Music Labyrinth Episode 010
Bittersweet Symphony / The Verve
Hello, and welcome back to The Music Labyrinth, where I am pleased to report that the program has entered into rarified double-figure territory with this being Episode 10. However, if it happens to be your first episode, do not fear. The rules are quite simple. We are wandering in the labyrinth of modern music with only one simple guiding principle: that each song we listen to will have some link to the previous. If you are a returning listener, thank you for hanging around. And if you are a returning listener from last week, I will explain what I meant when I suggested that the last song we played, the same one which opened this episode, was a controversial one. That song was, of course, Bittersweet Symphony by The Verve. It was released as a single in Britain in 1997 and the US in 1998 and reached top ten single status right across Europe, in the US, Canada, and Iceland; and achieved platinum, gold and silver sales in all of those areas. Clearly, regardless of its doubtless artistic merits, the song was a massive commercial success. Which makes it unsurprising that the rights to the song became a matter of dispute. Bittersweet Symphony contained a short orchestral refrain which was sampled from a 1965 recording by the Andrew Oldham Orchestra of the Rolling Stones song, The Last Time. Richard Ashcroft of The Verve had entered into a commercial arrangement with the owners of the rights to the Andrew Oldham Orchestra track but, crucially, not with the owners of the rights to the original track by the Rolling Stones. The dispute was a protracted one, only being finalised in 2019 when Mick Jagger and Keith Richards granted all rights to Bittersweet Symphony exclusively to The Verve. In order to try and demonstrate the three-cornered nature of the dispute, I've turned my hand to sound engineering. Lets listen to an extremely unprofessional mash-up on my part of The Last Time, performed, respectively, by the Andrew Oldham Orchestra, then by the Rolling Stones.
The Last Time (Mash-up) / Andrew Oldham Orchestra & The Rolling Stones
You're back with the Music Labyrinth where, just before the break, we were exploring the conjunctions between songs which led to the music producer Allan Klein launching a lawsuit against The Verve for rights to profits from the song Bittersweet Symphony. What was never explored by litigation was a further suggestion that the Rolling Stones song which we just heard, The Last Time, which was at the centre of Klein's lawsuit, was itself based heavily on another song. You make up your own mind. This is The Staple Singers from 1958 with This May Be The Last Time.
This May Be The Last Time / The Staple Singers
I'm going to resist the obvious pun, but the Staple Singers have been - lets say, a constant - of the music of the post-WWII world. Their performing and recording career spanned close to half a century, and the wonderful Mavis Staples continues to perform to this day. My first, memorable, exposure to the group was via the 1978 Martin Scorcese film, The Last Waltz. In that film, the Staple Singers, and Pops Staples in particular, featured in an ensemble version of this song by The Band.
The Weight / The Band
That was The Band with their classic song, The Weight, from the 1968 album Music from Big Pink. The Band were a great example of that old truism about something being greater than the sum of its parts, even given the talent evident in each of those parts. One part, was the Canadian guitarist, songwriter and producer, Robbie Robertson. Because we arrived at The Band via the movie The Last Waltz, which featured Van Morrison, lets zip forwards 51 years to 2019. This is Robbie Robertson and Van Morrison with I Hear You Paint Houses.
I Hear You Paint Houses / Robbie Robertson & Van Morrison
This is The Music Labyrinth and just a few moments ago we heard a track from 2019 by Robbie Robertson and featuring the vocals of Van Morrison. The song was called I Hear You Paint Houses, and was part of a body of work that Robbie Robertson created for the soundtrack of the film The Irishman, starring Robert Di Nero, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci. The track we just heard did not make it onto that soundtrack but, trust me Valued Listener, I promise you it was written for the movie. One song that did make it to the soundtrack of The Irishman was this New Orleans classic, performed by Smiley Lewis.
I Hear You Knocking / Smiley Lewis
From 65 years in the past, that was Smiley Lewis' version of the Dave Bartholomew song, I Hear You Knocking. The song has been covered by countless artists in the years since that recording was created. Probably the most recognised cover was a version in 1970 by the Welsh guitarist and singer, Dave Edmunds. His cover of I Hear You Knocking is quite distinct from the one we just listened to, and features Edmunds vocals recorded via a telephone line. It became a UK number one, and reached top 10 status in many other countries. But, for all of that, whenever I hear Dave Edmunds' name, my mind goes straight to this track from 1979. Again, it is a cover version, this time of an Elvis Costello song. This is Girls Talk.
Girls Talk / Dave Edmunds
That was Dave Edmunds' cover of the Elvis Costello song, Girls Talk. We've found ourselves back in the Elvis Costello part of the Labyrinth, and we arrived here by way of a New Orleans rythym & blues classic, so it only seems fitting to continue with a theme we discussed on a recent edition of The Music Labyrinth. After Hurricane Katrina wreaked its havoc on New Orleans in 2005, Elvis Costello collaborated with the New Orleans songwriter, arranger and music producer Allen Toussaint on an album called The River in Reverse. From that album, this is Elvis Costello and Allen Toussaint with The Sharpest Thorn.
The Sharpest Thorn / Elvis Costello & Allen Toussaint
The last song we listened to together on The Music Labyrinth was a collaboration between Elvis Costello and Allen Toussaint, The Shapest Thorn. Allen Toussaint's contribution to music and the arts is beyond significant. He has been inducted in to the American Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame, the Songwriter's Hall of Fame and the Blues Hall of Fame, And in 2013 he was awarded the National Medal of Arts by President Barrack Obama. Allen Toussaint also wrote this song.
Working in a Coal Mine / Devo
That was the Allen Toussaint song Working in a Coal Mine, written in 1966 and reworked in the version we just heard by Devo in 1981. The band Devo commenced as something of a joke. The name is short for the concept of "de-evolution" - a proposal that mankind is not progressing in evolutionary terms, but regressing. The band developed primarily as a vehicle to deliver satirical performance pieces about that theme. As we know, that joke developed into considerable commercial success. In a very similar set of circumstances, in London in 1987 Steven Wilson and Malcolm Stocks set about inventing a fictional story of a successful prog rock band. In order to add authenticity to the story, Wilson in particular, began to assemble musical compositions as "back-fill" to the main storyline. Those musical compositions eventually overtook the project of the fictitious prog-rock band, and became Porcupine Tree. The band went on to release ten albums, and a high degree of artistic and commercial success. Here they are with Lazarus.
Lazarus / Porcupine Tree
We just listened to the English prog rock band Porcupine Tree, and their 2005 track Lazarus. Sorry, but I cant let this opportunity slip. Lets focus on Lazarus. I came late to Nick Cave. I spent years just not seeing the appeal. Anyway, all of that changed a few years ago, to a significant extent. To end this episode of The Music Labyrinth, here is Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds with Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! Thanks for listening.
Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! / Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
Hello, and welcome back to The Music Labyrinth, where I am pleased to report that the program has entered into rarified double-figure territory with this being Episode 10. However, if it happens to be your first episode, do not fear. The rules are quite simple. We are wandering in the labyrinth of modern music with only one simple guiding principle: that each song we listen to will have some link to the previous. If you are a returning listener, thank you for hanging around. And if you are a returning listener from last week, I will explain what I meant when I suggested that the last song we played, the same one which opened this episode, was a controversial one. That song was, of course, Bittersweet Symphony by The Verve. It was released as a single in Britain in 1997 and the US in 1998 and reached top ten single status right across Europe, in the US, Canada, and Iceland; and achieved platinum, gold and silver sales in all of those areas. Clearly, regardless of its doubtless artistic merits, the song was a massive commercial success. Which makes it unsurprising that the rights to the song became a matter of dispute. Bittersweet Symphony contained a short orchestral refrain which was sampled from a 1965 recording by the Andrew Oldham Orchestra of the Rolling Stones song, The Last Time. Richard Ashcroft of The Verve had entered into a commercial arrangement with the owners of the rights to the Andrew Oldham Orchestra track but, crucially, not with the owners of the rights to the original track by the Rolling Stones. The dispute was a protracted one, only being finalised in 2019 when Mick Jagger and Keith Richards granted all rights to Bittersweet Symphony exclusively to The Verve. In order to try and demonstrate the three-cornered nature of the dispute, I've turned my hand to sound engineering. Lets listen to an extremely unprofessional mash-up on my part of The Last Time, performed, respectively, by the Andrew Oldham Orchestra, then by the Rolling Stones.
The Last Time (Mash-up) / Andrew Oldham Orchestra & The Rolling Stones
You're back with the Music Labyrinth where, just before the break, we were exploring the conjunctions between songs which led to the music producer Allan Klein launching a lawsuit against The Verve for rights to profits from the song Bittersweet Symphony. What was never explored by litigation was a further suggestion that the Rolling Stones song which we just heard, The Last Time, which was at the centre of Klein's lawsuit, was itself based heavily on another song. You make up your own mind. This is The Staple Singers from 1958 with This May Be The Last Time.
This May Be The Last Time / The Staple Singers
I'm going to resist the obvious pun, but the Staple Singers have been - lets say, a constant - of the music of the post-WWII world. Their performing and recording career spanned close to half a century, and the wonderful Mavis Staples continues to perform to this day. My first, memorable, exposure to the group was via the 1978 Martin Scorcese film, The Last Waltz. In that film, the Staple Singers, and Pops Staples in particular, featured in an ensemble version of this song by The Band.
The Weight / The Band
That was The Band with their classic song, The Weight, from the 1968 album Music from Big Pink. The Band were a great example of that old truism about something being greater than the sum of its parts, even given the talent evident in each of those parts. One part, was the Canadian guitarist, songwriter and producer, Robbie Robertson. Because we arrived at The Band via the movie The Last Waltz, which featured Van Morrison, lets zip forwards 51 years to 2019. This is Robbie Robertson and Van Morrison with I Hear You Paint Houses.
I Hear You Paint Houses / Robbie Robertson & Van Morrison
This is The Music Labyrinth and just a few moments ago we heard a track from 2019 by Robbie Robertson and featuring the vocals of Van Morrison. The song was called I Hear You Paint Houses, and was part of a body of work that Robbie Robertson created for the soundtrack of the film The Irishman, starring Robert Di Nero, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci. The track we just heard did not make it onto that soundtrack but, trust me Valued Listener, I promise you it was written for the movie. One song that did make it to the soundtrack of The Irishman was this New Orleans classic, performed by Smiley Lewis.
I Hear You Knocking / Smiley Lewis
From 65 years in the past, that was Smiley Lewis' version of the Dave Bartholomew song, I Hear You Knocking. The song has been covered by countless artists in the years since that recording was created. Probably the most recognised cover was a version in 1970 by the Welsh guitarist and singer, Dave Edmunds. His cover of I Hear You Knocking is quite distinct from the one we just listened to, and features Edmunds vocals recorded via a telephone line. It became a UK number one, and reached top 10 status in many other countries. But, for all of that, whenever I hear Dave Edmunds' name, my mind goes straight to this track from 1979. Again, it is a cover version, this time of an Elvis Costello song. This is Girls Talk.
Girls Talk / Dave Edmunds
That was Dave Edmunds' cover of the Elvis Costello song, Girls Talk. We've found ourselves back in the Elvis Costello part of the Labyrinth, and we arrived here by way of a New Orleans rythym & blues classic, so it only seems fitting to continue with a theme we discussed on a recent edition of The Music Labyrinth. After Hurricane Katrina wreaked its havoc on New Orleans in 2005, Elvis Costello collaborated with the New Orleans songwriter, arranger and music producer Allen Toussaint on an album called The River in Reverse. From that album, this is Elvis Costello and Allen Toussaint with The Sharpest Thorn.
The Sharpest Thorn / Elvis Costello & Allen Toussaint
The last song we listened to together on The Music Labyrinth was a collaboration between Elvis Costello and Allen Toussaint, The Shapest Thorn. Allen Toussaint's contribution to music and the arts is beyond significant. He has been inducted in to the American Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame, the Songwriter's Hall of Fame and the Blues Hall of Fame, And in 2013 he was awarded the National Medal of Arts by President Barrack Obama. Allen Toussaint also wrote this song.
Working in a Coal Mine / Devo
That was the Allen Toussaint song Working in a Coal Mine, written in 1966 and reworked in the version we just heard by Devo in 1981. The band Devo commenced as something of a joke. The name is short for the concept of "de-evolution" - a proposal that mankind is not progressing in evolutionary terms, but regressing. The band developed primarily as a vehicle to deliver satirical performance pieces about that theme. As we know, that joke developed into considerable commercial success. In a very similar set of circumstances, in London in 1987 Steven Wilson and Malcolm Stocks set about inventing a fictional story of a successful prog rock band. In order to add authenticity to the story, Wilson in particular, began to assemble musical compositions as "back-fill" to the main storyline. Those musical compositions eventually overtook the project of the fictitious prog-rock band, and became Porcupine Tree. The band went on to release ten albums, and a high degree of artistic and commercial success. Here they are with Lazarus.
Lazarus / Porcupine Tree
We just listened to the English prog rock band Porcupine Tree, and their 2005 track Lazarus. Sorry, but I cant let this opportunity slip. Lets focus on Lazarus. I came late to Nick Cave. I spent years just not seeing the appeal. Anyway, all of that changed a few years ago, to a significant extent. To end this episode of The Music Labyrinth, here is Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds with Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! Thanks for listening.
Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! / Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds