Salı 21 Nis 2009, 18:08
Track: Lovely Rita (feat. Bunny Rugs and U Roy) (full track)
Artist: Easy Star All-Stars (13 April 09)
Album: Easy Star's Lonely Hearts Dub Band
Tags: reggae, dub, covers, downtempo, my gang rotw
Video: Click the pic…
http://i1.ytimg.com/vi/pGouM_zcM_0/default.jpg YouTube, amateur video
Easy Star All-Stars are a collective who are basically a covers band but it's how they do what they do that's so special. With the utmost care and precision, with extremely careful attention to the smallest detail, they take apart and reimagine classic albums. They're not the only band to do so, there are plenty of others trying to do the same, but no one does it as well as Easy Star All-Stars.
http://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/500/25274613/Easy+Star+AllStars+easy+star+allstar.jpg
Let me show you what I mean - here is The Great Gig In the Sky (featuring Kirsty Rock) from their very first covers album, Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon, entitled Dub Side of the Moon (2003). It's nothing short of a masterpiece. The most popular track according to Last.fm is On the Run, which is more drum 'n' bass, jungle, ragga. And you must also hear the very funny Money, with the opener of the sound of a cigarette lighter as someone coughs in frustration, trying to light his water bong. Someone has done an amateur video of this to The Wizard of Oz in YouTube, which is a must-see. Musique concrete at its wittiest.
For their second, they covered Radiohead's Ok Computer and called it Radiodread (2006). This is where most of my 381 plays come from. It's so well done. I can even listen to Fitter Happier, which I've never been able to do on the original. My personal favourite from this album is Electioneering. I adore the original. This adds another dimension.
These guys know what they're doing and I trust them. When I heard their next project was none other than The Beatles and not only that but Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band I couldn't wait. It's got some lifelong favourites in there, songs I knew before I could talk.
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/519vKnhnQcL._SL500_AA240_.jpg
Up a bit, up here, we're up here….
The reimagining begins with a twist on the name - Easy Star's Lonely Hearts Dub Band. Maybe I was expecting too much, but on first listen, I wasn't sure. I left it alone for a bit and came back to it - and it's all fallen into place and sounds superb, but I still don't think it reaches the heights of the first two. It may just be down to my expectations or maybe I love the other two more, I don't know. It definitely sounds better with every listen. I'd be interested to hear from people listening to the band for the first time.
I think the initial trouble I had was that the interpretations are unexpected. I adored Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds (feat. Frankie Paul) and She's Leaving Home (feat. Kirsty Rock) straight off, no question, but the rest of the album has required a little effort and patience on my part. The project is ambitious, the sheer scale of the challenge unimaginable, and man, it's The Beatles. We all know every note and every nuance. It's like messing with the air we breathe.
From their album blurb (in Last.fm):
Following the widespread critical and commercial success of 2003’s Dub Side of the Moon and 2006’s Radiodread, Easy Star Records announces the Easy Star All-Stars’ complete reggae re-imagining of the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. The album, titled Easy Star’s Lonely Hearts Dub Band, is set for release April 14 on Easy Star Records and features guest vocals from an impressive list of reggae, dancehall and dub greats including Steel Pulse, Matisyahu, Michael Rose (Black Uhuru), Luciano, U Roy, Bunny Rugs (Third World), Ranking Roger (English Beat), Sugar Minott, Frankie Paul, Max Romeo and The Mighty Diamonds. The first single, “With A Little Help From My Friends,” featuring Luciano, will be released as an iTunes exclusive February 10. It will be paired with a b-side dub version featuring the legendary U Roy.Dub Side of the Moon, (Easy Star’s reggae tribute to Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon) is one of the most successful reggae albums of the 21st century and spent over five years on Billboard’s Top Reggae Chart. Mojo selected the record as the second greatest cover album of all time. Radiodread, which tackled Radiohead’s OK Computer, spent over 18 months on Billboard’s Top Reggae Chart and earned praise from Radiohead themselves.
Of the decision to infuse reggae into the Beatles classic, producer Michael Goldwasser says “We’ve focused on re-envisioning concept albums as reggae and it’s really important that the source material works as a whole and is not just a collection of songs. So, what better to take on next than the mother of all concept albums?”
The nice people at their label have permitted us to listen to full tracks that automatically advance to the next, so we can set the album to play and enjoy. Thank you, nice people! (I hope all regions have the same permissions)
http://members.shaw.ca/lolaland/mys7.jpg
Oooh! Rita!
So this week's reco, Lovely Rita (feat. Bunny Rugs and U Roy) . The original, Lovely Rita, is a song that I've never been able to shift from my mind. So many things seem to trigger it: watching Rita in Coronation Street (above), seeing car parking meters, reading the meter for my electricity bill… there has been no escape! And yet I still love the song. The reworking is joyous, a bit slower, with some rasta chat to chill out to. The video I've chosen is an amateur work of old cine footage filmed around Vienna, Gumpoldskirchen, Hohe Wand, Burgenland and moedling set to the music.
As an aside, if you only listen to one track from this album, try Within You Without You (feat. Matisyahu), a psychedelic mix of reggae and sitars. It's a difficult track in the first place and serves as a good showcase of their ingenuity. If you want to compare it to the original, this trippy video should help.
Babs My Gang
http://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/500/20033/Easy+Star+AllStars.jpg
Admin - Stats as of today:
Last.fm listeners of this track - 135
No. of plays scrobbled in Last.fm - 204
Position in Last 7 Days: 56 / 124
Position in Last 6 Months: n/a
Video
Date Added: 21 April 2009
Views: 15, Ratings: 1, Responses: 0, Comments: 0, Favourited: 1 times
Stats after 7 days:
Last.fm listeners of this track - 261
No. of plays scrobbled in Last.fm - 515
Position in Last 7 Days: 54 / 137
Position in Last 6 Months: n/a
Video
Views: 71, Ratings: 2, Responses: 0, Comments: 1, Favourited: 2 times
426 Unique Visitors
501 Page Views
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