I posted this video on my Facebook page yesterday, but it clearly deserves a re-post — not to mention a few more words of introduction.
As many of you know, I'm a big fan of rock covers by soul artists (almost always preferable to the other way 'round), and I consider Wilson Pickett's version of the Beatles' "Hey Jude" to be one of the greatest recordings by anybody, ever. Much as I love the Beatles, their original resides in the "Paul Songs I Never Need to Hear Again" file, along with "The Long and Winding Road," "Birthday," "Let It Be" and "When I'm 64." I never get tired of the Wicked Pickett's version, though; his impassioned vocal performance and Duane Allman's wild string-bending take the song somewhere far deeper and make it far more cathartic than McCartney could have ever hoped for.
And then there's this clip from an early 70s Midnight Special, which delivers the same soulful charge while adding something deeply bizarre: A duet of sorts between Pickett and Barry Gibb. I can safely say that "Soul Hootenanny" and "Bee Gees" are two phrases that have never even shared the same part of my brain at once, much less been in a sentence I've used, but the Wicked One invites them out for just that, and even steps aside a couple of times to let "Soul Brother" Barry do his thing on "Hey Jude". And while Barry doesn't exactly sound like the second coming of Otis Redding, he still acquits himself fairly admirably; his brothers, however...
Actually, Maurice looks like he's having a great time, and just seems happy to be able to watch the fireworks from such close proximity. Robin, though, is acting like a bored-out-of-his-mind six year-old, twirling in circles and waving his arms like he's pretending to be an airplane until the grown-ups start paying attention to him again. Seriously dude, WTF?!?
Still, the whole thing pretty much rules. And Pickett's backing band — the Midnight Movers — kick mightily. Enjoy!
