In trying to find a karaoke version of Easy Lovin' I unearthed some incredible treasures. Witness these versions of Loretta & Conway singing this song live, featuring:
(a) their near inability to keep a straight face while singing the lyrics (or to look each other in the eye)
(b) the number of times Loretta gets out of time with the song
(c) Conway's grimaces while singing
(d) THEIR COSTUMES!
(e) HER HAIR!
BONUS: After the Fire Is Gone, also featuring an incredible dress, an orange suit, a sparkly guitar strap. And check out HIS hair in this one!
Live version which is pretty different and features (a) much stronger more interesting singing by Will Oldham (in my opinion), and (b) the performatively interesting concept of a second guitarist strolling onstage halfway through the song to put on his guitar and add another layer to the music.
Oh dudes... dudes. There is a treasure trove out there.
You MUST watch this karaoke video, with some dude singing only the Neil Diamond parts ("karaoke duet - male part only - you be Barbara"). The video is lots of flowers bursting forth into glorious life.
Check out this crazy psychedelic video of a young Lesley Gore performing "Young Love"! At the end these bizarre screams -- presumably of an audience of young girls? -- come out of nowhere.
I love this performance for many reasons, not the least of which is that Donna Summer is smokin' hot! Other things to love:
- The solo performer into full band reveal, especially at the end when the lights are more pulsating. You know that there are at least 6 people back there, but they only show the full band a few times and it's such a tease! Just the barest glimpse of backup dancing. As I mentioned before, I love the lighting in these concerts - focused spotlights, rich colors flooding and moving across the stage, pulsing lights, lights + fog, etc. Actually, a lot of looks are things Chris has played with in other shows - except a moving spot. That would be awesome.
- Her moves - Her upper body shifting from fluid to robotic. At some points she also backs off the mic and doesn't even try to pretend to sing into it and it sounds like all the vocals are coming from the backup singers you can't see.
- Accumulating harmonies: by the end they're in 4 part harmony
Structural idea for the "Concerts" section: a series of solos / duets / group songs that seem to speak to each other -- different songs from different points of view about the same love(s). Inspiration: The McGarrigle/Wainwright clan.
I actually can't decide if I like this for Concerts or not. Might be too insular. But here it is. By the way there are about five million songs I could post about them -- but I will pare it down to THREE which is VERY DIFFICULT.
Kate McGarrigle's "Go Leave" which I mentioned in another post but here it is again, this is her performing it in 1984:
(Kate's sister Anna also wrote the gorgeous song "Kitty Come Home" which I wish I could find live... I put it in the Dropbox if anyone wants to listen, it's so lovely.)
Moving on... Loudon Wainwright's "Father and a Son" plus "Rufus is a Tit Man" -- performed in 1998:
(by the way, to hear Rufus' perspective, listen to "Dinner at Eight": " why is it so, that I've always been the one who must go, that I've always been the one told to flee, when in fact you were the one long ago actually in drifting white snow who left me...")
Martha Wainwright's "Bloody Motherfucking Asshole" -- this version isn't the greatest audio wise but it features some audio difficulties and someone shouting out a request, wondrous cliches:
OKAY I can't narrow it down to just three! Last one: this clip of Rufus, Loudon, Martha and Lucy Wainwright Roche singing Rufus' song "Poses" -- I think in 2011? It's so beautiful, and Martha looks just like a young Kate. Heartbreaking.
(Or you can watch this one, with Martha singing backup with her baby son. NOW I'LL STOP.)
Oh man -- just watched the clip Erin brought in again -- it's so good:
It reminded me of another Kris Kristofferson song that is about loving someone who you're not with anymore, "Loving Her Was Easier". Jonathan actually tried to convince me to cover this song as Undine -- I tried but couldn't quite make it work -- but maybe that's because it was destined for this show.
There's a clip of Kris singing it at the same taping where he did the duet with Rita, but I love this version of him singing it as an older man:
And here's a beautiful version with Willie Nelson -- check out Kris' arms, man!
Update: one more clip! Here's him singing the same song in 1972 -- the same taping as the duet with Rita Coolidge! Which blows my theory that he wrote this song about her.
Okay JUST ONE MORE: here's them singing a duet from 1978. What do you read from their body language here??? Also note the amazing set (from Johnny Cash's Christmas show):
