Everybody's Pickin' On Leiber & Stoller

Everybody's Pickin' On Leiber & Stoller (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 27, 2011)
• Original Release Date: 2011
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Solid Air Records
• ASIN: B005L3HK2W
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #57,319 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Stand By Me (Nick Charles)

2. Kansas City (Mark Hanson)

3. Charlie Brown (Arlen Roth)

4. Fools Fall In Love (Doug Smith)

5. On Broadway (David Cullen)

6. Love Me (Elliot Easton)

7. Poison Ivy (Laurence Juber)

8. D.W. Washburn (Mike Dowling)

9. Bossa Nova Baby (Greg Hawkes)

10. Searchin' (Alex de Grassi)

11. Jailhouse Rock (Eltjo Haselhoff)

12. Love Potion No. 9 (Al Petteway)

13. Ruby Baby (Wayne Johnson)

14. Hound Dog (Kenny Sultan)

15. Yakety Yak (Doug Smith and Mark Hanson)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Homage to Leiber & Stoller, October 9, 2011

By 

Blondzilla8 "Blondzilla8" (SoCal, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Everybody's Pickin' On Leiber & Stoller (Audio CD)

Being a fan of Solid Air Records is a lesson in patience. In a good way.

Their releases are all SO great that I find myself impatiently tapping my toe in anticipation of their next release. But I am never disappointed, once the latest and greatest becomes available.

Solid Air's latest - "Everybody's PIckin' On Leiber & Stoller" - was definitely worth the wait. These tunes everyone will recognize immediately as songs with lyrics performed by Elvis, George Benson, the Beatles, and even The Monkees but once you take a listen to them as solely musical interpretations, you'll have a new admiration for the musicianship and talent it takes to create truly solid tunes.

The album begins with Nick Charles performing a stellar version of "Stand By Me" - this is the second version of this classic, as Laurence Juber performed it not only on "Pop Goes Guitar"Pop Goes Guitar but also in the DeBeer's "A Diamond is Forever' campaign a few years ago. Charles keeps up with the master and makes this one his own.

"Kansas City" (which I first heard via the Beatles) rocks with Mark Hanson at the helm. He always adds his very own seasonings to his performances and this one is no exception.

No one can tell me that when they hear "Charlie Brown" they don't at least crack a smile. It's so catchy and fun and Arlen Roth captures both of these qualities in his endeavor.

Ah, now - my personal favorite - the wonderful Doug Smith making ME fall in love (again) with his sublime "Fools Fall in Love." As always, Doug brings so much heart and care into this performance that it's as though I'm hearing this beautiful melody for the first time.

"On Broadway" (which I always equate with the film "All That Jazz") is a new and almost bouncy groove by David Cullen. And "Love Me" by The Cars' Eliot Easton (I always thought it was called "Treat Me Like A Fool" - FYI) is what Elvis would have sounded like if he had been reincarnated as an acoustic guitar. SO great.

Laurence Juber rocks "Poison Ivy" as only he can. His interpretation is wickedly good and his stylings never disappoint, with a great intro and bass line.

"D.W. Washburn" is a song I only ever heard with Monkee Micky Dolenz singing it. It never felt like a real Monkees tune, but as a guitar solo, WOW. NOW I get it. It's a lilty, fun, laid-back tune and will happily help erase the memory of the former interpretation. Some songs are better left UNsung and left to great musicians to revisit for a whole new appreciation of them. This is one of them.

Get ready to shimmy like Ann-Margret when you take a listen to "Bossa Nova Baby" played on the uke by Greg Hawkes (also of The Cars). What a BLAST of a tune and you can hear how much fun Hawkes is having as he plays it.

Alex de Grassi performs "Searchin'" - a song I was not familiar with - and it's great to hear a new L&S tune. Eltjo Haselhof NAILS IT on "Jail House Rock" incorporating that required opening that makes this song the classic it remains after all these years.

I absolutely love "Love Potion No.9" and the extra "pixie dust" Al Petteway adds to his performance. What a fun interpretation - very clever. Wayne Jonson performs "Ruby Baby" and, once again, you can almost feel the '60s energy that Dion brought to his original performance.

Kenny Sultan's performance of "Hound Dog" will surprise you, as it is actually the ORIGINAL vibe of the song as opposed to the Elvis version. Much more bluesy, and no one does bluesy better than Kenny Sultan. Don't even try.

This terrific album winds up with "Yakety Yak" expertly played by the duo, Doug Smith and Mark Hanson, who add something so clever and fun towards the end of the performance that the listener is reminded just how technically great these Leiber and Stoller songs are. This project must have been such a blast for these musicians to be a part of because this, folks, is REAL MUSIC.

So, yes, I do a lot of toe-tapping in the name of Solid Air Records, but I'm happy to say that my toes are now tapping to this fabulous album as I gratefully await the next release which will, I know, not disappoint.

They never do.