From the Ticket Stub Bin – One Song

Today’s Music: See Below.

A hard ticket to get...

We’ve all heard covers of songs. Sometimes it’s almost a note for note cover of the original (Rascal Flats covering Tom Cochrane’s Life Is A Highway). Sometimes it brings the song to a whole new, previously unimagined level (Jimi Hendrix on Bob Dylan’s All Along The Watchtower).
And sometimes you get to hear three different versions of a song that you never expected to hear live in the first place.

One year, I was lucky enough to see Eric Clapton, Tony Bennett and Tori Amos in concert. Not together (Though that would probably an incredible show!).
All three of them did Somewhere Over The Rainbow. From the Wizard of Oz.
Let me refresh your memory…

She sings it with a child’s wistfulness. It’s a beautiful song of innocence and aspiration. Really, you have to be pretty jaded to not feel anything when listening to it.

Tony Bennett was a contemporary of Judy. By all accounts, they were friends.
When I saw Tony, he led into this song by describing what a wonderful person Judy was, and how much he missed her.
That version seemed laced with sadness, perhaps regret.
The version below is more fun and playful. There’s hope, but Tony’s voice makes it seem more like a fond reminiscence of someone unavoidably detained…

During an encore set, Clapton came out with his acoustic guitar and launched into the song.
I think he does a great job with it. His version is interesting to me, because (by all accounts) he’s made it over the rainbow. I think he has a very fun take on the song, not least of which is “Really? Clapton is doing that song? Live?”
But he doesn’t turn it into a Clapton tour-de-force. There is plenty of room for the rest of the band to shine and fill, and his jazzy version really does sound good to me.

Tori has a…distinct style. Many of her songs I honestly find a bit disturbing. Which I think is what Tori is going for. She writes a lot about pain, and I think that carries through well in her music.
When I saw her and recognized the song from the intro, I expected it to be a creepy, bent version of a classic.
But what she did instead, for me, is unlock some of the true meaning of the song. She sings it with such heartache, such longing, that I, as a listener, could only hope and pray that she would make it over the rainbow.

One song. Three unique perspectives. Each a highlight of their show.
But of course, just for giggles, I have to throw this one in too. Just because it’s fun.

So a question for y’all: What song cover made you think about the original in a whole different way?

You’ve got to hear this – Volume one

Today’s Music: Derek And The Dominoes – Layla (for comparison with the below)

Sometimes I hear a song from a genre I wouldn’t normally listen to, like Aloe Blacc’s single, I Need a Dollar

Sometimes, it’s from a band I like, and it’s exactly what I expect, Like Lynyrd Skynyrd’s album, Edge of Forever

And sometimes, an act I like puts something out that takes my expectations and sends them running for cover.
In a good way.
That was the case with Wynton Marsalis and Eric Clapton’s Play The Blues (Live From Jazz at Lincoln Center).
It’s all here – New Orleans blues, Chicago blues, Delta, some Ragtime, and a few dirges.
Eric Clapton has a growl in his voice on some of the tracks that I haven’t heard before.
Wynton Marsalis defies reality with a plunger at the end of his horn.

But it isn’t just the Wynton & Eric show. There’s plenty of room for some spectacular keys from Chris Stainton and Dan Nimmer. Fantastic rhythm from Ali Jackson on drums, Great upright bass by Carlos Henriquez. Victor Goines (clarinet), Marcus Printup (trumpet) Chris Crenslaw (trombone) round out a phenomenal horn section.
Taj Mahal even shows up at the end with his banjo for a couple of tracks.

From the opening rollicking track, led off by a playful ragtime riff and Eric Clapton shouting about ice cream, the album grabs and doesn’t let go.
Wynton and Eric trade vocals for most of the album, and their two instruments blend and play off each other incredibly well.

To give you an idea, here’s a song most people know, reworked for this show. As a dirge.

If you have any interest in either of these performers, or the blues with aNew Orleans tinge, you can do a lot worse than pick this up.
Two world class performers working with each other to create a level of music I don’t think either of them could have created on their own.

How could I not have expected that?