This week in reggae appropriation comes from one of my favorite records out of Jamaica.
Lennie Hibbert's "Creation" is the musical equivalent of floatation tank therapy. It's a miraculous vibe from head to tail, with a number of standout tracks. One track especially tickles me and that is "Nature Boy," which, if you've been following along with my occasional reggae posts, isn't really "Nature Boy" at all. It is the standard, "It Was A Very Good Year," first recorded by Bob Shane of The Kingston Trio, but put on the map for good in 1965 by Frank Sinatra.
I don't know why this fascinates me as much as it does. Maybe it's because the idea is so wacky. Or maybe it's the element of surprise every time I put on a reggae record expecting to hear one song but getting another. Regardless of how shady the practice might be, I mean, could you see an American artist recording a straight cover of "Street Fighting Man" and calling it "The Jungle" and putting his name underneath as the writer? Never gonna happen, friends! But in jolly ol' Jamaica, this is more common than spliff clouds.
That said, I do love the entire "Creation" album, and especially whatever the song is up top.
love the funky percussion
ReplyDeleteSo, a few things:
ReplyDeleteThe cover for this album, if from its time (1970), is extremely modern-looking.
'Rose Len', from the same album, doesn't quite appropriate to the degree 'Nature Boy' does, but fans of 'Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood' will, let's say, be able to follow along.
Your 'Street Fighting Man' and 'The Jungle' comment, I took as sarcasm, so figured there was a song called the latter that 'borrowed' from the former. I tried to look it up, but got no hits; however, I found a Reddit that asked for non-Stones songs that sound like the Stones and somebody offered 'Run Through The Jungle', which is a pretty (excuse the pun) wild choice, to these ears.
Anyway, thanks for the post, as 'Rose Len' is all I knew from Lennie Hibbert.
C in California
I just made up the "Street Fighting Man"/"The Jungle" example.
DeleteYes, I figured that out when I got no hits on trying to make the connection. My point was, I was flabbergasted that someone heard the Stones in CCR's classic. Sorry for not making that clear. I almost put in, before that last point, "As an aside,..." or "Funnily,...", and I reckon that if I did it'd've been more clear what I was trying to say.
ReplyDeleteAs another aside, one of my loves of early reggae/bluebeat is the covers of established hits of the day; I think the Wailers' cover of 'The Letter' (er, pardon me, 'Give Me A Ticket') and 'And I Love Her' started my deep dive into the early stuff.
C in California
this is so cool. I love this
ReplyDelete