Dawes co-headlined the bill with Blitzen Trapper on Friday night at the Royale and were every bit as equal as their counterparts, even running through a great cover of Paul Simon’s "Kodachrome". As great as Dawes is as a band in their own right, they prove to be equally up to the task in their covers, as evidenced in this tackling of John Lennon’s “Jealous Guy”. For the free download check out the link below, and catch a video of their performance of "Kodachrome" from Philadelphia and “Time Spent In Los Angeles” from the Boston show.
On the 70th anniversary of his birth, I’ll be the first to admit that there was a time where I was obsessed with the man, since being a Beatles fan at the age of 5, I delved into the mythology, the legend that made up the story of John Lennon’s life. It was always an intensely sad and morose feeling listening to songs like “Across the Universe” and “Imagine” with the knowledge that a man who was at such peace to write these things was dead, assassinated, murdered by a man who made no more sense than the Catcher In the Rye he claimed to be. I too, as a tremendous Beatles fan, fell victim to blaming his wife Yoko Ono, of destroying the band and was also blinded as to how far love will make someone go. Yet as I reach the final mark of adulthood, I find myself almost at odds with the continuing legend.
Sure, there’s using his image and fame for peace, that’s noble, and true to what Lennon himself believed in, Peace is truly more than just limited to the life of one person, and using a status of fame and fortune for a good cause is never a bad thing. Yet, it’s almost a twist in the gut to at the same time release a remastered Lennon catalog, things that have stripped down the original versions. If anything, this is something ignoble, and something Lennon never would have stood for.
“It’s better to fade away like an old soldier than to burn out. I don’t appreciate worship of dead Sid Vicious or of dead James Dean or of dead John Wayne. It’s the same thing. Making Sid Vicious a hero, Jim Morrison — it’s garbage to me. I worship the people who survive. Gloria Swanson, Greta Garbo.”
So although it is painful to acknowledge the death of a prolific man before his time, it is almost criminal how his image continues to be used for profit. I do not stand to say that I believe Yoko Ono is a woman without talent but I will say that she is a woman without shame. Remarkably, she claims to stand for what her late husband stood for, but has no problem with keeping the money that comes along with it. She refuses to forgive his killer, even though in John Lennon’s message of peace, it would be understanding, and moving, to forgive a man who did not know what he was doing. John Lennon was a great man, a great musician, a great writer, but he was not God. He never wanted to be. So yes, on his 70th birthday, celebrate his music, his fight for peace, and mourn that he died a horrible death. But please, do not spend your money doing it. John Lennon is no Che Guevara. Every time you see him featured in a TV ad, what he stood for dies a little. Remember the man for the man that he was, not the image that Yoko Ono has made him be.
So in remembrance of his music, I give you three songs which were symbolic of his musical output (inspiring, anthemic, and introspective), and a great cover of one of his best.
When The Beatles came together for the Anthology series it was easy to assume it was just another cash in (after all the band had been gone 25 years and Apple was still making money off their one band, and they still are). Real Love was the second Lennon demo that they had been given access to master and do what they please. But it comes off great, George’s guitar work is fantastic, John sounds fresh and alive, a quality sorely lacking in Free as A Bird, and the harmonies are there along with Ringo’s steady backbeat.
G. Love has been around an awful long time with his hip-hop/blues genre, and while that is no longer novel, G. Love has a knack for production that is the show piece of this song. Starting with beautifully played piano interwoven with upright bass, it blossoms into nice syncopated drum and acoustic guitar work, the melody is shimmering and the music surrounds you, its not so much his words that have the flow on this song, its the music, though the words are good too.
Slow Club is an English folksy rock duo in the She and Him style, except they’re much more bright in their melody and harmony, this song chugs along at a frenetic pace and the singing is wonderful and catchy too.
This song bursts out of the gate with a Motown drum roll but keeps itself low-fi, the melody is insanely catchy and the whole thing sounds like it was recorded on one take, full of life and energy, you can just hear the fun the band is having playing this song.
Q-Tip defied common belief when he continued to have a quality career after the fallout from A Tribe Called Quest’s breakup. This song has swagger but in ways that Jay-Z wished he had, the back track is funky and D’Angelo’s backing vocals are beautifully arranged, try and hate this song, go ahead I dare you.
Boasting a Simon & Garfunkelesque harmony as well as a feel for Elliot Smith melody, Pete and J (now known as Harper Blynn) are a great up and coming group fashioned in the old style melodies and classic rock production.
Prince is never conventional, and the cello violin arrangement thrown into this song is a perfect example of his eccentric genius, and no song about this subject matter should be this catchy and the bridge is fantastic. Favorite line thunder chimes out when the lightning sees her kinda makes you feel like a movie star. Wonderfully done all around song.
Some songs just put you in a mood, overcome with love and memory, this is one of them, the arrangement is sparse and the lyrics are beautifully poetic, and Sammy Davis Jr.’s performance here is fantastic.
Another great new band to watch out for with the members hailing from Alaska and California, the guitar work on here is great and a very beatle-esque melody. Great rainy day song
People love to look back at the early years of The Beatles and criticize their simplicity, but sometimes simple is perfect (Lou Reed made a career out of it). This song is very beautiful in its understatement, the harmonies are great the melody is sweet and you can just hear their youth, and the feeling is universal.
As great as he was a guitarist, Jimi Hendrix was an equally excellent arranger and lyricist. His flashy guitar work takes a backseat on this one and even without it, I rate this as one of his best songs.
At the time they hadn’t blown up yet, Use Somebody and Sex on Fire hadn’t been overplayed by every single radio station yet, the bravado hadn’t come yet, but the presence was there, great arrangement and vocal performance on this one, I’d argue this song is more powerful then Use Somebody and Sex on Fire put together.
No longer was he under the shadows of Bob Dylan and Van Morrison comparisons, he was on his own, and he exploded on to the scene with this album. She’s the One doesn’t do alot to avoid his former comparisons though, it even adds a few new ones, his lyrics are as poetic as Dylans and his vocal performance is reminiscent of Morrison and Orbison and the guitar work, Bo Diddley. But that great melody, and those hooks, and the heart, thats all his.
Robert Palmer wasn’t always the suave power rock guy his 80’s hits made him out to be, sure he always loved the suits, but in the 70’s he was funky and he had great taste. Fine Time boasts the immortal James Jamerson on bass as well as a combined backing band of Little Feat and The Meters who were both great bands on their own. The highlight of the track though is the intensity he puts into the vocal performance, he really feels the music and he drives the band in return with his powerful presence.
Keb’ Mo’s first record soungs so organic, if you closed your eyes you’d feel like he was just in front of you playing his acoustic guitar, he’s got a great voice to boot, an underrated essential to being a bluesman, and nice harmonica work as well. A real sunny Sunday afternoon kind of song.
The original demo before The Beatles put their production hands on it, the piano work is beautiful as well as his vocals, its almost as if you’ve got him playing the piano just for you and its really endearing.
To say that I’ve been pretty unlucky all my life would fall under a couple of things.
a.) Lies
b.) Damn Lies
c.) Statistics
d.) bitchy
e.) general conceit and self denial
Whatever, I’m usually a good guy and don’t really care about luck. What I do like though is music; music, music, music, i could listen all day. Being as I had the head start at the age of 6 to be obsessed with a band (The Beatles) I have since become the type that has to digest all listenable types of music (Read as not including Mariah Carey or anyone on the Top 40 charts) to be satisfied. A music connoisseur through and through. Anyways i don’t know what else to talk about right now. So I’ll leave you with
Tracks to Give A Listen
1. One World (Not Three)- The Police, off of Ghosts in the Machine
Even as The Police got more complex, and started to fight more often, they still knew how to make a pop song. Many of the more “music purists” liked to say how good The Police were at their respective instruments. Well here is a gold mine, if you think Stewart Copeland’s drumming on Walking on the Moon was insane, this would justly qualify as Copeland on crack
another copeland on crack moment, with andy summers in high pursuit:
Hidden Gem of the Day:
Cleanup Time- John Lennon, off of Double Fantasy
Yes, we know Yoko’s contributions to the album make you not wish to dig through it, but tucked into the middle of the album is this gem. So many people are willing to go up in arms talking about how peaceful he was or how great of a lyricist he was etc etc. What I love about this, and many other Lennon songs is the absolutely excellent 70’s sound he achieved. While the majority of 70’s sound was decked in absolute cheese, he managed to mix the prominent lead guitar, horns, and crystal clear drums into a thing of immoral beauty. You know it ain’t supposed to be like this, but its too damn good to give up.
If you like the gem:
Too Many Cooks (Spoil the Soup)- Mick Jagger
Heres more of that grimy 70’s sound, with John Lennon producing, excellent track
The Art of the Mixtape 