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If you like this track, check out all my other tracks at https://soundcloud.com/mobbing_it_up and https://soundcloud.com/clana_boys
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In My Old Age -  Songfacts

Writer: Mike O’Neill 	Original Performance: Rothko

And so, at last, and to round off the collection of work recorded by The MOB and uploaded to Soundcloud for the delectation of listeners, here’s a composition of mine and recorded by the band Rothko & Mark Pritchett. Paul Greengrass, the band’s manager back in 1974 (and now a well known film director) suggested in or around 2015 that the band and he should all get together. That reunion led to several recording studio sessions where we put down new versions of songs from c1974 along with several new compositions by Mark.  I ended up contributing this own-penned song: it was recorded in 2018 at Monochrome Studios in England and engineered and produced by Tom Gittins, who also guested on lead guitar. The track is one of 11 tracks featured on the band’s new album ‘Whistle A Happy Tune’, released to commemorate 50 years since Mark was in the studio with David Bowie and The Arnold Corns recording the original versions of ‘Moonage Daydrem’ and ‘Hang On To Yourself’ (both tracks are featured on the new album).

They say you should write about what you know about. So, for an occasional writer like me, this song is a simple piece, with a simple sentiment. It is a long time since we strutted the boards doing ‘live’ shows in a rock band, but that doesn’t mean the heart has aged….

The solo acoustic guitar on the first verse is an Aria Parlor guitar, made of sapele wood. The sound has an almost banjo like quality which, for me, conjured up the air of reminiscence I wanted to get across. 

The original song title is actually just ‘My Old Age’ , but got corrupted along the way to publication – ‘twas ever thus!

I've enabled downloading for this song (it's mine, for once!) so you should be able to save an MP3 file for use outside Soundcloud if you want to.

Not a lot else to say about this one. Regarding the album itself Mark (a close friend and collaborator and neighbour of David Bowie’s in the period when he rose to stardom) has this to say:

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“I am delighted to confirm that the latest album by ‘Rothko and Mark Pritchett’, entitled ‘Whistle a Happy Tune’ will be available for download or streaming, via all major platforms*, from 𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝟳𝘁𝗵 𝗠𝗮𝘆.

Alternatively, you should be able to pre-order the album for a discounted download (featuring three ‘Instant Gratification Tracks’ - their words, not mine!) from 𝗧𝗢𝗗𝗔𝗬, April 23rd, via the links below:
i-Tunes: http://itunes.apple.com/album/id1560474578?ls=1&app=itunes                                    
Apple Music: http://itunes.apple.com/album/id/1560474578

The 11-track album is self-penned, save for our takes on 3 David Bowie songs that celebrate the exact 50th anniversary of the first release of ‘Moonage Daydream’/’Hang Onto Yourself’ by Arnold Corns, of whom, sadly, I am the last man standing (RIP Pete de Somogyi, Tim Broadbent, Freddie Buretti and, of course, David).

Rothko is the band I formed in late 1971, after the demise of Arnold Corns, with Mike O’Neill (lead vocals), Paul Jennings (bass) and Andrew ‘Ernie’ Wileman (drums). Somehow, we are still together!“
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Footnote: This may be the last Soundcloud release for The MOB. However, I’ve formed a new band - The Clana Boys – and they have started to put songs out at 

https://soundcloud.com/clana_boys

Nip over and have a listen if you get a moment.

Mike x

Whistle A Happy Tune

In My Old Age (M O'Neill)(Rothko)

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If you like this track, check out all my other tracks at https://soundcloud.com/mobbing_it_up and https://soundcloud.com/clana_boys
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An overplayed blues number from my youth. Thought it would be interesting to see if I could play slide and rhythm guitar on a £6 kids pink guitar that was practically unplayable. Think it came out well. I play blues harp and bass guitar also. MO 13-Nov-2019

Reimaginings

Dust My Broom (Elmore James)(on a cheap pink acoustic guitar)(The M.O.B.)

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If you like this track, check out all my other tracks at https://soundcloud.com/mobbing_it_up and https://soundcloud.com/clana_boys
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Back in 1968 Canned Heat released their classic single ‘On The Road Again’ and it sowed the first seeds of hippiedom in me. So, many years later and after having mis-spent a portion of my youth in a rock and roll band, I wanted to pay tribute to this simple but great song and to maybe bring something new to it. As I’d just acquired a Hybrid 3 synthesiser for my recording studio I thought it could be put to good use on this song. And how! I’ve had lots of people (some well known and respected musicians) say this version of the song holds its own really well against the original. And unlike the original, it’s a hi-fi recording 😉 Hope you enjoy it, and please follow me to get notifications on upcoming uploads and also share this song with others who might like this old classic.

On The Road Again (Canned Heat)(The M.O.B.)

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If you like this track, check out all my other tracks at https://soundcloud.com/mobbing_it_up and https://soundcloud.com/clana_boys
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I guess this week's might as well be covering something topical so.... 

Back c1973 I used to see David Bowie at The Three Tuns in Beckenham, was introduced to him a couple of times and then joined the band Rothko, led by Bowie's collaborator Mark Carr-Pritchard, with the intent (until Ziggy's rise became meteoric and eclipsed us) of supporting David Bowie on a US tour. This song was one I also loved, and every time I think of recent events in the UK I can't help but think of an image that suits the song.....so I recorded my take on it and put together a very basic video collage (I'm no film editor and have no good tools for that!). If this link works (I'm new at all this!) Its on Youtube at:

https://youtu.be/Guia5uKygBU

It should be publicly viewable from zero hour on 5th December 2019.

Enjoy?

The Man Who Sold The World (David Bowie)(The M.O.B.)

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If you like this track, check out all my other tracks at https://soundcloud.com/mobbing_it_up and https://soundcloud.com/clana_boys
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Uptight (Everything’s Alright)
writers: Stevie Wonder, Sylvia Moy, Henry Cosby           
performed: Steve Wonder (1965, Tamla Motown)

Happy 2020 all and here’s a musical left turn from MOB to start the year.

Like a lot of kids of my generation, I listened to and loved the soul music of the Sixties – I was probably more of an Atlantic and Stax man but I loved Tamla Motown also. I also liked ska and reggae. My partner is a soul fan (an original Northern Soul girl) so I try and think of songs I might do for her, though I’m not really a soul singer, but I found myself singing Stevie Wonder’s  ‘Uptight’ the other day. I used to love Little Stevie Wonder and that song especially. And then I thought hmmm – rather than do the original arrangement, maybe do it as dub reggae and do something new with the song. So I did, and I think it came out rather cool.  Reading up on it on Wiki, I learned that:

“As Wonder presented his ideas, finished or not, "he went through everything," remembered [Syliva] Moy. "I asked, 'Are you sure you don't have anything else?' He started singing and playing 'Everything is alright, uptight.' That was as much as he had. I said, 'That's it.  

On the day of the recording, Moy had completed the lyrics, but didn't have them in Braille for Wonder to read, and so sang the song to him as he was recording it. She sang a line ahead of him, and he simply repeated the lines as he heard them. In 2008, Moy commented that "he never missed a beat" during the recording.

So, hope you enjoy this homage to that song, please share it if you do, become a MOB follower on Soundcloud and/or Facebook at 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1465586503597444/

…and give me feedback if you can.

Uptight (Everything is Alright) (Stevie Wonder)(The M.O.B.)

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If you like this track, check out all my other tracks at https://soundcloud.com/mobbing_it_up and https://soundcloud.com/clana_boys
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Dimming of the Day was written and recorded in 1975 by Richard and Linda Thompson. It’s a beautiful song and a haunting performance, Linda singing the lyric in plain folk style while Richard’s voice sneaks in to provide a low register harmony in the chorus sections. I was introduced to it by my good friend and great musician Pete Flaskett around that time and I instantly loved it. It’s been well covered over the years by many well known artists (Bonnie Raitt and Dave Gilmour to name but two) but good though those covers are I think the simple beauty of the original is easily lost. I didn’t know if I could do it justice either but wanted to try, fully expecting to bury my efforts. Things didn’t start that well: I couldn’t get the electric bass to sit quietly enough in the arrangement. And the limitations of my keyboard equipment left me short of a sound I might like for the ‘pipe organ’ part. Also, although it is a beautiful instrument, my Atkins acoustic didn’t bring anything ear catching to the main acoustic guitar part. And so I tried using a Takamine nylon strung classical guitar and suddenly I had an instrument that matched my voice and that seemed to be saying something special. I now settled to a very simple unplugged arrangement, with an Aria Parlor guitar playing the counterpart to the main guitar part. I think it’s come out really well. Even if this isn’t your usual taste in music, I commend this song to you as it is a truly beautiful song, and ones like this don’t come along very often.  Please share if you like it. Mike O’Neill 24th Jan 2020

Dimming of the Day (Richard Thompson)(Mike O'Neill solo)

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If you like this track, check out all my other tracks at https://soundcloud.com/mobbing_it_up and https://soundcloud.com/clana_boys
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In 1964 the Mods and Rockers riots happened in Brighton and then early in 1965 The Who released their first single ‘I Can’t Explain’, followed later that year by ‘My Generation’. I loved them and dreamed of owning a scooter and a parka to wear while riding it. I wasn’t old enough for all that so had to make do with painting a pair of dark glasses with the Union Jack colours and trying to backcomb my hair in Mod fashion (as you do ha ha). I finally got the scooter – a black and chrome Lambretta GT200 that I built myself - in 1968. With these great memories , I had to try and do a Who song or two for the collection, if I could manage to capture the excitement I felt about them then.  

‘The Kids Are Alright’ is a less often played Who song: I always liked it and its maybe a bit easier to capture with my studio gear than some of the others. I’ve put in a few touches that weren’t in the original but that are what The Who might have used, judging from their other stuff (stuttering guitar, ‘Won’t Get Fooled Again’ ending). They’re a difficult band to re-create, what with four strong musical egos all pulling against each other. Keith Moon’s drums are tricky, but trying to get Townshend’s guitar sounding right is perhaps even harder. And Entwhistle’s bass must be heard, even if it doesn’t especially dominate on this song. Anyway, I think it came out well so volume up and let it loose. Hope you like it and please share if you do.  Mike O’Neill 12th Feb 2020

The Kids Are Alright (Pete Townsend~The Who)(The M.O.B.)

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If you like this track, check out all my other tracks at https://soundcloud.com/mobbing_it_up and https://soundcloud.com/clana_boys
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Stuck in The Middle With You (Stealers Wheel) (The MOB)

Another song suggested by my partner Trish (thank you again) and its always been a quiet fave of mine. I’d not listened to the lyric carefully until I came to record my take on the song, but its quite a biting observation on the music industry, and maybe explains why Gerry Rafferty became a musical recluse despite success with this song and huge success  in 1978 with ‘Baker Street’.

In re-imagining the song, I’ve tried to capture the ‘dead room’ sound of the vocal and the way it sits in front of the music (which starts to surround it as first the chop guitar and then the slide guitar come into the arrangement). Rafferty’s vocal is a bit less strident than mine, but you have to sing a song in a way that calls to your individual voice, and mine isn’t as slurred or soft as his (and I’m not trying to do karaoke ha ha).  It was a lot of fun to do, came together without much fuss and I think sounds really good. Hope you like it, and please copy the Soundcloud link and share if you do.

Mike O’Neill, 17 March 2020

Stuck in The Middle With You (Stealers Wheel) (The M.O.B.)

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If you like this track, check out all my other tracks at https://soundcloud.com/mobbing_it_up and https://soundcloud.com/clana_boys
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Little Deuce Coupe (The Beach Boys) (The MOB) - Songfacts

I was brought up on Bermuda until the mid 1960s, and was about 13 when in 1965 I was just old enough to be allowed to go to a beach party, where the ‘beautiful people’ were 16-17yrs old and were all dancing away by beach firelight to (amongst other hits of the time) the music of The Beach Boys. It made a lasting impression and linked them indelibly to my teenage years.

Fast forward to the 1990s and I have three small children and am always playing music in the car. I get hold of a cassette (remember them ha ha) of Beach Boys hits and introduce the kids to their music and they love it (just goes to show that good music is good music). Little Deuce Coupe was one of their favourites.

So when I started doing home recordings, I just had to cover Little Deuce Coupe. I actually recorded it about two years ago on a 20yr old Fostex VF-160 I won on ebay for £100. The mixing tools available on that device were very limited and editing and mixing a track at all was very difficult. I didn’t have a bass guitar either, so had to use the ‘bass’ on my Zoom RT-123 (another old piece of kit) for the bass line. But, despite these limitations, the recording sounded pretty good and I think it was in part because when the original was recorded, pop musicians only had limited recording facilities, and (early) Beach Boys hits were primarily about the vocals, with a simple but steady beat behind them, and maybe a bit of ‘Chuck Berry’ guitar. If you’re interested, the original can be heard at www.built4comfort.co.uk in the ‘Me Myself and Others’ section.

I’ve remixed the song on my modern recording desk simply to take advantage of things like vocal levelling and stereo width tools (the last helps widen the sound to enhance the headphone experience, but I only used a little – don’t want to lose the original feel too much). Overall, I’ve tried to keep the mix as close as possible to the original VF-160 mix. I think it’s worked out OK and I hope you enjoy this very short (but fun) song about carefree days long ago. Please share if you like it.

Mike O’Neill, 20 March 2020

Little Deuce Coupe (The Beach Boys) (The M.O.B.)

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If you like this track, check out all my other tracks at https://soundcloud.com/mobbing_it_up and https://soundcloud.com/clana_boys
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Mustang Sally (Mack Rice) (Mr Bigg featuring Daymo with Shimmy and Shake) - Songfacts

Mustang Sally is a too often covered 1960’s soul classic. But although many have tried, few singers attempting a cover can deliver a vocal that matches the strength of the Wilson Pickett hit version. Daymo (Damian Skelhorn, who sings this version) though, is one singer who can, in spades. We originally played this song at gigs with Mr Bigg, with our dear friend and lead guitarist Pete ‘Wrighty’ Wright who left us in October 2018 (my recording ‘You And I will Meet Again (Pete)’ on Soundcloud is in his memory). It used to get a barnstorming reception whenever we played it at gigs. And so Daymo and me have released our version of this song as Mr Bigg, ‘cos that’s where it got started 😊

Daymo and me originally recorded this song c2000 (i.e. 20 years ago!) on an 8 track Fostex VF80, using just a cheap dynamic microphone, my Yamaha Pacifica guitar and a Zoom RT123 drum and bass machine for the rhythm section. We wanted to do the song in a different, more bluesy style, and not just to be ‘Commitments’ imitators. Daymo was not keen on doing it as it has been too often covered, and badly, by many ‘pub and club’ bands. But I go back to loving the song from when I bought the Wilson Pickett single in 1966 and I persuaded him to do it as I felt his voice (and personality) was so uniquely suited to the song that he could do something really special with the vocal. And I think he has.  

The 2000 recording sounded OK at the time and given our studio production limitations. But it’s not really up to the audio production quality achievable with a modern digital studio facility. Being a digital recording though, I was able to export the individual tracks to my modern studio for working on. I kept only Daymo’s great vocal and my original ‘Steve Cropper’ bluesy guitar part which I think works well against it (I almost think it is playing the part of ‘Sally’ in the arrangement). All the other instrument parts were re-arranged and re-played, and everything was carefully re-mixed. Shimmy & Shake, legendary backing vocalists, also lent a hand for the choruses. We went for a long version when we originally recorded it because we felt that being a dance song (or a driving song), then the groove was worth working for as long as Daymo could build the vocal. I’ve not attempted to shorten it during the ‘rebuild’.  

I think the hard work has been well worth it and represents a lasting testament to a  great vocal by a great singer.  I’m biased of course, but I think Mr Bigg’s  take on the song ranks alongside the best I’ve heard. I hope you feel likewise and if you do, more than ever, please share the Soundcloud link (and get friends to share it too if they like it) to get it up where it deserves to be: alongside the other handful of classic versions of this iconic song.

If you’re interested, the 2000 version can be heard at www.built4comfort.co.uk in the ‘the return Built4comfort ’ section. As you’ll hear, the remix moves things on some way from that version though the song remains much the same.

Footnote from Wiki: Mack Rice (who wrote the song) called the early version "Mustang Mama", but changed the title after Aretha Franklin suggested "Mustang Sally" because he used the name Sally in the chorus. So there you go!

Mike O’Neill, 3rd April 2020

Mustang Sally (Mack Rice) (Mr Bigg feat. Daymo and Shimmy & Shake)

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If you like this track, check out all my other tracks at https://soundcloud.com/mobbing_it_up and https://soundcloud.com/clana_boys
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Roll Um Easy (Lowell George & Little Feat) (the MOB) - songfacts

Little Feat are one of those bands that many (especially outside of the 1970s) might never have heard of but whose body of work I think represented some of the best music of their era. Although they were famous for a New Orleans funk style of playing, they did not grow out of that town as far as I know, but just wanted to play that kind of music. Songs like ‘Rock and Roll Doctor’ are typical of their great ‘Cajun’ style of music. 

The founder and the beating heart of Little Feat was Lowell George, singer-songwriter and slide guitar player whose vocals gave their songs an unmistakable feel. Lowell George died tragically young at 34 but his legend lives on amongst those who love his work (I read Jimmy Page describe Little Feat as his favourite US band, and Robert Plant has cited Lowell George also as a major influence). George first found fame with a wistful ballad (now a classic) called ‘Willin’, but it’s ‘Roll Um Easy’, another one of his wistful ballads, that I always had a special love for.  I can never sing it (can anyone) quite like Lowell George, but I wanted to do my best with it anyway, and to attempt the delicate slide guitar part and add to it a loose and subdued backing. There was not much room for cosmetic cover-ups on this one and I had to work hard to get a natural flow to it because it should really be played ensemble and it needs to ‘sway around’: it’s hard to realise that when there’s only one of you and you’re having to lay down the tracks one at a time.  But I think I managed to capture it OK, helped by playing a parlor guitar loosely against the main acoustic guitar. I’m really pleased to have added it to the MOB Music catalogue. Hope you like it and please share if you do. And if you’ve not listened to Lowell George and Little Feat before, I can recommend them. Mike O’Neill 10th April 2020.

Roll Um Easy (Lowell George & Little Feat)(The M.O.B.)

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If you like this track, check out all my other tracks at https://soundcloud.com/mobbing_it_up and https://soundcloud.com/clana_boys
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Whiskey In The Jar (trad.) (The M.O.B.) - Songfacts 

When I used to play in a duo a few years back, we’d get asked if we could play ‘Whiskey In The Jar’ (in the style of Thin Lizzy). We never did as it wasn’t really our thing. Since starting to do my own recordings I’ve had one or two suggestions to do it, but my feelings about it hadn’t changed so I left it in the in-tray. Then, recently, I was looking at buying a mandolin as an addition to the recording instrument collection. I kept bumping into Youtube videos on how to play the instrument and ‘Whiskey…’ kept coming up as a good song for the mandolin. Which got me thinking, so I picked up my parlor guitar, had a go at playing it on that and it sounded good. I also looked up the traditional lyric and found many versions, one of which really appealed to me. The girl’s name had been changed from ‘Molly’ to ‘Jenny’ (I think ‘Molly’ is the common choice), and I also liked its narrative.  On the music side, I listened to The Dubliners (and other Irish folk bands) playing the song but found their versions just too bouncy. I thought it would be good to have the mood of the narrator come across differently. So I went for an acoustic version, done at a gentle pace and with inflections such as a more rueful narrator might use. By the by, I googled the origin of the song and learned that:

“Whiskey in the Jar,” is a song about a notorious Irish highwayman Patrick Fleming who was hanged in 1650. It has become Ireland’s oldest most beloved song: a true rebel air that stirs the passions.”

It was a pleasure to do this song, something I had not anticipated. And, with Irish ancestry, I felt a sort of affinity for singing it. So, I hope you like it too (especially if you’ve any Irish in your background). If you like it, please ‘Like’ it on Soundcloud and share it with friends. The song is traditional, so I’ve enabled download and listeners who want an mp3 file for their personal collection should be able to. 

Mike O’Neill, 24th April 2020

Whiskey in the Jar

Whiskey In The Jar (Trad.)(The M.O.B.)

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If you like this track, check out all my other tracks at https://soundcloud.com/mobbing_it_up and https://soundcloud.com/clana_boys
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One Love/People Get Ready - Songfacts
(writers: Bob Marley/Curtis Mayfield Performed By: Bob Marley and The Wailers ).

I spent my earlier childhood years in Bermuda. West Indian music was always around. By 1967, I was living in England. Ska music caught on with the Mod and Skinhead cultures. I loved that music straight away and bought quite a lot of ska records (I recall ‘Train to Skaville’,  ‘The Israelites’, ‘007’ and ‘Pressure Drop’ being faves). I have to mention also Jimmy Cliff, who for me was Bob Marley before Bob Marley. He is another great Jamaican artist and songwriter and contemporary of Marley’s but who found success in the UK some years before Bob Marley. Cliff also starred in a wonderful film ‘The Harder They Come’ (I went to see when it came out, and now have it in my DVD collection) and he ranks alongside Bob Marley in importance as an artist and ambassador for Jamaican music I think. 

I first read of Bob Marley and The Wailers in 1973 (in Melody Maker or NME maybe). The article said they were touring the UK and causing a sensation, and that they didn’t know what chords they played or how to tune their instruments so had roadies do that for them. That all sounded pretty weird, but once I’d heard them, I thought well if that’s what not knowing chords or how to tune a guitar is all about, I’ll have some of that please. 

And so, with all of this, ‘non ethnic’ musicians in the 1970s all seemed to want to make a reggae record. Some of these were OK enough and became popular (examples might be Steely Dan’s ‘Haitian Divorce’ and 10cc’s ‘I Don’t Like Reggae’).  But, with few exceptions, to me these recordings lacked a real reggae feel (although I knew one local musician who could get it right, but more of him another time). So when I started a couple of years ago to do my own re-imaginings of favourite artists, one of the things I wanted to do was to try and re-create the sound of Bob Marley and The Wailers. ‘One Love’ is just one of their many great songs, and just happens to be the one I chose to cover (‘Natty Dread’ nearly got there first, and I might still have a go at that one).  

For this recording of ‘One Love’ (actually a partial remake and re-mix of a recording done about 18 months ago), I’ve been fortunate to enlist the services of Paul ‘Family Man’ Jennings on bass guitar (Paul and me played in both Rothko and VHF back in the 1970s, and he has played professionally with several other notable bands). Also along to help out are Shimmy & Shake, taking the place of the wonderful I-Three’s, The Wailers backing singers led by Bob Marley's wife Rita. 

Regarding the background/origin of the song, Wiki states that:

“One Love/People Get Ready" is a reggae song by Bob Marley & The Wailers from their 1977 album Exodus. It was first recorded in a ska style by Marley's original group, The Wailers in 1965 and was released as a single. [….] The song contains an interpretation of The Impressions' song "People Get Ready" written by Curtis Mayfield. The original recording of the song does not credit Mayfield's song and is simply titled "One Love" – this is because copyright law was not enforced for Jamaican recordings at this time. When the famous version was recorded for Island in 1977 it was titled "One Love/People Get Ready" and credited Mayfield (as Island wanted to avoid copyright problems) and it gives co-authorship credits to both Marley and Mayfield.’

‘One Love’ seems an appropriate song to be putting on Soundcloud at this strange time in the world. So I hope you like it and please share if you do. 

Mike O’Neill, 8th May 2020

One Love (Marley-Mayfield)(The M.O.B.)

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If you like this track, check out all my other tracks at https://soundcloud.com/mobbing_it_up and https://soundcloud.com/clana_boys
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Lola - Songfacts
(writers: Ray Davies    Performed By: The Kinks ).

I was always planning on doing a Kinks song as I always loved Ray Davies quirky songwriting and The Kinks were a big part of the Swinging 60s which was when I was a teenager. I bought their first LP when it came out and I remember going up to I Was Lord Kitchener’s Valet and buying a frock coat just to look like them ha ha.

I was thinking of ‘Dead End Street’ as a good candidate but then this Covid 19 thing happened and it seemed a rather downbeat song to be putting up for listeners on Soundcloud. And then while I was debating which song to do, my lovely partner Trish said she’d been listening to ‘Lola’ and thought it would be a great song to try. I wasn’t so sure because for me it was a bit post-60s, generally seen as a novelty song and it was generally over-hyped. But I owed Trish a song and on listening to it I started to warm to it as having a great dynamic to work with. So I set about having a go at it and it just started to come together really well. I have to say at this point that a major reason it started to sound good was that (yet again) Paul ‘Family Man’ Jennings was offering to play bass on the recording (its actually quite a fun bass guitar part). His contribution has been vital in lifting the whole punchiness of the song. For the rest, I’ve tried to create a sound mix that still has a bit of the saturated/analogue feel of those days, when everything was recorded on tape and using real equipment and not digital PC based plugins designed too often to make everything sound clean and perfect.

Concerning the song ‘Lola’  Wiki tells me (as usual!) that:
“…Due to its controversial subject matter and use of the brand name Coca-Cola, the single received backlash and even bans in Britain and Australia. The single version (mono) used the words "cherry cola" while the album version (stereo) uses the name "Coca-Cola". The track has since become one of The Kinks' most iconic and popular songs, later being ranked number 422 on "Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" as well as number 473 on the "NME's 500 Greatest Songs Of All Time" list.”

I’ve opted for the Coca-Cola version of the lyric 😊

Anyway, I think its come out really well, is a cheery sort of song for this uncheery time, hope you like it and please ‘Like’ on Soundcloud and share it if you do. 

Mike O’Neill, 22nd May 2020

Footnote on sound production: As part of trying to get the mix on my songs as good as possible, I have started using Canopener Studio by Goodhertz.co (details can be found here: https://goodhertz.co/canopener-studio/). Because I am a home studio user, and like many producers who may be trying to work from a home environment due to the situation with Covid-19, I am obliged to do a lot of mixing on headphones. The limitation with headphones is that each ear hears one side of a stereo channel in complete isolation from the other, whereas listening to music in the ‘real world’ may involve loudspeakers, where each ear hears some stereo crossover.  By using Canopener Studio on the master buss, I can recreate this crossover, helping me to create mixes that should work equally well on both headphones and loudspeakers.

Lola (The Kinks) (The M.O.B.)

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HEY GUYS!!! - this Johnny Cash song is top of the M.O.B. charts by a country mile BUT there's a lot of other good stuff on here at https://soundcloud.com/mobbing_it_up and also by my lates t band The Clana Boys at https://soundcloud.com/clana_boys . The Clana Boys even have 4 songs on the main streaming channels - so search for them there and you can download, buy, whatever. Laters.......
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One Piece At A Time - Songfacts 

(writer: Wayne Kemp    Performed By: Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Three ).

Hi - I’m not Johnny Cash (to invert his famous walk-on-stage remark). JC’s  voice was unique and I can only sing a homage to it as best I can, and try and enjoy myself doing it (which I sure did!).

One Piece At a Time wasn’t written by Johnny Cash but by a songwriter called Wayne Kemp. It  was recorded by Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Three in 1976 and was the last song performed by Cash to reach number one on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart (source: Wiki). And although I knew I wanted to add a Johnny Cash song to my Reimaginings collection, this was not the first song in my mind to do. I had thought I might try Folsom Prison Blues (and I might still do it one day), but then I had an ‘in the shower’ moment and remembered that long before I’d joined the world in revering Johnny Cash, I had always enjoyed and remembered this song from when it was in the charts, as being clever, funny and very listenable to. But covering it meant tackling the heights of Johnny Cash Mountain as I would be trying to talk (and not just sing) in his unique style. I wasn’t at all sure I could get it to work but I brushed that thought aside and just got started. Paul ‘Winestoned Cowboy’ Jennings obliged yet again with the right bass guitar part and as usual did a fab job (don’t think he ever imagined himself doing Country Music so that’s another notch on his Bowie knife handle right there).  Despite my misgivings, I think it has come out just great and (always a plus when I’m working on a song) it was a shed-load of fun to do (getting the timing of JC’s chat right is one aspect, and playing the rhythm guitar part in a suitable JC style is another). Anyway, I hope you like it and please share the Soundcloud link to it with others if you do.  

On the technical front, getting the right ‘slapback’ delay in the studio production is a key part of getting the famous Johnny Cash sound working. In this, Waves Abbey Road Chambers reverb/delay effects (which models the real echo chambers at the famous Abbey Road studios) did an absolutely fabulous job at getting me into the right ballpark. Two other products (recently acquired) are also now helping me create better mixes when working on headphones (as you often have to do working at home as over-use of loud studio monitors, though they are what you should ideally use, will probably get you in trouble with the neighbours quite quickly). Toneboosters Morphit allows me to adjust the frequency response profile of my headphones to make them as neutral as possible. And Goodhertz Canopener Studio helps provide the stereo cross-feed that our ears hear in the real world (that’s when sounds coming from one side nonetheless enters the ear on the other side albeit at lower volume) and that headphone listening does not naturally allow for, since each ear is listening in almost complete isolation. So there you have it – an insight into the geek side of the modern artiste ha ha.

Mike O’Neill, 29th May 2020

One Piece At A Time (Johnny Cash)(The M.O.B.)

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Speed of the Sound of Loneliness - Songfacts
(writer: John Prine original performance: John Prine ).

Although I had heard a couple of John Prine's songs before, I only really looked up his song catalogue and began to appreciate him very recently, after I had heard on the news that he had passed away, a victim of the Covid-19 pandemic although his health had been poor for some years. He has been paid many accolades and is regarded by many as one of the most influential songwriters of his generation: I think those accolades are well earned. The best songwriters often don’t use (or need to use) complicated musical structures, and John Prine is one of those. His lyrics get right to the heart of the matter, and I love him for that.

I first heard ‘Speed of the Sound of Loneliness’ when I was given a cassette of Nanci Griffith songs back in the 1990s. I like country music but didn’t really follow it. But I liked the songs and used to play them in the car with my wife and young children as we drove. I didn’t know though that ‘The Speed of…’ had been written by John Prine until recently, when I started exploring his music more.  So, with all this, it was the obvious choice for me to record, as I always liked it both musically and in what it was saying. Not sure the (now grown up) kids will understand why I should appear to want to copy Nanci Griffith though!

Yet again, Paul ‘ Family Man’ Jennings has done a great job helping out on bass. And I was also able to make good use of various guitars to create the country / bluegrass feel of the music, not least (on its first outing since my my first Soundcloud release) the famous ‘Pink Kiddies Guitar’ for which I paid £6 at a charity shop and which I used on this song for playing the slide guitar solo.  The harmonica was my own embellishment as I’ve not heard it featured before on this song. I think though that it sits well in the arrangement.

So I hope you like The Speed of the Sound of Loneliness, and please share if you do. I might do another John Prine sometime as he is just such a great songwriter, and fun to do, though I’ll never match the unique country twang in his voice, or his great phrasing. He was a true one-off. 

And of course, please check out all the other songs by The MOB at
https://soundcloud.com/mobbing_it_up

Mike O’Neill, 12th June 2020

Technical footnote: Canopener Studio by Goodhertz.co (for simulating speaker cross-stereo when mixing on headphones) and Toneboosters Morphit (for adjusting Eq bias on headphone models) have been helping greatly in home studio mixing, where using speakers may not always be an option. This song was also mixed using Plugin Alliance/Brainworx emulation of the classic SSL 4000 E mixing desk from the analogue days of yore and which I have found invaluable in achieving musical Eq, compression, gating and generally getting ‘the right sound’ etc. Thank you to all of them!

Speed of the Sound of Loneliness (John Prine)(The M.O.B.)

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If you like this track, check out all my other tracks at https://soundcloud.com/mobbing_it_up and https://soundcloud.com/clana_boys
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Hey Joe - Songfacts

(writer: Billy Roberts      Original performance (this version): Steve Waller & Friends ).

In 1974 I had the great good fortune to be introduced to a musician, songwriter and bandleader of exceptional talent and presence. His name was Steve Waller and he was born and bred in Brixton in South London. He came from a family of entertainers and could play superbly in many different styles, from Stevie Wonder to George Formby and everything in between. He was a great singer and a great guitar player, he could turn his hand to almost any instrument and he was also a very good songwriter and arranger. But for me his most special talent was that – in addition to this – he could lead and direct world class musicians on stage, live, with no rehearsal, to deliver some of the best live music it was ever my pleasure to listen to. And he made it all look so easy. He was well known amongst the sessions music circuit and he achieved some fame, mainly when he shared the lead in Manfred Mann’s Earthband in the 1970/80s. But really he should have received more recognition and reward as the great musician he was, in his own right.  He aspired to be a jazz musician. I went to see him once playing with the Harry Stoneham Trio, a well known jazz ensemble. It  seemed to me he didn’t quite fit with that kind of jazz, and really I thought he was more special than that, because if the essence of jazz is to take existing musical forms and play around with them, then Steve was breaking great ground with his own fluid band set up and the music they were making.  As the 1970s moved into the 1980s, the changing musical landscape left him with a solid local fanbase but without the same chance at mainstream recognition. He continued to work professionally as a musician until he passed away too young in the year 2000. I shall always remember him as the great (and humble) musician and bandleader that he was.

One of the songs Steve adapted was ‘Hey Joe’, which had become well known through Jimi Hendrix achieving his first chart success with it. Steve took the song c1973 and reimagined it in a reggae style. I had loved ska (and then reggae) since it invaded the UK in the mid 1960s as part of the Mod culture, and Steve had really nailed it with his arrangement. We all urged him to get a record deal and get it out on the streets but nothing ever came of the idea. And so I kept the song in my head as best I could all these years until now, when I decided to set it out as best I could, albeit with my own style as I’m a different singer and player than Steve was. I’ve tried to capture the dynamics of it as though it was being played ‘live’. The only bit of the arrangement I was unable to tackle was the brass section work that would have happened over the middle section (from memory it was the brass section from the band Gonzalez that used to oblige, when they were in town and guesting at one of Steve’s musical ‘love ins’ / gigs).

Anyway, I hope you like it and please share if you do. Big thanks are due again to Paul ‘Family Man’ Jennings for his great work on the bass guitar. Shimmy & Shake helping out on backing vocals. Oh and there is now a Wikipedia listing for Steve Waller (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Waller) and a growing number of film clips on youtube where – even if the quality is not good – you can get an idea of who he was and the way he sang and played.    

Mike O’Neill, 19th June 2020

Hey Joe (Reggae Arr Steve Waller)(The M.O.B.)

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If you like this track, check out all my other tracks at https://soundcloud.com/mobbing_it_up and https://soundcloud.com/clana_boys
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Long May You Run - Songfacts

(writer: Neil Young, Mike O'Neill adapted lyric for gliding) 

I have to admit to not being that much into Neil Young in the days of my youth. Along with Crosby Stills & Nash, I appreciated his appeal rather than being drawn to his music overmuch. But things change over the years and I started to like some of his songs more. I like also that he has always stuck to his roots and kept a raw energy in his work. I first came across this song a couple of years ago, more or less by accident I think, while trawling Youtube. I loved the choruses and the sentiment of the chorus line, but was a bit baffled by the apparent clumsiness of some of the lyric (‘trunks of memories’ seemed a strange metaphor). That was because I’d assumed he was writing about a person he’d shared great memories with and who he maybe had lost touch with over the years. It turns out (according to a friend who researched it) that he was actually writing about an old hearse he used to drive around in and that had finally given up and died on him (something humorously eerie about all that!). Anyway, I loved the strapline and I had just recently had an incredible experience flying in the back-seat of competition sailplanes in a 9 day long national gliding competition. In the front seat and flying as competition pilots were , on some days, the chief flying instructor from my club, and on other days one of the UKs top young soaring pilots. I found myself reflecting afterwards on all those instructors and mentors who had flown in the back seat of training aircraft, teaching others to fly. Some of those would go on to become top pilots, some to become instructors themselves, and so on. Putting it all together I found myself writing an alternative narrative for this great melody and its sentiment.  So a big thank you to Neil Young for a great song, to Paul ‘Family Man’ Jennings for bass playing and co-producing, and to Shimmy & Shake who joined me on backing vocals. Hope you like it and please share if you do.  

Mike O’Neill, 3rd July 2020

Footnote 26th July 2020. This recording has been used as the music for some stunning HD (high definition) aerial footage of the Dartmouth Estuary and Kingswear, which can be seen here on youtube (copy and paste the link):

https://youtu.be/RdGFwAUghuc

Songs To Fly By

Long May You Run (Neil Young, MO lyric)(The M.O.B.).mp3

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Folsom Prison Blues  - Songfacts

(writer: Johnny Cash Original Performance: Johnny Cash and The Tennessee Two) 

Hi, I’m not Johnny Cash.

When I decided I wanted to cover a JC song, it was ‘Folsom’ I had in mind. But I got sidetracked by the charm of ‘One Piece At a Time’ and that got done first. But I swore I’d return to ‘Folsom’………

The following is taken from https://ig.ft.com/life-of-a-song/folsom-prison-blues.html

Folsom Prison Blues was written while Cash was serving in the US Air Force in West Germany in the early 1950s. He wrote it after watching the film Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison, a drama about the jail near Sacramento, California. The song borrows heavily on the melody of a song, “Crescent City Blues”, by US composer Gordon Jenkins and even uses  a few lines of its lyrics. Cash said he did so because he had no inkling of becoming a professional songwriter at the time, and was later badly advised about his right to borrow so freely. He redeemed matters by paying Jenkins a $75,000 settlement following a 1969 lawsuit — and by creating a much superior song.

Cash first recorded the song in 1955 for Sam Phillips’s Sun Records in Memphis. It reached number four on the Billboard country chart and helped launch him to stardom. His second recording of it in 1968, however, was to be even more successful.
                                                               -----------------------------------
Also, amusingly, there’s a clip from the film ‘Walk the Line’ that appears to tell how it went when they played ‘Folsom’ to Sam Phillips at Sun Records: https://youtu.be/B0Lnzfy57qs

I’ve stayed substantially true to the original song arrangement, including the signature repeated simple guitar solos in between verses and the signature guitar intro and outro parts. I’ve changed the key slightly to suit my taste, and there’s altogether more drumming and chugging doing on as this is not 1957 Sun Studios and I can that more easily than they perhaps could do then, and for me it’s the heart of the song (and Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Three generally). Paul ‘Family Man’ Jennings helped out on bass again and generally kept an eye on my production, giving valuable feedback. Another big thanks to him for that.
Anyhoooos – hope you like it and please share if you do.

Mike O’Neill, 10th July 2020

Folsom Prison Blues (Johnny Cash)(The M.O.B.)

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If you like this track, check out all my other tracks at https://soundcloud.com/mobbing_it_up and https://soundcloud.com/clana_boys
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Nowhere Man - Songfacts
(writers: Lennon / McCartney  original performance: The Beatles) 

The Beatles have to be included in my catalogue of covers as they were perhaps the single most influential group of my formative years. I had every LP up to Sgt Pepper’s and knew every word and note on every song. Time has smudged the collective memory a bit, but it’s hard to overstate how good and how significant in pop music they were (along with ‘fifth Beatle’ George Martin) and what other great music and musicians they have caused to happen in the years since they were together. Whilst The Beatles songwriting was influenced by rock and roll and other types of music, I think a lot of their songs combined these influences in ways not obvious and that produced something truly original, both musically and lyrically. Before they found fame, they had worked hard as a ‘live’ act, which shows in their playing and in their vocal harmony and arranging skills. And at a time when ‘youth culture’ was taking off and looking for heroes, The Beatles gave them one (well four but…) whilst just about being acceptable (at first anyway) to Mum and Dad.

So why did I choose Nowhere Man as the one to bring to life. Well I think Rubber Soul (the LP it was featured on) is just about at the centre of my Beatle-loving years, and I think John Lennon (who actually wrote it) just edges ahead as my favourite songwriting Beatle. The song proved a lot trickier than I’d imagined, perhaps because it’s a downbeat lyric to an upbeat tempo: get it wrong either way and the song doesn’t quite work (George Harrison confirmed in an interview it was a tricky one to perform, so even the Fab Four found it challenging). But anyway, me and Paul ‘Family Man’ Jennings (whose bass playing was especially crucial for this one to work as I felt it  beyond my bass playing abilities) stuck at it and we think it’s come out OK. Wiki has this to say:

“"Nowhere Man" … was released in December 1965 on their album Rubber Soul, except in the United States and Canada, where it was first issued as a single A-side in February 1966 before appearing on the album Yesterday and Today. The song was written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney. In the US, the single peaked at number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 1 on the chart compiled by Record World magazine, as it did the RPM 100 chart in Canada. The song was also released as a single in some countries where it had been included on Rubber Soul, including Australia, where it topped the singles chart.

Recorded on 21 and 22 October 1965, "Nowhere Man" is one of the first Beatles songs to be entirely unrelated to romance or love, and marks a notable example of Lennon's philosophically oriented songwriting…….The lead guitar solo was performed in unison by Harrison and Lennon”

Anyhoooos – hope you like it and please share if you do.

Mike O’Neill, 24th July 2020

Nowhere Man (Lennon-McCartney)(The M.O.B.)

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If you like this track, check out all my other tracks at https://soundcloud.com/mobbing_it_up and https://soundcloud.com/clana_boys
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Subterranean Homesick Blues - Songfacts
(writers: Bob Dylan original performance: Bob Dylan) 

Bob Dylan had already come to the world’s attention before Subterranean Homesick Blues became a Top ten hit in the UK in 1965. The song has been rated by Rolling Stone magazine as the 332nd "Greatest Song of All Time" (wonder how they work that out!), according to Wikipedia, which also states that: 

“"Subterranean Homesick Blues" is an amalgam of Jack Kerouac, the Woody Guthrie–Pete Seeger song "Taking It Easy" ("Mom was in the kitchen preparing to eat / Sis was in the pantry looking for some yeast") and the rock and roll poetry of Chuck Berry's "Too Much Monkey Business"”

All of which helps explain why I loved it so much when it came out despite being a bit young to pick up on the deeper (political) significance / references in the lyric. Wiki also states that:

“…a 2007 study of legal opinions and briefs found that Dylan was quoted by judges and lawyers more than any other songwriter, "you don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows" [a line from Subterranean Homesick Blues] was distinguished as the line most often cited”

Anyway, I’ve always loved the song and a collection of re-imaginings would be incomplete for me without covering Bob Dylan (and I plan to do a few of my favourites from his early days). As well as its significance, The tongue twisting challenge of delivering this lyric, with attitude, also appealed. I also worked to capture the lilting beat and semi-acoustic sound. For the rest, singing Dylan is a personal thing as I’m not likely to (want to) get inside his aggressive delivery more than so much, so I sing Dylan any way that sounds right to/for me (Dylan diehards – you have been warned ha ha).

Hope you like this recording, which was originally done in 2018 on my simple Fostex VF-160 studio. I have kept the guitar parts from that session as I wanted to link to its roots, but I have opted to re-do the other parts. In particular, Paul ‘Family Man’ Jennings has slotted in on a real bass guitar to replace the original Zoom RT123 ‘double bass’ part I did: the Zoom worked fine but I prefer real playing where practical esp with Paul's feel for it. Oh and if you’re listening to this one on headphones, you might hear a ghost voice in there somewhere – just a nod to the humour of the song 😉

Anyhoooos – hope you like it and please share if you do.

Mike O’Neill, 31st July 2020

Dylan Revisited

Subterranean Homesick Blues (Bob Dylan)(The M.O.B.)

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If you like this track, check out all my other tracks at https://soundcloud.com/mobbing_it_up and https://soundcloud.com/clana_boys
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Can I Get A Witness - Songfacts
(writers: Holland Dozier Holland original performance: Marvin Gaye) 

Although originally recorded by Marvin Gaye, I came to know and love this song because it featured on The Rolling Stones first album, which I bought and played until the grooves wore out. I was anyway going to do my take on some early Rolling Stones records but hadn’t planned on doing this  one until I got myself a Hammond B3 Organ virtual instrument and wanted to try it out on an arrangement (the B3 characterised a lot of 1960s music, most notably for me Booker T & the MGs, Steve Winwood, John Lord and Ian McLagan).  But then as I compared the Stones version to Marvin Gaye’s version I  had to admit his Tamla Motown version had an altogether better groove to it. Best of all though for me is the version you can see on youtube sung by the lovely, legendary, brilliant, uniquely gifted and much missed Dusty Springfield on (I think) Ready, Steady Go – she really takes the song to town and back. But the pace of hers is similar to Marvin Gaye’s version anyway.

Can I Get a Witness was written by the famous songwriting team of Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier and Eddie Holland. It was recorded by Marvin Gaye in July 1963 and… 

“…released in September 1963 as the follow-up to Gaye's top ten hit, "Pride and Joy", the song peaked at #22 on the Hot 100 on 28 December 1963 and also became one of Gaye's earlier international hit singles, making a buzz in the United Kingdom, primarily among dance clubs in London and northern England (particularly Leeds), and also charted in France where it peaked at number 29 on its chart. At 16 weeks, "Can I Get a Witness" lasted longer than any other Marvin Gaye entry on the Hot 100 during the 1960s…… [the song] was notably covered by The Rolling Stones on their first album, The Rolling Stones in 1964. The Stones also recorded a self-composed sequel called "Now, I've Got a Witness" on that same album.”.  (source: Wiki)

Anyway, it’s a great little foot-tapper of a song, and I treated it to a slightly Jeff Beck style guitar solo to add something a little different. Hope you like it and please share if you do

Mike O’Neill, 14th August 2020

Can I Get A Witness (Holland Dozier Holland)(The M.O.B.)

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If you like this track, check out all my other tracks at https://soundcloud.com/mobbing_it_up and https://soundcloud.com/clana_boys
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Wishing Well- Songfacts
(writers: Paul Rodgers, Simon Kirke, Tetsu Yamauchi, John Bundrick, Paul Kossoff    
 original performance: Free) 

No collection of re-imagined songs would for me be complete without something by one of the most original bands of my generation: Free. Free were formed by four very talented and different musical characters (Paul Rodgers/vocals, Paul Kossoff/guitar, Andy Fraser/bass, Simon Kirke/drums). Perhaps because of this they developed a unique sound as a band. Their best known song is  ‘All Right Now’, which became an all-time classic. But they had other hit singles, although none as huge as that one. Wishing Well was one of my favourites.  By the time it was recorded, Andy Fraser had left the band and been replaced by Tetsu Yamauchi on bass. John "Rabbit" Bundrick had joined as keyboard player (Rodgers had previously played keyboards where needed) as (according to Wiki, but it is widely accepted) ‘Paul Kossoff  was becoming increasingly unreliable’ (due to drug problems). 

We used to play Wishing Well when I sang with VHF in the 1970s and it always went down well with audiences, so it has a special connection for me. 45 years later, it was fellow bandmate Paul ‘Family Man’ Jennings, who suggested we record our take on it. It is challenging trying to sing a Paul Rogers vocal as he is (for me, and many others) the best rock singer that ever was . Also, getting the right sound without the huge amp stacks and recording methods of those days was challenging. But, with a bit of perseverance, we think it’s sounding great. Paul plays a blinder on bass as ever, which is key to kicking the song down the road nicely.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy it and please share if you do

Mike O’Neill, 4th September 2020

Wishing Well (Rodgers, Kirke, Yamauchi, Bundrick, Kossoff)(The M.O.B.)

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If you like this track, check out all my other tracks at https://soundcloud.com/mobbing_it_up and https://soundcloud.com/clana_boys
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I Can Hear the Grass Grow – Songfacts
Writer: Roy Wood    Original Performance: The Move

Ever since I was a kid (still am really but…) I couldn’t stop myself getting up and singing and dancing to music with a good beat. No wonder I ended up in a rock and roll band. When this song came out in 1967 I was 15 years old. I started loving The Move after hearing ‘Flowers In The Rain’, but my interest ramped up further when ‘I Can Hear The Grass Grow’ came out: I loved its urgent beat and crazy lyric (everything was starting to go psychedelic around then). So, there I was, on a RAF one week camp with schoolmates, and we went to the local dance (the place to meet girls in those days). I persuaded this lovely girl to dance with me and then ‘I Can Hear The Grass Grow’ got played and I just lost it to the music. Somewhere in the middle of my cavorting I noticed my partner had left me to it. Damn, I thought, but hey I’m carrying on regardless, cos this song’s just too good not to. I’ve not changed much.

The Move were a truly great band, right at the heart of the 1960’s Brit-Pop sensation and with a string of hits. Roy Wood (principle hit writer in the band) went on to form Electric Light Orchestra with latterday Move bandmate Jeff Lynne. Later, Wood left ELO and formed Wizzard. 

The Move’s early singles were produced by the legendary Denny Cordell , who also produced hits for Georgie Fame, Procol Harum and Joe Cocker. Cordell later worked with J. J. Cale, Phoebe Snow, Leon Russell and Tom Petty.  To complete the circle, Tom Petty himself was initially produced by Denny Cordell and later (very successfully) by Jeff Lynne, with whom he also formed the Travelling Wilburys. 

Of this song,Wiki says that:

‘The basis of "I Can Hear the Grass Grow" came from photographer Robert Davidson, who had received a letter from an unknown individual that read "I listen to pop music on the radio because where I live it's so bloody quiet that I can hear the grass grow." He promptly told this to [Roy] Wood, who was inspired enough to write a song regarding the subject. Although the song appears to refer to the effects of hallucinogenics, Wood has on multiple occasions refuted that claim…’

A big thanks as ever to Paul ‘Family Man’ Jennings for his great bass playing and for co-producing – I think this song was a new and fun experience for him. We’ve tried to recreate the drive and excitement of this classic 60s Brit-Pop song whilst adding our own touches  - hope you like it and please share if you do. And have a listen to the other songs also at 

https://soundcloud.com/mobbing_it_up

…cos we’re proud of the work we do 😊

I Can Hear The Grass Grow (The Move)(The M.O.B.)

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If you like this track, check out all my other tracks at https://soundcloud.com/mobbing_it_up and https://soundcloud.com/clana_boys
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Seagull – Songfacts
Writers: Paul Rodgers, Mick Ralphs    Original Performance: Bad Company

I had decided to avoid doing any more Paul Rodgers songs (get too close to the sun, get burned etc ha ha). But then I had this one suggested to me by MOB backing singer Shimmy and it made me curious. And then MOB bassist Paul ‘Family Man’ Jennings flagged up it was her birthday soon so we thought we’d surprise her.

‘Seagull’ was written by Paul Rodgers and Mick Ralphs and featured on Bad Company’s first album, released in early 1974*. In contrast to all the other full band rock songs, ‘Seagull’ was a simple acoustic guitar and vocal arrangement. Very much liked by BadCo fans, it stands apart from their general musical style and presents a performance challenge to anyone wanting to reimagine it I think. Of the song, I found that Paul Rodgers has said (Classic Rock Revisited January 12, 2001): 

"Every song that we have done has it's own story. 'Seagull' was written sitting on the beach. Music is about atmosphere. The best way to create the atmosphere is to actually be there. You don't have to imagine it. It is right there. With Seagull, you could see the horizon. You can include that in the songs. That is what writing songs is all about; creating mood and atmosphere."

We decided to add the gentlest touch of bass and drum to our arrangement and we think that adds something to it without taking away from its essential ‘unplugged’ appeal. So, Happy Birthday to Shimmy and hope you like it also.  And don’t forget to have a listen to the other songs also at 

https://soundcloud.com/mobbing_it_up

…cos we’re proud of the work we do 😊

* I can still remember hiking up to a remote crofters cottage in Scotland in wintry weather at the start of 1974 with my guitar just after I’d bought BadCo’s first album. We were snowed in there for a week and I played the songs from it endlessly (though not Seagull so much!)

Seagull (Rodgers-Ralphs, Bad Company)(The M.O.B.)

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If you like this track, check out all my other tracks at https://soundcloud.com/mobbing_it_up and https://soundcloud.com/clana_boys
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The Sound of Silence- Songfacts
(writers: Paul Simon original performance: Simon & Garfunkel) 

I had always planned to include a Simon and Garfunkel in the Reimaginings catalogue, but Sound of Silence wasn’t due to be it until my lovely partner Trish happened to send me a video clip to do with animals and that had the song as backdrop. It brought back memories of what, if I had to choose one film that was most important to me, is my favourite film ever: The Graduate. So, I decided to bump it up the list, and it came together a lot more easily than the original did.

The story of how the song became a hit is long and quite amazing, as it was a complete flop when first released and S&G disbanded as a result, Paul Simon moving to England (where he wrote ‘I Am A Rock’ on, I believe, a cold and wintry Runcorn Station whilst on tour). Columbia Records took the failed acoustic recording and remixed it, dubbing in a band and orchestral instruments around it (which was hard as it hadn’t been played to a steady beat). They then released it unknown to S&G and it went quickly to No.1 in USA and became a worldwide hit. Paul Simon recalls that:

‘I had come back to New York, and I was staying in my old room at my parents' house. Artie was living at his parents' house, too. I remember Artie and I were sitting there in my car one night, parked on a street in Queens, and the announcer [on the radio] said, "Number one, Simon & Garfunkel." And Artie said to me, "That Simon & Garfunkel, they must be having a great time." Because there we were on a street corner [in my car in] Queens, smoking a joint. We didn't know what to do with ourselves.’

In 1999, BMI named "The Sound of Silence" as the 18th most-performed song of the 20th century. In 2004, it was ranked No. 157 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, one of the duo's three songs on the list. The song is now considered "the quintessential folk rock release". 

Big thanks as ever to Family Man aka Paul Jennings for fine bass work – he always seems to play what’s right, not just what’s clever.! I’ve set the song tempo at 1 beat per second, as the ticking clock that starts the song bears testament to. So much time has ticked away from The Days of The Graduate  to The Days of The Covid hey ho! 

Anyhoos, Hope you like it and please share if you do. And have a listen to my other stuff at:

https://soundcloud.com/mobbing_it_up

Mike O’Neill, 13 November 2020

The Sound of Silence (Paul Simon)(The M.O.B.)

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If you like this track, check out all my other tracks at https://soundcloud.com/mobbing_it_up and https://soundcloud.com/clana_boys
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Strangered In The Night - Songfacts

Writer: Tom Petty 
Original Performance: Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers 

I was introduced to Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers music around 1976 through the album Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers. I went and saw them play in either that same year or the year after, at Brighton University, UK. It was a fairly compact venue, standing only. But TP&TH were great, the best rock and roll band I’d heard in a long time. Early Tom Petty had a lean, sparse, edge, ‘played live’ feel to it (and in fact the band wanted that feel and used a ‘live take’ approach when making their much acclaimed ‘Damn The Torpedoes’ album). Years later, Tom Petty’s career took a new turn through his collaboration with Jeff Lynne. The music that came out of that later period was great but feels very different. Since I’ve already done three reimagined songs of his from that later period, I wanted to go back to the time when I started to love Tom Petty’s music. Now I’m notorious for not listening to the lyric of rock and roll songs, and Tom Petty’s words are not always easy to make out especially on these early ‘punky’ songs. I’d always thought ‘Strangered In The Night’ was just one of the best rock and roll riffs / grooves I’d ever heard and I‘ve played it for fun down the years.  But I’ve never listened closely to what the lyric was saying and it was only when I decided to record my take on and dug out the words that I realised that they might be difficult to sing today without being misinterpreted. So I’ve changed them a bit. I think Tom Petty wrote them as an artist whose imagination wanted to capture a happening. There was no racist intention (he was a humanist and stood against anything like that) and I think he was writing simply as an invisible observer(s), a storyteller, witnessing an ugly scene.  There’s a very interesting dissertation on the song at:

https://somethingelsereviews.com/2014/03/18/into-the-great-wide-open-tom-petty-and-the-heartbreakers-strangered-in-the-night-1976/

It tells how the song was recorded (apparently it wasn’t strictly speaking the Heartbreakers who played on the recording) and also discusses its possible meaning. And it flags up how Tom Petty never tackled anything as violent as this on another song. But when all is said and done, my interest in the song is because it’s a great rock and roll number and deserves to be remembered for its music alone as one of his best ‘rocking out’ songs.

Big thanks as ever to Paul ‘Family Man’ Jennings for his fine bass work and for his patience in co-producing the song: his contribution in listening to the arrangement and mixes on these songs is invaluable as my ears get tired and lose perspective as I try and capture the right sound for a song. So, hope you like it and please share if you do. And if you have the time, have a listen to all my other re-imagined recordings at https://soundcloud.com/mobbing_it_up There’s 3500 listeners there and growing, so I guess we must be doing something right 😊

Mike O’Neill, 11th December 2020

Strangered In The Night (Tom Petty)(The M.O.B.)

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If you like this track, check out all my other tracks at https://soundcloud.com/mobbing_it_up and https://soundcloud.com/clana_boys
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Here Comes The Night  - Songfacts
Writer: Bert Berns                  Original Performance: Them 

I love writing the cover notes for the MOB reimagining of these old classics. I didn’t know until now that [source: Wiki]

"Here Comes the Night" is a 1964 song, written by Bert Berns. It became a hit for Northern Irish band Them, fronted by Van Morrison, in March 1965, charting at No. 2 in the UK and No. 24 in the US.  […] The song was originally released as a single in both the UK[4] and the US.[5] by another Decca Records' artiste, Lulu, in November 1964. Lulu's recording charted at No. 50 in the UK,[6] and failed to chart at all in the US.”

And upon looking up Bert Berns, I find also that:

“Bertrand Russell Berns (November 8, 1929 – December 30, 1967), also known as Bert Russell and (occasionally) Russell Byrd, was an American songwriter and record producer of the 1960s. Berns' song writing credits include "Twist and Shout", "Piece of My Heart", "Here Comes the Night", "Hang on Sloopy", and "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love", and his productions include "Baby, Please Don't Go", "Brown Eyed Girl" and "Under the Boardwalk".” 

So…Bert Berns did a bit! And the lead singer of Them was of course Van Morrison, and he also went on to do quite a bit.

All I know was that I first heard/saw this song performed when it came out and, for me, it was the best of the great singles released by Them. And because I wanted to do something by Van Morrison , I thought I’d take a left turn out of the ball park and do this one. It’s a great arrangement (much more interesting than the 1964 version by Lulu which sounds more like a weak Burt Bacharach song) and I think really gets to the heart of the emotion embodied in the lyric.

Big thanks as ever to Paul ‘Family Man’ Jennings for his fine bass work and for his patience in co-producing the song. Hope you like it and please share if you do. And if you have the time, have a listen to all my other re-imagined recordings at 

https://soundcloud.com/mobbing_it_up . We’re heading for 4000 listeners so our thanks to all those who’ve been listening to the growing catalogue of songs 😊

Mike O’Neill, 2 January 2021

Here Comes The Night (Bert Berns)(The M.O.B.)

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If you like this track, check out all my other tracks at https://soundcloud.com/mobbing_it_up and https://soundcloud.com/clana_boys
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Classic Janis Joplin reimagined for our times (January 2021, Covid 19 Pandemic). The spoken words at the start are Boris Johnson, UK Prime Minister, announcing the 2nd National Lockdown in Great Britain at 8 p.m. GMT on Monday 4th January 2021.

Mercedes Benz, Oxford Vaccine (Janis Joplin)(The M.O.B.)

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If you like this track, check out all my other tracks at https://soundcloud.com/mobbing_it_up and https://soundcloud.com/clana_boys
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The Times They Are Changin’ (Donald)- Soundfacts

Writer: Bob Dylan            Original Performance: Bob Dylan

So I got an email from my bro in Canada. He liked the Mercedes Benz / Oxford Vaccine song and suggested I should do something about what’s happening in the USA. They are just sat there in Canada with their jaws on the floor over what is happening south of their border. In fact, one of my facebook friends sent around the joke that The Canadians are asking if they can be like the Mexicans and have a wall at the border.  

Anyhoos, ‘The Times They Are A Changin’ has always struck me as immensely prophetic and I had been messing around with an adapted lyric for this song where I changed the them from ‘time’ to ‘climate’.  But now this has happened………..

I send all good wishes to the people of the USA and I hope very much things get mended soon. We’ve been going through our own divisive politics here with Brexit and are now in the fence mending business also.

The Times They Are A Changin (Donald) (Bob Dylan adapted lyric)(The M.O.B.)

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If you like this track, check out all my other tracks at https://soundcloud.com/mobbing_it_up and https://soundcloud.com/clana_boys
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Green Onions -  Songfacts

Writer: Booker T. & The MGs 	Original Performance: Booker T. & The MGs

To quote Wiki on this all-time classic

"Green Onions" is an instrumental composition recorded in 1962 by Booker T. & the M.G.'s. Described as "one of the most popular instrumental rock and soul songs ever" and as one of "the most popular R&B instrumentals of its era", the tune is a twelve-bar blues with a rippling Hammond M3 organ line by Booker T. Jones that he wrote when he was 17, although the actual recording was largely improvised in the studio.

The track was originally issued in May 1962 on the Volt label (a subsidiary of Stax Records) as the B-side of "Behave Yourself" on Volt 102; it was quickly reissued in August 1962 as the A-side of Stax 127, and it also appeared on the album Green Onions that same year. The organ sound of the song became a feature of the "Memphis soul sound".

The track was originally going to be called ‘Funky Onions’ but the record producers thought that too crude/low class a name so it was changed to ‘Green Onions’, though there are various stories about why the choice of ‘Green’ happened.

I wanted to try and reimagine this great tune (which links forever to happy memories of my teenage years when I was a huge fan of Stax Records and Atlantic Records artists). I don’t have a real Hammond M3 so instead used a Hammond B3 virtual instrument I have in my digital recording studio. I played the keyboard part as I wanted it to sound and then went on to clean up my mistakes using a Midi editor: something Booker T could not do and didn’t need to! The guitar work was done on a Fender Telecaster, the guitar which Steve Cropper (the band’s style setting guitarist) used on the Booker T recordings and which is a favourite guitar of mine. I kept the guitar work simple and sparse as that’s how I felt it needed to be to respect the original (my limited repertoire also made that easy to do). I’ve made full use of stereo panning also (something else not featured on the original recording), which listeners with headphones especially will notice. 
Anyhoos, hope you like it. This is my first instrumental excursion and it was super cool to do this tune, which I have loved+++ all my long life. I think it’s come out great, and give it a ‘Like’ on Soundcloud if you agree, and share it with others. Also, check out all my other tunes at:

https://soundcloud.com/mobbing_it_up

Mike & The M.O.B.

Green Onions Revisited (Booker T & The MGs)(The M.O.B.)

Mis-spent youth as lead singer in 1970s touring rock and roll bands Rothko and VHF, with links to David Bowie. Now retired and enjoying recording my vision on other ways to arrange, play and produce old classic songs across a wide range of genres.

MOB

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