#96 jarvis cocker – black magic/ tommy james and the shondells – crimson and clover

how often do you read the liner notes? whenever it comes to my pulp albums, i always make it a point, most of the time breaking the rules by reading the lyrics while listening to the recordings (contrary to jarvis’ strict instructions not to). and how could you not, with the band’s wry and twisted humor textualized in the cd booklet, complete with catchy slogans you just can’t forget. in jarvis cocker‘s solo album from 2006, most of that features on the cd itself, with the magnanimous and very modest reminder: you may sit if you wish – kneeling is really not necessary. somehow, amidst all that, i’d forgotten to pour through the liner notes for this album until now, when i finally realized why “black magic” sounded so familiar. that forceful guitar riff which opens the song and labors through the end was actually borrowed from tommy james and the shondells‘ 1968 hit “crimson and clover”, with the original riff sounding a lot more wobbly. so here are both songs just for you, from the magnanimous and very modest me.

mp3: jarvis cocker – black magic

mp3: tommy james and the shondells – crimson and clover