Renzie's Early Education in Funk and Cool

I was born in 1973. Which makes me 35 years old this November. Mom would make outrageous claims that I was jamming out to old albums of The Osmonds when I was a kid. But as far as I can remember, it was this one particular song that had the most impact on me when I was 3 or 4- Stevie Wonder's "Superstition".

I watched me a lot of Sesame Street when I was young. In fact, I could even recite some of the lines of the sketches and songs as they were really burned into the back of my skull somehow. I remember The Pointer Sisters. And James Taylor on the show. And Lena Horne. Paul Simon. Smokey Robinson. Even the late Madeline Khan.

But what really stood out was "Superstition". It had an elaborate setup of instruments and musicians, and kids jammin' out on the balcony, and of course, Mr. Stevie Wonder himself. Man, I funked out to Stevie Wonder when I was 3. After doing a bit of research, here's some stuff I discovered about that particular version of "Superstition".

• This performance was recorded live on the set of Sesame Street- right in front of Mr. Hooper's store- in 1972. But check this out: everything was done in one take, and done live.
• The lead guitar player? That's a teenaged Ray Parker Jr., man. "A Woman Needs Love"? "You Can't Change That"? The theme from "Ghostbusters" the movie? Yeah, that's him alright.
• The rest of Stevie's crew: that's Anthony Jackson on bass (some people say it's Scott Edwards, though)- the same guy who gave you the funky bassline on The O Jay's "For The Love of Money", and you also have Ollie Brown on drums, Trevor Laurence on sax and Steve Madaio on trumpet.

How can you not jam out to this one? Here it is, ladies and gentlemen for your enjoyment:

Much thanks to the boys over at Ryan's Smashing Life Music Weblog for posting this funky-ass video on YouTube. And here's another Stevie Wonder classic on Sesame Street: check this post out from my personal TV blog, Too Much TV | Renzie on TV.

Wanna get more Sesame Street vids and clips? There's a whole lot of em posted all over YouTube, but you may want to check out the official Sesame Street Channel on YouTube here.

Hope you enjoyed this post, ladies and gentlemen.

Cheers!

Tori Amos Live At Montreux CD and DVD Out Now

Huge news for all you Tori Amos fans out there!

Tori Amos had just released a live CD and DVD titled Tori Amos Live At Montreux. The performances took place just a year apart from each other in July 1991 and July 1992 at the Montreux Jazz Festival. The CD and DVD include Tori’s original music as well as a lot of great cover songs. Check out the track listings below.

Also check out this video of Tori Amos performing "Thank You" at the 1991 Montreaux Jazz Festival. Enjoy!

Here's the official Press Release for the new Tori Amos CD/DVD:

Tori Amos descended on the scene in the early ‘90s brimming with newfound creativity, intelligence, sensitivity and an exacting literary bearing. Celebrated by critics and the public alike, that first spotlight was a heady time in the young singer/songwriter’s career. On September 30, 2008, Eagle Rock Entertainment, through its wholly-owned Eagle Eye Media subsidiary, will release Tori Amos Live At Montreux 1991/1992 on both CD (16 songs) and DVD (90 minutes, 19 songs) simultaneously sold separately. It is a rare glimpse into that initial breathy rush of a great artist’s ascendancy.

The ’91 gig came only months before her Little Earthquakes debut had catapulted her into an instant icon, the ’92 appearance shortly thereafter. The progression in both performance and audience receptivity is appreciable. Material includes most of her stellar debut but also tracks from her indie EPs and some notable covers (Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love” and “Thank You” as well as Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit”).

Tori Amos’ stark confessional style immediately garnered millions of young fans searching for some semblance of self in an all too imperfect world. Tori’s melodic sense, coupled with her unerring eye for the human foibles of a generation twice removed from the ‘60s sensibilities of her influences, made for a uniquely special art. There was no, and is no, precedent for such a talent. Tori’s obliquely personal oeuvre digs down deep into such dramatic lyrical topics as sexuality, religion and personal tragedy. She touches that universal chord. It’s small wonder she became a major voice right from the outset of her career.

Track Listings

1991 DVD TRACK LISTING

1. Silent All These Years
2. Precious Things
3. China
4. Crucify
5. Leather
6. Song For Eric
7. Upside Down
8. Happy Phantom
9. Winter
10. Thank You

1992 DVD TRACK LISTING

11. Little Earthquakes
12. Crucify
13. Silent All These Years
14. Precious Things
15. Happy Phantom
16. Whole Lotta Love/Thank You
17. Me And A Gun
18. Winter
19. Smells Like Teen Spirit

CD TRACK LISTING

1991 show:

1. Silent All These Years
2. Precious Things
3. China
4. Crucify
5. Leather
6. Song For Eric
7. Upside Down
8. Happy Phantom
9. Winter
10. Thank You

1992 show

11 Little Earthquakes
12) Precious Things
13) Whole Lotta Love/Thank You
14) Me And A Gun
15) Winter
16) Smells Like Teen Spirit

For more on Tori Amos, check out her entry here on Wikipedia, or her official website here. If you like, you can also visit Tori Amos on her MySpace and Facebook pages.

Cheers, everyone!