guys, but I really like The Band's version." The harmonies are really good, and it's a bit slower, so like it had a different mood. But the backing vocals on Aretha's version are super tight too. And that groovy guitar, which I'm pretty sure, is being played by Duane Allman, and I know you guys remembered what happened when he played guitar on Hey Joe, is insane. I can’t do it you guys. I don't know which to pick. I'm making it a tie again (when I started this I didn't think any would end in ties). Which is better? I don't know. No matter which I try to pick I feel wrong. Even the tie feels wrong. Should Aretha have won, or should it be the Band. Somebody leave a comment and tell me what you think. Okay, I know you guys won't do that. Nobody ever comments. (I hope one of you guys is really stubborn and is like, “you think I won't comment eh, well I'll show you,” and leaves a comment just to spite me, even if it is just to tell me off for being a crappy writer and not proof reading well enough. But seriously though, both those versions are really good right? Also, I'm totally buying that Aretha album, I already have Big Pink, so I don't need that one, but This Girl's in Love with You has a seriously sick track list.

Jackson

Last week I had a bit of a lapse in consistency. Though to be honest, I'm pretty surprised I had managed to maintain as much consistency as I had. Anyway, I'm back. I hope you're all excited for this edition of whatever this is I'm doing.

So in the last post I talked about gender roles in songs and how switching the gender roles pretty much always leads to good things. Consider the Please Mister Postman entry. The Beatles switched the gender roles in that song and it won the round.

Today's song is Jackson, written in 1963 by Billy Edd Wheeler and Jerry Leiber. It was originally recorded by Wheeler, but I don't think anyone knows that. I bet you're going to get 10 out of 10 people saying it's by Johnny Cash just about every time you ask 10 people. So we'll use the Cash version as our benchmark.

Cash recorded his version in 1967 with June Carter. The Song reached number 2 on the country charts and won a Grammy in 1968.

I should probably note here that the original version of the song was a conversation between father and son, and the later versions changed to conversation between a couple. I think it's pretty obvious that that's why the earlier version isn't as well known. It's neat though that the song has had its gender roles changed more than just the one time I'm featuring today.

Okay moving on. So the other version of the song I'm featuring is by an English band called the Brakes. They’re known as Brakesbrakesbrakes in the US. The song, features Liela Moss of the Duke Spirit, and is on their album Give Blood: released in 2005. The indie music shop Rough Trade voted the album best of 2005.

Okay, so let's get to the comparison.

Johnny Cash & June Carter:

The Brakes Featuring Liela Moss:

Okay, so the Johnny Cash and June Carter version is really good. It's clearly great, and that's why it's the version of the song everyone knows. But the Breaks cover is pretty much equally as good. Both are solidly tight, and both have excellent singing. So what makes the difference? It's the gender roles. A man announcing he's leaving his lover to go to a town down the road is not as badass as a woman doing the same thing, and that makes all the difference. Beyoncé knows that, and that’s why it's the only thing she ever sings about. So Liela and the Brakes win this one. I guess that’s a bit of an upset. It's fun when that happens.