MINIMALIST LINER NOTES
Hello again, and welcome to my latest mix. I promised you something different, and this is it. By now you’ve looked at the back of the CD case and thought, “Hey, lots of recording artists, but no song titles? What gives?†That’s because there is only one song title: At Last.
Yes, you hold in your hands an entire CD made up of covers of a single song – a song which has a special meaning for me. I began collecting different versions of At Last after my fiancé (now wife) and I chose it as the song for the first dance at our wedding reception. I actually have too many to fit on one CD, but the ones here are the best, most interesting, and least annoying.
This is not an attempt to torture you. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised at the variety of ways a song can be interpreted. Thank you for listening.
1. Etta James
We’ll start off with the one you probably know best. I always thought this version sounded very melancholy, and wondered why, if Etta found her true love, she sounded so sad.
2. Harry Warren
A nice big-band version.
3. The Temprees
The Seventies are in full swing. When I first heard this version I thought it was a bunch of women with really bad voices, until I figured out it’s actually a bunch of guys with really good voices.
4. Gene Harris & Scott Hamilton
It’s half past midnight, and the smoky jazz club you’re in is all but closed. You nurse your scotch as the band indulges in just one… more… song.
5. Low Rawls & Dianne Reeves
This is the version we chose for our wedding reception. It’s happy and danceable. What more can you say?
6. Houston Person
Another jazz version, highlighted by nice guitar work.
7. Christina Aguilera
Okay, this CD isn’t entirely devoid of obnoxious singers. It’s overblown and full of vocal theatrics. There’s a hint of the melody in there, somewhere.
8. Miles Davis
People are talking when Miles is playing! People are talking when Miles is playing! Have they no respect?
9. Eva Cassidy
A sparsely beautiful version. A woman and her guitar.
10. Bluesiana Hot Sauce
Dig that Hammond B-3 organ.
11. Celine Dion
Not nearly as annoying as you would think. Simple, straightforward… she doesn’t even screech.
12. Glenn Miller
This is the version from the 1942 movie Orchestra Wives. I have the sheet music for this, and let me tell you, Cesar Romero looks way different than he did as the Joker.
13. Julia Demato
A decent version from the American Idol contestant, if not exactly sung with a hint of passion.
14. Diane Schuur & B.B. King
A nice contrast to Julia Demato, showing why these people are stars and Julia Demato is not. Keep listening… the song lights up when B.B gets to the instrumental.
15. The Temptations
I can imagine it now. “Hey, let’s update a classic song with a horrible synth and drum-machine combo so we can sing it at state fairs everywhere!â€
16. Joan Osborne
I like this version. Joan retains some of the Etta James melancholy, but transforms it into a strange, compelling kind of blues.
17. Ella Fitzgerald & Joe Pass
At last, my love has come along… and I’m too freaking old to make whoopee.
18. Stevie Nicks
A nice vocal big-band version, very much on the happy side. I still think that Stevie Nicks sings like a goat in heat.
19. Ray Anthony
Let’s close it out with the original version from the 1941 movie Sun Valley Serenade. Of course, it turns out to be completely different from all others.
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...Trot and Cap'n Bill were free from anxiety and care. Button-Bright never worried about anything. The Scarecrow, not being able to sleep, looked out of the window and tried to count the stars.