Sunday, September 13, 2009
Mama Told Me Not to Come
Such a fantastic song! Bridges rock, funk, and soul styles in a racy double-entendre fit for youngsters of every generation. The Three Dog Night version is definitely the best of this Randy Newman-penned song.
Artist: Three Dog Night
Year: 1970
Rating: Hot!
Newman originally wrote the song for Eric Burdon. Here's his twangy British Invasion and Motown-inspired take.
Artist: Eric Burdon & the Animals
Year: 1966
Rating: Luke Hot
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I really enjoy the Wolfgang Press version, too. It's funny how 4AD has that funk (albeit dark, chilly funk) side to them. Did you know that "Pump Up the Volume" by M/A/R/R/S is actually a 4AD project? That never ceases to surprise me.
ReplyDeleteYeah, the Wolfgang Press version is really cute. Here's the song set to a montage from Party Girl - love me some Parker Posey:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OataTlgD1Cc
Toward the end, they manipulate the lyrics to say, "Mama told me, son, that is no way to come" which of course totally subverts the meaning of the song.
I was also trying to find another late-80s/early 90s version that I'd heard back then, but couldn't figure it out. I consulted my friend Greg, who'd put the song on a mixed tape for me. He says it was Was (Not Was) but I can't find audio for it. I'm not convinced it was them, though - I think it may have been The Wolfgang Press version after all.
And, yeah, it's totally surprising that Pump Up the Volume was a 4AD release. Seems somewhat incongruous with their moody/indie catalog, though there have been so many disparate acts on the label - This Mortal Coil, Pixies, Stereolab, the Mountain Goats, TV on the Radio...anything's possible. I dig it.
ReplyDeleteI guess it was not released on 4AD proper but was the brainchild of former 4AD mastermind Ivo Watts-Russell.
ReplyDeleteAnother good example of 4AD dark, chilly funk is This Mortal Coil's cover of Talking Heads' "Drugs" on Filigree and Shadow. This to me has some subtle layers of irony--where the quintessential austere indie British studio party is covering a bunch of neurotic postpunk design school dropouts, but making it sound like Jodi Watley on a mean day.
Wow, I feel pretty silly for not being a hyperlinker in my comments. Will do going forward!
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