She'll Grow Back: Stagger Lee Saturdays - Keb' Mo'

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Stagger Lee Saturdays - Keb' Mo'

This post is a little peremptory, since I'm working on a monster for Monday, and I have fancy plans (and pants to match) for December.

I haven't seen Honeydripper yet, but I love John Sayles (seriously: Lone Star, Brother from Another Planet -- what's not to like?!?) Today's take on Stag is from Keb' Mo', who I've avoided like the plague since his contribution to a Johnny Cash tribute album, in which he rewrites Folsom Prison Blues so the singer is falsely accused ("They say I shot a man down in Reno / But that was just a lie.") With that said, this is a good, lowkey take on Stag.




4 comments:

CD said...

i wish you hadn't told me that about Keb. i had nothing but respect for him before learning this.

Mark H. Besotted said...

Well, for my sake (and Johnny's) I wish it weren't true.

I love Keb's (or should that be "Keb''s"?) style -- everything I've heard from his has been musically brilliant. And I even like his musical take on "Folsom Prison Blues."

On a Johnny Cash tribute album, you're supposed to do Johnny justice. That's why they've never let Pat Boone on a Little Richard tribute record.

Censoring the entire point of the song, just because he can't sing about evil in the first person (you'll note he lets Stag kill Billy here, in the third person)... that's just too much.

(For the record, there've been several non-murderous takes on Stag. See Ike and Tina, and of course there's Lloyd Price's nonviolent version. Hell, I even have a tongue-in-cheek cover of that nonviolent version, which kind of camps up Stag and Billy's quarrel. Stay tuned for those.)

CD said...

i've seen Keb live once or twice and he always keeps the crowd happy. That being said, your points are all valid and warranted.

Just don't tell me anything i don't want to know about Santa Claus.

Mark H. Besotted said...

Uh-oh. You better not listen to the mini-mix I've prepared of songs about Santa's elves.

Santa's only the good guy in about half of them...