One of the best country ballads ever recorded. Sammi Smith's low husky voice and desperate crescendo on the bridge of the song make this an essential recording for a rainy day.
from Help Me Make It Through the Nigh (previously titled ' He's Everywhere ' (Mega Records M31-1000) available on CD - the Very Best of Sammi Smith (Varese Records #5574)
Always one of my favourites from Hair for its cutie-pie quality. I think it encapsulates a certain kind of teenage girl, forward but fickle, scared but full of bravado. And that's very unusual for a song to do; the complexity of pubescent girls is very rarely explored without titillation and / or simplicity.
Sandie, hardly a teen herself at 23, nevertheless gives this a very beautiful interpretation in French. Her accent to me sounds good but what do I know, I can barely manage "la plume de ma tante".
Good accompaniment arranged by her long-time collaborator Ken Woodman.
from Pourvu Que Ca Dure (EMI 7243 5 91576 2 7), available on CD
17 Feb 05 ·Kevinattheabbey: There is now an English version available of Sandie's 'Frank Mills' (previously unreleased).
It's on 'Reviewing The Situation' (EMI 7243 8 66108 2 9)
Also has a great cappella version of Paul McCartneys 'Junk' on it.
One of the more overdone of the Harrison tunes, brought to life by one of most understated jazz singers ever. This one always gets me, and I often prefer it to the original for it's pure poignancy. By this time in Chet's career he's not batting a thousand, but this whole album is pretty entertaining. It has a funky version of "Vehicle" and a fantastic version of "Come Saturday Morning"!
A tiny nugget of sparse beauty. Punk as fuck.
Nothing is wasted here, bass, drums, guitar, backing vocals adding minimal textures to carry Freda's direct, heart rending vocal, which itself is virtually vibrato-free. An astonishing recording when put in context of the overblown rubbish which dominated the charts at that time (most times, come to think of it).
available on CD - Unhooked Generation: The Complete Invictus Recordings - 2001