Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) by Darlene Love

On 1st December my friend Laura Boyd posed a question on Twitter; what is the best Christmas song ever? Laura's choice was Christmas Wrapping by The Waitresses, a song I also really love. 

My own personal favourite, and also one that I would argue is the best, is Darlene Love's Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) from the seminal Phil Spector's A Christmas Gift To You album.

In my tweet to Laura I said; My favourite is Darlene Love with Christmas (Baby Please Come Home). Such an incredible vocal performance, the musicianship is stunning, the lyrics have real visualisation and the whole song has a soulful and uplifting feeling to it. Perfect.

I didn't mention the gut wrenching emotion that pours from it, but then you only have so many characters in a tweet, so I thought I would write a blog.

A huge opening chord that is repeated four times over the sound of sleigh bells ushers us gently into Christmas (Baby Please Come Home), then at 15 seconds pounding drums build to kick the song into full throttle. The backing vocals sound glorious singing Christmaaaassss and then Darlene Love's incredible voice soars heavenly.

Spector captures a truly sensational performance. I've just listened to the song 6-times in a row on headphones and I could easily listen another 6-times. This was recorded in 1963 and it still blows me away, the power and urgency that leaps out ensures the song still sounds fresh and vital. It will be played forever.

(Christmas) snow's coming down

(Christmas) I'm watching it fall

(Christmas) Lots of people around

(Christmas) Baby please come home

Darlene Love's vocal performance must rank highly in all-time top vocals; it's spine tingling, hair raising, heart-aching, gut wrenching soul.

The lyrics are pure poetry; the classic Christmas picture is being painted in front of Darlene Love's eyes and she can describe it, but she keeps returning to her plea for her baby to come home; the church bells in town, all ringing in song, full of happy sounds, baby please come home. 

There is a brief let up in Spector's Wall of Sound and the backing vocals to allow Love's voice centre stage as she sings they're singing deck the halls, but it's not like Christmas at all, I remember when you were here, and all the fun we had last year with the drums rolling on the final line and bringing the Wall of Sound and backing singers back in to gel with Love and propel her onwards.

(Christmas) pretty lights on the tree

(Christmas) I'm watching them shine

(Christmas) You should be here with me

(Christmas) Baby please come home

After an instrumental things break down again for a repeat of the third verse with Love's voice on and all the fun we had last year being pushed to its limit. She finds more!

The last verse is simply sensational, off the charts. Things just build and build and build to an incredible climax. We learn that is is actually Christmas day and as soon as that line is sung we enter a  mind blowing 30-seconds of Love just going for it and repeating please, please, please before losing herself in the line baby please come home.

(Christmas) oh if there was a way

(Christmas) I'd hold back this tears

(Christmas) oh but it's Christmas day

(Please) Please (Please) Please (Please) Please (Please) Please (Please) Please

Baby please come home, baby please come home, baby please come home, baby please come home

Oh yeah, yeah, yeah

What a song! What a performance! Somewhere in the vaults there are the original recordings and you wonder how long the song went on as it fades out on the record.

Listening to the song on headphones repeatedly has made me appreciate it all the more. Turn it up, sing-a-long and just get lost in the last 30-seconds as Darlene Love loses it over a beautiful piano as the musicians create a classic Spector Wall of Sound - glorious.

SPOTIFY - Darlene Love - Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)

YOUTUBE - Darlene Love - Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)

From Olive Us To Olive You

The lovely Lloyd who runs Olive Grove Records has brought his label family together to celebrate Christmas and to raise awareness and funds for a cause close to his own family's heart.

All of the profits that are made from the album are going to be donated to CDH UK, a charity who support and advise families who are affected by Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia (CDH). My son Luke was born with CDH three years ago this month, so it means a lot to me to be able to give something back to families who might not have been as lucky as ours.

You can find out more at http://www.cdhuk.org.uk/

The Olive Grove Records family have done Lloyd proud with an eclectic and beautiful album. 

Pocket Knife really caught my ear and demanded an immediate repeat listen with a song called Half The Presents which addresses Jesus being such a capricorn and assesses some of the traits that make him such. 

There is an early Belles bassline that keeps a loose indie groove throughout the song, spoken word starsign patter and a great melody and humour throughout. This is rather brilliant and rather promising for what Pocket Knife will deliver in 2018. Can't wait to see them live.

My own sister has 3-songs on the album including 2 duets with Eugene Kelly (Vaselines/Eugenius/). Carla's natural sense of melody and flow pours out on to Christmas Eve Alone and talks of her love working late while she wants an open fire, to be toasting marshmallows and watching Christmas movies. In turn Eugene promises he'll be home for Christmas Eve to the sound of Christmas bells ringing. The song breaks into a real flow and the voices combine beautifully.

Carla's song Spending Every Christmas Day With My Boy (about her old cat!) was on her Homemade Lemonade album and it has another heartfelt melodic flow to it.

The trilogy is complete with another cracker (xmas pun!) It's Starting To Snow (Please Be Mine). You would never guess that she counts Phil Spector's A Christmas Gift For You as a favourite! :-)

You are my winter sunshine

You are my Christmas time

Campfires In Winter simply call their song Christmas Song and call to burn the tree, have fun and get out of hand. The performance mataches the lyrics - great fun, great sound.

Randolph's Leap drop in with a fragile beauty that contains some great lyrics, sung with tender care over a sparse acoustic guitar that rises with the introduction of some considerate beats, organ, percussion and keys.

There were moments when Santa Claus

Wasn't sure who he was

He's got a sleigh to ride

But baby it's warm outside

As the climates change

That doesn't seem so strange

Henry and Fleetwood come up with the goods, The State Broadcasters have that tender gorgeousness that Lloyd seems to spot in artists and  Woodenbox come up with a wonderfully warm soaring song that captures all of their strengths. Then we have Jo Mango with a beautifully slow and melodic song and The Son(s) with some glorious guitars.

There really isn't a bad track on the album. The initial pressing has already run out but head to Monorail or Love Music in Glasgow for physical copies. You can download from Olive Grove's band camp page or stream on Spotify.

I Wish I Never Saw The Sunshine

Cover version of the month #15

I Wish I Never Saw The Sunshine by Beth Orion

For I Wish I Never Saw The Sunshine, as with many songs featured in my monthly Cover of the Month blog, I heard the cover version before I heard the original. In 1996 Beth Orton released Trailer Park, a stunning album, recorded with seminal producer William Orbit. The album earned Orton the tag of 'Comedown Queen' due to its popularity at post club parties in the small hours of the morning.

Orton's wistful voice and the organic nature of acoustic guitars and strings mixed superbly with electronica to create something special. The standard of the songwriting was exceptional; She Cries Your Name, Sugar Boy and Someone's Daughter being particular favourites of mine.

I Wish I Never Saw The Sunshine was the penultimate song on the album and it absolutely melted my heart. I quickly discovered that this song was written by Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich and Phil Spector and originally released by The Ronettes. Orton actually released her version on a limited edition 7-inch before it appeared on the album.

Upon hearing the original, this swiftly became my favourite song by The Ronettes. I think the lyrics, performance and production are spellbinding. I had the good fortune to see Ronnie Spector at The Arches a number of years ago and I Wish I Never Saw The Sunshine was my personal highlight from a very memorable night.

The Ronettes version starts with a heart tugging vocal over gorgeous strings and horns.

Baby do you know what you did today

Baby do you know what you took away

You took the blue out of the sky

My whole life changed when you said goodbye

And I keep crying, crying

Spector's Wall of Sound kicks in for the bridge to the chorus, the drums really go for it.

Oh baby

Oh baby

I wish I never saw the sunshine

I wish I never saw the sunshine

Cause if I never saw the sunshine

Then maybe, I wouldn't mind the rain

The simplicity of the lyrics is incredible; look how many mentions there are of baby and the repetition in the first two lines and the chorus. Yet look at how much we learn in the first verse and the poetry involved in the line 'you took the blue out of the sky' and in the chorus.

The Orton version begins with a fragile riff being picked out on acoustic guitar and Orton's voice is beautifully fragile and soulful. When she sings 'I keep crying' you can almost feel the tears.

The chorus doesn't have the dramatic Wall of Sound that The Ronettes version has, yet it is powerful in a different way. The delicate guitar riffs sound exquisite, yet everything is secondary to Orton's voice.

The second verse is heartbreaking with the lyrcs emphasising the pain and isolation being felt post break up. Ronnie Spector's voice soars at the end of the second line and into the chorus with crashing drums and everything taking off.

Every day is just like the day before

All alone a million miles from shore

All of my dreams, I dreamed with you

Now they will die and never come true

Orton's version is even more heartbreaking for me. Listening back to them both I get the feeling that Ronnie is going to be OK, her heart is broken but she'll get over it. With Beth Orton I get the feeling that she may never recover. Her heart hasn't just been broken but smashed to pieces.

After a second chorus there is a slight reflection before going straight into another chorus and then an extra bit at the end with the line Oh this pain, I wouldn't mind the rain, there wouldn't be this pain for extra effect.

And I know there wouldn't be

This cloud that's over me

Everywhere I go

Oh baby

Oh baby

I wish I never saw the sunshine

I wish I never saw the sunshine

And if I never saw the sunshine baby

Then maybe, I wouldn't mind the rain

Oh this pain

I wouldn't mind the rain

There wouldn't be this pain

I wouldn't mind the rain

I wouldn't mind the rain

Beth Orton has released a new album Kidsticks and plays St Luke's in Glasgow on 2nd October.

Previous covers of the month

1. You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin' 

2. Going Back To My Roots

3. Nirvana play The Vaselines

4. Slip Inside This House

5. Top 10 covers by Teenage Fanclub

6. Only Love Can Break Your Heart

7. Time For Livin' 

8. Sound and Vision 

9. All Along The Watchtower

10. I Am The Walrus 

11. Guiding Star

12. You’ll Never Walk Alone

13. Hurt
14. This Guy's In Love With You

Mogwai at Glasgow Barrowland

If Phil Spector created the wall of sound,

Mogwai have created a f**king forcefield.

Last nights Glasgow Barrowland Ballroom show to celebrate 20-years of music was sonically sensational, fierce, beautiful, brutal, jaw dropping, ear shattering and spine tinglingly amazing.

My friend and I were genuinely blown away by the majestic power and beauty created on the legendary Barrowland stage. Almost literally at one point during Mogwai Fear Satan in the encore as the band let things drop before absolutely exploding back into life.

I can only liken it to the bit in Back To The Future when Marty McFly plugs his guitar in and turns everything up, plays a chord and is blown across the room. It was utterly amazing.

As you can imagine; there was a lot of love in the room last night for a local band playing the second of two sold out nights to celebrate 20-years since their first release.

The band gave plenty back though; a 3 strong support bill (with The Vaselines on incredible rip roaring form) and a collection for the local foodbank said a lot about Mogwai's values as a band. They look after their friends, promote their influences and firmly believe in a more equal society with Braithwaite dedicating a song to everyone who had taken part in the anti austerity march in Glasgow the previous day.

The band eased us gently into a 2-hour trip with a light show that matched the music and mood superbly. The band coaxed gorgeous little sounds from their guitars at one moment before unleashing ferocious riffs at others, underpinned by bass grooves, the most amazing sounding drums and keys/synths at times.

Braithwaite was always quick to thank the crowd for coming, highlighting that he knew many had travelled extensively to be there.

New Paths to Helicon was stunning, Remurdered from Rave Tapes was incredible and the aforementioned Mogwai Fear Satan was mind blowing but in truth this was all one remarkable show.

Musically and visually, this was a night to remember.


Setlist; 21st June 2015

1. Yes I Am A Long Way From Home
2. Travel Is Dangerous
3. Friend of the Night
4. Christmas Steps
5. You Don't Know Jesus
6. New Paths to Helicon Pt 1
7. Rano Pano
8. Tracy
9. Remurdered
10. George Square Thatcher Death Party
11. Mexican Grand Prix
12. My Father, My King

ENCORE

1. 2 Rights Make 1 Wrong
2. Mogwai Fear Satan
3. Glasgow Mega-Snake

You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'

COVER VERSION OF THE MONTH #1

You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin' by Gladys Knight and the Pips

Phil Spector, Barry Man and Cynthia Weil are the genius songwriters behind the incredible song You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin', a song that has been a hit across the world for a number of artists.

The original was recorded in 1964 and released by The Righteous Brothers back in 1965 with Spector working his wall of sound magic on production and Bill Medley's spine tingling lead vocals caused hearts to melt.

The original ran to almost 4-minutes in length - far from the norm back in 1964 when 3-minutes or less was the rule of thumb. Spector refused to cut it though and had fake labels made with the track length showing as 3:05 rather than 3:45.

The song allegedly had more TV and radio plays in the 20th Century in the USA than any other song. Top Gun in the 1980's may well have been the first time I heard it.

Elvis, The Beach Boys, Cilla Black and Roberta Flack are among the many to have covered this true classic - you really can't go wrong with this song - unless you absolutely murder it.

I decided to blog about this song ahead of Motown legend Gladys Knight and the Pips playing in Glasgow later this month. I doubt they will play it but I really do hope so. It may well be my favourite cover version of all time.

Why is it my favourite?

Well for starters Gladys Knight and the Pips just rip it up and fly through it - the funky bass intro, that classic Motown beat, Gladys sounding sensational, the Pips backing vocals are sublime and just listen to that bridge into the chorus.

You're trying hard not to show it

But baby, oh baby I know it

The chorus the soars before Gladys leads into the second verse, the strings are glorious and Gladys is in absolutely sensational form over that 4/4 beat.

the album Gladys and the Pips recorded this cover for

Bill Medley takes his time in the The Righteous Brothers version, meanwhile Gladys has the words pouring out of her in true Motown style.

I  wanna say it one more time

We had a love, a love, a love, a love you don't find every day

Bill Medley sounds sad and mournful, Gladys Knight sounds angry, upset and ready to fight for her love as she almost screams at the end;

Bring back that loving' feelin'

You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin' is a sensational song and this is a stunning performance of it - just so full of soulful emotion.

This may well result in a new feature - Cover Version of the Month.

For the time being - this is my favourite cover. Click on the link below to enjoy.