1960's Cover Project: Song 3 - Walk On By

"Walk On By"


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"Walk on By" is a song composed by Burt Bacharach, with lyrics by Hal David for Dionne Warwick. It was recorded at the same December 1963 session that yielded "Anyone Who Had a Heart", which, in 1964, became Warwick's second Top Ten hit. Released in April of that year, "Walk on By" became a landmark single, reaching number six on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.

I don't talk about it much, but I am a huge Burt Bacharach fan. From the first time I heard The Beatles version of "Baby It's You", to the time I heard "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" by The Wondermints, I knew that Bacharach was a writer I needed to study. His use of major 7ths & add 9's is unique and used to perfection. Brian Wilson was a student of Bacharach, even going as far as recording "Walk On By" during The Beach Boys "Friends" album sessions.
This leads me to my cover of "Walk On By". The Dionne Warwick version is in my opinion just ok. I much prefer Helen Shapiro's version released the same year as Dionne's. (Helen Shapiro toured with the Beatles in 1963 by the way) Though I enjoy both ladies versions, the one that always blew me away was The Beach Boys from the above mentioned "Friends" sessions. Brian Wilson never got around to finishing his "Walk On By", but what is done is a moody piano and voice demo that is otherworldly. Brother Dennis sings the verse while Brian adds the high harmony. Simply amazing. I recommend hunting down the mp3 for your listening pleasure.
My recording is more along the lines of The Beach Boys rather than Dionne or Helen, though I do keep some of the vocal lines that Helen sang. The track features stand up bass, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, snare, tambourine, & backing vocals.

1960's Cover Project: Song 2 - Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I'll Go Mine)

"Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I'll Go Mine)"

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The first track off the second disc of the 1966 double album Blonde on Blonde, the seventh album from singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. The lyrics speak of a man who has grown tired of the constant guessing at his partner's feelings and is going to move on with his life rather than continue fighting the unpredictability of his partner. The song presents a feeling of change and movement that was one of the trademarks of the 1960s. This song has a swinging beat and is representative of the album's sound as a whole.
I've always admired this song's lyrics and phrasing. Dylan is (obviously) the master of phrasing and I cannot say enough on how much of a influence he has been on my writing. "Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I'll Go Mine)" was a bit of a challenge for me as far as the vocals were concerned. I tried giving it my own feel, but really had to let some of the Dylan style creep through just a bit. My favorite line in the whole song has to be "you say my kisses are not like his, and i'm not gonna tell you why that is, i'm just gonna let you pass, yes and i'll go last...." such venom and yet so calm in its delivery. Dylan is the man. Go find his version right now!

New Weekly Feature: The 1960's Cover Project, Song #1 Soldier Of Love

"Soldier of Love (Lay Down Your Arms)" is a 1962 song, written by Buzz Cason and Tony Moon, originally recorded by soul artist Arthur Alexander, appearing as a B-side to his single "Where Have You Been". The song was later covered by The Beatles during a 1963 session on the BBC, which is available on the album Live at the BBC.

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Hello Folks! We here at the Paul Starling blog have decided to start a weekly feature we would like to call "The 1960's Cover Project". Each week I will record a new cover of a 1960's song that I find to be of rare or interesting value. Rare or interesting you say? What does that mean? Well it means you won't be hearing "Good Vibrations" or "My Girl". You WILL be hearing songs that you may have never heard before, which, is the goal of this project. The idea is that you will hear my version and then seek out the original (which will always be much better). As most of you know I am a complete Beatle-nut, and one of the things (besides the other million) I've always enjoyed was finding the original versions of songs they would cover. I've found countless artists that I would have never heard of this very way. Some of those are: Little Richard, The Shirelles, Del Shannon, Peter & Gordon, Dusty Springfield, & this weeks artist; Arthur Alexander.
I first heard "Soldier Of Love" when my parents bought me "The Beatles: Live At The BBC" for my 13th birthday. I can remember driving with my whole family to my birthday dinner and listening to "Soldier Of Love" over and over again on my discman. I couldn't believe The Beatles never officially recorded this song at Abbey Road. (I must clear something up for you non-Beatle-nuts. The "Live At The BBC" album contains songs the band recorded specifically for the BBC's radio shows of the time. This means that many songs they played live were recorded (not very well) for the radio, but not for any of their official albums) "Soldier Of Love" always stuck in my mind as the highlight of the BBC album, and I found myself using it as a warm up song quite often. The chords are very simple (Bm,D,Em,A etc) and the melody just seems cut thru so very nicely. My cover version above stays pretty close to the Beatles version, with maybe a little bit more electric guitar than they had. I highly recommend checking out their version on "Live At The BBC".