Tag: The Beatles

WARNING: THIS BLOG WAS NOT CREATED FOR BEATLEMANIACS!
If you’re on the fence about the Beatles or if you just don’t like them,
this blog is for you. My goal is not to convert you; it’s to expose you
to the lesser-known Beatles songs we don’t hear day in and day out.
These great tunes will show you just how amazing the Beatles are.
Of course, if you are a Beatles fan, pull up a chair and enjoy the tunes!

Welcome back to Feb Fab Faux Four!

Today’s song is the most covered Beatles song ever and quite possibly the most covered song of all time. It’s a timeless classic, a simple yet simply beautiful song with no accompaniment other than an acoustic guitar and a string quintet. You’ve probably figured out which song I’m featuring today. The remake I’ve chosen for you was done by an extremely well-known and immediately recognizable Motown recording artist.

This is going to be an interesting pairing.

Turn up the volume and let’s get it on!

This is “Yesterday”, the Beatles most frequently covered song.

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Our Motown artist with his rendition of “Yesterday” is the incredible Marvin Gaye.

Marvin Gaye started out as a session musician for Motown; check out the earliest Motown recordings and it’s highly likely you’ll find his name listed as the drummer. He went on to become a huge star with an unmistakeable sexy, soulful voice as smooth as warm butterscotch.

Almost exactly one year after the release of his mega-hit “Sexual Healing” and his concert tour of the same name, Marvin Gaye was shot and killed by his own father following an altercation after he intervened in an argument between his parents. He was pronounced dead on arrival at the California Hospital Medical Center. His father later pleaded no contest to a charge of voluntary manslaughter.

This deliciously soulful cover of “Yesterday” was produced by Norman Whitfield, legendary songwriter and producer for Motown.

What’s the verdict on Marvin Gaye’s remake? For me it gets an enthusiastic 👍🏼

Join me tomorrow as I’ll be shifting gears again; stop by to find out what’s what.

See you on the flip side. 😎

NAR©2024

PS – If any video won’t play for you, I’ve provided the name of the song and who did it so you can find it on YouTube. It’s a pain in the ass but it does happen from time to time. My apologies.

This portfolio (including text, graphics and videos) is copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk and The Rhythm Section and is not for use by anyone without permission. NAR © 2017-present.

WARNING: THIS BLOG WAS NOT CREATED FOR BEATLEMANIACS!
If you’re on the fence about the Beatles or if you just don’t like them,
this blog is for you. My goal is not to convert you; it’s to expose you
to the lesser-known Beatles songs we don’t hear day in and day out.
These great tunes will show you just how amazing the Beatles are.
Of course, if you are a Beatles fan, pull up a chair and enjoy the tunes!

Welcome to Week 2 of Feb Fab Faux Four!

There are so many things I like about the music the Beatles made; one thing you see a lot of that isn’t very prominent in other popular music is key and tempo changes multiple times throughout an entire piece. This song is a prime example of that.

Today’s song has long been a favorite of mine and I just happened upon the cover version by doing one of the things I do best …. listening to music while driving in my car. As soon as I heard it I knew I was going to include it in my blog; it’s a very bluesy, jazzy, Gershwin-esque piece and I liked it because that’s just the kind of hairpin I am.

Let’s see what you think.

As usual, starting off is the original …. the Beatles with “Girl”

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This is the Joe Jackson Trio with “Girl”

Many of you will remember Joe Jackson for his 1978 pop song “Is She Really Going Out With Him”. He’s an interesting-bordering-on-quirky dude and an accomplished classically trained musician as you heard in the cover piece. I thought it was quite edgy/jazzy/bluesy. I’m sort of a George Gershwin freak and I heard a lot of Gershwin in this remake.

So….. What’s the verdict? Two very different styles of a solid Beatles song. I liked them both for very different reasons and for me, I’m calling this one a draw. Kudos to Joe Jackson for his creativity and musicianship.

I think we’re long overdue for a little Motown; I’ll have to rectify that tomorrow.

See you on the flip side. 😎

NAR©2024

PS – If any video won’t play for you, I’ve provided the name of the song and who did it so you can find it on YouTube. It’s a pain in the ass but it does happen from time to time. My apologies.

This portfolio (including text, graphics and videos) is copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk and The Rhythm Section and is not for use by anyone without permission. NAR © 2017-present.

WARNING: THIS BLOG WAS NOT CREATED FOR BEATLEMANIACS!
If you’re on the fence about the Beatles or if you just don’t like them,
this blog is for you. My goal is not to convert you; it’s to expose you
to the lesser-known Beatles songs we don’t hear day in and day out.
These great tunes will show you just how amazing the Beatles are.
Of course, if you are a Beatles fan, pull up a chair and enjoy the tunes!

We’re closing out Week 1 of Feb Fab Faux Four with a beautifully intricate Beatles song written while they were in India.

I was in my car one day and, as usual, the radio was tuned to The Beatles Channel. There was a guest host talking about and playing his four favorite Beatles songs and this was one of them. Whoever the guy was, he drew me in with his description of the song, breaking down all the nuances I’d never picked up on; he spoke so eloquently that I had to pull over and listen.

This song is so involved yet so subtle, we don’t realize that each one of the three Beatles is actually playing his own individual song. No one outshines the other and it all comes together quite seamlessly and very beautifully. And, yes …. you read correctly. I wrote three Beatles; Ringo was not at this recording session in 1968. He had temporarily left the group out of protest at Paul’s non-stop criticism of his drumming on “Back in the U.S.S.R.” Ringo walked out and Paul sat behind the kit for this song.

As you can imagine, in Ringo’s absence the Beatles had to play even more instruments than usual for this song and there were numerous takes. The breakdown of who did what goes like this: John sang lead vocals, backing vocals and played rhythm guitars; Paul sang harmony and backing vocals, played drums, bass guitar, piano and tambourine; George sang harmony and backing vocals, played rhythm guitar, lead guitars and tambourine while contributing personnel Mal Evans and Jackie Lomax did backing vocals, hand claps and additional percussion.

For an amazing experience, listen to today’s original through headphones, if you can; it’s mind-blowing.

Here’s the gorgeous “Dear Prudence” by the Beatles. Listen to those layers of music!

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It’s time to bring in the ladies again, at least as lead singer. Doing their own unique version of “Dear Prudence”, here’s Siouxsie and the Banshees.

The Times called Siouxsie and the Banshees “one of the most audacious and uncompromising musical adventurers of the post-punk era.” Well, they certainly were on this cover song! Do we have any Siouxsie and the Banshees fans out there? What are your thoughts about this version?

For me, there’s absolutely no comparison to the original.

We’re going to a bluesy bar tomorrow for a very interesting tune. Bring your ID, kids!

See you on the flip side. 😎

NAR©2024

PS – If any video won’t play for you, I’ve provided the name of the song and who did it so you can find it on YouTube. It’s a pain in the ass but it does happen from time to time. My apologies.

This portfolio (including text, graphics and videos) is copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk and The Rhythm Section and is not for use by anyone without permission. NAR © 2017-present.

WARNING: THIS BLOG WAS NOT CREATED FOR BEATLEMANIACS!
If you’re on the fence about the Beatles or if you just don’t like them,
this blog is for you. My goal is not to convert you; it’s to expose you
to the lesser-known Beatles songs we don’t hear day in and day out.
These great tunes will show you just how amazing the Beatles are.
Of course, if you are a Beatles fan, pull up a chair and enjoy the tunes!

My song choice today is listed as a Beatles song but is was written entirely by George Harrison. The Indian influence is instantly front and center and George’s sitar-playing is awesome. This was a love song written by George to his wife Pattie Boyd. She must have been something else, that Pattie! This is at least the fourth love song written to her that I’m aware of (and not all by George!).

Ok, let’s get this show started!

This is the wonderful “Love You To” by the Beatles

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This version of “Love You To” was done by American singer/guitarist, Ronnie Montrose, often recognized as one of the most influential guitarists in early hard rock.

Ronnie Montrose was an American guitarist who founded and led the rock bands Montrose and Gamma. He also performed with and did a lot of session work for a number of big name musicians. His 1973 debut album has often been cited as “America’s answer to Led Zeppelin“; I’m definitely going to have to check that one out.

I must admit I knew very little about Ronnie Montrose before starting this blog and I’m getting quite an education! When I heard this song on the radio, I thought “Who am I to look a gift horse in the mouth?” I liked the sound and chose this cover to go along with the original. There were others but they tried much too much to sound like George (as did Montrose) and they failed miserably, where he did not. Side by side, Montrose’s song can hold its own …. BUT …. my vote goes to the Beatles and especially George for his fantastic sitar music. What do you think?

Tune in tomorrow to see what’s coming up next. Thanks for visiting Feb Fab Faux Four!

See you on the flip side. 😎

NAR©2024

PS – If any video won’t play for you, I’ve provided the name of the song and who did it so you can find it on YouTube. It’s a pain in the ass but it does happen from time to time. My apologies.

This portfolio (including text, graphics and videos) is copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk and The Rhythm Section and is not for use by anyone without permission. NAR © 2017-present.

WARNING: THIS BLOG WAS NOT CREATED FOR BEATLEMANIACS!
If you’re on the fence about the Beatles or if you just don’t like them,
this blog is for you. My goal is not to convert you; it’s to expose you
to the lesser-known Beatles songs we don’t hear day in and day out.
These great tunes will show you just how amazing the Beatles are.
Of course, if you are a Beatles fan, pull up a chair and enjoy the tunes!

Welcome back to Feb Fab Faux Four!

This little cover number is found on the “Dedications” album of our guest performer and was hailed one of the most successful comeback albums in rock & roll history. More about our cover singer after we hear the tunes but I’m willing to bet there will be quite a few of you who are unfamiliar with this performer.

Something I failed to mention before: lyrics. So many of the Beatles songs have the best and most poetic lyrics ever penned …. like this one. It took me a long time to get beyond the music and listen to the words and when I did, I was blown away. Yes, I’m a major fan …. with good reason. A group like this comes along once in a lifetime; I’m glad it was during mine.

Let ’em spin!

Here are the Beatles with “It’s Only Love”

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Doing his version of “It’s Only Love”, here is Gary U.S. Bonds

I promised you something different this time around and I think you’ll have to agree this is one of most unique yet well-done Beatles covers so far.

Gary U.S. Bonds is a rhythm & blues and rock & roll singer, most well known for his hits ”Quarter To Three” and “New Orleans“ (check them out on YT). In the early 1980s, Bonds had a career resurgence with his “Dedications” album (which I mentioned earlier), recorded with Bruce Springsteen (who also produced and arranged this version), Steven Van Zandt and the E Street Band.

My immediate reaction to this cover was “I love what they’ve done with this!” and the more I listened to it, the more I liked it. If you listen closely, the E Street Band makes a distinct appearance early on.

Kudos to Gary and crew for stepping out of the Beatles Box!

And in a case of “You can’t make this stuff up“, Gary U.S. Bond’s hits “New Orleans” and “Quarter To Three” are included on the LP “John Lennon’s Jukebox”, the compilation CD album based on the contents of John’s personal jukebox. I think that’s a pretty cool little piece of information.

Join me tomorrow to find out who’s up next.

See you on the flip side. 😎

NAR©2024

PS – If any video won’t play for you, I’ve provided the name of the song and who did it so you can find it on YouTube. It’s a pain in the ass but it does happen from time to time. My apologies.

This portfolio (including text, graphics and videos) is copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk and The Rhythm Section and is not for use by anyone without permission. NAR © 2017-present.

WARNING: THIS BLOG WAS NOT CREATED FOR BEATLEMANIACS!
If you’re on the fence about the Beatles or if you just don’t like them,
this blog is for you. My goal is not to convert you; it’s to expose you
to the lesser-known Beatles songs we don’t hear day in and day out.
These great tunes will show you just how amazing the Beatles are.
Of course, if you are a Beatles fan, pull up a chair and enjoy the tunes!

Welcome back to Feb Fab Faux Four!

Today’s song is a real beauty and I don’t think there’s any way it can be improved upon. It’s the first piece I’ve featured so far by one of the Beatles during his solo career. The song serves as a confession in which the singer addresses feelings of inadequacy that resulted in pain for those he loved.

This song was never released as a single during the singer’s lifetime; there are more than 90 remakes but it was this cover that became an international hit in early 1981. I can think of another Beatles song that is one of the most covered songs of all time.

Ease into your Sunday morning with this lovely piece.

Here’s today’s lineup:

This is the beautiful, soulful “Jealous Guy” by John Lennon.

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And this is Roxy Music with their #1 version of John Lennon’s “Jealous Guy”

Very much alike, these two versions …. and I’m glad about that. It’s too lovely a piece to be changed dramatically; I think Roxy Music knew that and chose to stay close to the original. Bryan Ferry’s voice is perfect for this tune.

Join me again tomorrow for something I’m willing to bet you never heard before.

See you on the flip side. 😎

NAR©2024

PS – If any video won’t play for you, I’ve provided the name of the song and who did it so you can find it on YouTube. It’s a pain in the ass but it does happen from time to time. My apologies.

This portfolio (including text, graphics and videos) is copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk and The Rhythm Section and is not for use by anyone without permission. NAR © 2017-present.

WARNING: THIS BLOG WAS NOT CREATED FOR BEATLEMANIACS!
If you’re on the fence about the Beatles or if you just don’t like them,
this blog is for you. My goal is not to convert you; it’s to expose you
to the lesser-known Beatles songs we don’t hear day in and day out.
These great tunes will show you just how amazing the Beatles are.
Of course, if you are a Beatles fan, pull up a chair and enjoy the tunes!

Welcome back to Feb Fab Faux Four!

Before we go any further, I want to acknowledge and thank my friend Misky for her incredible AI graphic. I love this funny Fab Faux Four! Thanks, Misky!

Let’s continue with the music. It’s time for the ladies to take the stage! This cover was done by a number of groups including Aerosmith and Cheap Trick but I wanted to shake things up a bit by brining in a true rock goddess. Let’s see what you think of this one; it’s bound to give your Saturday morning a good kickstart!

Here’s a song many music critics consider the first heavy metal song …. it’s “Helter Skelter” by the Beatles

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Check it out! This is Pat Benatar with her rendition of “Helter Skelter”

Clearly, I need to bring more ladies into the mix; I hope you liked this one by Pat Benatar. Share your thoughts with me …. the good and the bad!

I’ll be back tomorrow with something smooth and laid back for your Sunday morning. There’s more coming up this month so stick around!

See you on the flip side. 😎

NAR©2024

PS – If any video won’t play for you, I’ve provided the name of the song and who did it so you can find it on YouTube. It’s a pain in the ass but it does happen from time to time. My apologies.

This portfolio (including text, graphics and videos) is copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk and The Rhythm Section and is not for use by anyone without permission. NAR © 2017-present.

WARNING: THIS BLOG WAS NOT CREATED FOR BEATLEMANIACS!
If you’re on the fence about the Beatles or if you just don’t like them,
this blog is for you. My goal is not to convert you; it’s to expose you
to the lesser-known Beatles songs we don’t hear day in and day out.
These great tunes will show you just how amazing the Beatles are.
Of course, if you are a Beatles fan, pull up a chair and enjoy the tunes!

Welcome back to Feb Fab Faux Four!

I had a request for today’s song (that’s right; I take requests!), so rather than risk forgetting to follow through, I rearranged today’s line-up to feature this number.

Honestly, I can’t think of another Beatles cover that could sound any more different than the original. One is a chipper, happy-go-lucky number while the other is a banging, bluesy rock anthem.

Have you figured out which song this could possibly be? Well, let’s not waste another second. Here we go!

Here are the Beatles with Ringo singing lead on “With A Little Help From My Friends”

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And here is “With A Little Help From My Friend” by the one and only Joe Cocker

Well, not much to say here other than the song speaks for itself!

Happy to oblige my friend’s request; if there’s a song you’d like me to feature, leave a message in the comments and I’ll be sure to fit it in.

Join me tomorrow for a complete 180!

See you on the flip side. 😎

NAR©2024

PS – If any video won’t play for you, I’ve provided the name of the song and who did it so you can find it on YouTube. It’s a pain in the ass but it does happen from time to time. My apologies.

This portfolio (including text, graphics and videos) is copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk and The Rhythm Section and is not for use by anyone without permission. NAR © 2017-present.

WARNING: THIS BLOG WAS NOT CREATED FOR BEATLEMANIACS!
If you’re on the fence about the Beatles or if you just don’t like them,
this blog is for you. My goal is not to convert you; it’s to expose you
to Beatles songs we don’t hear day in and day out. These are treasures.
Of course, if you are a Beatles fan, pull up a chair and enjoy the tunes!

Welcome to Feb Fab Faux Four, my new blog for the month of February featuring Beatles songs and their cover versions, also known as remakes.

Let’s face it …. anyone can do a remake; unfortunately, many people have who shouldn’t have. Case in point – William Shatner’s cover of “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds”. So what’s a good cover song? I don’t think there’s one definitive answer to that. When I hear a cover, I want to be able to say “Yeah! I like what they did with that!”, but it shouldn’t be so different from the original that it’s unrecognizable or worse …. boring. It’s a very personal thing.

The idea for this blog came about one day when I flipped on my car radio and a Beatles song was playing; I knew right away it wasn’t the original. Truth be told, I’m rather unforgiving when it comes to Beatles remakes but there was something special about the song that was on and I was looking forward to hearing more good Beatles covers.

As luck would have it, that song was the last one in the line-up so I missed all the other songs that had already played. However, since it was SiriusXM, I was able to listen to the whole show later that day and there were some good covers. While doing my research over the last few weeks, something really surprised me: there are quite a few remakes I actually liked better than the originals. That’s something I never thought I’d say!

The Beatles songs featured here are ones that aren’t played every day so if you’re hoping to hear “She Loves You” or “I Want To Hold Your Hand”, you’re out of luck. FYI – the format of my blog will never change: the original will always be played first, followed by the cover. And here’s some good news: my future posts will be much shorter than this one; less talk and more music!

The remake you’re about to hear is the one that was playing that day in my car. It was rather unexpected to find out who did this cover. Even though this artist has been around for a long time, he may be new to some of you. This is definitely not the genre he’s known for. I really like this remake …. it’s edgy, with a very cool arrangement and his guitar-playing is kick-ass.

OK, let’s get it on! First, here are the Beatles with “Things We Said Today”

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And here is country music legend Dwight Yoakam with his remake of “Things We Said Today”

One thing’s for sure: we all have different likes and dislikes. I really dug this Dwight Yoakam cover but when I played it for my husband, he wasn’t crazy about it.

So, which one did you prefer? Audience participation is not required but if you’d like to share your comments with me, please do; I read and answer all of them.

I’ll be spinning another set of tunes tomorrow; I hope you’ll stop by. My wish for you during this month is for you to be able to say “Yeah! I like what they did with that!”

See you on the flip side. 😎

NAR©2024

PS – If any video won’t play for you, I’ve provided the name of the song and who did it so you can find it on YouTube. It’s a pain in the ass but it does happen from time to time. My apologies.

This portfolio (including text, graphics and videos) is copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk and The Rhythm Section and is not for use by anyone without permission. NAR © 2017-present.