Booker T and the MGs' version of "Summertime" is uncharacteristically slow for them, brooding. Which does nothing to pep up the song for what it's supposed to be, a happy go lucky song from a musical. Instead it's sounding all wicked and dark. Or extremely chill. Maybe that's it, maybe they were stoned.
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Listen:Booker T and the MGs - Summertime mp3 at Soul Sides
Sam Cooke - Summertime mp3 at Soul Sides
Four more versions of "Summertime" at Soul Sides
6 comments:
It's not just the Booker T version -- neither Nick Drake nor Sam Cooke sounds happy-go-lucky in the least. (In fact, many of Sam Cooke's supposedly up-tempo songs always sounded a bit melancholy to me -- I'm thinking of Having a Party and Twisting' the Night Away in particular -- but I digress.)
Then again, my favorite version of Summertime is the one by Big Brother & the Holding Company, so I'm used to hearing it slowed way down. I LOVE the guitar on that version.
Marc
My favorite? Ricky Nelson's with James Burton on guitar. Dig it:
https://youtu.be/NSngzjqMF38
Good stuff! I was about to say, How about doing a post on James Burton? But I realized you kind of already did one.
Marc
Hey, my hat's off to you for even checking. If you're ever looking for something, not all of the tags show up on the right. I think I've maxed out the limit because I'm constantly finding tags that were there before being disabled. You can find things easier by using the search box in the top left of any page. I sometimes surprise myself finding things I don't remember posting. I'm at 2460 posts after ten years so, yeah, I'm going to forget what's here occasionally.
About the Burton post, there are so many artists that I would really rather give the full lengthy post. But I have a day job, so this is all done after I've worked an eight hour day, had dinner and taken care of whatever daily shit I have to deal with. Honestly, sometimes I'm not in the mood. But it beats not doing it, especially when guys like you pipe in every so often. Thanks for that Marc, and thanks for sifting through the shit here. My tastes are so varied, I'm sure some people will wince from time to time. Fuggit, not my problem.
By the way, where are you from? Just curious....
I'm from Maryland -- the Washington DC suburbs. After living in various other places, including two stints in Japan, I'm back living about 10 minutes from where I grew up.
My musical tastes are also varied, and that's what keeps me coming back here, to reconnect with old favorites or discover some stuff that may not be new but is new to me. I love, in no particular order, '60s rock, classic soul, rockabilly, ska and rocksteady, small-group jazz, classic country, alt-country, power pop, surf, blues, punk, folk and classical. Really, the only things that would make me wince would be smooth jazz, boy bands or opera.
I've thought about doing a blog myself, but I also have a job, and a 5-year-old, so I haven't taken the plunge. I still might, some day. But a lot of the music blogs I used to love have shut down over the years, either because the copyright holders pitched a fit or because the bloggers burned out. I hope you keep doing it!
Marc
I'm with you about the dislike for smooth jazz, boy bands and opera. My list would include new country, and a lot of new music. A LOT of new music. Which is why there isn't a lot on here. A few decades ago MTV was the villain. Now I think it's social media. Every shitty hipster band hoping for notoriety when their music isn't much better or different than a thousand other shitty hipster bands, Record company hype is bad, but the same sort of hype coming from jackasses that haven't paid their dues and don't have an original thought in their heads is worse (now you got me going).
You could say some early punk rock suffered from that (particularly the lack of dues paying), because there were a lot of bands that just cut their hair and wore funny sunglasses to cash in (the Vibrators come to mind). I guess what it takes is authenticity. Is the band really like that, or is it a pose? A shtick. Would they play like that if there was no money to be made or trend to cash in on? I'll tell you what really gets my blood boiling. The fucking Hype Machine, rather the shit that's on there. If you haven;t heard of the site, it's a blog aggregator. I used to check it out all the time, eight or ten years ago, there'd be some cool posts. Nowadays I still go back there occasionally to see what the kids are posting and I gotta say, when it comes to cringe worthy, its a fucking cornucopia of crap. Fuck, sorry Marc, I'm just venting and it's coming out like sufferin' succotash.
With a five year old I can see where a lack of time would come in. Hell, I'd much rather spend time with a five year old son than do this. Truth be known, I lost my twin brother twenty years ago, and I do this as some sort of survivor guilt therapy. He was my best friend and closest companion when it came to music. We hung out three or four times a week and were always turning each other on to shit. When he died, it left more than one hole. This blog is really just a one sided conversation with him. That anyone else might find it interesting is icing on the cake.
Hey, thanks again for commenting and don't be a stranger. After a few nights in a row of fairly lean (and, I'll say it, lame) posts, you unknowingly greased the wheels. Cheers buddy.
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