Open Mic Week #45: Okay, so this is a semi “production” version of my 1st official entry/one-hit wonder, which landed me into the top-10 of Steemit’s Openmic #41. Yeah, my 30-seconds of fame and fortune… NOT…
Don’t know if this particular rendition actually “qualifies” - as it’s not totally live, but as always from my perspective, it’s never about the rules or the money – rather its only about the fun, passion, sharing, and engagement. Heck, I don’t even have a crypto wallet for god sake.
I did this over the course of several days – it was a lot of work for a rather simple song, but it was truly a labor of love. Oh yeah, I got a bit of vocal-sharing assistance from my brother John too… more on that in a minute…
I gotta tell ya, - even though you might not think so based upon the general simplicity of this classic composition, this was indeed one helluva hard song to learn on guitar, and to play straight, picking the nuanced flavor of Jagger and Richards the whole way through – non-stop.
So, at the end of all the sessions, I ended up with two vocal tracks from my brother and one from me, along with all of the stacked & labored guitar tracks in order to get as close to that awesome 12-string effect of Keith Richards as I possibly could without springing for an actual 12-string…
Although I added my own original lead guitar break, I did borrow the strings from the original reference track just for that one solo spot. Yeah, so I cheated a little on that front – so sue me… hehe….
Now, does all of that add up remotely close to equaling Mick Jagger & Keith Richards’s brilliant performance?
Nah – I don’t think so, not by a long-shot - not for a NY minute, but from where I stand, it’s as close as I’m ever gonna get, - and besides, it was a whole lot of fun to do and to now reflect back upon from this day forward –for the rest of my life…
Hope you like it… Here it is – my production cover of the first song ever written by Keith Richards and Mick Jagger. As Tears Go By…
So after hours of rehearsals and dozens of labored takes, this is what I came up with…
As an interesting aside, should you care to pursue it, this song sticks in my head from when I was a small child.
I think I was maybe 5 or 6 years old, and somehow, I burnt my hand real bad on the face of our kitchen stove (where I was born, and raised for the first decade of my life,) in the Bronx, NYC.
Yeah, I know, fun place to grow up… My Italian Grandparents landed on Ellis Island, and that was the best they could do at the time… It was rather soulful and enriching, - and I wouldn’t change a single thing about those first ten years of my life!
Anyway, I immediately got this huge burn-blister on the palm of my hand that was literally the size of a small orange… And hell-yeah, it hurt like crazy for several days thereafter…
Even though it was a beautiful early evening in that wonderful 7:00 pm timeframe of the setting sun in the summer of 65’, I was not allowed to go outside - even for the ice cream-man, or to play with the other kids on the block. In fact, I was in so much pain; I didn’t even want to go out to play even though there was a huge part of my innate psychology that still did.
I distinctly remember kneeling on a chair with my blistered hand wrapped in several layers of gauze, both my small elbows on a deeply cut window sill, one good hand on my chin, and the other not so good hand bandaged and sticking straight in the air throbbing in pain like you wouldn’t believe.
Without question, that little 5-year-old boy that I was - was rather troubled, in pain, and saddened deeply with regard to the predicament in which he found himself on that summer eve back in 1965.
Unable to find remedy toward getting that throbbing pain out of my hand and mind, I succumbed with little choice but to wistfully gaze out through the summer screened window from the 3rd floor of our 3-room apartment– watching the sun slowly begin to set, and looking down upon all the kids gathered round the ice cream man, having fun, and playing outside on the street below - without me…
It is within that very moment of childhood pain, loneliness, misery, and sadness; that this song came on the radio.
Following somewhat of a catchy guitar intro which vaguely caught my limited attention, I then heard Mick Jagger sing… “It Is The Evening Of The Day…” Something then “clicked” …and then I listened quite intently for the potential hope and promise of what was to follow…
It was probably the first time I’d ever heard the song. After the first verse, I reflexively leaned my forehead further into the screen, closed my eyes in sadness (and perhaps amidst a meaningful dose of childish self-pity) and just listened to the entire essence of the song coursing through my under-developed child-brain like a runaway freight train.
Suddenly, out of the blue, I got a lump in my throat, and began to tear-up while my young mind struggled to absorb and process this beautiful song in concert with my personal pain, replete with its melancholy lyrics that even my five-year-old mind could understand.
In those very moments, this song emblazoned itself forever within my consciousness…
Suddenly, the seemingly non-stop throbbing pain in my hand began to subside as I focused instead on the pain ringing out within the driving melancholy lyrical cadence of this song. I’ve loved and treasured it ever since.
Back then, I thought that even though I was sad, alone, and in pain, that perhaps there was someone else out there who might be experiencing far more pain and misery than me – after all, in my little mind, the song said so, and it sounded real serious - so it had to be true.
Funny thing is – even though it was not so serious, it was indeed quite true then, and it’s just as true today too – for most all of us.
Funny, huh? Something’s you just never forget… It’s an innocent and beautiful memory that I’ll cherish till the day I die, and - I’ll proudly take it with me to the next life should I be worthy of such fortune…
PEACE, LOVE, and JUSTICE for ALL…
