The epitome of deep Southern soul. The pain evident in Carr's voice is absolutely unimaginable.
from the single Pouring Water on a Drowning Man (Goldwax) available on CD - The Essential James Carr (Razor & Tie)
04 Apr 03 ·drchilledair: 2001 obits of James Carr appeared in Japanese publications before they did in the U.S. Alas, Carr travelled to Japan in 1979 for a mini-tour and was apparently unable to make it through a single performance due to mental problems. My guess is that he might have been suffering from lifelong undiagonosed autisism. A favorite Carr track of mine is "Gonna Marry My Mother-in-Law," a 1993 Soultrax single wherein he innocently tosses off the rather outrageous proposition that her mother and not his present wife, "has got the kind of love my heart's been longing for." The protagonist then proceeds to offhandedly list in minute detail the wondrous attributes of THIS "two women wrapped up in one." The tension between the reality of such an socially unacceptable action and the insouciant way with which Carr delivers his oratory never fails to crack me up. Extra-categorically, Carr dwells in the pantheon of music greats. Almost like a idiot savant, the enigmatic Carr was totally unexpressive in everyday life situations, but affected a 180 degree change in feeling tone when he opened his mouth to sing.
Comparing the love of a girl to winning a game of bingo...who'd a-thunk it? A really nice uptempo soul tune. I don't have any info on this guy, and as far as I can tell, this is the only thing he ever recorded. The flipside to the seminal ballad "How Can You Baby-Sit a Man?".
An absolutely brilliant fuzzy, snarly, angst-ridden, stomping teen garage cut from this legendary Texas band. Sounds almost like it was recorded in somebody's bathroom. Beautiful stuff.
available on CD - Back from the Grave, Volume 2 (AIP)
This song is an interesting case study into the question of 'why do I like this version of the song more than any other'. I have a half-baked theory that for me, I mostly just like the first version of any great song I hear, regardless of whether or not it is the original or 'best' version. But this track is so different to the Rolling Stones's version that I think it would probably divide people pretty clearly. Produced by Lee Hazlewood/Billy Strange, 'as tears go by' is here recast as a crisp pop bossa nova. They even change the chords slightly (adding a new chord as she sings 'by'). To me, this makes the song vastly superior to the original (or any other I've heard). But I'm not sure anyone has ever agreed with me yet on that one...
30 Apr 01 ·tinks: i had to go back and listen to this album after you mentioned it...and it is an incredible version, i really love that soft bossa sound that it's got going on. the rest of the lp is great, too! 30 Oct 02 ·FlyingDutchman1971: i was lucky enough to find a vg++ copy of this LP at Goodwill several years back and this is definitely the best track on the album!! A great interpretation of the song!! 20 Oct 03 ·n-jeff: I love this version, theres a cello or something under the introduction that adds a lovely melancholy feel. Quite a sophisticated sounding track. well removed from the bludgeoning innuendo I associate (and love) with Nancy and Lee.
I had one of the few run-ins over musical policy with my old promoter over this track, he thought it far too downbeat. 19 Jul 05 ·RCA76: I love this version of this song, infact I didn't know for a long time that this is a Rolling Stone's tune, but again because it's a version that is so original it really is incredible. Quite popular in Latin America (not so much w/ the Stone's version).
I couldn't possibly say that this is the best version of the old MacLen chestnut (there are simply too many of them out there for me to ever hear them all), but it probably qualifies as one of the most original. Hyman's virtuoso keyboard skills were already quite reknowned, but on this album he tackled an entirely different animal...the harpsichord. On this track, he starts out using the harpsichord in a very conventional fashion, performing a baroque solo. About two-thirds of the way into the song, however, comes a drastic slowing of the tempo, the bass & drums come in and it mutates into a jazz trio arrangement! He even plays solos on the 'chord that make it sound like a Hammond organ...absolutely amazing!! Much of this album is rather difficult to listen to, but when it's good, it's sublime.
