Posts by DaveO

Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever was released as a single and also appeared on The Four Tops 1966 album On Top. Though he’s never recorded a version of the song, Stevie Wonder gets the songwriting credit for this legendary Motown gem. The composition was a joint effort between Wonder and Ivy Jo Hunter, whose songwriting credits also include another smash hit – Dancing In The Street.

The Contestants:

The Band: It’s gotta be confidence-building for a lead singer tackling this song, in this case Rick Danko, knowing you’ve got a voice like that of Levon Helm to back you up. While poking around looking for information on these covers, I found a great interview that Peter Stone Brown did with Rick Danko in 1977. When asked why Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever was never on an official release from The Band, Danko answers that he thought it was on Rock Of Ages. It’s interesting just how little artists can sometimes know about their own releases. The track would make it to the Deluxe Edition release in 2001. Source: Rock Of Ages (Deluxe Edition)

READ ON for the scoop on the rest of this week’s contestants…

Last Week’s Sauce is a recurring column featuring recordings of shows that took place the previous week. I was on vacation last week, so this edition covers two weeks worth of shows. Thanks to taperj for the photo.

Artist & Title: Booker T. Jones – Sitting On The Dock Of The Bay
Date & Venue: 2009-09-05 Washington Park, Chicago IL
Taper & Show Download: John F.

This is a tape from Chicago’s African Festival Of The Arts. Rounding out Booker T’s band is: Marc Ford (Black Crowes) – Guitar, Troy Gagne – Guitar, Ronnie James (Fabulous Thunderbirds) – Bass, and Darian Grey – Drums. Booker T. next plays at the Roots, Blues and BBQ Festival in Columbia, MO.

READ ON to hear a new moe. tune and Wilco’s special guests in Ireland…

The stage is set for one of the summer’s best concerts this coming Saturday. Soulive, and their record label Royal Family, has assembled an incredible lineup of talent to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the band’s inception.

The Royal Family Get Down is taking place at the Pines Theatre in Look Park in Northampton Massachusetts this Saturday September 12th.

The schedule is as follows:

1:00 Gates Open
2:00 Nigel Hall
3:00 Charlie Hunter
4:15 Grace Potter & The Nocturnals
6:00 Sharon Jones & the DAP Kings
7:45 Soulive with special guest John Scofield

While VIP tickets are sold out, $40 reserved and $32.50 G/A ducats are still available as of press time. Reserved seating rows shouldn’t take up too much space at The Pines, only 13 rows to be exact. READ ON for more…

This song comes off a 1979 album by the Charlie Daniels Band titled Million Mile Reflections. Vassar Clements also deserves some songwriting credit, as he wrote the fiddle hook (basically) in his tune Lonesome Fiddle Blues.

For such a popular song, there are not a whole lot of real covers out there. Because of this, I’ve decided to include two renditions where the artist has made some slight changes to the subject matter of the song. If I had not done this – you would be looking at all jamband versions, and I try to avoid that the best I can.

The Contestants:

Blues Traveler: Leading off this week, we’ve got Blues Traveler who have had this cover as a staple in their repertoire for at least 12 years now (earliest recording on the LMA is 1997). Source: 8-22-1998

Bonus Video From Wetlands 1998:

READ ON for the scoop on the rest of this week’s contestants…

This great acoustic Zeppelin tune comes off 1971’s Led Zeppelin IV. This is quite possibly the first Cover Wars selection where the original studio take does not feature any drums. Though there is a tambourine in the mix.

Also, this song is supposedly about Joni Mitchell – go figure.

The Contestants:

Dread Zeppelin: Longtime readers may remember Dread Zeppelin’s winning combination of an Elvis Impersonator and a reggae band from the All Of My Love edition. Source: Hot & Spicy Beanburger

Robert Plant on the band:

READ ON for the scoop on the rest of this week’s contestants…

Last Week’s Sauce is a recurring column featuring recordings of shows that took place the previous week. Thanks to CTDave for the photo.

Artist & Title: The Bad Plus – Breaking Up Is Hard To Do
Date & Venue: 2009-08-21 Highline Ballroom New York, NY
Taper & Show Download: Scott Bernstein

This is the first of two recordings from last week captured during Highline Ballroom’s “piano series”. This is a great take on the, oh yeah, Neil Sedaka song. Extra props to taper Scott Bernstein (note: different than our editor Scott Bernstein, they get that lot) for taking the time to even-out the levels of the applause – a problem you get on many jazz recordings when songs end. The Bad Plus next play at the Rimouski International Festi Jazz. In a bit of Last Week’s Sauce coincidence (see below), their next gig after that will be with the Marco Benevento Trio in Boulder, CO.

READ ON for more from the likes of Nine Inch Nails and Widespread Panic…

This week, we have the long overdue Cover Wars debut from legendary British rockers Dire Straits. Sultans Of Swing was the band’s first single off their first album, which was self-titled and released in 1978.

In The Fender Stratocaster Handbook: How To Buy, Maintain, Set Up, Troubleshoot, and Modify Your Strat, Mark Knopfler shares how Sultans Of Swing almost had an entirely different melody, funny to think if the song would have still been popular with the alternate structure. Knopfler says no.

I originally wrote Sultans Of Swing on my National steel guitar, open tuned. Same lyrics, but a different tune. Since I can’t remember it, it was completely unremarkable! When I got the Strat and plugged it into an old Vibrolux, it became something else.

Check out the rest of that page over on Google Books for some funny quotes from Mark as he discusses the pros and cons of music theory.

The Contestants:

Agents Of Good Roots: Here’s a blast from the past in the jambands department. Fans of the Dave Matthews Band might remember these guys as the band that Dave shared some stage time with in the mid 1990’s. Source: 2-5-2000

READ ON for the scoop on the rest of this week’s contestants…

Last Week’s Sauce is a recurring column featuring recordings of shows that took place the previous week. Thanks to kcmoejoe for the photo.

Artist & Title: Derek Trucks Band – Greensleeves > Afro Blue
Date & Venue: 2009-08-15 Hot August Blues Festival Cockeysville, MD
Taper & Show Download: su6oxone

Leading off this week is a smoking segment that features this traditional folk song coupled with a latin jazz standard. There is some really amazing guitar work in here, highly recommended listening. Derek plays tonight with the Allman Brothers Band in Holmdel, NJ. The Derek Trucks Band next have a gig August 23rd in Johnstown PA.

READ ON for more from the likes of John Cowan and Pearl Jam…

The subject matter of this week’s selection is something I think a lot of our readers can relate to. On the surface, this tune – a selection off The Beatles 1966 album Revolver, could innocently be about the feeling of being woken up too early in the morning…Then again, it could be about drugs. And as my friend Dan likes to say, “If you think it might be about drugs, it’s probably about drugs.”

While dissecting the lyrics, I found it humorous how polite the narrator of the song is in reference to being woken up early, specifically the number of times he says, “Please”. I’m not sure if I know anyone who would be this polite given the circumstances.

In a famous 1966 interview that John Lennon did with Maureen Cleave, she said of John,

He can sleep almost indefinitely, is probably the laziest person in England. ‘Physically lazy,’ he said. ‘I don’t mind writing or reading or watching or speaking, but sex is the only physical thing I can be bothered with any more’.

So, the song is at least to some degree, autobiographical.

The Contestants:

Bathory: This is likely the most International edition of Cover Wars to date. Bathory, for those of you don’t know about them (like me yesterday), is a Swedish band often credited as creating the first “Black Metal” album. Source: In Memory Of Quorthon Vol III

READ ON for the rest of this week’s diverse Cover Wars contestants…

Last Week’s Sauce is a recurring column featuring recordings of shows that took place the previous week. I was on Phish tour last week, so this edition covering two weeks of shows. Thanks to manitouman for the photo.

Artist & Title: Buddy Guy – Voodoo Chile, Buddy’s Blues
Date & Venue: 2009-07-26 Gathering Of The Vibes, Bridgeport CT
Taper & Show Download: Scott Bernstein

Back in January 2008, we ran a piece on child musical prodigies, and Quinn Sullivan was one of them. Well, in addition to this kid shredding it on stage with Buddy Guy a couple times a year, he’s now starting to sing as well. The second tune featured here is titled Buddy’s Blues and what I assume is one of the first Quinn Sullivan originals. Watch out for this guy. Buddy Guy plays tonight at The Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles.

READ ON for more including tracks from Fleet Foxes and Phish…

This week we’ve got arguably the first love song that The Talking Heads ever recorded. This track was originally released on the 1983 album Speaking In Tongues. Click here to view the video of this song from Stop Making Sense.

Did you know that the studio recording of this tune had members of the band not playing their primary instruments? It was: Jerry Harrison (bass), Tina Weymouth (guitar), and David Byrne (keyboards).

The Contestants:

The Arcade Fire: Arcade Fire have the advantage of being the only band this week that has performed this song with David Byrne. That performance from New York City, was released on vinyl as the B-Side to the Neighborhood #3 (Power Out) single promoting the band’s 2004 album Funeral. Source: Neighborhood #3 Vinyl Single

And some video of the band performing the song by themselves:

READ ON for the rest of this week’s Cover Wars contestants…

Last Week’s Sauce is a recurring column featuring recordings of shows that took place the previous week. Thanks to H20 for the photo.

Artist & Title: The Brew – Seen It All
Date & Venue: 2009-07-25 Rock & Blues Cruise, Boston MA
Taper & Show Download: Mike Salvo

Leading off this week is the first track off The Brew’s 2008 release Back to the Woods. The Brew next play this Saturday at the Wellfleet Beachcomber in Cape Cod.

READ ON for more tracks from the likes of Steve Kimock and Wilco…

Last Week’s Sauce is a recurring column featuring recordings of shows that took place the previous week. Thanks to spreetaper for the photo.

Artist & Title: BBVD – You & Me & The Bottle Makes 3 Tonight (Baby)
Date & Venue: 2009-07-15 Wednesday in the Gorge, Lewiston ME
Taper & Show Download: Adam Hudson

BBVD, that’s – yep, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. I know what you’re thinking, what year is it? Well you’re safe and sound here in 2009 and we are well over ten years removed from the swing revival (a movement that was accelerated by a GAP commercial of all things). According to the taper, the band just recently allowed audience taping. The band plays tonight at Lincoln Center in New York.

READ ON for more tracks from the likes of Mule and Son Volt…

While the world celebrates the 40th Anniversary of Apollo 11, I made the best selection I could to fit the vibe and that is a track off of the Grateful Dead’s 1989 release Built To Last titled Standing On The Moon.

Many in the Grateful Dead community have hypothesized that the outro lyrics, “A lovely view of heaven but I’d rather be with you” indicated a feeling from Jerry that while he appreciated the band’s success and fans, a part of him wanted to just be out in the crowd with everyone else. Makes sense.

The Contestants:

Big Frog: You may recognize this band from their spot opening for Phish back in 2000 during their Japan tour. The ever-elusive Phish opening act spot. Source: 8-1-2007

READ ON for the rest of this week’s Cover Wars contestants…

The producers of the 4th Annual Las Tortugas Festival, hosted by Blue Turtle Seduction, have announced the initial artist lineup today. The artist announcement includes Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk, Tea Leaf Green, Hot Buttered Rum, Bag of Tricks (featuring Zach Gill, Steve Adams and Dave Brogan of ALO), The Mother Hips, and many others. The biggest […]

Last Week’s Sauce is a recurring column featuring recordings of shows that took place the previous week. As I was on vacation last week, this edition covering two weeks of shows. Thanks to crossthreaded for the photo.

Artist & Title: Dead Sessions – Feel Like A Stranger
Date & Venue: 2009-07-03 Club Metronome, Burlington VT
Taper & Show Download: Shiva Ho

Burlington Vermont’s Dead Sessions are a group comprised of members of the Turkey Bouillon Mafia as well as Phish archivist Kevin Shapiro and vocalist Christina Durfee. Dead Sessions next plays live aboard Lake Champlain Cruises on August 7th.

READ ON for more including tracks from Future Rock and Nate Wilson…

You Can’t Always Get What You Want is the closing track on the 1969 Rolling Stones album Let It Bleed. Regular readers may remember we did our first Stones song edition of Cover Wars two months ago when we took a look at covers of Can’t You Hear Me Knocking.

There are some very interesting quotes regarding the drumming on this track included in the book According to the Rolling Stones, you can see the page in question over at Google Books (what an amazing resource).

THE CONTESTANTS:

Aretha Franklin: This cover comes off a 1981 Aretha Franklin album that universally gets bad to lukewarm reviews. The arrangement is very 80’s. Still, it’s worth a couple minutes to hear the Queen Of Soul sing lead on this tune. Source: Love All The Hurt Away

READ ON to hear the rest of this week’s Cover Wars contestants…

Last Week’s Sauce is a recurring column featuring recordings of shows that took place the previous week. Thanks to Sanjay for this week’s photo.

Artist & Title: Del McCoury Band – Cold Rain and Snow
Date & Venue: 2009-06-26 – The Crossroads, Kansas City MO
Taper & Show Download: Jeremy Lykins

This is the Del McCoury Band’s take on the traditional song Cold Rain and Snow. This arrangement is similar to that of the Grateful Dead’s which was similar to that of Obray Ramsey. The band has dates scheduled through March of 2010 and appears this weekend at the High Sierra Music Festival.

READ ON for the rest of Last Week’s Sauce…

With Paul McCartney’s previous two albums (Wild Life and Red Rose Speedway) not being especially critically acclaimed, many see his 1973 release Band On The Run as something of a statement piece, and what a statement it was. Paul once shared that the title track of the album was built around something guitarist George Harrison would say during The Beatles’ business meetings, “If we ever get out of here”.

Side Note: Band On The Run is a great addition to the “What album is Phish going to cover?” discussion that friends of yours are undoubtedly having.

And now, the covers:

The Brew: Leading off this week we’ve got The Brew. Check the rest of this show for a great recording and additional covers from Kansas and The Police. Source: 5-14-2009

READ ON for the lowdown on the rest of this week’s contestants…

Last Week’s Sauce is a recurring column featuring recordings of shows that took place the previous week. This is a special edition that exclusively features recordings from Bonnaroo captured the weekend of June 12th – 14th. Thanks to caymenreview for this week’s photos.

Artist & Title: Al Green – Let’s Stay Together
Taper & Show Download: Jeff Hatcher

Al Green, 63, is still out there doing it and sounding great as he leads the Bonnaroo crowd through a great rendition of Let’s Stay Together. Green plays this Saturday at the Ottawa Jazz Festival.

READ ON for nine more selected cuts from Bonnaroo 2009…