Obscure Mush and Guilty Pleasures

Stonebolt is obscure. I only learned the band name last year, though they have a song that's pretty addictive, and can be classified as a guilty pleasure. The song was a minor hit in 1978, but had some measure of airplay in Philippine radio stations. Of the three known songs with the same title (one by Dolly Parton, but the version by Whitney Houston is more popular), this is probably the least eeeeky.

Stonebolt's I Will Still Love You, on 4track

And, apparently, Stonebolt is still active!

Covers Album?

Picture of covers for the  cover of the covers album

This blog has been alive for 3 months, and I just counted I have enough songs for a Covers album.

The album will start off with something educational :

Sesame Street!

Then say hello to the fool

The Fool On The Hill

Trying to be fanny

Fanny (Be Tender With My Love)

With some anticipation

Anticipation

For somebody

Somebody

Talk to the lineman

Wichita Lineman

And to Marilyn Monroe\

Candle In The Wind

Grab your clutch bag!

I Am, I Said

Some Lennon

Oh My Love

Then say goodbye (or hello?)

Hello Goodbye

Lennon 1971 and looking for the rasp

I got tagged in pesbuk on a post showing Ozzy Osbourne's cover of John Lennon's "How".  It's from Lennon's 1971 "Imagine" album, and I got reminded of how awesome that album is. It's a slow burner, seemingly simple songs that cut through after two or three spins of the vinyl. "Gimme Some Truth", "How", "How Do You Sleep", and that unassuming anthem since massacred by a thousand unworthy covers, "Imagine"

I'll steer away from "Imagine" and just do the B-side, "Oh My Love", which some critics say is the finest vocal performance of Lennon. Here's my take :

Oh My Love (Lennon cover)

Strangling Cats : The Bee Gees

At some point, I would eventually tackle the Bee Gees. I was a fan of their disco years, with the strangling cats falsetto vocals. But their late 1960's folk-country-rock sound evoking the Beatles and the Byrds has also aged quite nicely.

The choice here is probably my favorite Gibb song - which is in between their folk and disco years, when they were just  starting to use the squeeze-your-b@lls vocals. Fanny (Be Tender With My Love) was released in 1975 on the Main Course album, which was more R&B oriented, and which brought them to the sound of disco.

Fanny cover on 4 track

"Fanny" was never performed by the Gibbs because of the layers of vocal harmony required; and it is quite intricate. They did sing it in a simplified acoustic version in an early 2000s concert.

For this cover attempt, I used the TC Helicon Vocal Harmony machine on two tracks to create 6 vocal tracks.

The back-up singer who never complains and is always on time

Track listing :
Track 1 - bass
Track 2 - electric piano, drums, strings, brass sequenced on a Korg Kross
Track 3 - lead vocals, harmony, guitar
Track 4 - back-up vocals, harmony, guitar

Depeche Mode's Somebody (Love Theme of Emo Couples)

I've been busy with MOOCs and I haven't had the chance to play much music. I was thinking of an easy 1980's song to play, and the choice was easy - Depeche Mode's "Somebody".

So here's "Somebody" recorded on tape

This is a rather weird song for Depeche Mode, a slight departure from their usual synth pop. It became a karaoke staple for suicidal couples. Thankfully, after more than a quarter of a century, it's now mostly forgotten.

The song has no guitars, nor bass (yay!!). Just piano, a heartbeat beat (redundundudndant) , atmospheric pads and monk vocals. For the heartbeat and the pads, I put to use the Akai Miniak (say that fast, it means something in Tagalog) and the Alesis Micron.

The Alesis Micron on the lower left (heartbeat); and the Akai Miniak on the upper right (pads)

I only used two tracks - the piano, heartbeat and pads on one track; and the monk vocals on another track.

Bernie Taupin's original "Candle in the Wind" lyrics

Candle in the wind cover
"Candle in the Wind" is from  the 1974 "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" album of Elton John, back when Bernie Taupin was still writing lyrics for Elton John's songs. Of course, in 1997, Elton John cashed in on this song, re-writing the lyrics for Princess Diana. It eventually became the 2nd biggest selling single at the time. It also became unabashedly corny. Nothing beats Bernie Taupin's original lyrics, written for Marilyn Monroe

I Am, I Said, DOM Classic

Clutch bag, check. Pajero, check. Gold necklace and bracelet, check. Soundtrack : Tom Jones, Engelbert Humperdinck,..and Neil Diamond, check.

Welcome to the world, of..err nice old gentlemen.

Neil Diamond is pretentiously cool. I'm a believer (the Monkees), September Morn, Sweet Caroline and the obligatory diva duet, You Don't Bring Me Flowers. And the very first torch song I ever heard, "Love on the Rocks".

My favorite Diamond song has to be "I Am I Said". The next victim of My Analog (Mis)Adventures

Here it is in all it's DOM Classic Glory

To replicate the "balding crooner" effect, I sequenced and recorded the piano, strings, brass and drums on one track; sang karaoke style on the second track; did the guitar and backing vocals on the third track; and finally recorded the bass on the fourth track.

Go ahead and clutch that clutch bag while you climb aboard your Pajero!