Sadly Andy Williams passed away yesterday at the age of 84 – Fashion Soundtrack, also followers of this Blog, posted a very good Tribute a wee while ago and the Shuffle Monkey & I would also like to pay our respects! A legendary talent, with a marvelous voice and a fair few Hits, along the way &, of course, we have many of his best songs at the wee shuffley thing’s Paws in the Good Old Mix!
Our first Track today though s from Amy Winehouse & its’, “You Know I’m No Good” – Now we agree that her passing was tragic – both in it’s manner and given her young age and all that she could have gone onto to achieve – but both the Shuffle Meister & I do rather feel that she was a Tad over-hyped! And we’ll never know what might have been – So, based on her output how does she rate against so many of the great female singers that the Shuffle Monkey has to hand – Of course, it’s subjective, a matter of taste, but does she go Toe-To-Toe with the much less lauded, yet brilliantly talented and versatile singers like Jean Carne, Phylis Hyman, Karen Pree, Dionne Warwick, Dusty Springfield, Patti Labelle, Melba Moore, Millie Jackson, Ann Pebbles, Ann Sexton, Kiki Dee (The Fontana Years), Carol Woods, Jackie Woods, Betty Swayne, Betty Everet, Donna McGee, Aretha & that’s just scratching the surface… Some will say we are not comparing Apples with Apples, others might say that Mark Ronson & Amy Winehouse only had one song in them which they more or less did 7 or 8 times on the ‘Back To Black’ Album & it was a winning formula, shifted a lot of product, no denying – But here at Monkey Towers though we bet that she could have gone on to Surprise us and we really hope that if things had of been different that would have very much been very much what would have happend!
Anyway, next up is a visit from Robbie Dupree with, “Steal Away” – & not sounding unlike Malcolm Macdonald; & then we Blitz into some Swing from Bobby Darin with a scorching, “Long Ago & Far Away” – Oh Yeah, Yeah, Yeah!And then we are into some Soul Seduction from Mary Wells (Another great singer) with, “You Beat Me To The Punch”; Followed by Jack Jones with the Classic, “Who Can I Turn To” – So, as usual we are all over the Shop!!
Gil Scott-Heron next with the lovely & enigmatic, “A Very Precious Time” – from the Album, ‘Winter In America’; & then we have Merle Haggard no less swaggering in All Red Neck on us with, “Okie From Muskogee”; Followed once again by Mr Sammy Davis Jr with, “This Is My Life (Album Version)” – & it has to be said, whilst absolutely a Power House of a Song, it’s as Camp as, well a Coffee substitute!
“Wild Man On The Loose (Album Version)” swings for us next with Mose Alison tinkling the ivories; & then a righteous slab of Jazz Funk from Norman Conners & Aquarian Dream with, “East 6th Street”; & behind that lurks Todd Rundgren with, “We Gotta Get You A Woman”; Followed by Monk Higgins with the Blue Note Trip of, “Gotta Be Funky” – A Lotta Lotta Gotta in that there Mix, Msr Le Shuffle!
And Finally Today – Big Disco Alert, as Mascara – Chris Hills Super Soul/Disco Group – Fly in to the Hangar from Germany where they were originally recorded with, “I Feel So At Home Here (Featuring Ula Heldwig)” – & Another Awesome Female Vocalist!! And that track, is of course, from the Fantastic Album – ‘See You In LA’, which of course has Luther Vandross guesting on lead Vocals – So, Keep The Faith, &, Keep It On Shuffle, Just like the Shuffle Monkey & Me 🙂
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