JUNIOR PARKER + PETER HERBOLZHEIMER: FABBED OUT posted by O.W.

Junior Parker: Taxman
From Love Ain't Nothin' But A Business Goin' On (Groove Merchant, 1971)

Peter Herbolzheimer Rhythm Combination & Brass: A Day In the Life
From Touchdown (Polydor GER, 1977)

I felt out of it today. Slightly blue. I don't know what's going on - it's just been a weird (though actually quite ordinary day). Oh my f----ing god, I'm turning into one of those people who blog about their life but aren't actually saying anything of import. Stop me.

Random stuff, just for the hell of it:

1) Photoethnography.com. What my site is to old records, her site is to vintage cameras. So dense and thorough, it's scary. I am now desirous of one of these.
2) My friend Hua's blog. He's starting to post more MP3s, including that ridiculously hot Juelz Santana song I mention in my Six Picks -->. Plus, he told me he's been getting a lot of hits off of Catchdubs site and I want to see if I can out-refer. (It's nothing personal Nick, your site rocks).
3) I want these shoes. But they're sold out in my size. Alas.
4) Gourmet hot chocolate is my new s---.
5) Isaac Hayes is an amazing musical force but his religious beliefs are suspect.

So yeah, Beatles covers. To be honest, I could do a whole month on just Beatles covers and as much as I adore the Fab Four's output, I think that might be a bit much. That said, one of my favorite all-Beatles covers albums is Ramsey Lewis' homage to the White Album, Mother Nature's Son. (And yeah, I know about George Benson's The Other Side of Abbey Road but I never liked it that much).

Junior Parker straight up owns his version of "Taxman." No disrespect to George Harrison but Parker's funky blues take on the song cannot be f---ed with. That's all there is to say.

The Peter Herbolzheimer version of "A Day In the Life" is a strange cover of a strange enough song to begin with. I begins innocuously enough with Don Adams on vocals doing a super-slowed down, ballad-y version. Then the RC&B creep in a bit...it's still pretty mellow, nothing to write home about. Then they hit the second bridge and the song goes bat-sh-- on some funked-up fusion tip only to slow back down after a few minutes. I can't say I love the overall effect but it is, uh, different. (Just to make it clear, I like RC&B stuff - I own three of their best albums and there is some scorching material on there).