Memo From Turner (on This Perfect Day)

Today's musings are about the value of the perfect recording. 

Obviously, a song can be performed in many versions. What Jimi Hendrix did to Bob Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower" is perhaps the shining example of nearly completely overhauling the mood and feel of a song.

But I'm not talking about that sort of transformation. Instead, I'm looking at different versions of the same damn arrangement of a song by the same singer (and sometimes the same players as well).

Subtleties matter.

Let's take a look at "Memo From Turner" -- a song that Mick Jagger eventually made famous with the third released version. It's glorious:

What makes it so great? Obviously, Jagger's vocal is fantastic. But, as you'll see in a moment, his vocals on all three released versions are each very good. No, it's something else -- specifically, the burn of Ry Cooder's slide guitar juxtaposed against the Levon Helm-ish backbeat of Gene Parsons. The motherfucker sizzles and cracks with tension and energy, like a live recording of the Band at Big Pink.

The other two versions... don't. 

Here's the very first version, with Jagger on vocals and Steve Winwood playing everything except drums, which are handled by Jim Capaldi. Basically, it's Jagger plus half of Traffic:

And it's.... fine, right? 

But it's just not as sublime as that Ry Cooder/Gene Parsons version. There's "a part that's not screwed on," to quote the lyrics.

Well, this next one -- by the Rolling Stones, or at least from the Stones' Metamorphosis compilation album -- isn't any better. In fact, arguably it's considerably worse -- perhaps the only example I can recall of Mick's performance being better off without Keith by his side. Except it might not be Keith; it might be Al Kooper on guitar and Capaldi on drums. It's all a little hazy how many actual Stones are on this one. In any event, again, like the Traffic-y version, it's fine. Or it would be mostly fine if we didn't have the alternative of Ry and Gene expertly teaching us how to get down with our bad selves. But we do, and this version consequently just won't cut it:

For the sake of completeness, I'll let you in on the secret bootleg version too, again by the Stones -- except, as far as I can tell, this is definitely the Stones as opposed to maybe "the Stones." It's much better than the one from Metamorphosis, further proof that maybe that Metamorphosis version isn't Keith at all. But it's still not quite Ry and Gene. Have a listen:

Just not quite as tight as a duck's ass, as I once heard a non-ornithologist musician say. But it's arguably the best version that doesn't have Ry and Gene on it.

Anyway, what's my point? It's a truly simple one: recordings matter. Sure, you can Brian Wilson the living shit out of something and grossly overdo the overdubs, but you can also do too little. Or you can hire Ry Cooder and Gene Parsons to go all Robbie/Levon and make everything burn perfectly.

Or maybe the real lesson is that Ry Cooder makes everything better?

Perhaps. But, while we're at it, let's go to Australia and pay a visit to the Saints, arguably the best late-'70s punk band from Oz that was not named Radio Birdman.

There's an even simpler lesson here: be careful when you turn down the distortion.

"This Perfect Day" -- specifically the original single version -- may be my vote for the finest two minutes in the history of rock. It's such a favorite of mine that I almost named this blog after it, but there were too many blogs with a similar title. 

Turn it way the hell up and listen to Ed Kuepper's guitar; be careful that it doesn't take your head off:

Now prepare yourself for extreme disappointment. Here's the version of the very same song on the otherwise great "Eternally Yours" album by the very same band:

I mean.... what the hell happened, right? Who thought neutering the guitar was the way to go for the album version? It's appalling. The difference is so extreme that when my younger son was first learning guitar, I played him the two versions to teach him the value of distortion. (Yeah, I know.... Some dads teach woodworking; I teach distortion. Stick to what you know, right?).

Anyway, all this blahblahblah was to tell you what you probably already know: recordings matter. Or if you didn't know it, you sure do now. 

Play loud and distorted like Ed Kuepper, or swampy and mean like Ry, but always always ALWAYS keep the grit. It's what makes the great stuff great.