...and from 1978 and London's Hammersmith Odeon, here's power pop gods The Rubinoos and their fuzz-toned (not completely reverent) live version of the same song proving...
...I'm still not sure what, actually, except I really like both of these.
Hey -- sometimes a cigar is just a stogie.
11 comments:
The Rubinoos were big enough to play the Odeon??
No contest, the Rubinoos' version, hands down.
Pickett is trying way too hard to prove he can turn a sow's ear into a silk purse, while the Rubinoos are gleefully saying, "Hey, we LIKE sow's ears!"
I actually disagree. The Pickett version seems rather effortless in that regard, at least to my ears.
We disagree about music?
Ah, good, everything is back to normal.
;-)
Maybe the Rubinos where in the April fools day spirit. The monologue was painful...
were not were
I think the Rubinoos are the "wicked" ones here, with their gleeful hippie-baiting. The Pickett version comes just this close to making me like this song, which, in just about every other version, exceeds even my formidable sucrose tolerance.
Here's how hard it is to like this song: Even the Monkees turned it down. Maybe that's why it had to be done by cartoon characters (www.songfacts.com)
Still, I like the Rubinoos version. I think their far-ranging musical free association makes a point: When you truly love pop, your heart is open to what your rational critical brain disdains. Plus, what great vocals.
The way Pickett sings "You got me wanting you," the lyrics kinda zoom from G to NC-17.
AP
Rubinoos: god that guy is an idiot, I never even got to the song.
The Pickett version shows that a massive infusion of soul can't fundamentally change the nature of the song. I liked the part of the Rubinoos version where they were simply performing, but the lousy intro and gratuitous sing-along made it overall a one-time listen.
I am, like, so honored! I saw the Rubinoos do this dozens of times here in the Bay Area around this time - it was a truly audacious bit of programming from a time when this sort of thing just wasn't done. BTW, I interviewed the band for my college paper before a performance at the Bodega in Campbell a few months after this recording - they were great!
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