Ooh Child

The original 1970 single

I've always loved this record by The 5 Stairsteps. It was the only visit to the Top 40 for them, but with its positive, encouraging lyric and lightly funky groove, it was a winner, reaching #8 on the national Billboard chart in the spring of 1970. This is just a great single, top to bottom. Every part is perfectly written & played. Nicely produced & engineered too. The song has also been sampled often and used in many TV series and movies, including a crucial scene in 1991's "Boyz N The Hood".

Here's the 5 Stairsteps original. This is from an excellent master, so you can really hear what the individual instruments are playing. The rhythm section is just smokin'! They didn't need (or have) any stinkin' ProTools.

I've heard quite a few cover versions of this song over the years. Most of them try so hard to duplicate the original feel that they forget to relax, so it often sounds forced. Some of the better recent attempts by The Posies and The Wondermints were great, but even they fell short by not really doing anything too different with the arrangement. It is possible for a cover to fail by loving the original too much.

Beth Orton

It wasn't until a friend reminded me of the 2003 version by Beth Orton, an award winning British singer-songwriter known for her blend of folk & electronica, that some new ground was broken. Her album, "The Other Side Of Daybreak", opens with a sparse, acoustic take of "Ooh Child" and for once, I was able to hear the song differently.

Where as the original had a sunny feel and a soothing yet smiley vocal performance of a lyric intended to console a young child, Orton's performance is a bracing reminder that adults with adult feelings need encouragement too, but not in a overly chipper way that is off-putting to a person going through something unpleasant. Orton's vocal sounds like someone who has crawled into a dark space with someone to meet them where they are and help them regroup. Same lyric, just a very different delivery and it makes all the difference. Now, turn the lights down a bit, take a deep breath and listen to Beth Orton sing your troubles away.

You can check out all of Beth Orton's albums at Amazon. "The Other Side Of Daybreak" is available used for as little as one lousy cent.

The original "Ooh Child" by The 5 Stairsteps can be found in many places and formats in wildly varying quality. The version you heard here is from the excellent 20+ disc reissue series, "Soul Hits of the 70's: Didn't It Blow Your Mind!", issued by Rhino in the early 90's. Bet you can't get just one!

And, just in case you really want a big box of bubblegum, check out the 3 CD label comp, The Buddah Box, available used for a reasonable fee.

Picture Book

Ok, I know you remember this catchy Hewlett Packard commercial featuring the Kinks' tune, "Picture Book". This ad was a marketers' dream come true.

 

If there ever was a band that is more than worthy of some quality cover versions, it's gotta be The Kinks. There's such a deep, deep well of great songs to do.

After some digging around, I found an excellent Kinks tribute CD that was released back in 2002 by the fine folks at Rykodisc. Not only is there a primo cast of musicians but each seems well matched to the tune they are performing. "Victoria" was custom-made for Cracker. Fountains Of Wayne do a great version of "Better Things" and Matthew Sweet turns in an epic "Big Sky". And "Art Lover", done here by Lambchop, is one of the most disturbing yet poignant songs Ray Davies ever wrote.

Although the rest of the CD is just plain great, I absolutely love this joyful romp through "Picture Book" by Bill Lloyd, formerly of country duo Foster & Lloyd, and Tommy Womack, solo Americana rocker. This just sounds like it was a lot of fun to record. They also really nailed the essence of The Kinks' sound; not an easy thing to pull off by any means. I'll bet this song will be stuck in your happy little head for the rest of the day.

You can grab this highly recommended tribute album at Amazon for a very reasonable fee. Please also check out some of Bill Lloyd's solo efforts and Tommy Womack as well. It'll be worth your while, I promise. And if you are somehow lacking at least a Greatest Hits disc from The Kinks, well... we need to talk.

Christmas Time Is Here

Steve Vai and tri-polar guitar

Remember that scene in the 1st "Men In Black" film where agents K and J are reviewing all these records of celebrities who are actually aliens? Steve Vai could very well be one of those aliens, because normal humans don't play guitar like he does. Alien or not, he is certainly one of the most diverse, technically proficient, visionary, and pioneering guitarists of our time. In his younger days, Vai's employer at the time, Frank Zappa, called him his "little Italian virtuoso" and "stunt guitarist". Vai earned both titles with his groundbreaking guitar technique, showmanship and deep musicality.

During the 1997 holiday season, Sony Music put out "Merry Axemas", a collection of well-known Christmas tunes interpreted by some of the best rock guitarists out there, including Eric Johnson, Jeff Beck, Joe Satriani and Brian Setzer, who has already cornered his own slice of the holiday music market. Steve Vai bravely chose to interpret a modern classic that is well ingrained in the public ear, Vince Guaraldi's "Christmas Time Is Here" from the ageless soundtrack, "A Charlie Brown Christmas". This track has the mark of a great cover version. It completely respects the original, yet sounds like no one else but Vai. The band Vai assembled for the song was top notch too, including bassist Bryan Beller, keyboardist-guitarist & fellow Zappa veteran, Mike Keneally and current Dream Theater drummer Mike Mangini. Not a slouch in the bunch.

So, sit back with a cup of something warm and sturdy, and enjoy this very cool version of "Christmas Time Is Here". Try not to spill your mug when you go all 'air guitar'.

Merry Axemas is still available at Amazon for cheap. Steve Vai has released quite a catalog of amazing recordings over the last 25 years or so. I would recommend getting at least a best-of collection.

And if, for whatever reason, after all these years, you still don't have a copy of "A Charlie Brown Christmas" in your collection, well, it's almost not Christmas without it.

While we're on the subject, I want to wish all my readers a very Merry Christmas and a rockin' New Year! Thanks for checking in.

Get Together

Today, I've got a nice rarity for you as a holiday treat! From the glory days of unique promotional CD's, here's a 1989 radio station disc that combined a holiday greeting with a cover tune by Indigo Girls from their very first album, "Strange Fire".

The single, which is a fairly rare item these days but is also both findable and affordable, has 3 tracks on it. A spoken holiday greeting, which is often used by radio stations during the Christmas season, is followed by a very nice acoustic version of "Get Together". Track 3 is a combination of the first 2 tracks with the song being faded in following the greeting. It is that track that I present to you here.

"Get Together" was written in the early 1960's by American singer-songwriter Chet Powers (aka Dino Valenti). The song was originally recorded as "Let's Get Together" by The Kingston Trio and released in June of 1964, on their album "Back in Town". While it was not released as a single, The Kingston Trio often performed it live. Another version of the song first broke into the top forty in 1965, when We Five, produced by Kingston Trio manager Frank Werber, released "Let's Get Together" as the follow-up to their top ten hit "You Were on My Mind." While it did not achieve the same level of success, "Let's Get Together" provided the group with a second top forty hit on the Billboard Hot 100 when it peaked at #31. It would be their last hit record.

The Youngbloods' 1969 single

In 1967, The Youngbloods released their version of the song under the title "Get Together." It became a minor Hot 100 hit for them, peaking at #62. However, renewed interest in The Youngbloods' version came when it was used in a radio public service announcement as a call for brotherhood by the National Conference of Christians and Jews. The Youngbloods' recording, the most-remembered today, was quickly re-released in 1969, peaking at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100.

So, if you are up for some last minute holiday shopping, the Indigo Girls' catalog is readily available at Amazon. There's an excellent, 21 song Youngbloods anthology there too.

Have a safe, warm, grateful and very happy Christmas!!