Phil Retrospector / Marvin Gaye : Sexual Healing

As I mentioned yesterday, a really good mashup goes farther than slapping the vocals over the top of an instrumental track. And like most art, or any idea for that matter, for every thousand or so half-assed attempts to slap something together, there arises one piece of brilliance that makes the rest of the crap worthwhile. Phil Retrospector's brutal distortion of Marvin Gaye's classic is one of those shards of brilliance.

Phil takes Marvin's sexually charged funk staple and forces it deep into the dark bosom of Wendy Carlos' electronic soundtrack to A Clockwork Orange. Not only does this pervert the entire meaning of the song (have you seen the movie?), it creates a damn spooky tune. Somehow, probably through pitchshifting or AutoTune, he manages to cast Marvin's vocals into a decidedly minor key such that they perfectly fit the eerie, almost frightening, soundscape Wendy created. In addition, Phil has Marvin cooing to himself in the background like some ghostly, whispering backup singer. The result is clearly something new, freaky, yet engrossing, and a strong argument for the legitimized existence of mashup culture.

Naturally, you can't purchase this mash anywhere, but you can purchase the original "Sexual Healing" on Marvin's 1982 release, Midnight Love. Wendy Carlos' soundtrack for A Clockwork Orange is available on CD as well.

[You can listen to Phil Retrospector's mash of Marvin Gaye's "Sexual Healing" by navigating to the post "Song084" and clicking or right-clicking on the title or the link.]

---

Tears for Fears : I Believe

Okay, here's a secret. With all the crazy, wild and fun music I listen to, one of my top ten favorite albums of all time, coming in just under Paul Simon's Graceland which I think at this point takes top honors, is Tears for Fears' Songs from the Big Chair. You've already heard the two most popular songs from the album, "Shout" and "Everybody Wants to Rule the World". "Shout" used to get on my nerves something awful, but I loved, loved, loved "Everybody". That's what prompted me to get the LP in the first place, I think.

I remember being 15 and driving at night in our Subaru through the back country of ... Montana? Colorado? Utah? One of those western states, through desert and down canyon roads with my mom in the car and this cassette playing over and over. Bless her heart, it must have cycled around five or six times before she finally asked me to take it out. She doesn't really like music at all, especially anything like this, but she put up with it. I love ya, mom.

There were a couple of tunes I could have chosen. I thought about going with the Discipline-inspired "Broken" or the moody electronic Yaz-ish art rock of "Listen". Instead I went for the simple, still beauty of "I Believe".

"I Believe" is 'blue-eyed soul'. That is, sweet soul sung by white boys. That sounds perversely derogatory, but it's actually complimentary, applied to Robert Palmer (pre-"Addicted to Love") and Daryl Hall ("Sara Smile" anybody?) back in their heyday. Nowadays people throw it at Michael Bolton and Joss Stone, both of whom make me shudder.

The song is simply orchestrated. A jazzy kit, some piano and a lone sax, plus the vocals.  It plays like a light jazz combo in a hotel lounge. The vocal line is superb, soft but strong, with a subtly complex melody, on top of which they throw in some tricky little touches. At one point a sax solo steps in & takes over, purposefully derailing the rest of the band. At another, there's a sudden burst of light applause, a phantom audience suddenly expressing their approval at an incongruous announcement from the singer.

It's a gorgeous song and I hope you enjoy it. "I Believe" is from Tears for Fears' excellent 1985 release, Songs from the Big Chair.

[You can listen to Tears for Fears' "I Believe" by navigating to the post "Song068" and clicking or right-clicking on the title or the link.]

---

D'Angelo : Untitled (How Does It Feel)

This song made a small dent in the pop charts in 2000. I can't remember if I ever even heard it on the radio though, as the version I have clocks in at a hefty seven minutes plus. Maybe I heard it on MTV, cuz I think he had that video where he's naked from the waist up, and his pants are very, very low. He might have even had to shave. If you know what I mean.

But, regardless of Michael's predilections for public exhibitionism, it doesn't change the fact that this is the best Prince song Prince never recorded. It's a slow burn of a soul song, dripping with raw emotion, a little funk and plain old sex. The vocals are sublime, expertly building pent-up desire into pure screaming animal lust. The lyrics start off simple, like a love song, but verge into Prince-style nastiness by the end of the song.

Another interesting item of note is the dead-stop right at the climax of the song. Maybe they realized it just couldn't get any better and they didn't want to spoil the built-up tension by offering any sort of denouement, or maybe it's meant to be symbolic of ... something.
In any case, it's a superb song, worthy of any late night make out session. I'd throw it in right after Barry White and right before "Between the Sheets" by the Isleys or maybe even "When Doves Cry". Yeah...

You can find D'Angelo's "Untitled (How Does It Feel)" on his 2000 release, Voodoo.

[You can listen to D'Angelo's "Untitled (How Does It Feel)" by navigating to the post "Song062" and clicking or right-clicking on the title or the link.]

---