Ringo Starr's cover of Randy Newman's "Hold On" and Ian Hunter's original "You Nearly Did Me In" have little in common. They were released three years apart from each other and they sound completely different from each other. But both albums, 1973's "Ringo" and 1976's "All American Alien Boy" came through my hands this weekend and something blew mind.
Look at this cast of musicians that appear on these two songs:
Ringo Starr
Marc Bolan
Klaus Voorman
James Booker
Milt Holland
Jim Keltner
Tom Scott
Ian Hunter
Jaco Pastorius
David Sanborn
Don Alias
Aynsley Dunbar
Freddie Mercury
Brian May
Roger Taylor
This could only happen 50 years ago. Now, it takes that many people, most unknown, to write one pop tune and almost as many to produce it.
But it boggles the mind that a Beatle, a glam rocker, a jazz bassist and a New Orleans piano genius could make the core band of a rock song, while another glam rocker could team up with two jazz greats, a legendary session player, Zappa's drummer and Queen on vocals for another.
Ah, the good ol' days.
12 comments:
One of my favorite songs from Ian. Didn’t know about the players, but that’s a fantastic line up on both tunes. Were they all on the same label? So often cross-label work was prevented by contractual restrictions.
- Paul in DK
Related: If you can find a copy of last month's Atlantic magazine (I think their website is paywall protected but I'm not certain) there's a great profile of Ringo today.
Good day all around. Great Ian Hunter, Great song of the day, Surprising cover of the day. But what is 39?
Hey -- I'm still trying to wrap my mind around that Garcia Stones cover. 😎
An amazing song and the bass solo by Jaco on "All American Alien Boy" is amazing as well.
I really wanted to hate the Garcia cover, but instead, really enjoyed it.
I L.O.V.E. ‘Let It Rock: The Jerry Garcia Collection, Vol. 2’ recorded at a pair of shows in 1975. Nicky Hopkins is prominently showcased. Just Wow!
Believe I originally learned of it here, so thank you for that, sir. :)
Seems to be available via streaming services.
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_nOvdmTyzcnZruvlMg3KWEnQZCt7KdielE&si=yHaYpZzVRI8KNu8S
Sadly no vinyl release - yet. :)
Pretty amazing!
Ringo and his mates always on the money but I really must get round to playing Hunter's album again soon. Forgotten how good it is. As for the "39", I thought it was the answer to the meaning of life, the universe, and everything (but that's "42" per Douglas Adams). Oh well. Cheers!
I have a warm affection for Ringo's (immediately) Post-Beatles albums.
Great post! Makes you appreciate these musicians even more!
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