“Jesus Gonna Be Here”by [The] Blind Boys of Alabama
Original Artist: Tom Waits
“Not a Second Time”by Robert Palmer
Original Artist: The Beatles
9 thoughts on “Volume 2.3.1”
blind boys – This had all the right elements. Just a good bluesy swampy black southern song. I think i could be lazy and listen to this album. PS not a fan of waits. I understand he is a great songwriter, but that voice is comical.
Palmer – Manages to not sound like the beatles version. Not a big fan of this version. It’s got some 80’s sound going but not enough for me. panning buzzing laser beams?
Blind Boys of Alabama: This is excellent. Being I am a big fan of Tom waits, I have never heard this cover (Not sure how I missed it, but never heard of the group before.). great rendition.
Robert Palmer: Never heard this song before. Unfortunately, I didn’t really care for it. I would have never guessed it was a beatles cover, although after listening, I can hear how the beatles may have done it. now I have to listen to the original. I think he did a good job, stayed to the original, but updated it to his 80’s pop style
“Not A Second Time” / R. Palmer. If you’re gonna cover a song, you might pick one whose title doesn’t seem to warn against attempting a cover version. I like Palmer OK, but in this case I think he should have listened. His singing is swell, and the tune remains catchy, but the zoomy 80s synths and percussion effects are distracting at best, and there’s nothing about his reading that improves on the virtues of the lads’ original.
The Five Blind Boys from Alabama
As a fan of The Five… and of Mr. Waits, I find this a match made in heaven. Firstly, I love me some upright bass – and playing this as a spiritual is a perfect juxtaposition with the lyrics. “Been so good, ‘cept for my sinnin’, but he knew that I would.” Kind of a lazy pace (matching the zeal of the narrator) with pauses in all the right places. The arrangement and solos are predictable, but that’s not a sin.
I look forward to their cover of Chocolate Jesus. [I still have yet to flesh out my original, Inflatable Jesus.]
Robert Palmer – Not a Second Time
Perhaps an unfair matchup as this is just a simple, catchy pop tune. This has great crunchy guitar and the right touches of synth and electronic drums. Clean, punchy and electrolicious – I prefer this version to the original.
Blind Boys- Loved this. Simple, tasteful, bluesy. Someone else said “swampy” which I think is the perfect adjective. Great example of the importance of ‘feel’ and parsimony.
Robert- Oh, dear. I like Robert Palmer (some of my best friends are Robert Palmer!) and I wanted to like it. But, alas, I did not. I think it is because all the things I like about the original were either discarded or not done as well. There is a related little drum fill that I miss most. This version sounds disjointed to me. Didn’t like the keyboard solo (it’s a baritone piano if I recall correctly in the original). Even the phrasing annoyed me. I will give RP props for choosing this little ditty among the Beatles cast catalog.
BBoA – Yes, please! Great combination of writer and performers. Brilliant.
Robert Palmer – Saw the artwork before reading the title. Thought maybe someone put the cover of Gary Numan’s I Dream of Wires. Got the Beatles instead. Oh well.
Jesus Gonna Be Here – Blind Boys of Alabama: Cool Bass , Cool guitar and Cool Vibe. Not familiar with the Waits version so I listened to this as a song on its own merits and liked it a lot. Authentic grit to it with a sort of lazy walking flow that just feels good all over.
Not A Second Time – think this may have been made when synths were the new novel toy to play with. Nothing wrong with the song and had some interesting synth effects and yet ……….
blind boys – This had all the right elements. Just a good bluesy swampy black southern song. I think i could be lazy and listen to this album. PS not a fan of waits. I understand he is a great songwriter, but that voice is comical.
Palmer – Manages to not sound like the beatles version. Not a big fan of this version. It’s got some 80’s sound going but not enough for me. panning buzzing laser beams?
Blind Boys of Alabama: This is excellent. Being I am a big fan of Tom waits, I have never heard this cover (Not sure how I missed it, but never heard of the group before.). great rendition.
Robert Palmer: Never heard this song before. Unfortunately, I didn’t really care for it. I would have never guessed it was a beatles cover, although after listening, I can hear how the beatles may have done it. now I have to listen to the original. I think he did a good job, stayed to the original, but updated it to his 80’s pop style
“Not A Second Time” / R. Palmer. If you’re gonna cover a song, you might pick one whose title doesn’t seem to warn against attempting a cover version. I like Palmer OK, but in this case I think he should have listened. His singing is swell, and the tune remains catchy, but the zoomy 80s synths and percussion effects are distracting at best, and there’s nothing about his reading that improves on the virtues of the lads’ original.
Bill– your opening salvo cracked me up.
grazie, grazie
The Five Blind Boys from Alabama
As a fan of The Five… and of Mr. Waits, I find this a match made in heaven. Firstly, I love me some upright bass – and playing this as a spiritual is a perfect juxtaposition with the lyrics. “Been so good, ‘cept for my sinnin’, but he knew that I would.” Kind of a lazy pace (matching the zeal of the narrator) with pauses in all the right places. The arrangement and solos are predictable, but that’s not a sin.
I look forward to their cover of Chocolate Jesus. [I still have yet to flesh out my original, Inflatable Jesus.]
Robert Palmer – Not a Second Time
Perhaps an unfair matchup as this is just a simple, catchy pop tune. This has great crunchy guitar and the right touches of synth and electronic drums. Clean, punchy and electrolicious – I prefer this version to the original.
Blind Boys- Loved this. Simple, tasteful, bluesy. Someone else said “swampy” which I think is the perfect adjective. Great example of the importance of ‘feel’ and parsimony.
Robert- Oh, dear. I like Robert Palmer (some of my best friends are Robert Palmer!) and I wanted to like it. But, alas, I did not. I think it is because all the things I like about the original were either discarded or not done as well. There is a related little drum fill that I miss most. This version sounds disjointed to me. Didn’t like the keyboard solo (it’s a baritone piano if I recall correctly in the original). Even the phrasing annoyed me. I will give RP props for choosing this little ditty among the Beatles cast catalog.
BBoA – Yes, please! Great combination of writer and performers. Brilliant.
Robert Palmer – Saw the artwork before reading the title. Thought maybe someone put the cover of Gary Numan’s I Dream of Wires. Got the Beatles instead. Oh well.
Jesus Gonna Be Here – Blind Boys of Alabama: Cool Bass , Cool guitar and Cool Vibe. Not familiar with the Waits version so I listened to this as a song on its own merits and liked it a lot. Authentic grit to it with a sort of lazy walking flow that just feels good all over.
Not A Second Time – think this may have been made when synths were the new novel toy to play with. Nothing wrong with the song and had some interesting synth effects and yet ……….