I picked up a copy of February's edition of The Word - a finely produced music mag - and was taken by an article about cover versions that exceeded the originals. Subjective stuff, particularly as each entry came from a different writer.
The lead entry was one I didn't know until know even existed: Merry Clayton's cover of the Rolling Stones classic, Gimme Shelter. This sounded strange; after all, every music trivia buff knows that it was Clayton herself whose background vocals help define the song for the ages.
But, yep, Clayton recorded the song herself for a 1970 album that was named after the song that I would imagine was her calling card in the industry. And yes, when you hear her take on the lyrics - "Rape, murder, it's just a shot away," which are still pretty incendiary - you're inclined to agree that she more than held her own. Just listen.
The backing band includes Billy Preston, evidently. You can buy the whole album on iTunes.
Maybe Martin Scorsese would use this alternate version the next time he needs a transcendent tune for a violent sequence ... :)
In case you wanted to compare, here's the Stones tune, as it was released.
But.... THIS is where things get really interesting. Last year, the original tracks of Gimme Shelter made their way online, and it's something else to hear Jagger and Clayton laying down their vocals live together. Indeed, as mentioned in the Word article, you can actually hear Jagger's astonished reaction when she hits her crescendo. Take the video below to 2:46 and just listen!
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