Tacked on to the deluxe CD edition of Marshall Crenshaw's now legendary 1982 debut were some bonus tracks which included a few M.C. demos and some live covers. One of those covers is an old Detroit soul track by The Parliaments, "Look At What I Almost Missed," written by George Clinton sometime between his first and second diapers.
The Crenshaw version popped up on shuffle yesterday and it took most of the song for me to realize what I was listening to. Sound quality was a bit raw, and Marshall's voice didn't immediately click, but still, I was beguiled. I can't recall ever listening to the bonus live tracks more than once since I first purchased the disc and I know I had never heard the original...until yesterday.
Now, of course, I am obsessed with The Parliaments.
6 comments:
I love that Crenshaw version! Thanks for posting the original!
If Marshall C. picks something, you can be pretty much guaranteed it's going to be great.
The only hit the Parliaments had in the 1970s, on that same ugly label, was "(I Wanna) Testify," and it holds up beautifully today: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAR6BBQO8-k
Clinton was the only member of the Parliaments to appear on this, and rumors are that most of the musicians were Funk Bros. and other Motown regulars.
Dave F.
Thank, also! I have that old "Testify" 45 too. It actually came out in 1968. They played at our High School in NJ that same year & it was great. Oh yeah, Marshall does know how to pick 'em. Saw him do Marvin Gaye's "Sexual Healing" back in the mid '80s. Anyone have have his version?
I can hear George.
I believe a couple of the Parliaments were from Plainfield, NJ - one town over from me.
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