Photo: Getty
For years, James Taylor has been covering many of his favorite songs from the 1950s and 1960s during soundchecks before his concerts. This past September, he released some of them on Covers, a collection of twelve classic tracks he recorded at his Massachusetts studio. He recently sat down with Rolling Stone to discuss some of his favorites songs on the set, from Leonard Cohen to Elvis Presley to the Drifters.
Leonard Cohen - “Suzanne”
“Leonard predates me a little bit, but not by much. The first time I heard any of his songs was Judy Collins’ version of ‘Suzanne’ on her In My Life album. I loved her version and it had a huge affect on me and informed my writing. He’s an important writer. I love that line ‘The sun pours down like honey.’ I recently ended up playing ‘Suzanne’ over and over. I’d play it at sound checks, I’d play it in hotel rooms, I’d just play it when I picked up a guitar.”
Elvis Presley - “Hound Dog”
“Elvis was one of my first exposures to rock n’ roll. But Big Mama Thornton’s version has a much…I just love the groove on it. It is completely live as we recorded it, probably our third take. It’s one of those instances where everything just falls into place It’s my favorite track on the album. We put it right after ‘Suzanne’ because we wanted palates to be clear for ‘Hound Dog.’”
Buddy Holly - “Not Fade Away”
“That’s one of a series of up-tempo rabble-rowsing cover tunes we play live just to get the crowd on their feet and to keep them on their feet as an encore. We played it in several different versions over the years, so that had evolved as an arrangement and by the time we got in it […]
Read more this post here
Technorati Tags: sound
Photo: Getty
For years, James Taylor has been covering many of his favorite songs from the 1950s and 1960s during soundchecks before his concerts. This past September, he released some of them on Covers, a collection of twelve classic tracks he recorded at his Massachusetts studio. He recently sat down with Rolling Stone to discuss some of his favorites songs on the set, from Leonard Cohen to Elvis Presley to the Drifters.
Leonard Cohen - “Suzanne”
“Leonard predates me a little bit, but not by much. The first time I heard any of his songs was Judy Collins’ version of ‘Suzanne’ on her In My Life album. I loved her version and it had a huge affect on me and informed my writing. He’s an important writer. I love that line ‘The sun pours down like honey.’ I recently ended up playing ‘Suzanne’ over and over. I’d play it at sound checks, I’d play it in hotel rooms, I’d just play it when I picked up a guitar.”
Elvis Presley - “Hound Dog”
“Elvis was one of my first exposures to rock n’ roll. But Big Mama Thornton’s version has a much…I just love the groove on it. It is completely live as we recorded it, probably our third take. It’s one of those instances where everything just falls into place It’s my favorite track on the album. We put it right after ‘Suzanne’ because we wanted palates to be clear for ‘Hound Dog.’”
Buddy Holly - “Not Fade Away”
“That’s one of a series of up-tempo rabble-rowsing cover tunes we play live just to get the crowd on their feet and to keep them on their feet as an encore. We played it in several different versions over the years, so that had evolved as an arrangement and by the time we got in it […]
Read more this post here
Technorati Tags: sound
Photo: Getty
For years, James Taylor has been covering many of his favorite songs from the 1950s and 1960s during soundchecks before his concerts. This past September, he released some of them on Covers, a collection of twelve classic tracks he recorded at his Massachusetts studio. He recently sat down with Rolling Stone to discuss some of his favorites songs on the set, from Leonard Cohen to Elvis Presley to the Drifters.
Leonard Cohen - “Suzanne”
“Leonard predates me a little bit, but not by much. The first time I heard any of his songs was Judy Collins’ version of ‘Suzanne’ on her In My Life album. I loved her version and it had a huge affect on me and informed my writing. He’s an important writer. I love that line ‘The sun pours down like honey.’ I recently ended up playing ‘Suzanne’ over and over. I’d play it at sound checks, I’d play it in hotel rooms, I’d just play it when I picked up a guitar.”
Elvis Presley - “Hound Dog”
“Elvis was one of my first exposures to rock n’ roll. But Big Mama Thornton’s version has a much…I just love the groove on it. It is completely live as we recorded it, probably our third take. It’s one of those instances where everything just falls into place It’s my favorite track on the album. We put it right after ‘Suzanne’ because we wanted palates to be clear for ‘Hound Dog.’”
Buddy Holly - “Not Fade Away”
“That’s one of a series of up-tempo rabble-rowsing cover tunes we play live just to get the crowd on their feet and to keep them on their feet as an encore. We played it in several different versions over the years, so that had evolved as an arrangement and by the time we got in it […]
Read more this post here
Technorati Tags: sound
Photo: Getty
For years, James Taylor has been covering many of his favorite songs from the 1950s and 1960s during soundchecks before his concerts. This past September, he released some of them on Covers, a collection of twelve classic tracks he recorded at his Massachusetts studio. He recently sat down with Rolling Stone to discuss some of his favorites songs on the set, from Leonard Cohen to Elvis Presley to the Drifters.
Leonard Cohen - “Suzanne”
“Leonard predates me a little bit, but not by much. The first time I heard any of his songs was Judy Collins’ version of ‘Suzanne’ on her In My Life album. I loved her version and it had a huge affect on me and informed my writing. He’s an important writer. I love that line ‘The sun pours down like honey.’ I recently ended up playing ‘Suzanne’ over and over. I’d play it at sound checks, I’d play it in hotel rooms, I’d just play it when I picked up a guitar.”
Elvis Presley - “Hound Dog”
“Elvis was one of my first exposures to rock n’ roll. But Big Mama Thornton’s version has a much…I just love the groove on it. It is completely live as we recorded it, probably our third take. It’s one of those instances where everything just falls into place It’s my favorite track on the album. We put it right after ‘Suzanne’ because we wanted palates to be clear for ‘Hound Dog.’”
Buddy Holly - “Not Fade Away”
“That’s one of a series of up-tempo rabble-rowsing cover tunes we play live just to get the crowd on their feet and to keep them on their feet as an encore. We played it in several different versions over the years, so that had evolved as an arrangement and by the time we got in it […]
Read more this post here
Technorati Tags: sound
Photo: Getty
For years, James Taylor has been covering many of his favorite songs from the 1950s and 1960s during soundchecks before his concerts. This past September, he released some of them on Covers, a collection of twelve classic tracks he recorded at his Massachusetts studio. He recently sat down with Rolling Stone to discuss some of his favorites songs on the set, from Leonard Cohen to Elvis Presley to the Drifters.
Leonard Cohen - “Suzanne”
“Leonard predates me a little bit, but not by much. The first time I heard any of his songs was Judy Collins’ version of ‘Suzanne’ on her In My Life album. I loved her version and it had a huge affect on me and informed my writing. He’s an important writer. I love that line ‘The sun pours down like honey.’ I recently ended up playing ‘Suzanne’ over and over. I’d play it at sound checks, I’d play it in hotel rooms, I’d just play it when I picked up a guitar.”
Elvis Presley - “Hound Dog”
“Elvis was one of my first exposures to rock n’ roll. But Big Mama Thornton’s version has a much…I just love the groove on it. It is completely live as we recorded it, probably our third take. It’s one of those instances where everything just falls into place It’s my favorite track on the album. We put it right after ‘Suzanne’ because we wanted palates to be clear for ‘Hound Dog.’”
Buddy Holly - “Not Fade Away”
“That’s one of a series of up-tempo rabble-rowsing cover tunes we play live just to get the crowd on their feet and to keep them on their feet as an encore. We played it in several different versions over the years, so that had evolved as an arrangement and by the time we got in it […]
Read more this post here
Technorati Tags: sound
