Sunday, January 6, 2013

THE VELVET FOG AND THE SOUL GIRL

Holy hell. Mel Tormé, aka the Velvet Fog, not someone I thought I'd ever cop to liking. Until a few years ago, he represented old fogey music, the stuff your parents might listen to. Never really listened to him, except for the odd telethon or Johnny Carson appearance. That's not to say I'm a fiend, because only one of his songs has made the rotation, because it's old school cool. The song is "I'm Comin' Home", originally released as an instrumental by the David Bailey Quintet in 1961. A year later, Tormé added lyrics, and because of that his version is essentially what all other vocal versions are based on. And a swingin' take it is. Not just his singing either, the organ solo slays.

One of the other versions is by the UK trio the Peddlers, who I better brush up on, because I never heard of them until yesterday (the cover of "Little Red Rooster"). That's how things sometimes work around here, some forgotten band starts popping up again and again out of nowhere. 

The other version, by Dee Dee Sharpe, was posted by The Soul Girl, who must have every Northern Soul related record ever, because her blog always pops up in searches. You ought to check out her blog, it's basically a diary of, well, a soul girl. But her writing is awesome. She's self effacing, funny, loves soul, and really knows soul, icing on the cake. If that sounds like someone around here has a crush, you're right. What's not to like? I was going to cut and paste a few good quotes, but there's so many, really. Note: The home page takes a while to load, but go to the can or something and come back. It's worth it.


~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~
Listen:
Mel Tormé - I'm Comin' Home mp3 at Loudat 
The Peddlers - I'm Comin' Home mp3 at De Discos de Monstruos
Dee Dee Sharpe - I'm Comin' Home mp3 at The Soul Girl
Visit: 
The Soul Girl

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