Funky16Corners

Category: Cover Songs

Horace Andy – Show and Tell

By Larry, May 20, 2010 4:10 pm

Horace Andy

Listen/Download – Horace Andy – Show and Tell

Greetings all.

The end of the week is here, and I’m feeling mellow (as a cello), so I figured I drop some sweet island soul on you.
This is one of those times, where I wish I had a selection of paragraph-long explanations linked in the sidebar, so instead of belaboring a point made in this space several times in the past, I could instead insert a footnote/hyperlink, which – when followed – could present the boilerplate, i.e. a shorthand of sorts.
That system never being put in place, I will instead try to distill the thought into a single sentence:

I love reggae, collect it when I can, but qualify the statement by saying that I in no way present myself as an expert on the subject.

How’s that?
That said (briefly) I recently grabbed a handful of nice reggae 45s, including a couple of nice soul covers. I was tempted to do another all-Jamaican week, but decided against it, feeling it might be cooler to spread out the individual sides over the course of the coming months, including the reggae as a seasoning of sorts.
Though I’ve danced around the idea a little bit in the past, I would say that although there is a stylistic divergence based largely in the rhythms specific to Jamaica and its denizens recording abroad (especially in the UK), much of the music described as reggae, ska, rock steady and what have you during the 60s and 70s is so closely related to (and often derivative of) R&B, soul and funk that it wouldn’t be much of a stretch to just wrap it all up in the same bag, and then to go ahead and slice it up by sub-genre.
There are clear differences, but the roots are in most cases the same, and though it has largely been a one way street (i.e. passing from the US to Jamaica but rarely in the opposite direction) there has been a lot of sharing of material.
Today’s selection is a great example thereof.
Horace Andy is one of the great Jamaican vocalists of the 70s and beyond, having worked and lived in his home country, the US and the UK, eventually working in dub and even triphop, collaborating with Massive Attack.
The song I bring you today is a fantastic, laid back cover of Al Wilson’s huge 1974 soul (and pop) hit ‘Show and Tell’. I haven’t been able to date this recording conclusively, though it wouldn’t seem to be any later than 1981 (when it saw issue on the Studio One label). I suspect it’s probably from a few years before that.
The tune adapts well to the reggae rhythm, with some tasteful, subdued lead guitar moving in and out of the mix. Andy’s sweet tenor – at times lifting into falsetto – is supported by female backing singers. The arrangement is spare compared to the original by Wilson, but since Andy is a completely different kind of singer, it works well.
It’s very groovy indeed and I hope you dig it.

NOTE: Don’t forget to check out the Funky16Corners Radio Show on Viva internet radio this Friday night at 9PM.

Have a great weekend.

Peace

Larry

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Cover Songs, Funky16Corners, Reggae, Soul, Soul 45 | Funky16Corners, Island Soul, Soul

Ray Charles – Living For the City

Comments (8)

By Larry, May 2, 2010 6:19 pm

The Mighty Ray Charles

Listen/Download – Ray Charles – Living For the City

Greetings all.

I hope the new week finds you all well.
It’s been a hot weekend here in New Jersey, moving from a somewhat brisk spring to a sweltering summer in the course of a few days.
Don’t get me wrong. I dig it, but the transition has been a little bit jarring.
The tune I bring you today was something I grabbed last year during a digging trip to a store that I’d never previously explored.
When I walked in and saw how few 45s they had for sale, while I wasn’t exactly crestfallen, I was a little bit pissed off. There’s nothing like driving two hours with visions of the rare 45 dancing in one’s head, only to be faced with a whole lot of nothing at the end of the line. Fortunately for me, the few 45s they did have were pretty good, and they had a surplus of nice, cheap LPs, so the day was far from a total loss.
That said, my favorite of the handful of 45s I took home that day is today’s selection, Ray Charles’ version of Stevie Wonder’s ‘Living For the City’.
To jot it all down in shorthand: No Ray Charles, NO soul music as we know it.
Though Brother Ray made some soul records in his day, he was far more important as a synthesizer of genres, blending R&B, jazz and gospel to create a discography packed from end to end with pure genius.
Recorded in 1975 (two years after the original) for his ‘Renaissance’ album, ‘Living For the City’ is some of the finest late-period stuff Charles ever did. Working electric piano and clavinet, and tearing up the vocals, Charles has the backing of a tight horn section and some funky guitar.
The best part is about halfway through the record where the band and the backing singers drop back and Ray starts to preach, and for a few moments, you kind of forget the genius of the OG and bask in the glow of Charles’ monumental talent.
There is of course the temptation to compare and contrast the careers of Stevie – who was at the top of his game in the early 70s – and Ray, who’d blazed many a trail, but by and large was no longer steering the ship, having moved to a comfortable first class berth.
That said, Charles’ performance here is remarkable, removing ‘Living For the City’ from its original, somewhat synthesized beginnings and yanking it backward just a little bit.
If for no other reason (and there are many) listen to ‘Living For the City’ as a reminder of what a game changer Ray Charles was as a singer.
I hope you dig it, and I’ll be back on Wednesday with something cool.