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:: Yellow Submarine ::

:: Over, Under, Sideways, Down ::

:: Sunshine Superman ::

We've covered easy listening heavyweight Enoch Light before, and I am sure we'll cover him again. You remember him, the guy that liked to experiment with stereo separation and record onto 35mm film, with a definite weakness for the Cha Cha and other dances the kids definitely weren't doing.

There are probably no circumstances under which I wouldn't feel that I absolutely had to hear what Mr. Light and easy had done to groovy 60's staples like Donovan's "Sunshine Superman" and the Yardbirds' "Over, Under, Sideways, Down," and the fact that he tackled "Yellow Submarine" makes me quite happy.

It certainly didn't hurt to have the considerable talents of Tony Mottola on these sessions; if this music could be considered to have an "edge" of any kind, his guitar work is it. It's often interesting to hear songs in which vocals play such a huge role turned into instrumentals. Sometimes the horns carry the vocal melody, other times an organ does. In kind of a funny way, these versions sound like they could come from a Beatles movie, in some strange place where adults listen to more palatable renditions of the young peoples music. And no doubt wear monocles and generally dress like the little Monopoly guy.


Tony

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 20, 2008 at 5:29 AM. You can skip to the end and leave a response.