Archive for the 'Collaborations' Category

Fresh in from Rough Trade  :

“Green has been writing with Alexis Taylor from Hot Chip and this may result in something collaborative being recorded”

Rough Trade has no news on any upcoming gigs (as rumoured on Larks’ MySpace page)

I have always been a huge fan of Chaka Khan. She sings high and very loud, a combination which is a serious killer for most singers.

Years ago when I was working on an album with Dave Green (yes, I know!), a former band-member of the UK-band Icicle Works, we had a discussion about Chaka. Dave asked me if I had ever heard Chaka’s ‘Naughty’ album. And no, I did not. I think it was only officially released in Japan or something like that. But anyway: ‘Naughty‘ (buy at Amazon.com) is the best Chaka has ever done. Gives me chills all over!

But okay back to the Chaka-Green connection…

The song Green wrote for Chaka, ‘Love Of A Lifetime’, also has an interesting story:

He is also finishing writing a song for Chaka Khan, called ‘Love Of A Lifetime’. It is the first he’s written for somebody else, and he will sing on it with Chaka and co-produce it. Chaka had contacted Green and asked him to do it. They have met previously and Chaka likes the Scritti stuff very much.

(source)

Sound-wise Perfect Way has that typical 80’s sound. And sure, Scritti is responsible for that

The thing that still does it for me is the way the song modulates from the intro into the verse and then finally into the refrain. My head is still popping off when I hear it and I am sure the same thing happened to Miles Davis. Miles did a cover of Perfect Way on his album Tutu.

I have seen Miles Davis perform Perfect Way many times here in The Hague, Holland, at the North Sea Jazz Festival. The best gigs for me were those with John Scofield on guitar. But this speedy version is also right on the money I must say!