Phish Summer Tour continued tonight at the cozy nTelos Pavilion in Portsmouth, VA for the fourth stop of the first leg, where the band showed they are still willing to
Friend of HT Andrew Bruss compares two versions of a Stones’ classic..
The Rolling Stones’ magnum opus, Exile On Main Street, has recently been remastered, and re-released with an additional disc of B-sides, highlighted by an early outtake of fan-favorite, Loving Cup. Ben Ratliff of The New York Times called this outtake amongst the best tracks the Stones ever recorded, and said it was superior to the studio-cut Stones fans have spent nearly four decades appreciating. While this B-side is an amazing track, featuring the unmastered grit and grime you’d expect from an early live show, there are arguments for and against Ratliff’s bold assertion.
The most obvious difference is in the piano intro performed by Nicky Hopkins. On the studio cut, this intro is brief, and to the point, segueing right into Jagger’s affirmation that he’s “the man on the mountain,” asking you to “come on up.” On the B-side, the piano intro is sullied by its added length, and slower tempo. The piano intro on the studio cut and B-side both clock in at around 15 seconds, but the slower tempo on the latter gives the listener an impression that the B-side is considerably longer and the perception of this delay in getting to the vocals makes it less of an intro and more of a segment of its own. This effectively weakens the effectiveness of the “less is more” philosophy the Stones mastered on tracks like Sweet Virginia and Rip This Joint.
Mick Jagger’s vocals on any Stones track are always amongst the most definable characteristics, and on both takes of Loving Cup, this proves to be no exception. Although the vocal track on the B-side is generally more emotive, incorporating more vibrato, it proves inferior to the original. One of the highest-energy moments on Exile is Jagger’s lyrical burst, “gimmie little drink,” and on the B-side, he takes his time to get to that sense of urgency, deflating the effectiveness of the lyrics.
READ ON for more of Andrew’s Loving Cup analysis…
HT faves RANA played a rare gig last night on the Half Moon for a very special Rocks Off concert cruise. The band marked the eighth anniversary of the release
While traditional print media seems slowly to be going the way of the 8-track, we’re happy to note that Spin Magazine is in the midst of celebrating its 25th Anniversary.
Plenty of video clips from Bonnaroo 2010 have been uploaded to YouTube already with hundreds more to come soon. This morning we want to share a video from Bonnaroo featuring
You’ve gotta love the frequency of Grateful Dead archival releases. Four months after the last Road Trips installment came out, we’ve got word that Vol. 3 No. 3 – featuring
After the dual spectacle of Wonder and Jay-Z Friday evening, I did a few slow laps around Centeroo, marveling that the last day of Bonnaroo 2010 had arrived – and that most people just didn't know it yet. Easing by each music tent, I circled, impaling my brain on a sort of late night "sensory spit." Dan Deacon's slapdash, noisy barrage of sounds is incredibly jarring in the live setting. The exploratory fascination of his last album, Bromst, was challenging, but not nearly as challenging as watching his band attempt an approximation of the sound live. It's the kind of music that can give you a skin condition after prolonged exposure.
This album will soon be followed by Demons, on which Cowboy Junkies will cover the songs of their late friend Vic Chesnutt, who passed away in December 2009. "His catalogue
Multi-platinum singer-songwriter KT Tunstall will release her third studio album, entitled Tiger Suit, on September 28th, 2010, on Virgin Records. After a highly successful worldwide tour, the eco-minded Tunstall began
Found-sound pioneers the Books will embark on a North American tour this fall and tease audiences early through the summer with select festival dates across the country in support of
