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My Death - studio version?

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QRYCHE 3

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Sep 8, 1998, 3:00:00 AM9/8/98
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Is there one? Will it ever see the light of day? Please please let me know...

Aaron Dallas

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Sep 12, 1998, 3:00:00 AM9/12/98
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"My Death" is a cover that has a studio version, but not by Bowie. I really hate to string you along and then drop you, but I have no idea who did the original. Fusking brilliant tune, tho.
Aaron

MLJO

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Sep 12, 1998, 3:00:00 AM9/12/98
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The original song is sung by Jacques Brel but if you hear it you cannot recognize the song.... Bowie's version is much better

Aaron Dallas a écrit:

Andrew Stewart

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Sep 13, 1998, 3:00:00 AM9/13/98
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On Sat, 12 Sep 1998 19:32:38 +0200, MLJO <ML...@hotmail.com> wrote:

>
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>
>The original song is sung by Jacques Brel but if you hear it you cannot
>recognize the song.... Bowie's version is much better

The original Bowie version is done by Mort Shuman, but it's unlikely
Bowie ever heard that version. More likely he first heard Mort's
version when Scott Walker covered it.

(np: Best Of Bowie 74/79)
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Stéphane Rieppi

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Sep 14, 1998, 3:00:00 AM9/14/98
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On Sun, 13 Sep 1998 19:27:12 GMT, and...@hotmail.com (Andrew Stewart)
wrote:

>The original Bowie version is done by Mort Shuman, but it's unlikely
>Bowie ever heard that version. More likely he first heard Mort's
>version when Scott Walker covered it.

I don't believe so.

David is known to be a great fan of Jacques Brel. I guess he first
heard the original french version and then decided to sing Mort's
translation.

With 'Amsterdam', 'My Death' is the second Jacques Brel song that
David covered. I read many times David was a big fan of Jacques Brel.
He even tried to talk to him in the Ziggy years, but Jacques Brel
didin't want to meet him.

Stéphane

*** To reply via e-mail, please remove the second 'majortom' in my
e-mail address.

Rod4rockin

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Sep 14, 1998, 3:00:00 AM9/14/98
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The original version of My Death, I believe, was done on the album (and show at
the Village Gate in 1968) Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris (I
have the original cast recording). It was done by Elly Stone, one of the cast
members and the rest of the crew. Brel and Mort Shuman wrote the song.

dar...@iol.ie

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Sep 14, 1998, 3:00:00 AM9/14/98
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In article <35ff5f4b...@news.skynet.be>,

majortom...@agency.be (Stéphane Rieppi) wrote:
> On Sun, 13 Sep 1998 19:27:12 GMT, and...@hotmail.com (Andrew Stewart)
> wrote:
>
> >The original Bowie version is done by Mort Shuman, but it's unlikely
> >Bowie ever heard that version. More likely he first heard Mort's
> >version when Scott Walker covered it.
>
> I don't believe so.
>
> David is known to be a great fan of Jacques Brel. I guess he first
> heard the original french version and then decided to sing Mort's
> translation.

Bowie was indeed a Brel fan, though I suspect Andrew is right in his
suggestion that Bowie first became aware of Brel (and Mort Shuman's
translations of his songs) through Walker, who was a very early influence on
Bowie. Brel's original of "My Death" is radically different from the
Shuman/Walker/Bowie version, and considerably less powerful IMO.

> With 'Amsterdam', 'My Death' is the second Jacques Brel song that
> David covered.

I think it is significant, though, that the two Brel songs Bowie covered were
both songs that Scott Walker had covered before him.

Slan leat,

Dara (np: DARIO G feat. David Bowie - Sunmachine)

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Andrew Stewart

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Sep 14, 1998, 3:00:00 AM9/14/98
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On Mon, 14 Sep 1998 00:12:57 GMT, majortom...@agency.be (Stéphane
Rieppi) wrote:

>On Sun, 13 Sep 1998 19:27:12 GMT, and...@hotmail.com (Andrew Stewart)
>wrote:
>
>>The original Bowie version is done by Mort Shuman, but it's unlikely
>>Bowie ever heard that version. More likely he first heard Mort's
>>version when Scott Walker covered it.
>
>I don't believe so.
>
>David is known to be a great fan of Jacques Brel. I guess he first
>heard the original french version and then decided to sing Mort's
>translation.
>

>With 'Amsterdam', 'My Death' is the second Jacques Brel song that

>David covered. I read many times David was a big fan of Jacques Brel.
>He even tried to talk to him in the Ziggy years, but Jacques Brel
>didin't want to meet him.

Bowie is a Brel fan now, but I'm pretty sure it was listening to Scott
Walker's Brel covers that got him in to Brel, rather than listening to
Brel directly. Brel was pretty much unknown in 60s London until Scott
Walker covered his songs.

Also, both Brel songs that Bowie covered were ones that Walker covered
before, and Bowie's version is much closer to Walker than to Brel in
each case.

(np: Dario G - Sunmachine)

Philip P. Obbard

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Sep 19, 1998, 3:00:00 AM9/19/98
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Andrew is dead right. Scott Walker covered both "My Death" and "Amsterdam"
on his 1967 solo debut, SCOTT.

Scott Walker (real name: Noel Scott Engel) is also the author of "Nite
Flights", a track he originally recorded in the 1970s for the final Walker
Brother's album. Bowie covered "Nite Flights" for BLACK TIE WHITE NOISE.

Bowie also listed Walker's comeback (of sorts) TILT as his favorite record
of 1995.

--Philip

Andrew Stewart wrote in message <35fd5af2...@news.iol.ie>...

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