I remember seeing this record somewhere, picking it up, looking at the song titles and shaking my head in disbelief (and then buying it soon after). Frank did a version of Something, the great George Harrison song? But then I remembered hearing that it was his favorite Beatles song, so okay, fine. But why, oh why did he feel compelled to do a version of Bein' Green? (Why wonder?) Now don't get me wrong--I am a fan, I really am. But this song just shows once again how horrible the great ones can be. (There's a Bob Dylan outtake my brother-in-law once played for me called "Straight A's in Love" or something. Just awful). And this is on a greatest hits compilation, no less. I'm a Muppet fan as well, but I never really liked Kermit very much. I'm more of a Gonzo kinda guy. I wanted to include Aretha Franklin's version of My Way because I never knew there was one until recently, and because once you hear it you'll forget all about Frank's version (and Bein' Green too, I hope). It's as though she's saying sorry Frank but this is definitive, no hard feelings. (Of course she would probably never say that). There's a moment towards the end where she sings "the one" and draws it out to such an ecstatic length--three or four syllables--and the note goes sharp with an intensity that gives me chills. (If you listen closely you can also hear some spontaneous hand-clapping, which just adds to the overall transcendence of the moment). It reminds me of Merry Clayton's singing on Gimme Shelter, when her voice breaks on the word "murder".
2 comments:
Awesome. I happen to like Kermit and Kermit's version will always be superior to this (for obvious autobiographical reasons), but still, Frank's irony-free delivery is kind of hilarious. I recommend Willie Nelson's sensational version of "The Rainbow Connection."
man, the drumming on that aretha track is just amazing. It's like he was issued a ration of hi-hat strikes -- say, like, 20 -- for the whole song, where others would normally use around 800. What we call extraordinary restraint. You can feel the sub-pulse implied all the way, but he never has to spell it out. miraculous really.
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