Favorite Songs - Eurythmics with a hint of Sharleen

While I was picking gooseberries and struggeling with their dangerous thorns, I had to think of the Eurythmics. I've tolerated Dave Stewart but the one I've only ever really liked of the Eurythmics, is Annie Lennox.

Unfortunately I wasn't able to find a good live video, which gives the song, their performance and Annies singing proper respect.
I know they must be out there, I own the DVD's.

While I was looking for a video where Annie is wearing leather pants, like in this one

- cause I had something very specific in mind. I also wrote the title of this post before I had found all the videos. So while I was looking for videos I came across this one, a performance at the Grammy Awards

The original end I had in mind for this post went like this "around that time, there was only one singer who wore leather pants as well as Annie Lennox". Now I have to end it like this

Now, Annie, Sharleen did this way better!

And a live version

music – interpretations and cover versions

Tarata is a french music show, with live musicians and there's always a suprise guest doing a duet with the main artist.
If you don't know this show, please check out their website, where they recently uploaded videos from the older shows, going way back til the early nineties.

I haven't bothered to look up the guy in this clip, his partner is Sharleen Spiteri and they performed "I heard it through the grapevine" in the show on November 5th, 2008.

music – interpretations and covers

There are many great songs out there and even before our days there have been some great singers too. Many of those songs are a reflection of their time and some of the greatest songs suffer from the same deficit, at least in my eyes, which is that female singers were not allowed to "belt out" the songs, the vocals sound suppressed.

Sometimes we're lucky enough that those singers interpret their own songs differently, when they're still performing or still alive. And sometimes new singers come along who still have that raw notion in their voice and songs that sounded "clean" before suddenly give me goose bumps.

Let me start with "River Deep, Mountain High", which I first heard on Sandra Bernhards ""Without you I'm nothing", then I was lucky enough to zap into a screening of Annie Lennox' famous concert at the Montreux Festival. There's this series of EP's "Cold" "Colder" "Coldest" that include some of those live-songs, unfortunately they've been unavailable for a long time.

It's only much later, after having seen the movie "Tina" (with Angela Bassett) that I realized that the original version was by Tina Turner.
And here we go again, the original recording was "nice", but later live-performances of that song are "stunning".

Listen and watch for yourselves.

Live Music - Music DVD's

Cranking the surround system up loud and listening to some live music by my favorite musicians is one of the guilty pleasures I indulge in when I'm "home alone". I don't hear the doorbell, the floor is trembling and I've got this juvenile feeling ;)

Sure, listening and wachting a dvd is not the same as being at a concert. But my fav bands simply don't tour as often as I would like them to.

Or take the Indigo Girls, when have they been to Europe last? Have they been to the continent at all or did they only perform in London? And that was in the nineties, if I remember correctly.
What about Sarah McLachlan? Same problem.

And what about Texas? Yep, don't think they'll ever tour again, now that Sharleen Spiteri has her solo career going. Do I mind? Not really. I just watched the Texas live in Paris DVD, and when she made introductions to "I don't want a lover" I suddenly thought who had I been fooling, the fascination with that song (remember the video?) was always about her.

That wasn't simple fan worship, that was a major crush I had on her. If there ever was a certain type of women I felt attracted to, than it's definitely the Sharleen type.
I really hope, that she'll play some of the summer festivals and that I'll be able to catch at least one.
Just in case you're following me on twitter or are a friend on facebook and didn't understand the "Shelvis" reference, look at this:

Next I watched an old Indigo Girls DVD, Live at the Fillmore. This one provoked another revelation: my own guitar career was over the first time I heard Emily Sailors play, not that I was very gifted, but I realized my limitations very quickly. I guess it was also while watching this video that I became a fan of Amy's, before I always liked songs by Emily better. Nowadays I'm back to loving them both as Indigo Girls and Amy as a solo artist.

Going through my Music DVD collection I had to realize that it's been some time since I bought something new. I can't believe that there's no DVD of a Sarah Bettens concert available.
Do you have any suggestions what I should buy?

Sharleen Spiteri releases Solo Album

Memories of the "I don't want a lover" video are still very clear ;-) Sharleen Spiteri was just....ah....(off dreaming). I always liked her voice very much, it has something special which makes you recognize it no matter what she's singing.
I saw her and Texas once live in Paris at the Zenith (not that certain concert from which the DVD was made) and was even more hooked.
So when I learned that she was releasing a solo album, I had to have it - immediately. Thank you, itunes. Go see and hear for yourself on her myspace-page.