Tangled Up In Blue

To even contemplate exploring the deep abyss of cover versions of Bob Dylan songs is a daunting task. It's a lot like someone asking you "I'd like to listen to some Jazz, but I don't know where to start. Any suggestions?" Instant brain overload. There's so much great stuff to choose from.

But then I remembered that wonderful day when our eldest daughter, then about 15, asked me, just out of the blue, "Do you have any Bob Dylan I can listen to?" After picking myself off of the floor due to being asked this astoundingly cool question, I ambled over to the collection and pulled out my well-worn copy of "Blood On The Tracks", explaining that if she started here, she could then go forward or backward in Dylan's music career with equal ease. So while it seemed like the best starting point for her, it also remains to this day, my very favorite Dylan album.

"Blood On The Tracks", released in 1975, opens with the song "Tangled Up In Blue", the first of a few lengthy but engaging tales. I feel it still stands as one of Dylan's very best story songs, although this entire album is a masterwork. Here's the bard himself.

Back in the late 70's, when I was naive enough to believe that I could be a working musician simply because I liked music so much, I would go out to see certain local bands in an effort to 'learn the craft', but mostly to drink a lot & have a good time. Local cover bands were certainly more accessible than the arena-filling rockers of the day, so it was much easier to hang out and talk with the sound & lighting crew while they did their thing and to watch the musicians play so I could try to figure the songs out by the chord positions and what the different equipment would sound like. One of these local bands went by the name of Squeeze. 

Squeeze, circa 1977. The Jersey Edition.

Now, this was not the British pop band that made some great records in the 80's. This particular Squeeze played the Philly/Jersey/Delaware bar circuit and specialized in note-perfect renditions of Led Zeppelin songs. They had some original songs that were rather good and played lots of other cover tunes but the Zeppelin material was the draw. Any band of that time worth their gear could play "Rock 'n Roll" passably enough but Squeeze did deep cuts like "The Song Remains The Same", "The Rain Song" and even "Kashmir" with jaw-dropping authenticity. They were impressive, to say the least.

So let's get back to Dylan, shall we? One of the covers that Squeeze would do occasionally was a reworking of "Tangled Up In Blue". It was a good choice to break up the set a bit and work in a 'slow grope' dance before things started rocking again. Squeeze shortened the song by at least 3 verses and threw a 1/2 verse guitar solo back in, yet somehow managed to keep the story line intact.

This recording is as much of an exclusive as it is possible for me to present, due to the fact that I recorded it myself at a Squeeze gig in April of 1978. With the permission of the crew & band, I plugged a cassette deck into the mixing board, so what I got was live to 2 track, mixed on the fly. It's rough but real. I still have the cassettes and have attempted to contact the band members via Facebook, but have not yet received a response. This music has never been released. It seems like the appropriate forum to do so here. Enjoy!

As far as 'where are they now' goes, regarding Squeeze, vocalist Steve Richter & guitarist Steve Sheppard are alive & well & living in New Jersey. I understand their drummer, Jack Daley, passed away several years ago. The doings & whereabouts of guitarist Rick Caldwell & bassist Mike Mazzone are unknown. I wish them all well & thank them very belatedly for my using their band as my 'Rock School'.

In case you are curious, like my daughter was all those years ago, you'll be happy to know that there is more Bob Dylan music available at Amazon than anyone would ever know what to do with.

Have a great weekend!

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.