The Beatles were paid tributes times and times by some of the biggest stars in the world. As a group and as individual artists. Of these,
John Lennon have the bulk of the tributes but ironically
Paul McCartney was always overlooked and till today except for a locally produced tribute album, I have yet to see a
bona file tribute album for the criminally long overdue great
Paul McCartney. Even
George Harrison have one tribute album and a whole concert to his name. Still, here are my humble collection of these tribute albums.
MOTOWN MEETS THE BEATLES : I got this at a discount from
Singapore and boy, was it a bargain. I don't really enjoy
Beatles tribute albums. It usually served as a novelty and displace for my showcase but I did enjoyed this.
The Supreme started off splendidly with
'A Hard Day's Night' followed by
'Come Together', which I'm sad to say is rather lame. '
You Can't Do That' did much better.
Diana Ross as a solo artists covered
'The Long And Winding Road', which she did so beautifully and '
Imagine.' "Imagine' was in my opinion
John Lennon's most powerful song and nobody could ever made a decent cover out of it, though many tried and failed miserably.
Diana Ross gave it just the right touch to make it one of the better interpretation. Don't really like
The Four Tops' version of'
'Eleanor Rigby' and '
The Fool On The Hill but their
'Michelle' is much better.
Steve Wonder's version of
'We Can Work It Out' was already a hit and deservedly so.
The Temptations gave an interesting version of
'Hey Jude' with treble and bass vocals in all. Still couldn't beat the original though. Who could...?
Marvin Gaye gave a slow jazzy almost unrecognisable reading of '
Yesterday'. Didn't work for me. Boring.
'She's Leaving Home' flared slightly better under the soulful vocal of
Syreeta, one time wife of
Stevie Wonder.
Smokey Robinson & The Miracles gave a highly falsetto vocal on the much loved
"And I Love Her.' 'Something' by
Martha Reeves & The Vandellas stayed rather close to the original. I am rather biased when it comes to
'Let It Be' but
Gladys Knight & The Pips did a commendable job with it.
Jr. Walker did a jazzy instrumental of
'My Love' one of my favourite
Paul McCartney's songs.
Edwin Starr did a rather nice but not great cover of
George Harrison's 'My Sweet Lord' without the trademark backing.
DOP : 15th March 2008.
WORKING CLASS HERO : A TRIBUTE TO JOHN LENNON : I got this again at the discount bin. Matter of fact I will buy any
Beatles or
Beatles related products from the bargain bin.
Red Hot Chili Peppers's version of
'I Found Out' is a great improvement on the original which was recorded with minimal musicians
and which was not really a favourite of mine but this one I like.
'I Don't Wanna Be A Soldier' was one of my least liked
Lennon's composition but I can sit this one out by
Mad Season. It shorter length helped of course. Yet another not so favourite track done much better by
Candlebox's version of
'Steel And Glass.' which is fairly interesting. From the song 'Imagine' onward I know that this artists are really doing this for the love of
John Lennon. As mentioned before, '
Imagine' is one song you don't touch but surprisingly
Blues Traveler did quite a good version of it. Another good cover of
"Working Class Hero' by
Screaming Trees. A powerhouse performance of
'Power To The People' by
The Minus 5. Sung with malice and sneer,
The Magnificent Bastards would do
John Lennon proud with his venom filled '
How Do You Sleep' but I much prefer the original on this. Where John's version of '
Nobody Told Me' was fun filled, this version by
Flaming Lips lacked that so it's the original for me. Done almost the same as the original except for the harder guitar sound, this version of
'Well, Well, Well' by
Super 8. I don't play this
Cd that often but this version of
'Cold Turkey' by
Cheap Trick was one the song I profoundly remembered and enjoyed. Started quietly acoustically., it got heavier on the chorus and kick ass too. One of John's most heartbreaking ballad was given a heartfelt reading by
Collective Soul, trading the original's piano for an acoustic backing. I like this.
Sponge's 'Isolation' is the first track that I really don't like here. John's being murdered again here.
'Instant Karma' by
Toad The Wet Sprocket seems rather tame as compared to the original,.
Mary Chaplin Carpenter's version of '
Grow Old Along With Me' was the second songs that I remembered from here. An utterly beautiful version of this beautiful song that had John being given more time would certainly rendered it to classic status.
Mary Chaplin Carpenter 's outstanding vocal just about did that. Had this version been available during my wedding, I will certainly want it played.
George Clinton's version of
'Mind Games' is relative softer than the original but paled in comparison to
John Lennon's original which was also one of his great piece..
DOP : 29th April 2003
MOJO PRESENTS HARRISON COVERED : This is not a commercially released
Cd. It was given free with the
Mojo music magazine. I didn't buy the magazine 'cos I don't want to be saddle with a magazine that I don't really like I managed to find this
Cd at a fleas market for a miserable $5.00. Truth be told, I have not heard of most of the artists here prior to my purchasing this
Cd, except for
Graham Nash who was more a guest star and
Joe Brown whom I first encountered on
Concert For George singing the song that he sang on that concert.
Show Of Hands sure isn't a good choice to start off the album with a inferior remake of
'If I Needed Someone.' The Webb Sisters did better with
'I Need You.' which they sang so convincingly. George second No.1,
'Give Me Love' was given a gentle acoustic take by
Ron Sexsmith which is not too bad.
'Here Comes The Sun' somehow doesn't sound right without the great acoustic intro.
Richie Havens should change his profession for murdering this most beautiful of
George Harrison's song. The title of
George Harrison's career defining greatest
Cd, 'The Ballad Of Sir Frankie Crisp [ Let It Roll ] was given a nice interpretation by
Alessi's Ark. I've always loved this track
'Long, Long, Long' from the
White Album but it was recorded way to soft.
Lanterns On The Lake didn't quite turn up the volume but they didn't do too badly either.
Jonathan Wilson featuring Graham Nash choose just the right song to cover. '
Isn't It A Pity' wasn't really one of my favorite song but here it fitted them to a T. Probably the first cover of this
John Lennon's tribute by
Emmy The Great. Note by note the same as the original. A slow down version of this classic by
Hurray For The Riff Raff does not really do
'My Sweet Lord' justice at all and mingling
The Cliffords's 'He's So Fine' as part of the background is not funny either knowing the history. Finally, a song that I can relate to.
Peter Bruntnell's 'Think For Yourself' is faithful to the original but I still like this version better. Another faithful remake of
'So Sad' by
Iain Matthews that I actually enjoyed.
Joe Brown's version of this great song '
That's The Way It Goes' on the
Concert For George was what got me to rediscovered this gem in my collection.
Trevor Moss & Hannah Loo did a good acoustic cover of '
Your Love Is Forever', a song that I wasn't too aware of.
' Behind That Locked Door' is a song that just can't go wrong and thankful
The Felice Brothers' version though not really great, didn't quite kill it.
Yim Yames's 'Love You To' is painfully slow and equally painful to the ear.
DOP : 13th January 2013.
DENNY LAINE SINGS WINGS & MOODY BLUES :
Denny Laine is of course the side man of
Paul McCartney who after
Paul & Linda McCartney, was with
Wings from the beginning right through the demise of the group. Group members come and go but
Denny Laine was there all the while. During his tenure as a member of
Wings, he was given a chance to sing on some of their various albums and some of them were quite good. As a lead player, he somehow lack the charisma and vocal chop of
Paul McCartney as this collection will clearly show. I figured Denny made three major mistakes here. Firstly he shouldn't have covered
Paul McCartney's big massive hits that were so associated with him that you just can't out
McCartney the man himself. As such,
'Mull Of Kintyre', ' Silly Love Songs', 'Listen To What The Man Said' and
'Band On The Run' should never have been attempted. As it is, these sounds almost like an embarrassment. He should have tried those lesser known album tracks which are as good if not better than some of his singles. He flared better on his own numbers that he first performed as
Wings. Songs like
'Time To Hide', 'Children, Children', and '
Deliver Your Children.' There were three
Moody Blues' songs here. Of which one was
'Go Now' which was given the big musical treatment and the only track that sounded complete. As this song was performed on the
"Wings Over America" Cd, it have been rendered a
Wings' song nevertheless. The other two,
'Can't Nobody Loves You' and
'Say You Don't Mind', though pleasant enough should not have been included here, hence making this a straight
Paul McCartney tribute album instead of a novelty album only for the curious. Denny didn't do too badly on '
Picasso's Last Words' and the sole
Beatles' song here '
Blackbird' but he totally butchered his own song with'
Again And Again And Again' which was one of my favourite tracks on the
"Back To The Egg" album. Denny should have included the actual recording of these songs and not rerecorded them acoustically. A album to listen to only once every few years. Nevertheless, I would not part with this Cd.
DOP : 11th January 2004.
MOJO PRESENTS HARRISON COVERED : This is not a commercially released Cd. It was given free with the Mojo music magazine. I didn't buy the magazine 'cos I don't want to be saddle with a magazine that I don't really like I managed to find this Cd at a fleas market for a miserable $5.00. Truth be told, I have not heard of most of the artists here prior to my purchasing this Cd, except for Graham Nash who was more a guest star and Joe Brown whom I first encountered on Concert For George singing the song that he sang on that concert. Show Of Hands sure isn't a good choice to start off the album with a inferior remake of 'If I Needed Someone.' The Webb Sisters did better with 'I Need You.' which they sang so convincingly. George second No.1, 'Give Me Love' was given a gentle acoustic take by Ron Sexsmith which is not too bad. 'Here Comes The Sun' somehow doesn't sound right without the great acoustic intro. Richie Havens should change his profession for murdering this most beautiful of George Harrison's song. The title of George Harrison's career defining greatest Cd, 'The Ballad Of Sir Frankie Crisp [ Let It Roll ] was given a nice interpretation by Alessi's Ark. I've always loved this track 'Long, Long, Long' from the White Album but it was recorded way to soft. Lanterns On The Lake didn't quite turn up the volume but they didn't do too badly either. Jonathan Wilson featuring Graham Nash choose just the right song to cover. 'Isn't It A Pity' wasn't really one of my favorite song but here it fitted them to a T. Probably the first cover of this John Lennon's tribute by Emmy The Great. Note by note the same as the original. A slow down version of this classic by Hurray For The Riff Raff does not really do 'My Sweet Lord' justice at all and mingling The Cliffords's 'He's So Fine' as part of the background is not funny either knowing the history. Finally, a song that I can relate to. Peter Bruntnell's 'Think For Yourself' is faithful to the original but I still like this version better. Another faithful remake of 'So Sad' by Iain Matthews that I actually enjoyed. Joe Brown's version of this great song 'That's The Way It Goes' on the Concert For George was what got me to rediscovered this gem in my collection. Trevor Moss & Hannah Loo did a good acoustic cover of 'Your Love Is Forever', a song that I wasn't too aware of. ' Behind That Locked Door' is a song that just can't go wrong and thankful The Felice Brothers' version though not really great, didn't quite kill it. Yim Yames's 'Love You To' is painfully slow and equally painful to the ear. DOP : 13th January 2013.
DENNY LAINE SINGS WINGS & MOODY BLUES : Denny Laine is of course the side man of Paul McCartney who after Paul & Linda McCartney, was with Wings from the beginning right through the demise of the group. Group members come and go but Denny Laine was there all the while. During his tenure as a member of Wings, he was given a chance to sing on some of their various albums and some of them were quite good. As a lead player, he somehow lack the charisma and vocal chop of Paul McCartney as this collection will clearly show. I figured Denny made three major mistakes here. Firstly he shouldn't have covered Paul McCartney's big massive hits that were so associated with him that you just can't out McCartney the man himself. As such, 'Mull Of Kintyre', ' Silly Love Songs', 'Listen To What The Man Said' and 'Band On The Run' should never have been attempted. As it is, these sounds almost like an embarrassment. He should have tried those lesser known album tracks which are as good if not better than some of his singles. He flared better on his own numbers that he first performed as Wings. Songs like 'Time To Hide', 'Children, Children', and 'Deliver Your Children.' There were three Moody Blues' songs here. Of which one was 'Go Now' which was given the big musical treatment and the only track that sounded complete. As this song was performed on the "Wings Over America" Cd, it have been rendered a Wings' song nevertheless. The other two, 'Can't Nobody Loves You' and 'Say You Don't Mind', though pleasant enough should not have been included here, hence making this a straight Paul McCartney tribute album instead of a novelty album only for the curious. Denny didn't do too badly on 'Picasso's Last Words' and the sole Beatles' song here 'Blackbird' but he totally butchered his own song with' Again And Again And Again' which was one of my favourite tracks on the "Back To The Egg" album. Denny should have included the actual recording of these songs and not rerecorded them acoustically. A album to listen to only once every few years. Nevertheless, I would not part with this Cd. DOP : 11th January 2004.
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