put your records on
ETA (06/14/07): Thanks for the suggestions. I’ve put up quite a few and have a few more to put up. Since I’m putting them where they come in the alphabet, not all songs would fit this round. You’ll see the other ones when the collection rotates in about a month. Feel free to make more suggestions as the summer tour rolls on or other ideas occur to you.
I’ve been working on putting up a list of the songs that Hicks has covered so far on his ‘07 tours. There’s the 20 or so he did in whole, and then there’s the whole other pile of songs teased in and out of others. The whole thing is up on a page called “magical cover bag”. It’s all getting jumbled with Felix D Kat in my trivial mind: you know, the nature of memory and the lyric-music connection. Why a certain word or phrase will awaken a musical memory and force itself into expression.
Doesn’t mean it’s always a good thing:
Anyway, I decided to decorate the page with album art, but I’m getting bored working by myself. So if you want to post here and aren’t in the mood for thinking, how about giving me a hand? I want another half dozen album covers in there. Criteria is that it has to be an album from which one of the covers came. Special points for songs or artists that seem to be central to where Hicks is at now, musically. Presumably pretty much anything in the bag fits that, or he wouldn’t have sung it, but you may have ideas about which songs or artists are favored.
So, if you want to play along, look over what’s there already, track down a cover pic for some album you’d like in there, and put in the info. Here’s what I need:
song / artist / album / link to album cover photo
If you want, you can also say why you think that album would be a good choice. Remember, I’m looking for ones that seem central to Hicks’ music, not necessarily the ones that send you over the edge.
And a nice little contribution from maggie (avoid if sensitive to cartoon violence and nudity)
categories: meta, music
tags: album covers, cover songs, Felix the Cat, taylor hicks
posted by what at 04:58 pm
Are you saying D Kat is out of the (magic cover) bag?
How about
Take the Long Way Home/Supertramp/Breakfast in America
http://cover6.cduniverse.com/MuzeAudioArt/Larger/80/148480.jpg
According to Taylor’s comment during the tour, the first ’song’ he learned to play harmonica to -
Either Banana Boat Song or Jump In The Line/Harry Belafonte
They’re both on here: http://images.barnesandnoble.com/images/11390000/11399632.gif
But the first album just has The Banana Boat Song: http://images.barnesandnoble.com/images/11390000/11399630.gif
Take your pick.
Because I’m an Anglophile:
Cream~”Badge”
~ from the album “Goodbye”, 1969
http://glen.utdallas.edu/Glen/CDs/Cream/Cream%20Goodbye.jpg
Last Exit / Traffic with Medicated Goo belongs on this page for sure. Great vintage 1969 album cover. Find it here: http://www.amazon.com/Last-Exit-Traffic/dp/B000059T1G
Why, you ask? Well, Goo is certainly known as one of Traffic’s best jam tunes. And it was an extraordinary cover for Hicks on the spring tour. Brought the house down.
Hey, up there ^^ premeditated, I’m surprised you didn’t think of this one.
I have a gazillion album covers I’d love to send you, but where do I send them? Or do you just want the linke here? OH! Never mind…I’ll do what goo did…
Tighten Up/ Archie Bell and the Drells/ http://www.dustygroove.com/images/products/b/bell_archie_tightenup_102b.jpg
Cool song, but even cooler cover art.
Baby Please Don’t Go/ Muddy Waters
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B00005M676.01._SCMZZZZZZZ_.jpg
Cause I like his face.
Sweet Home Chicago/ Robert Johnson/ San Antonio - Dallas, 1936-37/
http://www.audio-archives.com/images/obj/FA251.jpg
Cause he’s Robert Johnson. Taylor knows.
Grits Ain’t Groceries/ Wet Willie Band / High Humidity/
http://www.ktb.net/~insync/highhumidity.jpg
Taylor had a chance to play with these guys in Atlanta but passed it up. They rank high on his list of favorites, however, and Jimmy Hall is perhaps the best harp player ever.
Can the Circle Be Unbroken/ Carter Family/ Can the Circle be Unbroken/
http://www.markbrine.com/country_music_roots/images/the_original_carter_family.jpg
I’ve always heard this as “Will the Circle…” but apparently it could be sung many different ways. My boyfriend played keyboards with Jume Carter Cash on this song once. It’s beautiful.
That’s all for now.
Well, darn. Comments were off so I e-mailed you my choice - something by the Doobie Brothers. All their album ocvers are at this link!
http://www.doobiebros.com/content/discography.php
Paul Pema
Gonna Move
http://www.paulpena.com/images/newtrainLG.jpg
http://www.tay-media.com/tay_mp3/liveset1/GonnaMove.mp3
Enjoy!
I think I read this wrong so here is Paul Pena’s
“Gonna Move”
http://tinyurl.com/2dwcym
More on Paul Pena
http://www.paulpena.com/pressrelease.html
Patti - sorry about the comments thing. I was so excited to be pulling a Tom Sawyer that I forgot to get the paint.
Thanks for all the great suggestions, people. It makes me nostaligic for the lost days of great album art. That’d be great topic for another time.
Dance To The Music by Sly & The Family Stone from the album “Dance To The Music”. I find it interesting that this cover is so conservative, considering Sly’s wild reputation.
http://a1.vox.com/6a00b8ea074b861bc000c2251c4d218fdb-320pi
Huey “Piano” Smith actually wrote ‘Rockin’ Pneumonia…’ He also spoofed his own song with ‘Tu-Ber-Cu-Lucas And The Sinus Blues’
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huey_%22Piano%22_Smith
There’s album art on the wiki page.
http://www.amazon.com/Having-Good-Piano-Smith-Clowns/dp/B0000060ID/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-9088501-0217603?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1181735950&sr=1-1
And this, if you want to hear clips of the songs.
Here is Pink Floyd’s “The Wall”
http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/I/41S86019Z6L._SS500_.jpg
Sample
http://tinyurl.com/2s2bta
It was a surprise to me to find out Hicks tagged this
song. Didn’t think Pink Floyd would be his thing.
Is Dancing Queen to be included?
Lubiana - Thanks for the catch. That should have been in flashing lights. Maybe that’s why I missed it.
If anyone sees any other songs that were left out, let me know. I’ll be updating after each show this summer, assuming my tin foil hat gets decent reception.
Asstral - you’re living up to your name. Glad the cartoon brought back memories for you, but I had to delete your comment:
(a) you’re off-topic
(b) you’re betraying a distressing lack of awareness of the evolution of English slang over the last century
(c) I refuse to update the guidelines to cover this crap: discuss ideas, not people (or cartoon cats)
Come back with a decent album cover suggestion. That one that Hicks says he stole as a 9 year old would do nicely.
Re my suggestion of Last Exit by Traffic above — here’s a better image.
Duh. Here it is, actually:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/customer-images/B000059T1G/ref=cm_ciu_pdp_images_all/103-4311828-9876605?ie=UTF8&s=music#gallery
Sam Cooke http://www.samcooke.com/products.php?id=38 Song: That’s where its at from the Keep Movin on lp
what - I’ve heard Taylor speak of the Otis Redding album he stole from a friend’s house several times, but I’ve never heard him mention which specific Otis Redding album it was.
This was actually a question I sent to him when we were invited to send questions for a live chat or something on THHQ.
Marvin Gaye, “Let’s Get It On”
http://www.bullmoose.com/rel/v2_viewupc.php?storenr=258&upc=60249860594&pt=1&affnr=-1
Because it’s Marvin Gaye, man…
02/05/2007 Yahoo! Music Interview
TAYLOR: . . . . Very rarely in music do you listen to an album all the way through and enjoy every single track. There’s very few albums that I can count on my hands that actually do that for me, in all of music. There’s probably 10, but those are masterpiece works. . . .
YAHOO! MUSIC: Which albums come to mind?
TAYLOR: [Van Morrison's] Tupelo Honey. Good Old Boys by Randy Newman. Breakfast In America by Supertramp. Running On Empty by Jackson Browne. [Van Morrison's] Astral Weeks. Such great music on one album…
breakfast in america? bonus points for goo
running on empty
http://cover6.cduniverse.com/MuzeAudioArt/080/85966.jpg
astral weeks
http://cover6.cduniverse.com/MuzeAudioArt/120/127344.jpg
Because Lowdown is perfect for Taylor’s voice:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/images/B000002564/ref=dp_image_0/103-5886441-6210202?ie=UTF8&n=5174&s=music
I thought this one would be appropriate coming from me:
Randy Newman
I Love LA
http://image.listen.com/img/170×170/7/2/2/3/453227_170×170.jpg
What’s foot in my ass did not feel so good. I guess I will try to keep it on topic.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/images/B000002KG1/ref=dp_image_0/105-2112775-9673238?ie=UTF8&n=5174&s=music
Long Distance Love.
Taylor is so hawt!Hicks has impressed me with his knowledge of and appreciation for great music, and for music history. But when I heard he paid tribute to Paul Butterfield by teasing a little Born in Chicago, well, that made me a believer. American Idol? Oh, please! Hicks is so much more interesting than that.
It makes perfect sense that he would wish to tip his hat to Butterfield. Born in Chicago was the first cut on the 1965 Elektra debut album (self-titled) of The Paul Butterfield Blues Band. The album PRECEDED the British blues invasion. Rolling Stone in 2003 gave it the 476th position in its listing of the Top 500 Albums of All Time.
The influence and impact of this album and this band cannot be overstated. With it, Butterfield, a young white American, introduced white American music fans to a sound they had never heard before: amplified harmonica. Butterfield had learned it from its inventor, Little Walter, and mastered it for himself.
The band that Butterfield built around that sound delivered blues with balls, and it shocked awake a music culture that was either weighed down by the seriousness of folk, or swooning over the earliest Beatles “wanna hold your hand” pop hits.
The band was made up of stellar guitarists Mike Bloomfield and Elvin Bishop, as well as Sam Lay and Jerome Arnold, two black musicians who had formed the rhythm section for Howlin’ Wolf’s band.
Talk about changing the course of popular music…
Cover art is here:
http://www.bluesforpeace.com/images/butterfield.gif
Amazon.com will let you hear a samples of songs off the album. The Born in Chicago clip includes a taste of scrumptious amplified harp.
http://www.amazon.com/Paul-Butterfield-Blues-Band/dp/B000002GZ1
The story of this band, and this time, is interesting. Please let me know if you’d like to explore further.
Well you’ve just got to include this one…
Compared to What/Les McCann/Verve
The album art is better on Verve than on Swiss Movement
http://www.artistdirect.com/Images/Sources/AMGCOVERS/music/cover200/drd400/d473/d473858n6qx.jpg
I just loved how Taylor made this one his own when he sang it on tour.
Correction… the title of the McCann album is actually Talkin’ Verve
Harlem & Grandma’s Hands & Use Me/Bill Withers/Just As I Am/
http://www.billwithersmusic.com/htmlWork/albums2.cfm?aSelect=Just%20As%20I%20Am
Need I explain?
Knock on Wood/Otis Redding/Otis! The Definitive Otis Redding
http://www.google.com/musicl?lid=2pH7RLUPJO&aid=FgwiEvvE5XJ
Night Moves & Mainstreet/Bob Seger/Night Moves
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_Moves_%28album%29
Cissy Strut & Fire on the Bayou/The Funky Meters/Fiyo at the Filmore
http://www.thefunkymeters.com/audio.html
Here’s a pretty comprehensive listing of all songs covered on tour:
http://www.tay-online.com/discography/Spring07_CoverList.htm
http://www.amazon.com/Blood-Pressure-Piano-Smith-Clowns/dp/B000B63IJS/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2/002-9088501-0217603?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1181769973&sr=1-2
SORRY - I just realized I grabbed the wrong amazon link for my above post. In case anyone wanted to listen to clips.
I’ve been trying to find the original album for Willie Nelson’s Nightlife, but all I discovered was this one.
http://www.google.com/musics?lid=DPebFwPldk&aid=yp6Zrf_Tz8N&sid=36rpVtpa2TP
When the Saints Go Marching In - Soul Stirrers (including Sam Cooke)
http://cover6.cduniverse.com/MuzeAudioArt/140/145286.jpg
Tighten Up - Archie Bell & The Drells
http://cover6.cduniverse.com/MuzeAudioArt/Larger/01/789301.jpg
Curious Joe - thanks for the background on “Born in Chicago.” Chicago blues is definately something I’m wanting to explore in the near future. I’ve got another “Chicago” song that I like even better, but I’ll save it for that discussion.
Them Changes - Buddy Miles
http://cover6.cduniverse.com/MuzeAudioArt/Larger/72/747372.jpg
And I do believe BB King’s version of Night Life would be suffice as it is a much more popular song than Willie’s version and I think someone who knew someone who knows someone who knows someone’s someone who knows Hicks read somewhere that it is BB King’s version that he is quite fond of.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/images/B000002PES/ref=dp_image_0/105-2112775-9673238?ie=UTF8&n=5174&s=music
Stormy Monday - T Bone Walker
http://cover6.cduniverse.com/CDUCoverArt/Music/64/2270964.jpg
Speaking of fantastic album art- I wanted to share this- possibly the coolest thing I’ve ever seen on youtube-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqZNog4h7j8
Then- here’re some more good ones…
Give Up The Funk- Parliament (album: Mothership Connection):
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000001FCM.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg
Goin Up The Country- Canned Heat (album: Boogie with Canned Heat):
http://static.rateyourmusic.com/album_images/12293.jpg
Brown Eyed Handsome Man- Chuck Berry (album: The Great Twenty-Eight ):
http://www.rollingstonesnet.com/images/Berry28.jpg
Nightshift - The Commodores (album: Anthology — originally appeared on the album ‘Nightshift’ but the cover art on Anthology is more far-out!):
http://g-ec2.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Z01BYVQDL._SS500_.jpg
Backfield In Motion- Mel and Tim (album: Good Guys Only Win in the Movies )
http://home.catv.ne.jp/dd/youki_m/s-someru.jpg
Compared to What is the name of the blog, so we’d better get our stuff lined up on this particular tune.
I’ve heard Hicks’ version of this song. To my ear it is quite a distance from McCann’s jazz-leaning version on Talking Verve.
McCann was a prolific collector of private (mostly undated) tapes of both his own live performances and those of other artists he admired. Les Is More is a collection of recordings from his own archives, and includes a later, funkified version of Compared to What that is closer to what Hicks does with the song.
Hicks keeps the pedal slammed to the metal in his version, but it’s got a similar funked up foundation. I prefer this version of McCann’s to any I’ve heard. It is available on itunes, if one were inclined to pick it up. I like what Hicks does with it generally, but he sings it like it’s the encore and he’s just heard there’s a damned sniper in the audience or something.
The album art (FWIW) is here: http://image.listen.com/img/170×170/2/2/7/8/518722_170×170.jpg
How about Young Turks from the “Tonight I’m Yours” album by Rod Stewart?
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/images/B00004Y6O5/sr=1-1/qid=1181789474/ref=dp_image_0/002-7616189-1430459?ie=UTF8&n=5174&s=music&qid=1181789474&sr=1-1
Alabama “My Home’s In Alabama”. These guys were the first “group” in country music to have crossover success and brought a lot of new fans to the genre.
http://www.thealabamaband.com/albums1.html
Not complaining or anything, but when are we gonna get to see all the lovely cover art actually posted on the magical cover bag page?
Kind of slammed right now, I’m targeting the weekend to get it together, but may get a few up tonight. Too many good choices to put them all in out flat, so thinking of either a rotating collection, or some kind of slide show.
She’s Gone:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/images/B000002I95
here’s my contribution:
song / artist / album / link to album cover photo
Saint Dominic’s Preview / Van Morrison / Saint Dominic’s Preview / http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000002GNL.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg
(you may want to photoshop the blue door which would make great clip art)
Hicks did an extended tease of this song in the middle of “The Maze” toward the last leg of the spring tour.
some lyrics:
And everybody [in L.A.] feels so determined
Not to feel anyone else’s pain.
…
And the restaurant tables are completely covered.
The record company has paid out for the wine.
“You got everything in the world you ever wanted, [Taylor],
Right about now your face should wear a smile.”
That’s the way it all should happen
When you’re in, when you’re in the state you’re in;
You’ve got your pen and notebook ready,
I think it’s about time, time for us to begin.
And we’re over in a [Beverly Hills] apartment,
Socializing with the whino few,
Just to be hip and get wet with the jet set.
But they’re flying too high to see my point of view.
The song/album would be a good choice because it’s almost an autobiographical account of where Taylor is now musically and the process involved in producing good music.
So what can I redeem with my special points?
The song/album would be a good choice because it’s almost an autobiographical account of where Taylor is now musically and the process involved in producing good music.
So what can I redeem with my special points?
10Kspoons said this on June 19th, 2007 at 3:30 am
Spoons, thanks for jogging up this vivid memory for me. There was such intensity in that tease — the biographical aspect was like a fist in the gut. Perfect choice for this thread. And I don’t know what you get for your special points, but if I have any, you can have mine too.