Christmas Music Part 2 - Merry Christmas Baby

This is part 2 of will likely be a running series of posts of Christmas music.  This time, I’ll talk about Otis Redding’s version of “ Merry Christmas Baby”.

The original version of the song is Johnny Moore’s Three Trailblazer’s (featuring Charles Brown on Vox and Keys) “Merry Christmas Baby” is fairly typical of West Coast Rhythm and Blues:



On the Westside, they tended to be more laid back, almost languid when compared to the Eastside. In some ways that holds true today. Compare Snoop Dogg to Eminem or Ice Cube to Chuck D. 

Charles Brown actually recorded a jazzier solo version of this song:



Most covers tend to be as bluesy as the Johnny Moore original. Here is Elvis’ version:



The bluesiest that Booker T & The MG’s might have ever gotten was with their cover of this song.



One of the interesting things about the original is that there’s this tension between the slow blues music combined with pretty happy lyrics. With Otis’ version, it’s as if he realized that this is a happy song, so why are we sounding so depressed? Again, Otis completely transforms the song to suit him.



Again, this song represents one big reason that Otis Redding is my favourite singer. He was a master at reinventing songs.

RIP Lloyd Brevett

In addition to Adam Yauch, the music world also lost Lloyd Brevett.  Lloyd Brevett was the original bassist for the Jamaican band The Skatalites.

The Beastie Boys - An Appreciation

On Friday March 4, Adam Nathanial Yauch succumbed to cancer at the age of 48.  Adam Yauch, also known as MCA, was one of the founding members of The Beastie Boys.

The Funky Barrister's Valentine's Day Playlist

In the spirit of Valentine ’s Day here are some of my favourite romantic songs:

Christmas Music Part 1 - White Christmas

This blog started as a result of two guest posts on my friend Nicole Simone AKA Miss Late July’s site.  The first post was about Otis Redding and a discussion of his Christmas songs “White Christmas” and “Merry Christmas Baby”.  You can find it here: http://miss.latejuly.ca/2010/12/saturday-morning-soul-holiday-edition.html

Sarah Tracey - Tell No One Review

Sarah Tracey’s new album Tell No One is a jazz album.  However, it’s so much more than that. Sarah Tracey has moved away from the typical Jazz Lounge sound and Tell No One represents a significant growth in her abilities.

Preview - Sarah Tracey - Tell No One

Sarah Tracey is a jazz singer in New York.  Her first full length album Tell No One, comes out today.  Using a theme of a secret spy agent, Tell No One lyrically explores the hidden side to us, while musically trying on different styles. This isn`t your typical Jazz lounge album. It`s better.

Song Review - "Otis" by Kanye West & Jay-Z Ft. Otis Redding

My regular readers know by now that Otis Redding is my favourite singer of all time. They also know that Otis’ version of “Try A Little Tenderness” is my favourite song of his.  I blogged about it here: http://funkybarrister.blogspot.com/2011/01/try-little-tenderness.html

So last week Kanye West and Jay-Z released the first track from their upcoming collaborative album Watch the Throne. It’s called “Otis” and it features a sample of “Try A Little Tenderness”.

Amy Winehouse RIP

While the recent terrorist attack in Olso is a far more important issue, this is a music blog. The big news in music is the recent passing of Amy Winehouse.

Late July - Hospital Quiet

As I mentioned in my last post, Nicole Simone who fronts Late July is a good friend of mine. Therefore, this post will likely be biased.

Late July - Side Swept

The next two blog posts are probably going to be a little biased. (Whom am I kidding? They’re probably going to be very biased.)  A very good friend of mine, Nicole Simone, fronts Late July.  Ironically, the fact that she’s a good friend made it hard to write this review. 

Song Review - Someone Like You by Adele

In addition to writing about albums or specific artists I thought that I would try something new.  I decided that I would write about specific songs.

Review - Adele From 19 to 21

Adele Adkins is a 22 year old singer from the UK. She has released two albums: 19 and 21 which both feature songs written when she was those respective ages.  Her music features lyrics that are wise beyond her years and some of the most soulful vocals in pop music today.

Oversouling?

Shortly after the Super Bowl, screenwriter and journalist John Eskow wrote a piece for the Huffington Post in which he talked about Christina Aguilera’s use of “Oversouling” during her performance of the Star Spangled Banner. Eskow’s article can be found here: 

Live Review - Ms. Lauryn Hill

A couple of weeks ago my two sisters and I went to see Ms. Lauryn Hill at Sound Academy.

Apparently I'm Cool?

My friend Nicole interviewed me for her blog.  Here’s the link:

Burn The Radio!

I have to say up front that this blog post is biased.  The lead singer of Burn The Radio, Paolo Rizzo, is a good friend of mine.

At Last

Etta James was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease about a year ago. Recently in a court dispute between her sons and her current husband, it was revealed that she now has leukemia.

Here is some of her most famous work:

Elvis v. Beatles

In my last post, I talked briefly about a deleted scene from Pulp Fiction that claimed you are either an Elvis Fan or a Beatles Fan. You can’t be both. I acknowledged that I am an Elvis fan.

A friend of mine read that post and commented on FaceBook that she’s a Beatles fan, so what does that mean?

Happy Birthday Elvis

If he was still alive Elvis would be 76 today (Living Colour said it best: Elvis is Dead).