(TV) OT - Stiff Little Fingers -- "Johnny Was"

["Joe Thornton" <joe.thornton@gmx.net>]

Just came across this: Stiff Little Fingers live (about 1980, I guess), doing
"Johnny Was":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YA1WZI58nkM

On the one hand you can say that they absolutely murder the song, but then you
have to admit that it has... integrity. Or, you might well say, it's just
bloody great.

I think it's a combination of the band's respect for the original song, "the
times that were in it", and sheer commitment; so they pull it off. And you
might detect the influence of Television there too. There are certainly
similarities...

And here they are, SLF, revisiting the song in 2005:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSFHyVRBhmE

Another reason I point it out is that the song was one of Bob Marley & the
Wailers' greatest recordings; his singing, the backing vocals, the
arrangement, the sheer feeling they put into it -- peerless. It's on Rastaman
Vibration, an inconsistent album. The previous album Natty Dread had more
great songs, such as "Lively Up Yourself", "No Woman, No Cry", "Rebel Music (3
O'Clock Roadblock)", and the title track.

Here's the nugget of information: both "Johnny Was" and "Natty Dread" were
written by Bob's wife Rita Marley.

--JoeT
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