nick manho

i grew up convinced that the cover versions performed by the beatles were better than the originals. it went against all logic, right? the original has to be better just by the fact that it's original. and it was proven over and over again by all the crap covers by brian poole and the tremeloes, herman's hermits, freddie and the dreamers, hundreds of others.

but the beatles were different. they were actually better than the original groups and their covers left the originals wheezing for breath in a dingy back alley after a good thrashing.

listening to these originals though, i've realised something funny. they're better than the beatles covers. and i've realised why i always thought the beatles versions were the best. it's because i'd never actually heard the originals.

take this one by the isleys for example:

The Isley Brothers: Twist And Shout


such a great record. maybe lennon's vocal was superior (lennon's vocals are always superior) but as a record the beatles version stinks next to this. there's just so much going on here: great vocal, bass, drums, harmonies, bit of cool latin brass. the arrangement is great. it bubbles, it swings, it bossanovas. listen to that drrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr, at the end. that's genius.



and look how cool they were:






manho's vote on twist and shout: isley brothers 9/10. beatles 8/10 (without lennon's vocal, 5/10).

last year the manho team came up trumps with the combined dickens parody effort. this year? almost fuck all.

nad, 14, from liverpool, must be about 17 now and all i get from her are the odd messages to manho posts. i guess when you're 17 in liverpool you have better things to do. you know what i mean?

cripes? who knows where the fuck the fat kid is. last i heard he was heading out to monument valley to do a piece on those mountain backdrops that john ford used in his movies. he's moved on from record reviewing, that's for sure.

manho? well, all his time has been taken up scouring discount bins for the originals of beatles cover versions. he's so tired.

but, hey, trish from brighton came up with a great piece. let's face it the manho blog is not ever going to let you down 100%, right?



MASS MURDER AND MUCUS
By Trish from Brighton

THIS TIME OF YEAR MAKES ME HAPPILY REFELT REFECT REFLECT.. ON THE MASS
MURDERERS.THIS IS A GENUINE DENIS NILSON BUSINEES CARD.





MY MOTHER ALWAYS
SAID..GET THEIR BUSINESS CARD.SO YOU KNOW WHO YOU WERE SPEAKING TO.

HAD AN HOUR LONG CONVERSATION WITH HIM IN THE JOB CENTRE CAMDEN,HAD HIS
MALBOROUGHS OUT AND THE WHITE SHOES WERE A GIVE AWAY.


THE OTHER IS THE TISSUE BOG ROLL SNEZZER ASSAULTER.




HE IS KNOWN FOR HIS
HYPNOTIC SNIFFING AND THEN THE DECIBLE SNEEZE CAN KILL. AS HE HAS A NOSEBLOW
THEY HAVE ISSUED HIM WITH NOT A ANKLET BUT A BEAKER...BLOCKER...

YO FUCKING HO

VERY HAPPY THAT TE SHOES HAVE ALMOST PASSED THE ROAD TEST. TAKE CARE LOVE TX

one of the tricks about covering songs in the early 60s was to cover stuff that hadn't been released in your country, or had been a flop, or had been released only as an instrumental or something. so your version seemed original, get it?

a taste of honey had a bit of everything. first, it was the theme music from a successful and important film. second, it was a hit only as an instrumental. third, the one version with lyrics was crap.

paul sussed this one right off. a paul song that he didn't even need to write himself (though he would rewrite it a few times in the future).

here's the version the beatles copied which flopped:

Lenny Welch: A Taste Of Honey



here's lenny:






and here's the big instrumental hit by the one, the only, the late, the nearly great acker bilk:

Acker Bilk: A Taste Of Honey



paul would dig deep into this stuff in the mid 60s when he wrote the music for the film, the family way.

he was a canny lad, paul. that's why he's worth $1,000,000,000 now.



manho's vote on the honey: lenny 3/10. beatles 5/10. acker 7/10.

acker was ok.

the work of a historian is based on instinct. chancing your arm. guessing how many beans there are in the jar. you find a document from the middle ages but you can never be sure if it's authentic. maybe it was changed to suit some financial need or other a couple of hundred years after the first document was written. it happens. money talks.

it's the same with these original records from the late 50s and early 60s. many of them were re-recorded later by different musicians and released under the original name on cheap label compilations. the only way to be sure is to have the record in your hand. and even then you can't be sure.

like, did baby it's you, by the shirelles really have that cheesy rolf harris stylophone solo? and the ripped drum intro? is that some mp3 fuck up or state of the art production technique?

i'm guessing it's the original. even geniuses fuck up now and then:

The Shirelles: Baby It's You



manho's vote on baby it's you: shirelles 6/10. beatles 7/10.

these girls deserve a big photo.

ok, earl-jean was great, but this is the fucking shirelles, man. can you dig it?


boys was the b side of will you love me tomorrow and was written by the producer of the a side, luther dixon, and another guy who was probably just hanging round the studio at the time, wes farrell.

that was the deal in those days. you got the b side done in the cheapest way possible. sometimes the guy brushing the floor helped out on bongos.

and the song would probably have been forgotten if the beatles hadn't needed something easy for ringo to sing in the one short day they were given to record the whole of their first album.

but then, if you're gonna do b sides, at least do one written by the guys responsible for hang on sloopy and soldier boy, right?


The Shirelles: Boys


manho's vote on boys: shirelles 7/10. beatles 5/10.

this next song has brill building smeared all over it. the cookies, with the one, the only, the great, the late, "ethel "earl-jean" mcrea. earl-jean sang with little eva and also recorded the original version of "i'm into something good". she was one of the greatest black singers never to become famous.




that's the same photo, but smaller, but in colour. ethel deserves it.


The Cookies: Chains


chains was the second song covered by the beatles.

written by carol king:



and gerry goffin, at a desk and a piano in the brill building, new york city.1962.


if it got any better than this it would be something else.


manho's vote on chains: cookies 8/10. beatles 4/10.

the guy with the greasy hair and the cool soul scowl is arthur alexander (i bet he was a sweetie, really). he wrote and recorded the first ever cover version officially released by the beatles. anna, on the please please me album:

Arthur Alexander: Anna (Go To Him)


that's floyd kramer playing the piano. he had a big hit in 1961 with "on the rebound". that's worth looking through the discount bins at your local record shop for, too.

check out manholand every day as we take you on a chrolological crawl through the beatles covers.

manho's vote on anna: arthur 8/10. beatles 6/10.

"Mother, I left you, but you didn't leave me."



Danny Kaye: Mommy, Gimme A Drinka Water