September 28, 2008
Live And Direct
Hi everyone! Sorry this is deathly late, but I found this month’s playlist to be problematic. I actually don’t own a lot of live recordings, and most of what I do own is either on vinyl or cassette. So every time I sat down to work this out, I’d get frustrated end up too busy with something else. To paraphrase Bart Simpson, “I’ll be honest with you guys - I wasn’t good at it right away so I just kinda lost interest”. Anyway, I finally cobbled together some fun live tracks that are hopefully off the beaten path enough where you don’t already own them. Hope you enjoy! (And rest assured, my October playlist is all ready to go - I found I can relate much better to that particular subject…)
1. Roger Waters (featuring Cyndi Lauper), “The Happiest Days Of Our Lives / Another Brick In The Wall, Pt. 2″
This is from the “The Wall 1990: Live In Berlin” album, where Waters gathers music legends past and present (and, um, The Scorpions) to help him perform his opus live at the Potsdamer Platz. I already used my favorite track from this (”Mother” featuring Sinead O’Connor & The Band) on another playlist, so here goes with this one. Keep your ear out for Thomas Dolby popping in right at the end with one of the best keytar solos ever. …Okay, the only good keytar solo ever…
2. Nick Lowe’s Last Chicken In The Shop, “I Knew The Bride”
This is off the legendary “5tiffs Live” vinyl, graciously provided by Bob Shortell.
3. Sheryl Crow & The Dixie Chicks, “Strong Enough”
Not sure of the origins on this one, I found it somewhere online a while ago. I’ve always liked the song and especially this performance.
4. Jane’s Addiction, “Sympathy”
Perry Farrell at his whirling-dervish best, covering what is itself a tasmanian devil of a song.
5. The Fab Faux, “I Am The Walrus (live on Howard Stern)”
These guys are pretty amazing. Their idea is to perform live those songs which The Beatles never attempted because it would have taken fifty guys onstage, an orchestra, tape loops, etc. Well, The Fab Faux pull it off, reproducing those studio creations live with uncanny precision.
Download: Roger Waters (featuring Cyndi Lauper), “The Happiest Days Of Our Lives / Another Brick In The Wall, Pt. 2″ (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)Download: Nick Lowe’s Last Chicken In The Shop, “I Knew The Bride” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)Download: Sheryl Crow & The Dixie Chicks, “Strong Enough” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)Download: Jane’s Addiction, “Sympathy” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)Download: The Fab Faux, “I Am The Walrus (live on Howard Stern)” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)
September 29th, 2008 at 1:44 pm
The Waters concert in Berlin was in July 1990, not 1991 (says the person who was in Germany when the show happened).
Nice picks, man!
September 29th, 2008 at 2:14 pm
hmm, yeah. I’d love to blame that on a typo, but this is some persistent code error on my part - somewhere back in the mists of time, for some unknown reason, I mistakenly input the title into my computer, and apparently my memory, as “1991″, and I’ve thought of that as the correct title (and year) ever since. Thanks for the correction, now I’ll retroactively apply it to everything relevant. So did you attend the concert, or was your attitude more like my parents, who heard about a music festival to be held in Woodstock and thought, “it probably won’t be a big deal, we’ll just catch the next one”. Or a generation later, there was me being invited to see Sublime in Amherst in 1996, and me echoing, “nah, I’ll just catch them next time”…
September 30th, 2008 at 1:04 pm
I was in Munich at the time, 17 years old and without a car. As I was visiting family friends and I didn’t know anybody who was going, I settled for watching it live on TV. I recall the technical glitch that rendered Sinead’s bit totally inaudible (they re-recorded and re-filmed that part after the show was over), but it was a fun thing to watch at the time.
February 4th, 2009 at 3:28 pm
Hi, the Sheryl Crow track comes from Sheryl Crow and Friends Live from Central Park. Apart from the Dixie Chicks, appearances are made by Chrissie Hynde, Keith Richards, Stevie Nicks (Gold Dust Woman) and Eric Clapton (White Room).
Talking of live albums that are a little different, “The Road Home” by Heart is an acoustic set with a 4 piece string section. John Paul Jones produces and plays on it too. It includes a couple of cover versions on it too, Elton John’s “Seasons” and Joni Mitchell’s “River”. It is a superb album, great production and the DVD is excellent too.