Out Of The Vault - Show # 12 – TWOFERS # 1 – 7/21/12

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Neil Young & Crazy Horse – GALLOW’S POLE - Taken from his 2012 CD “Americana”. As Neil said:  “Every one of these songs [on Americana] has verses that have been ignored. And those are the key verses, those are the things that make these songs live.”

Jimmy Page & Robert Plant - GALLOW’S POLE - Taken from their CD “No Quarter”, 1994.

"The Maid Freed from the Gallows" is one of many titles of a centuries-old folk song about a condemned maiden pleading for someone to buy her freedom from the executioner. In the collection of ballads compiled by Francis James Child, it is indexed as Child Ballad number 95.  The ballad existed in a number of folkloric variants from many different countries, and has been remade in a variety of formats. It was recorded in 1939 as "The Gallis Pole" by folk singer Huddie "Leadbelly" Ledbetter, but the most famous version was the 1970 arrangement of the Fred Gerlach version by English rock band Led Zeppelin, which was entitled "Gallows Pole" on the album Led Zeppelin III.

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Mott The Hoople – SWEET JANE – From “The Ballad of Mott – A Retrospective” 1993.  Originally recorded on “All The Young Dudes” 1972.

Lone Justice (with Bono) – SWEET JANE – From “The World is not My Home” – 1999.  Recorded live 1998 – Unknown Location.

"Sweet Jane" is a song by The Velvet Underground, originally appearing on their 1970 album Loaded. The song was written by band's leader Lou Reed, who continued to incorporate the piece into live performances years later as a solo artist.  When Loaded was originally released in 1970, the song's bridge was edited out. The box set Peel Slowly and See and reissue Loaded: Fully Loaded Edition restored the missing section.

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Robert Johnson – LOVE IN VAIN – from “Robert Johnson – The Complete Recordings”  1990.  Written by and originally recorded in 1937 by Robert Johnson.  The song is noted for its sad lyrics, tone, and style. In the 1991 documentary film The Search for Robert Johnson, John P. Hammond plays Robert's recording of "Love in Vain" for the elderly Willie Mae Powell, the woman for whom it was supposedly written. Johnson moans "Oh, Willie Mae" in his last verse.  Johnson was an admirer of blues singer/pianist Leroy Carr. "Love in Vain" takes its musical structure from Carr's classic "In the Evenin' When the Sun Goes Down". Both songs express a yearning and sorrow for the loss of a lover.

The Rolling Stones – LOVE IN VAIN – From their CD “Stripped” released in 1995.  Recorded live in the studio in Japan in March, 1995. 

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Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs – WOOLY BULLY - It is a popular song originally recorded by novelty rock 'n' roll band Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs in 1965. Based on a standard 12-bar blues progression, it was written by the band's leader, Domingo "Sam" Samudio. It was released as a single on the Memphis-based Pen label and distributed via MGM.  The lyrics of "Wooly Bully" were hard to understand, and some radio stations banned the song. Sam the Sham underscores the Tex-Mex nature of the song by counting out the rhythm in Spanish and English, and the characteristic simple organ riffing. According to Sam: "The name of my cat was 'Wooly Bully', so I started from there. The count down part of the song was also not planned. I was just goofing around and counted off in Tex-Mex. It just blew everybody away, and actually, I wanted it taken off the record. We did three takes, all of them different, and they took the first take and released it."  The chord progression found in "Wooly Bully" has an unusual 15 bar structure. It is based on an abbreviated 16 bar blues format (itself an extension of the 12 bar blues), where the move to the sub-dominant IV comes after only 7 bars of the tonic I, instead of the expected 8 bars. This device contributes to the energetic drive of the song, effectively starting the chorus before the verse has had time to finish.

Joan Jett – WOOLY BULLY – From her CD “Bad Reputation” 1979, reissued and remastered in 1992.  Recorded in December 1979 with members of Blondie Frank Infante and Clem Burke.

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Annie Lennox – TAKE ME TO THE RIVER – From her CD “Medusa” released in 1995.

The Commitments – TAKE ME TO THE RIVER – Taken from the original motion picture soundtrack ‘The Commitments” 1991.

"Take Me to the River" is a 1974 song written by singer Al Green and guitarist Mabon "Teenie" Hodges. Hit versions were recorded by both Syl Johnson and Talking Heads. In 2004, Al Green's original version was ranked number 117 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest songs of all time.

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Hot Chocolate – YOU SEXY THING - is a song recorded by the British group, Hot Chocolate. It was written by Hot Chocolate's lead singer Errol Brown, and produced by Mickie Most. It reached number 2 in the UK Singles Chart in 1975, and number 3 in the US Pop charts a year later. The song went on to gain lasting notability by being featured in many hit films, such as 1997's The Full Monty.  Bruce Springsteen has covered the song several times at his live performances, including during his final concert at Giants Stadium on 9 October 2009, during which he took a sign from a fan requesting the song and held it up for the audience to see as he performed it.

Bruce Springsteen - YOU SEXY THING – Unreleased.  Recorded at his yearly New Jersey Christmas Concert – 12/8/01.