Rework of the Week

Whatever Lola Wants (Gotan Project Remix) (2003) 

ORIGINAL: Whatever Lola Wants- by Richard Adler & Jerry Ross for Damn Yankees (1955)


I'd say that "Whatever Lola Wants" is probably one of the most recognizable songs of all time. It's literally everywhere. I always thought it might have been from a play but until 5 minutes ago I actually had no idea where the original came from. There are hundreds of reworks and remixes of this track and its in countless movies and TV commercials. The Gotan Project is a Parisian tango band that incorporates and synthesizer and house music beats. This particular track is off of the 2nd iteration of Verve:Remixes. Verve:Remixed is a series of albums by Verve Records which pulls together various electronic producers to mix classic jazz & blues songs from the 50s and 60s. If you havent heard more of Verve:Remixed...do yourself a favor and go to Spotify or Soundcloud immediately and check these out (one of my personal favorites is Verve:Remixed 4 - The First Ladies)

Happy Listening :)
MF

Original of the Week

Sister Sledge vs. Will Smith 

I get the feeling this one is going to crush some souls.

For those of you around my age (24) one of the most epic songs of your childhood was "Gettin Jiggy with It" (1997) by Will Smith. It was one of those songs that just instantly made you feel cool when it came on and it lives in your heart to this day. The moment you hear those first few beats you find yourself instantly in a good mood.

Unfortunately, Will Smith wasn't the brains behind this amazing and funky afro-disco beat.  It was instead Sister Sledge (best known for "We Are Family") who originally released it in their song "He's the Greatest Dancer" (1979). Sister Sledge released "He's the Greatest Dancer" as part of their most successful album album We Are Family in 1979.


Happy listening :)
MF

Re:Work of the Week

All that We Had is Lost- Postiljonen (2014)

ORIGINAL:
How Will I Know - Whitney Houston (1985)

Original of the Week

J.J. Cale vs. Eric Clapton




My original of the week this week is JJ Cale's Cocaine. I think this was one of the more shocking original discoveries for me personally. I know that Eric Clapton is the king of popularizing covers but this one I really thought was his. What's even more noteworthy is the uncanny similarity in sounds. Not always, but usually, covers take at least a bit of a new spin on the track but in this scenario, the two sound almost identical. Cale released "Cocaine" in 1976 and Clapton released his cover in 1980. The cover brought some well-deserved attention  to JJ Cale who was virtually under the radar until then.

Interestingly, Clapton believes the song actually has a well hidden anti-drug message and not the contrary.

"It's no good to write a deliberate anti-drug song and hope that it will catch. Because the general thing is that people will be upset by that. It would disturb them to have someone else shoving something down their throat. So the best thing to do is offer something that seems ambiguous—that on study or on reflection actually can be seen to be "anti"—which the song "Cocaine" is actually an anti-cocaine song. If you study it or look at it with a little bit of thought ... from a distance ... or as it goes by ... it just sounds like a song about cocaine. But actually, it is quite cleverly anti-cocaine."

—Eric Clapton

Happy listening :)
MF

P.S. The 1976 J.J. Cale album Troubador is on my "Top 25 Albums of All Time" list so if you aren't familiar with it, I'd definitely recommend a listen.

Re-Work of the Week:

"Lovely Day" by Alt-J (2014)
ORIGINAL: "Lovely Day" by Bill Withers (1977)



Here is "Lovely Day" a bonus track of Alt-J's latest album 'This is All Yours'. The vibe of the track is completely different than the upbeat, sunshiney R&B original which was released by Bill Withers in 1977. This version adds a melancholy twist to a track with the word "lovely" in the title. The slowed down tempo mixed with Joe Newman's beautifully haunting voice gives this cover by Alt-J a contemporary and dark ambience.

Happy listening :)
MF