The Silkie Sounds Of Lennon And McCartney

On 9th August 1965, 3 days after releasing You've Got Hide Your Love Away, The Beatles were back in the studio (IBC in London) re-recording it.

The Silkie were a folk group in the 'Peter, Paul And Mary' style, formed at Hull University with a wealth of Beatles connections. They were signed by Brian Epstein after a gig at the Cavern Club and managed by Alastair Taylor. This naturally paved the way for covering The Beatles but their session had the added bonus of being produced by John and featuring Paul on guitar and George on Tambourine. The record went to no.10 in the States.

Listen to the track on Spotify

The Pixies - Even Better Than The Real Thing?

Here's the Pixies taking a perfectly credible stab at one of The Beatles least coverable songs - Wild Honey Pie

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Here's Something You Don't See Every Day

(Thank goodness!)

She's still the best one in her row.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBODY!

(Update - for all those who asked it's from Heartbreakers a 2001 caper-romantic comedy film starring Sigourney Weaver and Jennifer Love Hewitt as a mother-daughter con artist team. Roger Ebert gave it 3 stars and Danny Elfman wrote the theme tune. It also features John Lennon's "Oh My Love").

Merry Christmas From Beatles Songwriting Academy

And so this is... ah skip it... well another year - a few more songs... Merry Christmas Everyone! - hope you had a good year and have an even better year to come. Thanks for the comments and likes, shares and things (especially to everyone on the Forum).

Here's a few Christmas gifts for you all....

Dang I must find out how to make that link work - here it is

And here's more info about Lennon's borrowing on this and other songs

And finally here's a free download of my holiday tune One More Hour With You (A Christmas Song)  more info here

Even Better Than The Real Thing? - Miley Cyrus & Flaming Lips

Here's a remarkably epic rendering of Lennon's psychedelic classic

Flaming Lips have rerecorded Sgt Pepper in it's entirety on With A Little Help From My Fwends which will be released in November 2014. Singer Wayne Coyne talked about the project here.

More Flaming Beatles covers below

Link love to Dr Rock (www.twitter.com/@TheBeatlesMusic)

RIP Robin Williams

Robin dueted with Bobby McFerrin for George Martin's album In My Life

 

Mae West: You Can't Do That!

The version of Day Tripper by Mae West on Way Out West is actually not that bad...until her backing band Somebody's Chyldren let loose in the solo.

Sounds like somebody needs a time out.

You can get this track on Golden Throats 4: Celebrities Butcher the Beatles where you can also hear Joe Pesci sing Got To Get You Into My Life. (Click here for the NSFW Goodfellas video).

Nina Simone: You Can't Do That!

Join the electrifying Nina Simone as she (ahem) 'improves' a Beatles classic. Do you think she listened to the original more than once?

Danny McEvoy: Even Better Than The Real Thing?

This is the sweetest cover of an uncoverable song I've ever heard!

Blackbird With A Black Bird

Of course it's a Corvus brachyrhynchos rather than a Turdus merula but don't let that spoil it for you

 

Thanks to Jeffrey Burton on the BSA forum for the heads up

Jeff Beck: Even Better Than The Real Thing?

Here's the insanely talented Jeff Beck covering A Day In The Life - live. To say he makes the guitar sing is a ridiculous understatement...

Thanks to Jeffrey Burton on the BSA forum for the heads up

Under The Influence: Jim Carrey

The Beatles r the greatest antidepressant every created. Right now, I'm listening to Rubber Soul and bathing in serotonin. They r love! {8^• 

 Jim Carrey - Twitter

 

“Hey, look, the Monkees. They were a huge influence on the Beatles.” 

Lloyd Christmas (Jim Carrey): Dumb and Dumber (1994)

Who's Got The Best B-Side?

I just heard from BSA friend David Das that he's going to be taking part in a live online broadcast of Beatle Album B-Side Covers hosted by songwriting ninja Mike Viola. Should be well worth checking out. David got the second side of Magical Mystery Tour in the luck of the draw.

 

Here's the full line up 

 

Here Comes The SWAT

Happy New Year Everyone.

Things are really busy as I prepare to release my EP Let's Build An Airport. I'm working my way through Martha My Dear for Beatles Songwriting Academy but it's proving to be the most complex contrapuntal Beatles song so far.

 Meanwhile here's something to cheer you up. This obviously wasn't shot in the UK. Walking into a job centre with a bassoon would probably trigger an armed response unit here!

Oh and by the way. If you type "Beatles Songwriting" into google this blog is the top site. (For today at least!) Thanks for all your support!

 

Remembering Michael Hedges

Today is the anniversary of the death of Michael Hedges, a ground breaking guitarist and incredible composer, all round musician and a Beatles fan. I was going to try to post a few videos, but just about everyone has "embedding disabled by request".

Here's Michael performing

You've Got To Hide Your Love Away with a little help (hinderance?) from the audience
While My Guitar Gently Weeps in a weird hat, just before he died
Come Together from '87 with pigtails, singing McCartney's bassline
Mother's Nature Son with mandolin and violin
Come Together with and without shoes and Pierre Bensusan adding jazzy soloing
a medley of Michael's own tune Gospel and Tomorrow Never Knows from 1985
A Tomorrow Never Knows jam session with Montreux members Darol Anger, Mike Marshall and Todd Philips - Bass
and rocking out on his own composition
Ragamuffin

Girl In A Coma - Even Better Than The Real Thing?

San Antonio trio Girl In A Coma with a very assured cover of Harrison's White Album standout track. What do you think?

Halestorm - Even Better Than The Real Thing?

In my post on I Want You (She's So Heavy) I said

I think Jimmy Page, would have done a better job as a producer/arranger on this song than the Beatles did. As you said, once the Beatles have stated their themes they just repeat - he would have built and added more parts...


Halestorm do just that as well as adding some absolutely larynx shredding vocals from Elizabeth "Lzzy" Hale

Beatles Coverville 8

Every thanksgiving Brian Ibbott's show Coverville is given over to a special double length Beatles episode. The latest episode has some great tracks. I loved Girl In A Coma's jangle pop cover of While My Guitar Gently Weeps and Halestorm's brutal take on I Want You (She’s So Heavy) so much that I'm going to feature them in future posts. Also worth a listen is Yer Blues in the capable hands of The Jeff Healey Band.

The Vegetarians cover Magical Mystery Tour and manage to shoehorn in quotes from most of the other MMT songs, Greensky Bluegrass turn Got To Get You Into My Life into a country waltz and Dick Hyman manages to turn an annoying song into... well, you be the judge!

Download the show here

Trudy Pitts & Pat Martino - Not A Second Time

Here's the first in an occasional series of Beatles covers that you wouldn't want to hear more than once! Trudy Pitts & Pat Martino playing a track which sounds like THEY haven't heard it more than once - Eleanor Rigby Enjoy!

 

Bettye LaVette - Even Better Than The Real Thing?

I've not been able to do much Beatles related stuff this week as I've been scoring string parts for my upcoming mini album. Sorry! But I'm hoping to have a post on Brian Wilson vs The Beatles next week and then continue with I've Got A Feeling. In the meantime here's the first of two videos. Soul artist Bettye LaVette preaching The Word. Though this is a bit of a poor recording, in my mind she's improved on an average hippy enlightenment track. What do you think?