(I got the idea for this series while sifting through the ‘piles’ of digital photos on my laptop. It occurred to me to share some of these great pics from some of my favourite concert sets from time to time. Until I get around to the next one, I invite you to peruse my ever-growing list of concerts page.)
54-40 unplugged at CityFolk 2018
Artist: 54-40 (unplugged) When: September 14th, 2018 Where: City Stage, CityFolk Festival, Ottawa Context: If you’re Canadian and came of age in the 80s or 90s, the chances are excellent that you’ve heard of 54-40. I, myself, have never considered myself a huge fan but always enjoyed their music when I heard it on the radio, which was considerably often, given Canadian Content rules. I remember hearing them from my back deck, shortly after moving to Ottawa in 2001, when they were playing an outdoor show downtown and I realized that I knew a great deal of their songs. So when they were added to this year’s CityFolk, I flagged their set as one to see and well, it was a great time. It was an “unplugged” show, which meant they rearranged and performed their tunes with acoustic guitars, banjos, mandolins, and fiddles rather than electric guitars, and of course, their hits made up three quarters of the set. Thus, it was a rollicking singalong. Point of reference song: “Baby ran”
Neil Osborne of 54-40Daniel Lapp performing with 54-40Brad Merritt of 54-40Dave Genn of 54-40Daniel Lapp sporting a CityFolk 25 shirtMatt Johnson of 54-40Dave Genn on the mandolinNeil Osborne on the banjo (performing ‘Baby ran’)
I was probably in 9th grade (around the time this album was released) when I first heard tell of The Cure. A friend of mine on the street, who I had played with growing up and those days, simply “hung out” with, told me one day that he was going to see them in concert, that very night, and he had gotten the band’s name shaved into the back of his head for the occasion. His older sister was bringing him and, now that I look back, it was probably a pre-requisite for her parents allowing her to go all the way to Toronto to see them with her friends. He rhymed off names of songs, none of which rung a bell. I didn’t have an older sister (or older brother for that matter) to introduce me to their music. Nope. I was, in fact, that older sibling that probably influenced the tastes of my younger brethren when I got into music in a big way a few years later.
I didn’t actually hear The Cure (in a conscious way) until a few years later when another of my neighbour friends played them for me and then, recorded sections, if not copies in full, of this album, “Staring at the sea”, and “Disintegration” on cassette for me. In this way, his favourite songs influenced my own, his tastes tending toward the more maudlin of their music, but later, when I caught and recorded a “spotlight” on them on MuchMusic, I started to find my own way in The Cure’s world.
“Kiss me kiss me kiss me” is the band’s seventh album and as double LPs go, it’s big, it’s got a lot of songs, and it’s quite eclectic. In my mind, it bridges the gap between the dark, “gothic” rock of “Faith” and “Pornography” and the pop sensibilities of “The head on the door”. It’s been widely publicized how hard those darker albums were on frontman Robert Smith and how much he hated the “goth” label. It’s no wonder he wanted to write lighter pop songs in the mid-80s and did so successfully. The songs on “Kiss me kiss me kiss me” are a good mix of the dark and plodding and the light and bouncy and the rest lie somewhere in between. It resulted in The Cure achieving their highest charting album to date and made them a name in North America.
My three picks for you from this album all fall under the “single” category but one of them is one that you wouldn’t think obvious as a single. Have a look and a listen and let me know if there are others on this great album that you prefer.
”Why can’t I be you?”: This wasn’t one of the ones off the album that would’ve been highlighted to me by my friend John. In fact, I think the first I might have heard of it was the extended remix of it on “Mixed up”, which I purchased on a whim when I was younger. I think it was the last record I ever bought before I started collecting again, five or so years ago. Sadly (but not too sadly because it was quite warped), I have no idea where it is now (have no fear, I picked up the reissue a couple months ago) but I remember not being super impressed with the remix of “Why can’t I be you?” at the time. Over the years, though, it has grown on me, a bouncy and upbeat number that features a barrage of synthesized horns and Robert Smith growling and skitting and trilling and scatting, really making a lot of vocal sounds not typically made in a pop song.
”Catch”: This tune, on the other hand, was one of my friend John’s favourites. He included it on a mixed tape he once made for me and I didn’t understand it at all at the time. It just seemed absurd and weird but then at some point, I made it past all Robert Smith’s “do do do”s and listened to his lyrics. “And I remember she used to fall down a lot. That girl was always falling, again and again, and I used to sometimes try to catch her. But never even caught her name.” Apparently inspired by a line in one of the Rocky movies where the title character is whispering to a comatose Adrian, the words are actually quite lovely. And in this context, the mellow shuffling beat that is given a lazy feel with synthesized strings and the flanged guitar that comes seemingly out of nowhere at the chorus, all seem just right.
”Just like heaven”: This track, the third single released off the album found itself on the top of the list when did my Top five tunes post, showcasing my favourite songs by The Cure, early last year. Yeah. So it’s my favourite tune by this band and one of the big reasons this album became a favourite of mine. I’m not going to go on here and repeat words that you can find in that other post, except to say this: “‘Show me, show me, show me, how you do that trick. The one that makes me scream,’ she said. ‘The one that makes me laugh,’ she said. And threw her arms around my neck.” Those words make me want to get up and dance with wild abandon. Every time.
Check back next Thursday for album #4. In the meantime, here are the previous albums in this list:
In 1983, noted post-punk, gothic rock band, Siouxsie and the Banshees released a cover of The Beatles’ “Dear Prudence” that featured The Cure frontman, Robert Smith on guitar. It was a massive success for the band, giving them their biggest hit single to date and garnering them plenty of kudos for the rendition. This one cover, in turn, inspired the group to record a whole album of covers, much like David Bowie did with “Pin ups” in the early 70s. They finally got around to launching this project four years later. The resulting album was “Through the looking glass”, its title a nod to the work of Lewis Carroll, and it included covers of a bunch of songs recorded before their inception, by bands (like Roxy Music, John Cale, and The Doors) who had inspired the Banshees and their music.
As you could’ve easily guessed by now, my favourite of the bunch was their version of Iggy Pop’s “The passenger”. The original recording of the song appeared on Pop’s second studio album, “Lust for life”, included contributions by David Bowie on backing vocals, and was co-written by lead guitarist Ricky Gardiner, who came up with that iconic and instantly recognizable, rollicking guitar riff. Iggy Pop’s original is dark and foreboding because of its austere sounding production and the deep and chilling vocals, whereas Siouxsie Sioux and her Banshees’ version is gothic because her and who she is.
Siouxsie’s version is also more symphonic, including a horn flourish that has a melody not heard in the original. It is a bit peppier, seemingly sped up some but that is probably just an illusion of sound. Siouxsie as always is dramatic and glamorous, her flamboyant vocals changing the tone and mood. And like many of the other songs on this covers album, the original artist, in this case Iggy, has praised and Siouxsie and the Banshees for their version, with Pop pointing out her vocal work as bringing something new to the song that he only wish he’d thought of.
For my part, “The passenger” is another case where I enjoy the original and cover with equal fervour, despite them being quite different. Indeed, I have no issue singing “la, la, la, la, la, la, la” loudly along with either one. Enjoy.
The cover:
The original:
For the rest of the 100 best covers list, click here.
My (life in) music lists 