I need to clarify something from the start of this week's "sermon." I am categorically against and in no way condone the skinning of cats. I'm sure it's considered inhumane in today's society and I don't understand why anyone would want to. But, as I understand it, there is more than one way to do so. Like cat-skinning, I've found that most things that are done in life can be done in multiple ways and yield the same result--including developing a better analogy to describe how there isn't just one way to do something. I've found an important skill in life (at least my own) is the ability to see things from as many angles as possible. It gives you a broader perspective and, hopefully, a deeper understanding of whatever situation is confronting you in the moment.
The same applies to music. Just because a song is written by a particular person or originally performed in a certain style doesn't mean that's the only way it can be done (whether or not anyone should do it is another issue that I won't attempt to broach here). If you've ever heard Frank Zappa's cover of Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire" you know what I'm talking about. He took a country classic, combined elements of reggae and drunken karaoke, and synthesized it into something that was uniquely Frank.
With the advent of social media, we see this more and more. One of my favourite YouTube channels is of Ally the Piper who adds bagpipes to both classic and contemporary songs. The bagpipe is tied with the piano as my favourite musical instrument, so I'm a little biased. But when I hear some of those songs, I frequently wonder why they didn't have a piper on them originally. In fact, I thought that what she added to the Fox NFL theme was such a drastic improvement that if Fox wanted to adopt it, I might actually tune into a football game once in awhile... okay, likely not, but at least I would have a reason to do so.
Perhaps the best example I can give of this is the music of Hank Williams (Sr.). He was to country music what Robert Johnson was to the blues. When we look at "standards" or the "Great American Songbook," we typically think of such songwriters as George and Ira Gershwin, Hoagy Carmichael, Irving Berlin, Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer, and E.Y. "Yip" Harburg. But I think an argument can be made for including Williams in that list. Over the last three quarters of a century, his "country" songs have been covered by a range of distinctly "non-country" artists including Tony Bennett, Norah Jones, Fats Domino, Jerry Lee Lewis, George Thorogood & The Destroyers, Huey Lewis & The News, Ray Charles, Keith Richards (with and without The Rolling Stones), Tom Petty, Mark Knopfler, and Sheryl Crow, just to name a few. My definition of a "standard" is a song that transcends genre and can be re-interpreted in another style while still retaining the essence of its original composition. Williams's songs have clearly done that and continue to do so to this day.
I've always had a great admiration for people who can listen to a song performed one way and hear it in their head in a completely different way. Personally, I've always wanted to perform "We'll Meet Again"--Dame Vera Lynn's World War II era classic, written by Ross Parker and Hughie Charles--as a lounge act, complete with a slinky bass line, rhythmic finger snapping, and occasionally punctuated with "Thank you very much!" and "You're a lovely crowd tonight." Of course, at the end of the song, I would feel compelled to point out, "I'll be here all week. Don't forget to tip your servers--good night, everybody!"
Many years ago, while in the music department at Barnes & Noble, a then-new release crossed my path that really drove the point home to me that there are, in fact, multiple ways to interpret something. A Canadian band called Luther Wright & The Wrongs released an album that was a cover of Pink Floyd's landmark album The Wall. Not just a song from the album, but they re-recorded the entire album. At first glance, this may seem trite and even unoriginal. But then I listened to it. I was both highly amused and blown away to discover I was listening to a bluegrass rendition of a Pink Floyd album. So this week, in honour of seeing (and hearing) different perspectives, as well as broadening horizons, from 2001, please enjoy Luther Wright & The Wrongs with Rebuild the Wall.
Due to family commitments, there will be no album or film recommendation next week. Until I return, stay safe, be good to your neighbours, and please remember that if you don't eat your chicken, you can't have any meat. How can you have any meat if you don't eat your chicken?
Yours in peace, love, and rock and roll!
The Reverend Will the Thrill
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