Actually it was a #1 hit in Britain. Somehow I missed it back in the day. Garage soul with Satisfaction-plus fuzztone. That singer’s got some pipes. They didn’t write it but they might as well have. The original by Jackie Edwards is an early reggae song and a fine tune, but Spencer and the fellas make it something else again.
My girlfriend’s taking me to see Seu Jorge 9/30 in Philly. Like everyone else on the planet, I was turned on to Seu Jorge via Life Aquatic.
I think a dog could bark Life On Mars and it would be beautiful, but this moves me. I think I like Jorge singing Bowie even better than I like Ferry singing Dylan (and that says a lot).
Garnet Mimms was a soul singer of distinction, best known for the original version of “Cry Baby” that Janis Joplin covered. This is my fave of his. The singing is great beginning to end but it’s not even the best thing about it, which is the beat. It rides and it’s funky at the same time, with a big assist from the unknown-to-me rhythm guitar player. He cuts The Drifters by a mile.
