RICOLA!
by Sean
Please note: MP3s are only kept online for a short time, and if this entry is from more than a couple of weeks ago, the music probably won't be available to download any more.


 

Image by Julien Pacaud

Earl-Jean - "I'm Into Somethin' Good". Earl-Jean's voice, so much higher than Herman's Hermits', makes this (earlier) version of "I'm Into Somethin' Good" sound as if it were recorded at a mountaintop studio - somewhere everyone is oxygen-deprived. The singing's lightheaded, a little tipsy; the saxophone sounds as if it's being blown through a straw. But even if it's missing some of the Hermits' kineticism, or if it thrills a little less, it's got a sharp silver sparkle in all this thin air. Earl-Jean's singing a different phase of infatuation, an earlier instant of head-over-heels. You know the one: where your thinking's lightheaded, a little tipsy; and every breath feels as if it's being pulled through a straw. [buy]

Charlotte Gainsbourg - "Me and Jane Doe". Like all the best things on Charlotte Gainsbourg's IRM, this is a plain song, artfully recorded (with help from Beck). The drums (as always on IRM) are wonderful. The drums turn it from a pleasant soft-rock ditty to a pleasant soft-rock ditty with something else. It's matte and real and dusty and concreted. I can't put my finger on it. It's the difference between a film set and a city street, a look in her eye and a look in her eye. One is fake and one is real. [buy]

---

To my great amusement and enjoyment, the Torture Garden have posted their favourite 51 songs of the year 2008. With breathtaking and elegant original artwork. Shane also recently posted the Luyas' new Radiohead cover, which I considered sharing but, er, didn't. Go see.

(image above by Julien Pacaud)

Posted by Sean at January 11, 2010 12:29 AM
Comments

I'm in love with that Earl-Jean song. Thanks!

Posted by Dylan at January 11, 2010 1:03 AM

Thanks Sean. A link from you means a lot, given how much I enjoy StG's lists. Cheers.

Posted by shane at January 11, 2010 10:07 AM

Thank you for taking the time to write up a couple of reviews for the rest of us who don't have enough time to give these tunes a listen! I always enjoy a good song though so I'll have to check out "Me and Jane Doe." I think I'll pass on the Earl-Jean remake!

Posted by Christian Online School at January 11, 2010 6:39 PM

I'm in love with this version of "I'm Into Somethin' Good"

Posted by Felicia at January 14, 2010 6:48 PM

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This is a daily sampler of really good songs. All tracks are posted out of love. Please go out and buy the records.

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about the authors
Sean Michaels is the founder of Said the Gramophone. He is a writer, critic and author of the theremin novel Us Conductors. Follow him on Twitter or reach him by email here. Click here to browse his posts.

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Dan Beirne wrote regularly for Said the Gramophone from August 2004 to December 2014. He is an actor and writer living in Toronto. Any claim he makes about his life on here is probably untrue. Click here to browse his posts. Email him here.

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