Zevon Song of the Week #20
haro...@yahoo.ca
Category: Cover
Warren's first cover on a studio album (other than Iko-Iko on WDOA)
was A Certain Girl. Ironically, after so many self-penned songs of
broken love and heartache on his first few albums, he chose an
exuberant love song that he not only had fun recording for the BLSIDS
album but also was happy to perform on stage for the balance of his
career whenever he had the backing of a full band.
The song was written by New Orleans R&B icon Allen Toussaint (under the
pseudonym of Naomi Neville, his mother's maiden name), and has also
been covered by Eric Clapton and the Yardbirds (sounding, logically,
very British and very late '60s) and by another New Orleans R&B guy,
Ernie K-Doe. Doe's version is much bluesier and funkier. Amazingly
enough, of the three, I much prefer the Zevon version. The back and
forth with the band ("What's her name?" "I can't reveal her
name until she's mine") -it's pure rock and roll fun. If you
don't like this song the way Warren and his mates perform it, then
you don't like having fun. Sorry. Perhaps you have other admirable
qualities.
A Certain Girl has a fantastic guitar solo in the middle, and the Zevon
crew took full advantage of it both in the studio and on stage. On
BLSIDS, the lead guitar player was, as usual, Waddy, but Don Felder and
Jorge were also around that day. That's a powerful guitar combo, and
the results speak for themselves. The "Ahhhhhhh" counterpoint to
the repeated "I can't tell you"s came courtesy of Jackson Browne
and drummer Rick Marotta.
On stage, my favourite performance is the one Jordan told us that
Warren labeled as "unwatchable", the 1982 Passaic, NJ concert.
Perhaps Warren didn't like seeing himself so young and so raw,
probably amped up on some substance (or three), but I love this concert
and still think it is the only one that should be on DVD 1, track 1. On
A Certain Girl, Warren steps away from the piano and guitar, and just
dances through the entire track. His "I can't tell you"s near the
end remind me of the period's trendy primal scream therapy.
Charismatic lead guitarist John Wood nails the guitar solo. As with the
studio version, it's readily apparent that everyone is having a great
time.
Many years later, Warren featured the song again during his 2001 tour,
which Ellen and I were fortunate enough to attend both in Vegas and
Vancouver. The extroverted Matt Cartsonis played the Waddy/Wood role
and as always was just fine. Two decades after recording it, Warren
still loved the song.
The following year, in Calgary, we stumbled across Warren's path in
the hotel the day after he had performed at the Calgary Folk Festival.
I was in the middle of eating a banana, so I sent Ellen over to
introduce herself and make sure he didn't "get away". Warren used
the Dale Carnegie technique (a very admirable one) of asking the
person's name, and then using it in the conversation, as in,
"Ellen, I'm glad you enjoyed the show last night." To this day,
Ellen is disgusted that she didn't have the presence of mind to
respond, when Warren asked her name, "I can tell you!" She's
certain he would have loved it. So am I.
Categories to date
--------------------------
Addiction and Recovery: 2
Cover: 2
Family: 1
Geopolitical: 1
Law and Order: 1
Love-Gone-Wrong: 3
Mortality: 2
Satire: 2
Social Commentary: 5
Sports: 1
jessk...@lyc0s.c0m
>
> The song was written by New Orleans R&B icon Allen Toussaint (under the
> pseudonym of Naomi Neville, his mother's maiden name),has also
> been covered.... by another New Orleans R&B guy,
> Ernie K-Doe.
Well, K-Doe's version isn't a cover, it's the original. Toussaint, at
the time, was a writer, producer & session musician at Minit Records (as
well as for other N.O. labels and artists) and didn't really record on
his own (save for an instrumental album in the 50's) until the 70's.
Allen also wrote K-Doe's better known, "Mother-in-Law", as well as a ton
of other New Orleans classics (just take a look at any good anthology of
New Orleans music). I don't think Allen himself ever released a studio
version of "A Certain Girl", only a live version from a 1988 Jazz Fest
recording shows up at the All Music guide.
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:oori284r056a
Howard Roseman
<jessk...@LYC0S.C0M> wrote in message
news:J71Ng.431$JV5...@newsfe12.lga...
> haro...@yahoo.ca wrote:
> > A Certain Girl
> >
> > Category: Cover
>
> >
> > The song was written by New Orleans R&B icon Allen Toussaint (under the
> > pseudonym of Naomi Neville, his mother's maiden name),has also
> > been covered.... by another New Orleans R&B guy,
> > Ernie K-Doe.
>
> Well, K-Doe's version isn't a cover, it's the original.
Thanks for the correction.
Jim R
<haro...@yahoo.ca> wrote in message
news:1157915078.0...@p79g2000cwp.googlegroups.com...
> A Certain Girl
>
> Category: Cover
>
> Warren's first cover on a studio album (other than Iko-Iko on WDOA)
> was A Certain Girl. Ironically, after so many self-penned songs of
> broken love and heartache on his first few albums, he chose an
> exuberant love song that he not only had fun recording for the BLSIDS
> album but also was happy to perform on stage for the balance of his
> career whenever he had the backing of a full band.
>
> The song was written by New Orleans R&B icon Allen Toussaint (under the
> pseudonym of Naomi Neville, his mother's maiden name), and has also
> been covered by Eric Clapton and the Yardbirds (sounding, logically,
> very British and very late '60s) and by another New Orleans R&B guy,
> Ernie K-Doe. Doe's version is much bluesier and funkier. Amazingly
> enough, of the three, I much prefer the Zevon version. The back and
> forth with the band ("What's her name?" "I can't reveal her
> name until she's mine") -it's pure rock and roll fun. If you
> don't like this song the way Warren and his mates perform it, then
> you don't like having fun. Sorry. Perhaps you have other admirable
> qualities.
>
I just pulled out the Yardbirds version and gave it a spin and have to say
while the music is pretty good, Zevon's vocal puts 'em to shame. Haven't
heard Ernie's version.
> A Certain Girl has a fantastic guitar solo in the middle, and the Zevon
> crew took full advantage of it both in the studio and on stage. On
> BLSIDS, the lead guitar player was, as usual, Waddy, but Don Felder and
> Jorge were also around that day. That's a powerful guitar combo, and
> the results speak for themselves. The "Ahhhhhhh" counterpoint to
> the repeated "I can't tell you"s came courtesy of Jackson Browne
> and drummer Rick Marotta.
>
Who in the hell is Don Felder?
Who knows she may have even gotten a raised eyebrow look.
Jim
Howard Roseman
I know you're kidding, but he's the principal reason I still play the Hell
Freezes Over DVD. The other reason is the equally gifted Joe Walsh.
>
> Who knows she may have even gotten a raised eyebrow look.
>
> Jim
>
Now THAT would have been something to remember!