I’m not putting this up as some sort of message. Nothing but the music:
Comments
Cry me… — 13 Comments
Ooo…there are many lovely versions of this torcher!
Ella is great, as usual, but gets too fancy for my taste. I think about the performance more than the aching heart. I’ll take Julie London’s simple soulful rendition.
I’ve been listening to a lot of Ella lately. She is phenomenal! She’s one of my favorites, maybe #1. Beautiful voice and amazing talent.
huxley,
Diana Krall is great. An immense talent, but I’m getting kind-of burned out on her. She’s singing and recording everything. Which makes sense, she is a singer after all, but I’m just kind of tired of every other female jazz/American songbook vocalist I hear on the jazz stations being Diana Krall. Nothing against her personally.
Rufus T. Firefly:
I don’t listen to jazz stations, but I can well imagine she’s perfect for that market and therefore overplayed. I only listen to her when I’m in the mood. Her version of “Peel Me a Grape” kills me!
Mom was a nightclub singer in Detroit.
She used to play this stuff when I was a kid, so I got a great education.
And she sang pretty well herself.
She played a lot of Ella.
And now for something somewhat different…
The first version of “Cry Me a River” I heard was when I was a stoned-out hippie listening to Joe Cocker’s live “Mad Dogs & Englishmen.”
Leon Russell (the guy in the big green top hat) was the genius who put together a sort of big band, rock’n’roll orchestra to back Cocker and the group turns “Cry Me a River” into a joyous R&B romp.
I don’t believe the big band, rock group was ever done better. Actually I can’t think of any other attempts, aside from one-off prog experiments with symphonies, which weren’t in the same ball park at all.
It was fun to watch that Cocker clip several times and see things I hadn’t noticed before.
First, Cocker’s falsetto and plaintive facial expressions as he sang the repeated verse of the dumped lover:
You drove me, nearly drove me out of my head, never shed a tear
Remember, I remember all that you said
Told me love was too plebeian
You were through with me
Sounds like there was a class angle to the relationship.
Then there was Leon Russell’s unquestioned leadership of the band. When he stopped them with crisp hand movements, they stopped. When he counted off, they started up. I’ll bet the green top hat wasn’t just hippie showmanship, but to keep him prominent onstage. He was the conductor.
Lastly it was a pleasure to watch the band working hard and enjoying themselves. See the smiles and joy from 3:50 on.
” Edward+R+Bonderenka on November 23, 2020 at 9:19 pm said:
Mom was a nightclub singer in Detroit. …”
Where? The obvious guess is Baker’s. But many of the upscale Detroit restaurants had floor shows back in the day.
One last bit on “Mad Dogs & Englishmen”…
MD&E came about because Joe Cocker, dead tired from touring and desperate for rest, discovered he had a contractual obligation to tour again immediately or forever forsake the American market.
So he contacted Leon Russell, who in those days knew everyone in the biz, and Leon rustled up a gang of studio musicians he had been working with to do the tour.
Get this — they had only two weeks to rehearse but, being pros, they got ‘er done then went on the road to give one of the most exciting tours and concert movies ever.
You should know that Leon Russell was a member of the fabled Wrecking Crew — the stable of unknown, but ultra-talented LA studio musicians who put the snap and crackle into half the pop hits that came out of Los Angeles in the sixties.
There’s a documentary on the Wrecking Crew, well worth watching if you’re at all curious about the magic of sixties pop.
Ooo…there are many lovely versions of this torcher!
Ella is great, as usual, but gets too fancy for my taste. I think about the performance more than the aching heart. I’ll take Julie London’s simple soulful rendition.
–Julie London, “Cry Me a River”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXg6UB9Qk0o
And the story just breathes.
Spirited Away, The Train.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jc9xux0eoKw
Avalon, Corn Beef and Cabbage.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YLb_Iqw4qk
huxley:
I like London, too. Here’s a post where she’s singing “My Funny Valentine.”
What a crush I had on London!
neo:
There were some classy singers back in that day. We’ve got some real belters now, however, not so much the class.
But here’s one, who has technique to die for, plays jazz piano, and can just smolder:
–Diana Krall, “Cry Me a River”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cizgXSegrko
She’s been married to Elvis Costello since 2003.
I’ve been listening to a lot of Ella lately. She is phenomenal! She’s one of my favorites, maybe #1. Beautiful voice and amazing talent.
huxley,
Diana Krall is great. An immense talent, but I’m getting kind-of burned out on her. She’s singing and recording everything. Which makes sense, she is a singer after all, but I’m just kind of tired of every other female jazz/American songbook vocalist I hear on the jazz stations being Diana Krall. Nothing against her personally.
Rufus T. Firefly:
I don’t listen to jazz stations, but I can well imagine she’s perfect for that market and therefore overplayed. I only listen to her when I’m in the mood. Her version of “Peel Me a Grape” kills me!
–Diana Krall, “Peel Me a Grape”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfJ_c2tyfQ0
Mom was a nightclub singer in Detroit.
She used to play this stuff when I was a kid, so I got a great education.
And she sang pretty well herself.
She played a lot of Ella.
And now for something somewhat different…
The first version of “Cry Me a River” I heard was when I was a stoned-out hippie listening to Joe Cocker’s live “Mad Dogs & Englishmen.”
–Mad Dogs & Englishmen, “Cry Me A River”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHA2afBxmbs
Leon Russell (the guy in the big green top hat) was the genius who put together a sort of big band, rock’n’roll orchestra to back Cocker and the group turns “Cry Me a River” into a joyous R&B romp.
I don’t believe the big band, rock group was ever done better. Actually I can’t think of any other attempts, aside from one-off prog experiments with symphonies, which weren’t in the same ball park at all.
It was fun to watch that Cocker clip several times and see things I hadn’t noticed before.
First, Cocker’s falsetto and plaintive facial expressions as he sang the repeated verse of the dumped lover:
You drove me, nearly drove me out of my head, never shed a tear
Remember, I remember all that you said
Told me love was too plebeian
You were through with me
Sounds like there was a class angle to the relationship.
Then there was Leon Russell’s unquestioned leadership of the band. When he stopped them with crisp hand movements, they stopped. When he counted off, they started up. I’ll bet the green top hat wasn’t just hippie showmanship, but to keep him prominent onstage. He was the conductor.
Lastly it was a pleasure to watch the band working hard and enjoying themselves. See the smiles and joy from 3:50 on.
Where? The obvious guess is Baker’s. But many of the upscale Detroit restaurants had floor shows back in the day.
One last bit on “Mad Dogs & Englishmen”…
MD&E came about because Joe Cocker, dead tired from touring and desperate for rest, discovered he had a contractual obligation to tour again immediately or forever forsake the American market.
So he contacted Leon Russell, who in those days knew everyone in the biz, and Leon rustled up a gang of studio musicians he had been working with to do the tour.
Get this — they had only two weeks to rehearse but, being pros, they got ‘er done then went on the road to give one of the most exciting tours and concert movies ever.
You should know that Leon Russell was a member of the fabled Wrecking Crew — the stable of unknown, but ultra-talented LA studio musicians who put the snap and crackle into half the pop hits that came out of Los Angeles in the sixties.
There’s a documentary on the Wrecking Crew, well worth watching if you’re at all curious about the magic of sixties pop.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wrecking_Crew_(2008_film)