Because even when you’re Mick Jagger, sometimes you’re not the most interesting man in the room. Delon’s style makes Jagger’s mismatched socks, beat down shoes and scruffy coif look entirely adolescent. Hell, Delon even has that uncanny French knack for turning a cigarette into a desirable accessory, while Mick is dreaming of the advent of the cell phone. Either way, Marianne’s in the proverbial catbird seat. Taken in 1967, at a discussion with director Jack Cardiff on his film The Girl On A Motorcycle, starring Faithfull and Delon.
This 1964 Star Club performance is one of my favorite live recordings. Jerry Lee IS on fire, with a band equally aflame, as he puts his trademark stamp and stomp, on a slew of American classics.
Here’s a couple of live clips from the same year as the Star Club date.
The Killer gets totally outta control on this raucous Whole Lotta Shakin’.
and another version, coz Keith Richards is absolutely killin’ it, AND ya got Mick Fleetwood on the beat.
Jerry and Keith sharing vocal duties on Little Queenie
The Killer, his cousin, Mickey Gilley, and Carl Perkins
The Stones started their career off covering Jimmy Reed songs, a practice they have continued (live and in the studio, though not on record) throughout their career. Here’s a handful of Rolling Reed.
Bluesman Jimmy Reed had the good fortune of being a commercially successful artist, at a time and in a genre, that produced only a slim number of artists able to make the same claim. I’s not difficult to hear how Reed managed to crossover, penning (to be fair, his wife, Mama Reed, allegedly wrote many of his songs, though she remains uncredited to this day) such catchy and instantly recognizable Blues standards as, Big Lights, Bright City, Big Boss Man, and Baby What You Want Me To Do (aka, Peepin’ and Hidin’, and You Got Me Runnin’). In fact Reed was in such demand that his massive catalog is often littered with what are essentially rewrites of his earlier songs, in order to supply the people’s needs.
There’s a hypnotic quality to Reed’s laconic and frequently slurred vocals, paired with a very minimal, most often slow to mid tempo, Blues backing. Hearing Jimmy Reed is liking slipping into a warm bath after taking a beating: you may feel a little dazed and punch drunk, but there’s something supremely comforting about it. Hell, even his harmonica playing is soothing.
I am so bummed there’s only this tiny, and fantastically shot, clip of this performance. Too good!
I remember reading the liners to one of Charly Records many Reed collections, and they mentioned the massive amount of booze (I believe vodka) that he would put down during a session. Every time I hear this track, with such magnificently mumbled lyrics, I feel that he hit that minuscule moment of perfect drunkeness,
There are so many of these, but for Stones fans irritated by the above situation, it’s gotta be one of the best. Up there with the Hitler reacts to the Kraftwerk MOMA shows one. Also, some good ripping on Chuck Leavell and Bill Wyman; “was he upset that they didn’t let him sing, In Another Land?”. Ha!
Take what is already an amazing song and add an all star lineup featuring the Rolling Stones’, MICK TAYLOR (!!!), Steve Hillage and Pierre Moerlen from Gong, Fred Frith, Tim Hodgkinson and John Greaves of Henry Cow, Steve Broughton of the Edgar Broughton Band, and several other key players from the Prog/Avant scene, and you’ve got a mindblowing masterpiece of psychedelia, that is both sublime and epic. Really, this is twenty five minutes long and I’m still left wanting more. Lots more.
Oh, for anyone who is left wondering why they know that melody and why it frightens them so, it became popularly known as the theme from The Exorcist. Tubular Bells gets into your subconscious!
Happy birthday to the Hoochie Coochie Man, McKinley Morganfield
Muddy’s Cadet Concept albums, Electric Mud (1968)and After The Rain (1969) , teamed the veteran bluesman with arranger Charles Stepney and guitar wizards Pete Cosey and Phil Upchurch, to tremendous, often psychedelic, effect.
And I’d be remiss to leave out Muddy’s roots, the fantastic, 1941-1942 Plantation recordings
blog hit sally inside 