It’s very unusual for a cover to outstrip an original works. People usually fall in love with an original, then consider the cover or re-work to be a black mark on what they love. It’s even more rare that someone should cover Simon & Garfunkel and, in the eyes of some, improve a song. Eva Cassidy might just have done it.
There are some songs that sound good forever. In 1988 The Waterboys released “Fishermans Blues”, a 13 track album without so much as a murmur from pop gurus everywhere. Overlooked by most the title track made it to number 32 in the UK charts, and when re-released in the early nineties it scrapped to number 75.
The song itself is as big a folk anthem as you will ever find. Loved by many people, and held as The Waterboys finest work. It’s feel good, fast paced, toe tapping guitars, fiddles, and mandolin make for a really great tune.
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Honestly, I believe that. I feel a lot like our generation is caught in a spell of being told by every adult, who witnessed the Beatles first hand, that they are the greatest musical group to ever live. Undoubtedley they have catchy melody, great songs, and 4-part harmony to die for. They also released a lot of material, and stayed together a lot longer than most bands. Without the terrible demise of John Lennon, and the poinyant positioning of Imagine, would we speak of them in such reverence?
Golden Slumbers Melody from the Abbey Road, forms the first part of a climactic medley with the song Carry that Weight. The lyrics themselves, at least for the main choral section are taken from a poem by Thomas Dekker (1570-1632).
Golden slumbers kiss your eyes,
Smiles awake you when you rise.
Sleep, pretty wantons, do not cry,
And I will sing a lullaby;
Rock them, rock them, lullaby.
Care is heavy, therefore sleep you;
You are care, and care must keep you.
Sleep, pretty wantons, do not cry,
And I will sing a lullaby;
Rock them, rock them, lullaby.
Reportedly McCartney found this poem at a young age in sheet music form, but as he was unable to read music at the time, he wrote his own score. Many years later the full score with orchestral backing was released on Abbey Road. A song which really was years in the making.
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Made famous by the Ipod adverts, and for a few months making the world count…. it’s Feist. I loved the song from the moment I heard it, we all know I’m a sucker for an acoustic guitar, and here’s a lovely one. Feist (named from the lead singer Leslie Feist) comes from Canada, and is often mistakenly identified as a band. In fact the records we now consider familiar are in fact solo releases.
Leslie has been involved in music for more than 25 years, playing in bands from the tender age of 15 years old back at high school, and constantly appearing in choirs and artistic productions throughout her childhood. Notably aged 12, Leslie appeared as one of one thousand dancers at the Calgary Olympics… later citing this experience as the inspiration for the wonderful video I feature today.
In 1995, Feist was forced to take time off from music to recover from vocal-cord damage. She moved from Calgary to Toronto in 1996. That year she was asked by Noah Mintz of hHead to play bass in his solo project Noah’s Arkweld. She played the bass guitar in Noah’s Arkweld for a year despite never having played bass before. In 1998, she became the rhythm guitarist for the band By Divine Right and toured with them throughout 1998, 1999, and 2000.
In 1999, Feist moved in with a friend of a friend, Merrill Nisker, who then began to perform as an electro-punk musician Peaches; Feist worked the back of the stage at Peaches’ shows, using a sock puppet and calling herself “Bitch Lap Lap.” The two also toured together in England from 2000-2001, staying with Justine Frischmann of Elastica and M.I.A. Feist appeared as a guest vocalist on The Teaches of Peaches. Feist appears in Peaches’ video for the song Lovertits, suggestively rubbing and licking a bike. Later, Feist covered this song with Gonzales on her album “Open Season.” She met Gonzales while touring with Peaches, and a long-term collaboration formed.
1-2-3-4 shot Feist to a new level in popular chart culture, particularly in the UK where it reached number 8 in the charts. But here’s the bit i really love… On 20 October 2008, she told the Canadian press that, following the success of her last album, The Reminder, she felt she needed to step away from the pressures of the music industry to consider her next career move and
“rest for a minute“
Some people don’t want ten million pounds, to stand on stage in front of 85,000 fans, to snort coke three times a day, or to be snapped by the Pap everywhere they go. They just want to play.
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