and he keeps it... outta sight...
Sep. 29th, 2005 02:35 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
thehefnerSo when ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
gore_whore_5 informed me that she'd never heard the song "Mack the Knife," I decided to rectify this situation. I was just going to play her the Bobby Darin version, but then I thought I couldn't neglect the Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, and certainly not Sinatra's either for that matter. Then I started searching around for more versions, and I decided, the hell with it, I'm gonna make a whole CD mix dedicated to all the best takes on "Mack the Knife" that I can find!
I'm at fifteen track right now, and still trying to find any more versions. If I left any versions out, it's usually because they were just unimaginitively aping Darin's version. It's understandable; I still think pound for pound Bobby Darin's is still the best out there. It's the purest, the swinginest, the most dramatic and ass-kicking version (aside from Frank and Sammy's duet version, but the Sinatra flourishes at the end keep it from being the iconic take on the song). I wanted to see just how many different styles of music could lend themselves to this song originally envisioned by Weill and Brecht in "Threepenny Opera." How many other songs have gotten this kind of love and treatment, I wonder? My "Mack the Knife" mix includes the following people:
Caterina Valente (in the original german)
Louis Armstrong and Louie Prima
Bobby Darin
Peggy Lee
Ella Fitzgerald and Duke Ellington
The Doors
Liberace
Marianne Faithful
Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr.
The Psychadelic Furs
Westlife
Brian Setzer Orchestra
Michael Buble
Nick Cave
Kevin Spacey
I may take the Westlife one off, as it basically sounds like a boy band doing the Darin version. Meh-tastic. Michael Buble and Peggy Lee's are the most "lounge" and that's not in the best way, but they grow on you. The Doors' segues into "show me the way to the next whiskey bar..." and the Psychadelic Furs sounds... well, exactly like you expect it might. Liberace's version is especially perfect for this mix, as he plays a few bars, then toys with what it would have been like if Strauss and then Mozart had played Mack.
(interesting note about Liberace: I discovered this track off his "Greatest Hits" album. I looked over the rest of the tracks to see if I'd recognize anything, and two particular pieces caught my eye. "Tammy" was the first track I noticed. Not surprising, of course, but just a coincidence. But wait, what's the second track I noticed? That's right. "Misty." Yep. Tammy and Misty on Liberace's Greatest Hits. In fact, those are the only "name" songs on the whole album, assuming "Misty" isn't an adjective. My brain is twisting itself into a pretzel trying to figure this one out, and I can't even think of anything witty to say.)
Making this mix has been a really fun and fascinating little musical adventure, reminding me once again why this is the song Johnny Go is going to sing just before he dies.
gore_whore_5 informed me that she'd never heard the song "Mack the Knife," I decided to rectify this situation. I was just going to play her the Bobby Darin version, but then I thought I couldn't neglect the Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, and certainly not Sinatra's either for that matter. Then I started searching around for more versions, and I decided, the hell with it, I'm gonna make a whole CD mix dedicated to all the best takes on "Mack the Knife" that I can find! I'm at fifteen track right now, and still trying to find any more versions. If I left any versions out, it's usually because they were just unimaginitively aping Darin's version. It's understandable; I still think pound for pound Bobby Darin's is still the best out there. It's the purest, the swinginest, the most dramatic and ass-kicking version (aside from Frank and Sammy's duet version, but the Sinatra flourishes at the end keep it from being the iconic take on the song). I wanted to see just how many different styles of music could lend themselves to this song originally envisioned by Weill and Brecht in "Threepenny Opera." How many other songs have gotten this kind of love and treatment, I wonder? My "Mack the Knife" mix includes the following people:
Caterina Valente (in the original german)
Louis Armstrong and Louie Prima
Bobby Darin
Peggy Lee
Ella Fitzgerald and Duke Ellington
The Doors
Liberace
Marianne Faithful
Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr.
The Psychadelic Furs
Westlife
Brian Setzer Orchestra
Michael Buble
Nick Cave
Kevin Spacey
I may take the Westlife one off, as it basically sounds like a boy band doing the Darin version. Meh-tastic. Michael Buble and Peggy Lee's are the most "lounge" and that's not in the best way, but they grow on you. The Doors' segues into "show me the way to the next whiskey bar..." and the Psychadelic Furs sounds... well, exactly like you expect it might. Liberace's version is especially perfect for this mix, as he plays a few bars, then toys with what it would have been like if Strauss and then Mozart had played Mack.
(interesting note about Liberace: I discovered this track off his "Greatest Hits" album. I looked over the rest of the tracks to see if I'd recognize anything, and two particular pieces caught my eye. "Tammy" was the first track I noticed. Not surprising, of course, but just a coincidence. But wait, what's the second track I noticed? That's right. "Misty." Yep. Tammy and Misty on Liberace's Greatest Hits. In fact, those are the only "name" songs on the whole album, assuming "Misty" isn't an adjective. My brain is twisting itself into a pretzel trying to figure this one out, and I can't even think of anything witty to say.)
Making this mix has been a really fun and fascinating little musical adventure, reminding me once again why this is the song Johnny Go is going to sing just before he dies.
