The emotional highlight from David Lynch’s 2001 masterpiece “Mulholland Drive,” this is a cover of Roy Orbison’s “Crying” sung entirely in Spanish by Rebekah Del Rio… and it’s devastating within the context of the film. “Blue Velvet” is my favorite Lynch film, but I have to admit that “Mulholland Drive” may actually be his best, a movie that never ceases to astonish me with its depth and meaning.
Here’s one that may come as a shock to most of you. A simple, beautiful, soulful ballad by one of the most popular … and underrated … singer / songwriters of all time. Neil Diamond is a great singer / songwriter undone many times over the years by his bad taste in arrangements and Vegas-y style. If you want to hear the most comically awful cover of all time, check out Diamond’s Vegas-y cover of “I Dreamed a Dream” from “Les Miserables” … a song that should not only never be sung by a man, let alone in studly Sinatra-style fashion, but when you change the devastating last line of the song into something more “positive,” you’ve completely destroyed it.
Yes, I do enjoy Diamond’s bad taste stuff on one level (as do millions of others, ironically and non-ironically, who are devout fans). But Diamond’s album “12 Songs,” that he recorded with legendary producer Rick Rubin in 2005, makes me hate the fact that he ever put a sequined shirt. The arrangements are subtle and dignified.This is a beautiful, heartfelt, moving album of songs that highlights Diamond’s amazing voice, Just as he did with Johnny Cash, the Dixie Chicks, and many others too numerous to mention, Rubin has a knack for distilling what’s great about a performer, cutting out the bulls–t, and allowing people to be their best. Rubin’s collaboration with Diamond is an out-and-out masterpiece.
This film appears to be based on Carole King’s life … but not exactly. Because writer-director Allison Anders did a very smart thing when she came up with “Grace of My Heart.” Instead of going the straight biopic route … and getting raked over the coals for fudging details of what actually happened to keep the story moving, she fictionalized her account. This way, she could create composites of people, tell a compelling story, and keep people focused on her film. And, instead of trying to buy the rights to all of the great songs from the Brill Building era (which would have been cost-prohibitive), she hired the composers of that period (Burt Bachrach, Gerry Goffin, etc) and teamed them up with Elvis Costello and others to write new songs. This was another incredibly smart move, because not only are the new songs terrific in their own right, but having the old songs would have further distracted audiences from the narrative.
Anders script and directing are terrific. There’s loads of great actors in this film (Eric Stoltz, Matt Dillon, Patsy Kensit, Bridget Fonda, John Turturro), but Illeana Douglas towers above them all in the performance of her career as the lead, Edna Buxton. She should have copped an Oscar nomination for this. Unfortunately, even though Martin Scorsese was Executive Producer, the film was released by Gramercy Pictures (the mini-major created by Universal Pictures and Polygram Films), who botched the release of a lot of terrific films of the period (“Dazed and Confused,” “Mallrats,” “Bound,” “Kalifornia”) that are now considered classics. When they had the occasional hit (“Four Weddings and a Funeral,” “Fargo”), it seemed purely accidental. But I digress …
This is the musical highlight of the film, in my opinion. “God Give Me Strength” was written by Burt Bachrach and Elvis Costello and is sung by Kristen Vigard (Douglas is lip-syncing).
If you want to hear a great podcast about this film, check out The Projection Booth’s episode on this film. It’s really terrific.
http://projection-booth.blogspot.com/2012/04/episode-60-grace-of-my-heart.html
Blues from hell, served burned to a crisp.
Legendary skate punk band JFA record the legendary surf instrumental by the Astronauts. There’s a thin line between a skater and a surfer and that line is usually known as a driver’s license. Still, this one of the standout tracks from their “Valley of the Yakes” album.
Seriously, please turn your irony detectors to “stun.” I’m not about to point out every point of strangeness about this cover. Everything you could begin to say about this has already been thought of by yours truly. And I would say you’re absolutely right, but I can’t quite hear you, because this cover is so damn awesome. Recorded during Little Richard’s severely underrated late 1960s-early 1970s Reprise Records period.
One of the best concerts I’ve ever seen was Fishbone back around 1990 or 1991 in Charlottesville, VA. The venue probably had way more people than what was legally allowed and the concert began with the lead singer being carried from the back of the venue to the stage while he sang. Once on stage, the lights were blinding and the music, extremely loud. Everyone was either drunk or stoned and dancing their asses off in every way imaginable. A really fun and energetic experience. I remember the wood walls of the venue sweating. “Boneyard” was the song I remember being really bringing down the house and was so loud, I thought the roof was going to tear off. A great band that doesn’t get the credit they deserve.
Yes, this song is more than a little creepy these days given what we all now know of Ike & Tina’s personal relationship. But sweet lord, is this a great song! If anyone wants to say the best Ike & Tina song is “Proud Mary,” “Nutbush City Limits,” “A Fool in Love,” or “River Deep Mountain High,” I would not give that person any crap. But this, in my opinion, was their greatest track.
Another case of “it’s singer, not the song.” The original version of “Temptation” by New Order is really good, but what’s hard to discern behind the upbeat techno rhythms is a rather despairing song about the helplessness of addiction. I believe Moby sensed this and in his version, slowed the song down considerably, condensed the lyrics, and took the pathos of the song VERY seriously. The subdued nature of the vocals by Laura Dawn only magnifies the horror of the lyrics. Reminds me a lot of Lou Reed’s “Perfect Day.”
Maria McKee was lead singer of an 80s band called Lone Justice that everyone expected to break big and never quite did, despite a couple of minor hits. She had a few hits in Europe, but her greatest success was writing “A Good Heart” for former Undertones lead singer Feargal Sharkey. Sharkey’s version was a #1 smash in England in 1985. McKee would cover the song occasionally in concert, but didn’t record her own version until 2007. It was a very smart move. McKee has always had a great voice, but it’s gotten way better as she’s gotten older. As a result, this song has way more resonance. (If you buy me a beer, I’ll recite the above in a Casey Kasem voice with lots of dramatic pauses).
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