I LOVE LEON RUSSELL, always have....and here's one of my favorites of his:
Here's Joe Cocker's rendition........my opinion? Doesn't hold a candle to my Leon, tho I have always like Cocker.
Leon's playing piano on Joe's rendition of DELTA LADY, AND so is fabulous keyboard player, Chris Stainton....who, some years after Mad Dogs and Englishmen, played keyboard for Leo Sayer at a Sayer concert in LA. Sayer introduced his band at the end of the show, one by one, as they walked off the stage to applause (it was a kind of very small but famous club whose name now escapes me!). Stainton was the last introduced and the applause was starting to die down when he passed me and I had the GREAT privilege to grab his arm and say "Where've you been since Mad Dogs?" He looked like I'd knighted him, thrilled somebody even knew who he was, and thanked me with the biggest smile you could imagine as he trotted off after the rest of the band. I'll never forget it. I like to think he hasn't, either.
By the way, stick with Joe's rendition till the end....he shuts down the song and you think it's over and then he revs it up again............one of the best endings of any live concert.......
Leon..........you're the man.
z
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8 comments:
Claude Bridges, now 68, produced what I thought was his finest album, "Carney," in 1972. He started as a session musician and then found his own niche. Always enjoyed ol' Leon.
BZ
Never was a huge fan of Joe's style.
His stage performances annoyed me because of his spastic jerking.
Leon is a different story. He was a unique performer, musically and on stage. He had an immeasurable amount of talent and was a great entertainer. Sometimes you don't get the benefit of both in one package, but he had it.
Z, I can't watch Joe Cocker without the image of John Belushi's impersonation of him coming to mind.
Pris
BZ, Carney was super but I like the Leon blue album the very best..'A song for You'..Delta Lady...etc etc..all his greatest.
LOVE "Tightrope", though..Carney is excellent!
LA and Pris, the spastic Cocker style is SO off putting it's amazing he made it, I think! But, he sure got good people to back him up! Leon, especially...Rita Coolidge,etc...
Joe Cocker reminds me of Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder... the spastic thing.
I could listen to Leon's Delta Lady 100 times in a row. Honestly
I saw Leon in concert in Wichita, Kansas so long ago I don't remember the year. The opening act was REO Speedwagon. Leon played his music so loud, I couldn't make out either the lyrics or the melody. Fortunately, I had every album he had made up until then committed to memory, so I knew which songs he was playing.
Back in the 70's, Leon was my favorite artist. He was Raquel Welch's favorite, too, I read somewhere.
I couldn't single out any one song of his that is my favorite. There are so many.
mark, I couldn't single one out, either..So glad to hear you're such a big fan, too.
Sounds like the sound board people screwed up........And, you know, I think I remember hearing Welch liked him, too. I just can't get enough of Leon and have to admit I've deprived myself lately...
Since Mr. Z's death, I need to be doing things that cheer me up...maybe listening to more Leon will help.
Thanks. xx
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