Piece Of My Heart

Janis Joplin with Big Brother & The Holding Co. 1968

Right up front, I have a couple of thoughts about Janis Joplin's recording of "Piece Of My Heart". First and foremost, it deservedly made her a star. The previous single by her band, Big Brother & The Holding Company, called "Down On Me", had made a respectable dent in the national charts, but could hardly be called a breakthrough. But on "Piece Of My Heart", Janis absolutely owned that lyric and left the listener with no doubt that it was her own story. It's every songwriters' dream to have their lyric performed like that.

Not in your collection? Why?

Secondly, regarding the album that the song is featured on, "Cheap Thrills", which is a cornerstone classic of psychedelic blues-rock and pretty much a must-own for anyone who likes rock music at all, even if it's just for the eye-grabbing cover art by Robert Crumb. If you've ever seen any live concert footage of Janis with Big Brother, the second thing you notice, right after the raw electricity of a typical Janis performance, is that Big Brother was an egregiously sloppy band; no secret in the music circles of the time. The fact that "Cheap Thrills" came off as well as it did is something of a miracle, considering that it was mostly comprised of live performances. It's no small wonder that Columbia changed bands for Janis twice; first on the "Kozmic Blues" album, then again for the sessions that gave us her epitaph, "Pearl".

Here's Janis Joplin's larynx-rippin' version of "Piece Of My Heart". Plug in the lava lamp and the black light!

A 1967 UK picture sleeve 45

It's not often remembered that "Piece Of My Heart" isn't a Janis Joplin original, due to the overwhelming popularity of her recording. It's even less recalled that the song was first cut by Aretha Franklin's older sister, Erma, in 1967! If Aretha was the Queen of Soul, then Erma Franklin certainly held high court in the adjacent kingdom of Northern Soul. Erma's recording broke into the Top 10 national R&B charts, which helped garner her a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist in 1968. The song was written by Jerry Ragovoy, who had 2 other songs covered by Janis as well, "Cry Baby" and "Get It While You Can". Ragovoy wrote a whole bunch of great songs; a list of which can be found here.

When her sister Aretha left Columbia Records and signed with Atlantic, both Erma and her late sister, Carolyn, did the background vocals for their sister's first recordings. Some of those songs included "You Make Me Feel Like (A Natural Woman)," "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man" and "Baby, I Love You." The harmonies Erma and Carolyn added to their sister's songs (called the "Franklin Sound" by critics and disc jockeys) weren't anything new as they had sung the same way as a group at home and in the church.

There is an important interpretive difference between Erma's balladeering and Janis's scorching rock arrangement. When Franklin faces the breakup bullet, her voice seems to persevere just barely above the pain, but when Joplin takes that same shot, she seems to sing the role of relationship martyr, ready to bear the abusive brunt from a neglectful partner. This distinction might come from approaching the source material from different genres, but interpreting the feel of a performance is always subjective, so it's up to you.

Listen to Erma Franklin's original recording below and see if you don't notice a telling difference between these two pieces of the same broken heart.

By now, everything that Janis Joplin recorded has been completely remastered and digitally spiffed up so it's the best it can be. I would still recommend getting either "Cheap Thrills" or "Pearl" on vinyl though, for those of you with a turntable. The warmth is worth it.

Everything in print from Erma Franklin is available at Amazon, but if you just want this song, then you're better off with an Mp3 download.

Have a great weekend! 

Baby Got Back

Jonathan Coulton

I was planning on featuring this song down the road apiece, but a recent newsworthy event bumped it up on the schedule a bit.

Apparently, indie musician Jonathan Coulton's hilarious 2005 recording of the very naughty (by 1992 standards) Sir Mix-A-Lot song, "Baby Got Back", was covered by the cast of "Glee" for the TV show's "Sadie Hawkins" episode. That's all fine and good, except for the oversight of Coulton not being credited for his arrangement of the song or receiving acknowledgment of any kind by Fox. There is also reasonable suspicion that Fox may have actually lifted some, most or possibly all of Coulton's audio for the backing tracks of the "Glee" version. That's a problem and according to Coulton, Fox told him that he should be happy for the (uncredited) exposure and basically told him to get lost. Coulton had a very mellow response and even asked his fans not to direct their anger at Fox.

Jonathan Coulton's iTunes page for "Baby Got Back"

Unable to get any satisfaction from Glee, 20th Century Fox Television or their lawyers, Coulton put his version of "Baby Got Back" up on iTunes as a single, under the title "Baby Got Back (In the Style of Glee), calling it "my cover of Glee's cover of my cover," and will give the proceeds from sales through February to charity. For good measure, he changed his iTunes icon to a picture of him making the L-for-Loser hand gesture, which is used in Glee's logo. Way to stick it to the man, dude.

Sir Mix-A-Lot

Incidentally, it appears that Sir Mix-A-Lot, as the composer, did get paid for the use of his song because Glee producers purchased the usage rights from his publisher. They just never bothered to contact Coulton about using his original arrangement, for which he had secured a Creative Commons licence. Bad dogs.

Ok, time for Exhibit A. Here's Jonathan Coulton's recording of "Baby Got Back" from his 2009 album, "JoCo Strikes Back", a "best of" from his "Thing-A-Week" series.

Now, here's the "Glee" version that's on YouTube. I should point out that at 2:16 in Coulton's version, he changes the lyric "Mix-A-Lot's in trouble" to "Jonny C's in trouble", as a reference to himself. This lyric change, along with a duck quack at the 2:40 mark, has been edited out of the "Glee" version on iTunes and Amazon, which is also nearly 2 minutes shorter than Coulton's, removing not only some parent-inflaming lyrical references but covering potential evidence of unauthorized chicanery as well.

So, did "Glee" rip off Jonathan Coulton? You be the judge.

Aaaand just in case you haven't heard Sir Mix-A-Lot's original version since the 90's, here 'tis. Probably still NSFW in some less than progressive regions.

I just realized how much serious talk is going on about such a ridiculous song. But hey, funny makes money. So, as long as we're on that subject, you can pick up some of Jonathan Coulton's music at Amazon, and I highly recommend that you do. Sir Mix-A-Lot's original version of "Baby Got Back" is available on a variety of compilations, along with his own albums.

Here at Kool Kovers, we support independent musicians. So if you're seriously interested in buying any "Glee" merchandise, I'm sorry, but you're on your own.

Bohemian Rhapsody

Queen, live at the Tower. I very nearly got thrown out for taking this photo. Worth it!

Let's just get this on the table right now; Queen was one of the greatest bands that ever stomped upon the rock 'n roll terra firma. I only got to see them live once, in 1976 at the Tower Theater in Philadelphia, and it was absolutely astounding. (You can see the setlist for that show here!) Their now-classic album, "A Night At The Opera" was brand spanking new and the band was still hitting the stage like they had something to prove. The band made an incredible noise for only 3 guys and Freddie Mercury was... Freddie. (What else needs to be said about that?) This show was also the first time I'd ever seen flashpots used at a concert. They were large and blinding and I probably still have retinal scars. Nonetheless, a splendid time was had by all, except for the hapless opening act, The Cate Brothers, who were roundly booed off the stage with great vigor by the ever receptive and well mannered Philadelphia audience. If you've ever watched an Eagles vs. Cowboys NFL game that's played in Philly, you know exactly what I mean.

Queen's masterpiece, "Bohemian Rhapsody", is their "Stairway To Heaven". It's still on rock radio playlists to this day, although there's many other great Queen tracks deserving of more frequent airplay. In case you haven't given it a good listen for a while, here 'tis.

Recently, while enroute somewhere with my wife, we had the XM tuned to an acoustic music station. Out of the blue, a familiar intro came gently wafting out of the speakers. Was that... a ukelele? Playing "Bohemian Rhapsody"??! This is either a radio station gag or it will be a monumental failure. I turned to my wife and said "Let's see where this one goes." It didn't miss a lick. From the intro into the verses, escalating with the dynamic progression, hitting every note in every key part, sometimes playing multiple parts simultaneously. Was this just overdub trickery? As it turns out, no. It was one ukelele being played by a young master of that humble instrument.

Jake Shimabukuro

His name is Jake Shimabukuro and he makes some amazing music. Jake has a command of his instrument like very few others. He's been making records in his native Hawaii since at least 2003. 

Though widely credited by critics with reinventing the instrument before he was 30, Shimabukuro sees the ukulele as an oracle of goodness. "Maybe there is something over the top about it being an instrument of peace," Shimabukuro says. "But it makes people smile. It makes them want to play music." He even calls the ukulele "the friendliest instrument."

When pressed on why he thinks the ukulele has that effect, he said it's because "People don't see it as a serious instrument, so most people don't have egos about it." Although people might not feel intimidated by the instrument, they ought to be in awe of Shimabukuro's performances; he may be the closest thing to a virtuoso the instrument has ever seen. While the ukulele is typically used for strumming simple chords, Shimabukuro has incorporated complex rhythms and percussive elements, with fingering as nimble as world-class classical guitarists. And this is no small feat on the tiny frets of a uke.

So lend a close ear and listen to this wonderful instrumental performance of "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Jake Shimabukuro. It's one man, one ukelele, one take and no overdubs. Wow.

There are many recordings by Jake Shimabukuro available at Amazon. I highly recommend "Peace, Love, Ukulele" as a starter. You'll never hear ukulele the same way again. The entire Queen catalog has been nicely remastered with several great bonus tracks included on each album. You know where to find 'em.

Tainted Love

Recently, a friend was telling me about someone he knew who had done a rearrangement of the old Little Anthony/Frankie Valli chestnut, "Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You". By simply changing the chord progression from major to minor, the lyric took on a whole new perspective. The narrative immediately switched from 'loving admirer' to 'creepy stalker' without changing a syllable of the lyric. I'm fairly sure something like that is what bothers me the most about Soft Cell.

"Tainted Love" is one of those songs that begs for redemption from being remembered only in Soft Cell's living dead incarnation. To me, this version was a signpost for everything that went wrong with pop music in the 1980's. I suppose then, that the neon signs on the cover of their sole album of note, 1981's "Non Stop Erotic Cabaret", were telling me something and that would be that the music contained therein was as cold and vampiric as the pale gents pictured on it. Listen if you must. About 10 seconds worth should suffice as a reminder.

Gloria Jones in 1965

"Tainted Love" was originally a hit for Gloria Jones in 1964. The song was written and produced by Ed Cobb. It was the B-side to the single "My Bad Boy's Comin' Home", which was a commercial flop, failing to chart in either the US or the UK. Before Jones recorded the song, Cobb had offered it to The Standells, who he managed and produced, but they rejected it. Cobb and The Standells eventually struck gold in 1966 with Cobb's song, "Dirty Water".

However, by 1973, the track's Motown-influenced uptempo sound, featuring horns and female backing vocals, fit in perfectly with the music favored by those in the UK's Northern Soul club scene of the early 1970's. Due to the new found underground popularity of the song, Jones re-recorded "Tainted Love" in 1976 and released it as a single, but this version also failed to chart. 

Unfortunately, Gloria Jones is also remembered as the girlfriend of glam rocker Marc Bolan of the band T. Rex. Jones was driving the car that crashed & killed Bolan in September 1977. After recovering in hospital from a broken jaw & other injuries, Jones & her son left England, never to return. After landing in Los Angeles, Jones stayed in the music industry for several years after, releasing an album in 1981 produced by Ed Cobb, entitled "Reunited". She has since worked as a musical supervisor for films.

I really like the groove on this version so much better. Maybe that's the main difference between it and the ice cold Soft Cell recording. I'll bet the Carolina beach shag clubs play this one to this day. Enjoy!

Imelda May

And, in the interest of burying Soft Cell even deeper in the dustbin of our collective memory, here's a smokin' hot rockabilly take by a new discovery, Irish vocalist Imelda May! This version, from her 2011 album "Mayhem", swings like mad. Crank it!

If nothing else, the one thing that's very apparent to me here is that when you have a good song to begin with, it will hold up under almost any interpretation. It may take on a different meaning or perspective, depending on the vocalist or the arrangement. But, like many things, if the foundation is solid, the house will stand.

I found the Gloria Jones version on a truly excellent, but out of print box set from Rhino called "Beg, Scream & Shout!". It's a 6 disc box of rare 60's soul; pricey but worth it. If that's your style, then this set is a must-own. Whatever you do, go check out Imelda May at Amazon. Your ears and feet will thank you. If you've just got to have the Soft Cell version for whatever reason, you know where to look.

Times Like These

In June 2011, Glen Campbell stunned fans when he revealed in a press release that he was suffering from Alzheimer's disease. It was not an easy decision to go public with his private struggle, but his family felt it was a decision that needed to be made. Following the announcement, Campbell released what he said would be his final album of new, original material, "Ghost On The Canvas", then hit the road on what he called his farewell tour. But an interesting thing happened. Instead of fading off into the sunset like a forgotten has-been, the 76-year-old entertainer was catapulted back into the spotlight and the music industry couldn't seem to shower him with enough accolades.

Most of the time, he sailed through his concert set like the charismatic veteran he is. Three teleprompters at the foot of the stage enabled him to read his lyrics and when he would flub a line, he usually laughed it off. But there were moments when he became a little disoriented. While most people with Alzheimer's drift in and out of lucidity without fanfare, you knew exactly when Campbell hit a rough patch. So it helped a lot that he was surrounded by family on stage. Glen's son Cal was on drums, his brother, Shannon, on guitar nearby. Their younger sister, Ashley, stood to Campbell's left, on keyboards, banjo and violin. Fans were happy to fill in the gaps when he had a senior moment, singing his lyrics back at him until he found his way again. Campbell's wife, Kim, knew full well that these incidents would occur from time to time. But the whole family has made peace with it, including Campbell.

Prior to all of this, in 2008, Campbell quietly released what amounted to a re-introductory album of cover songs called "Meet Glen Campbell". Chart-wise, it came and went, making barely a ripple, which is unfortunate because it was very obviously made with care and respect for the man's hit-making history. The song choices are all over the map. Some are not much of a surprise (Jackson Browne's "These Days" or Green Day's "Time Of Your Life") but there's a few eyebrow raisers too, like "Sing" by the Scottish band, Travis, or Lou Reed's Velvet Underground song "Jesus", that work really well for Campbell. Now, before you accuse Glen or his producers of scrounging for hipster cred, you should remember that this is a guy who cut a version of "Wichita Lineman" with Stone Temple Pilots a few years back because they wanted to work with him!

This album feels completely different than say, Johnny Cash's series of American Recordings. This is no musical epitaph. The production work on this album is top shelf and manages to be both contemporary and an homage to Glen's great Capitol years at the same time; no small feat. It certainly knows when to get out of the way but there are times when it sounds as big and cinematic as the pan shots of Monument Valley at the beginning of the classic western, "The Searchers".

Foo Fighters

So when it came down to picking today's Kool Kover, I had a choice to make. There's a terrific version of Tom Petty's "Walls" on this album that I was going to feature here, but at the last minute, I decided to save Tom for another day. (It'll be worth the wait, I promise.)

Instead, here's Glen Campbell's fantastic rendition of "Times Like These" by Foo Fighters! It's really great when an artist is doing someone else's song and manages to make it sound like it's their own. I'm pretty sure Dave Grohl was happy about this. I would be proud if I were him. To me, this track sounds like an outtake from Glen's "Galveston" sessions. Enjoy!

By the way, for the sake of comparison in case you're not that familiar with the song, here's the Foo Fighters' recording of "Times Like These". Vive la différence!

Ok, time to buy stuff! All things Glen Campbell are available at Amazon, as always. Plenty of Foo Fighters too. Have a great weekend!

He's In Town

A very youthful Carole King & Gerry Goffin

Someday, with any luck, there will be a really great boxed set anthology of all of the amazing songs written by Carole King & Gerry Goffin that were recorded by other artists. While there are a couple of cd's out there from Ace Records in the UK, it's time that a definitive set was compiled stateside, even though it would probably be a licensing nightmare. In most cases, these were tunes that Goffin & King had no intention of releasing themselves. The songs were written at their day job for the publishing houses in the Brill Building days of the very early 1960's.

This was a time when the Doo-Wop sounds of the 1950's were still alive & well, just prior to the British Invasion. If you're gonna borrow (or steal), do it from a good source and songwriters at the Brill Building were fishing for hits. Today's featured song has a composition structure very similar to any of the hits by Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons, with a healthy dash of Phil Spector's musical drama thrown in. One could say there's a whiff of the Beach Boys sound present, but it was a bit early for them to have been influential in New York. I do admit that the song is something of an obscurity, but I like the overall sound of it and the mood created by the vocal harmonies inside the chord progression.

The Tokens

I first heard the Goffin-King song "He's In Town" as a cover version by The Rockin' Berries on a British Rock compilation. Turns out that the original American version by The Tokens was one of a few different B-sides of their most famous recording, "The Lion Sleeps Tonight". The Tokens' recording has something of the tentative feel of a demo to it, but that has its own charm. The Rockin' Berries' version feels more assured, with lots of cool tropo-surf guitar and replaces the brief but cloying sax solo with simple vocal la-la's. Really, they're the same, just different.

Here's the 1963 version by The Tokens.

And now, here's The Rockin' Berries' recording from October of 1964. This single reached #3 in the UK charts. I've always been amazed by the ability of British musicians to reinvent American music, sell it back to us and have us believe it was their idea all along. Go figure.

By the way, I discovered an interesting footnote regarding The Tokens. Beginning in late 1963, members of The Tokens also began serving as record producers for other artists, working on such classic recordings as "He's So Fine" and "One Fine Day" for The Chiffons, "Denise" by Randy & The Rainbows, and "See You In September" and "I Got Rhythm" by The Happenings. They also ran their own record label, B. T. Puppy Records. Nice bullet points on anyone's resume.

You can find some good stuff at Amazon from both the Tokens and The Rockin' Berries, along with the afore-mentioned Ace compilations of the Goffin-King material. Don't forget to look at the excellent, but out of print series from Rhino, The British Invasion. Have fun shopping!

Kover Albums: Drink A Toast To Innocence

Through the looking glass of Facebook, I've been able to make contact with some musicians & regular fan folks who enjoy a fun musical sub-genre known as Power Pop. Who can resist strong, positive, melodic rock with killer harmonies and more songwriting hooks than a fishing lure? Not me. I'm in!

One day, I happened upon a Facebook page for a concern known as Monsters Of Lite Rock. The page is essentially an ongoing playlist for their favorite songs from the mid to late 1970's when pop singles got a little.. fluffy. Think of groups like Firefall, Little River Band, England Dan & John Ford Coley, Seals & Crofts and The Carpenters, along with the many individual one hit wonders and you'll have a handle on their concept. If there's a radio station in your town with any resemblance to the word 'magic' in their call letters, there's a solid chance it's a lite rock station.

Well, sure enough, the folks at MOLR have decided to produce a full length tribute CD filled with choice cover versions of classic soft rock singles. The title, "Drink A Toast To Innocence" is a nod to a lyric from one the softest of the soft-rockers, Dan Fogelberg. The album is scheduled for release in the spring, so it isn't available quite yet, but so far, the lineup looks like this:

Linus Of Hollywood - "More Than I Can Say" (Leo Sayer)
Vegas With Randolph - "Cool Change" (Little River Band)
An American Underdog - "Thunder Island" (Jay Ferguson)
Eytan Mirsky - "Escape (The Pina Colada Song)" (Rupert Holmes)
David Myhr - "The Things We Do For Love" (10cc)

Brandon Schott - "Thank You For Being A Friend" (Andrew Gold)
Mike Viola - "Steal Away" (Robbie Dupree)
The Popdudes - "Magnet & Steel" (Walter Egan)
The Sonic Executive Sessions - "On & On" (Stephen Bishop)
Paul Bertolino - "Just Remember I Love You" (Firefall)
Willie Wisely - "So Into You" (Atlanta Rhythm Section)
Throwback Suburbia - "I Love You" (Climax Blues Band)
The Davenports - "Just When I Needed You Most" (Randy VanWarmer)

And that's just who's in so far. Apparently, there will be a bunch more. If the names of the artists doing the covers aren't familiar to you yet, please trust me, they're all really great! There aren't any audio samples out yet, but I do have a K-Tel inspired video preview for you, direct from MOLR and it's pretty darn snappy. Enjoy!

If the rest of the album is half as good as these teasers, it'll be a must-add to the Phillydog's Kovers Kollection! I don't know yet if the album is going to be available on vinyl, but if it were, I'd be really happy about that. I have doubts that we'll see 8 tracks or cassettes though.

I'll put up a post on the Kool Kovers Facebook page when I hear about a solid release date. By the way, if you visit that page and "Like" it, you'll get a notification whenever there's a new post on this blog! So please head on over and do so. Sure would appreciate it. Thanks!

Anyway, now that you've had a proper introduction, here's a YouTube link to a bonus full-length video from the album! It's Australia's finest, Michael Carpenter, with his awesome cover of Cliff Richard's 1979 hit, "We Don't Talk Anymore". Crank this one up! I seriously think this version is way better than the original.