Music Routes

Your Discography Help Requested: Daft Punk

We here at Music Routes HQ have had a difficult time connecting Daft Punk to other artists.

We’re as surprised as you are.  We’ve had to settle for connecting LCD Soundsystem’s “Daft Punk Is Playing At My House” to Kanye West’s “Stronger” which samples Daft Punk’s “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger”.

You’d think it would be really easy to connect Daft Punk to other popular musicians—just connect them through their performance with Kanye West at the Grammy’s!  But, to my knowledge, that performance has never been released legally on an audio recording.  And that’s the standard we’ve been using for entering something into the database.

One might also be tempted to use West’s aforementioned “Stronger” (which is the song he performed at the aforementioned Grammy’s ceremony).  But that wasn’t a true collaboration; West sampled Daft Punk.  And we don’t generally count sampling as the sampled artist performing.

(We also generally don’t count it when a track exhumes a dead person’s recorded performance so that people who were not meant to be involved in that original performance can sing or play “with” the dead musician.  Natalie Cole’s recording with her late father Nat Cole is the most notirous example of this, but there are a surprising number of these things.  Kenny G with Louis Armstrong.  Suriving and dead Beatles “performing” together.  Many uses of Jim Morrison reading poetry.  Even Les Paul at 90 “performing” with a long-dead Sam Cooke!)

OK, so Kanye West is out (at least until that Grammy’s performance is released on a CD) as a collaborator with Daft Punk.  Who else is there?

There’s Romanthony who collaborated with Daft Punk on their song “One More Time”.  Romanthony, on his own recordings, has collaborated with Eve Angel and DJ S+M.  And from there?  Um, not sure.  Or maybe he’s collaborate with someone else?

Another possibility is Todd Edwards who collaborated with Daft Punk on “Face To Face”.  But from Todd Edwards, where do we go?

There are a few other projects that the guys in Daft Punk have worked on, but so far, they are all dead ends as far as connecting Daft Punk to the larger mass of musicians in the database.  Help?!

Photo by AndiH

Blinded By The Light Project: A Glimmer Of Hope

Yesterday, I wrote that I might have to relax the rules to achieve the third and final goal of the Blinded By The Light Project.

In the intervening time, new information has increased the chances of avoiding such an ignominious action.

While watching this video of Manfred Mann’s Earth Band performing “Blinded By The Light” on The Midnight Special, I noticed that there were female backing vocals near the end of the song.

There were no female backing vocalists visible on the set that I could see.  If the backing vocals were being performed live, they sure managed to be hard to see and silent (or inaudible) for quite a while.  But if they were pre-recorded, it was an odd choice for something to insert into a live performance unless they were also on the studio recording.

I listened to the studio recording again and, sure enough, the female backing vocals made an appearance in the same spot near the end of the song.

This means that there are more musicians on the track than just the ones I listed yesterday!  More musicians means more possibilities of shortening the route between it and the Bruce Springsteen version.

The Roaring Silence credits Doreen Chanter, Irene Chanter, and Suzanne Lynch with backing vocals on the album, but not on any specific song.  I went to Amoeba Records in San Francisco and purchased a used copy of The Best Of Manfred Mann’s Earth Band.  It credits those three with backing vocals on “Blinded By The Light” and that’s good enough for me unless and until a more reliable source is found.

In addition, Mick Rogers is credited with background vocals on the track too.  This is corroborated by Rogers’s own site.  (Unfortunately, his site does not list “Questions” as a song that he performed on—the Best Of credits list him for that song.  Either the site’s information is incomplete or the CD credits are not quite correct.)

Brief tangent: The change I received when I purchased the Manfred Mann’s Earth Band disc included Washington, D.C. quarters which feature Duke Ellington.

Duke Ellington to Manfred Mann’s Earth Band via Billie Holiday, The Beach Boys, and Warren Zevon

So, making what we can from the information available, it appears that the musicians on the Manfred Mann’s Earth Band version are:

• Manfred Mann
• Chris Thompson
• Chris Slade
• Colin Pattenden
• Dave Flett
• Doreen Chanter
• Irene Chanter
• Suzanne Lynch
• Mick Rogers

The musicians on the Bruce Springsteen version are:

• Bruce Springsteen
• Clarence Clemons
• David Sancious
• Vinnie Lopez
• Harold Wheeler

The challenge is to find a recorded song that has at least one musician from the first list and one musician from the second list.

Photo by Leo Reynolds

Blinded By The Light Project: Painted Into A Corner?

As previously noted, two of the three goals of the Blinded By The Light Project have been achieved.

I am concerned about the third goal, which is to get “Blinded By The Light” by Bruce Springsteen and “Blinded By The Light” by Manfred Mann’s Earth Band two steps apart.

When the project started, the tracks were four steps apart.

Now they are three steps apart.

(By the way, you really do have to listen to that Manfred Mann version of “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” in that last link.  It really is the best thing ever.)

Let’s look at that route.  David Sancious is on the Springsteen version.  He in turn played on a Jack Bruce record.  That’s one step.  Jack Bruce in turn played on that wacky Stones cover by Manfred Mann mentioned above.  That’s two steps.  Manfred Mann, of course, played on Manfred Mann’s Earth Band’s version of “Blinded By The Light”, and that’s three steps.

If the goal of the project is to get the two tracks to be two steps apart, that leaves us in a bit of a bind.

In order to shorten the above or any similar route to two steps, we need to remove one track from the route such that there are only three tracks (and thus two steps).

Any such route will take the form of:  Person A performed on Springsteen’s “Blinded By The Light” and also played on Track X with Person B.  That’s one step.  Person B in turn played on “Blinded By The Light” by Manfred Mann’s Earth Band.  That’s step number two.

In other words, it requires that someone that played on the Springsteen version and someone that played on the Manfred Mann’s Earth Band version recorded together at some point.

Springsteen’s track was performed by Springsteen, David Sancious, Clarence Clemons, Vinnie Lopez, and Harold Wheeler.  Manfred Mann’s Earth Band’s version had Mann, Chris Slade, Chris Thompson, Colin Pattenden, and Dave Flett.

I have spent more energy than I care to admit in an effort to find a track that has at least one person from each set of musicians above.  I don’t think such a track exists.

This leaves me with these options:

Concede failure quietly and move on. This is, of course, not a realistic option.

Concede failure loudly and move on. This too is not a realistic option.

Hope that such an intermediary track really does exist and that someone will come forward soon with the information. If you happen to know this information, for the love of Go-Cart Mozart, please tell me!

Hope that, although such a track does not exist now, it may come into existence in the future. Perhaps Manfred Mann and Bruce Springsteen will record a collaborative version of “Blinded By The Light” for a charity album.

Change the rules. I can start by loosening it so that it can be any recorded version of “Blinded By The Light” by Manfred Mann’s Earth Band or Bruce Springsteen.  At least in the case of the former, that opens the door for some live versions with different personnel.  I don’t think that will be sufficient, though.  At the same time, loosening it to three steps instead of two steps or two steps between the artists rather than the tracks both seem like cheating.

I hate to say it, but that last one seems the most likely path.

Photo by grittycitygirl.

Blinded By The Light Project: 2 of 3 Goals Achieved!

Right now, my world is totally ruled by the video above of Manfred Mann performing “Do Wah Diddy Diddy”. And that’s not entirely irrelevant to this post.

You may recall the three goals of the Blinded By The Light Project. OK, actually, you probably got here through a Google search and have no idea what I’m talking about. So let me sum it up very quickly:

1. Connect Steve Miller to Bruce Springsteen’s version of “Blinded By The Light” in two steps.  This is done.
2. Connect Steve Miller to the version of “Blinded By The Light” recorded by Manfred Mann’s Earth Band in two steps.
3. Connect the two above-mentioned versions of “Blinded By The Light” to each other in two steps.

We’re still working on #3 (and could really use your help if you have any ideas) but I’m happy to report that #2 has been achieved!  Chris Thompson, the singer on the Manfred Mann’s Earth Band track, was subsequently in a band called Night.  The piano player in Night was Nicky Hopkins.  In addition to recording with the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, Nicky Hopkins has recorded with Steve Miller.

So, Chris Thompson connects Manfred Mann’s Earth Band’s “Blinded By The Light” to a Night track (step 1) and Nicky Hopkins connects the Night track to Steve Miller (step 2).

Check it out.

The two “Blinded By The Light” tracks are both still four steps apart.  Time to get to work on that!

Blinded By The Light Project: 1 of 3 Goals Achieved!

On March 15, the three goals for The Blinded By The Light Project were explained and announced.

One goal was to find a way to get the route from Steve Miller to Bruce Springsteen’s “Blinded By The Light” down from 3 steps to a mere 2 steps.

Today, we found out that studio musician Gary Mallaber played drums on Bruce Springsteen’s “Dead Man Walkin’” from Music From And Inspired By The Motion Picture Dead Man Walking.  Mallaber may be best-known for his involvement with The Steve Miller Band.

The result is that Steve Miller is now 2 steps from Bruce Springsteen’s “Blinded By The Light”, just the way the good Lord intended.  One of three goals has been achieved!

Progress has been made on a second goal too!  The addition of tracks that Steve Miller recorded with Paul McCartney now means that Miller has moved one step closer to the version of “Blinded By The Light” that was recorded by Manfred Mann’s Earth Band.  From McCartney’s Flaming Pie through Wings and Cheech & Chong, it is now four steps from Miller to Manfred Mann’s “Blinded By The Light”.
The goal is to get it to two steps. (Help us in the comments!)

Photo by THEfunkyman

Six Degrees Of Supergroups

The supergroup concept is back. (Or did it never leave and I just didn’t notice?)

Alternative and indie fans with an ironic streak can check out Tinted Windows with members and ex-members of Smashing Pumpkins and Fountains of Wayne. And Cheap Trick. And Hanson.

Alternative and indie haters with no ironic awareness whatsoever can check out Chickenfoot with members and ex-members of Van Halen, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and the Coldplay-suing Joe Satriani.

Music Route from Tinted Windows to Chickenfoot

Hagar has been quoted as saying that Chickenfoot’s greatness could rival that of Led Zeppelin.  Really.  (One would think that with grand aspirations, one would select a name that wasn’t Chickenfoot.)

Music Route from Chickenfoot to Led Zeppelin

Photo by MPR529

The Blinded By The Light Project

Not too long ago, I used a rant about people who have the wrong metadata associated with their mp3s as a jumping-off point. (Note to world: The Cure did not perform “Come On, Eileen”, kthxbai.) I looked at routes between Bruce Springsteen (who wrote and first recorded “Blinded By The Light”), Manfred Mann (who had the biggest hit with the song), and Steve Miller (to whom that hit version is often erroneously attributed).

Since then, various combinations involving the phrase blinded by the light and the term miller have been the most common Google queries by which people find this blog.  In a cheap attempt to further drive people who are looking for the bass tablature to the song onto this site the hope of supplying further edification for the curious, I wish to introduce The Blinded By The Light Project.

The completely pointless goals of this project are:

1. To get “Blinded By The Light” by Bruce Springsteen two steps away from “Blinded By The Light” by Manfred Mann
2. To get Steve Miller two steps away from both versions

Let’s see how we’re doing.

1. The two “Blinded By The Light” tracks are four steps apart.  It would seem to me that the most promising prospects for getting the route shortened are to look for possibilities with Chris Slade (who is on the Manfred Mann version) and David Sancious (who is on the Bruce Springsteen version).
2. • Steve Miller to Bruce Springsteen’s version is three steps.  I suspect that it may be possible to get it down to two steps by using the fact that Springsteen sang on “We Are The World”.
   • Steve Miller to Manfred Mann’s version is five steps.  This will probably be the most challenging route to shorten.  I’m guessing Chris Slade may be the key here too.

Photo by THEfunkyman

Six Degrees Of Steve Martin

Someone did a bunch of searches trying to connect Steve Martin to various musicians. Some of the connections worked and some didn’t. I added some data so that they all work.

• Steve Martin to Bruce Springsteen
• Steve Martin to Eva Cassidy
• Steve Martin to Phish
• Steve Martin to Blue Öyster Cult

Each route starts with  “King Tut” which was recorded with Jeff Hanna of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.  I like to mix things up a bit more than that, so I want to add a few more Steve Martin tracks, but I’m having trouble locating precise personnel information for tracks he has recorded.

I am especially excited about the idea of getting the personnel information for Steve Martin’s cover of “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer” from the soundtrack of the late 1970s movie flop Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band which starred the Bee Gees and Peter Frampton.  It is probable that the drummer on that track is Bernard Purdie whom I’ve written about before. (Seriously, go watch the video in that last link if you haven’t. It is my absolute favorite non-Sesame Street YouTube clip.)

Unfortunately, I can’t be certain from the album credits alone that it is Purdie playing the drums on that track.  (The track, by the way, is terrible, but we don’t discriminate on the grounds of quality here at Music Routes HQ, much to my girlfriend’s chagrin.)   You can look at a scan of the relevant part of the album artwork in the fourth album artwork image from the top on a page at the awesome Discogs site.  In nice big letters near the top right, you can see that it credits Bernard Purdie with drums and percussion.  But keep looking further down in the smaller print below “Special Thanks To:” and you’ll see that David Dowell and Jeff Porcaro played some drums on the record as well.

How can I determine which drummer played on this cover of “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer”?

Jeff Porcaro was the drummer in Toto and a much sought-after studio drummer before his untimely death.  But…

Who the heck is David Dowell?

I can’t find anything about that guy.

Photo by Veeyawn

Bernard Purdie And Beatles Proximity

Bernard “Pretty” Purdie is one of the great session drummers.  He has a long list of impressive credits, but I think my favorite Purdie recording right now is this instructional video excerpt:

Unfortunately, a lot of people identify Purdie primarily with having said that he is the drummer on twenty-one early Beatles tracks. That may be implausible, but it does give me an opportunity to provide links to the very short routes from Bernard Purdie to each of the Beatles.

Bernard Purdie to George Harrison in one step
Bernard Purdie to John Lennon in one step
Bernard Purdie to Paul McCartney in one step
Bernard Purdie to Ringo Starr in one step

Vincent Price and (of course) Kevin Bacon

Vincent Price had a well-known cameo on Michael Jackson’s Thriller and a less well-known cameo on Alice Cooper’s Welcome To My Nightmare.

Kevin Bacon is in The Bacon Brothers with Michael Bacon.  They had Jon Bon Jovi as a guest musician on their recording Forosoco.

Over at the Oracle of Bacon, you can find that Vincent Price is connected to Kevin Bacon in one step via movies.

In song however, Kevin Bacon and Vincent Price are slightly further apart.

Kevin Bacon photo by laurenfarmer

Vincent Price advertisement from the collection of Roadsidepictures