Great Songs: Lean on Me
Most of my generation probably best remembers this song as Club Nouveau's 1986 synth-laden hit, but it was original recorded 15 years earlier by it's writer, Bill Withers, who also sent it to #1. I'll admit that the sentiment has a lot to do with why I like it, but before you jump on me for it, check this out from allmusic.com's bio of Bill Withers:
Withers wrote "Lean on Me" based on his experiences growing up in a West Virginia coal mining town. Times were hard and when a neighbor needed something beyond their means, the rest of the community would chip in and help. He came up with the chord progression while noodling around on his new Wurlitzer electric piano. The sound of the chords reminded Withers of the hymns that he heard at church while he was growing up.
So, it's not just some silly, sappy song. It's rooted in real human community and love. It's a song about solidarity.
Anyway, after listening to Club Nouveau's version and Bill Wither's original, I went on to listen to a lot of covers of "Lean on Me" and here's what I found:
Bill Withers (from Still Bill) - Withers gets a certain amount of credit for just writing the song, but his performance isn't as moving as the song itself. It's a decent version, but I don't feel him digging as deep to perform the song as he did to write it.
Club Nouveau (from Love, Life and Pain) - Despite the generic 80s backing track and dated production, this really is a very good version. The vocals have heart that really pay tribute to the song.
Al Green (from Trust in God) - Needless to say, this song was screaming to given a gospel treatment and Al Green delivers. The production is a little thin and the arrangement unoriginal, but it's overall competent. I just wish the gospel singers in the back would have moved up in the mix a bit.
Rascal Flatts (from Live) - Maybe it's just that it's live, but Rascal Flatts (and their audience) are really feeling it. Maybe it's just the perfect moment, because it is a song about community and that's what live music should really be all about.
Pam Hall (from R&B Hits Reggae Style) - The album title certainly didn't give me high hopes for this one, but while the synthetic reggae backing track was just what I expected, Pam Hall's performance rose above it. She sang with a gentle passion that fits the song perfectly.
Lynne Arialle Trio (from Arise) - Jazz covers have a tendency to get lost a lot. This is no exception. When it's on target, it's really more gospel than jazz, but it gets off target fairly quickly and the jazz improvization not only loses the basic melody, bt also the feel of the song. It does meander back and forth and you can hear the gospel grow and wane in direct relation to how much this version feels like "Lean on Me." It's interesting that this doesn't fail completely without the help of the words though.
Dan Tyack (from Unsanctified Gospel Revival) - This is another instumental that still manages some degree of success. The slide guitar backed by organ is pretty emotional, but the sax part interjects an urban sound that doesn't seem to fit the rest of the performance.
DC Talk (from Free at Last) - Overly produced and dated, DC Talk manages to strip as much soul out of the song as possible. They pretty much butcher it. It sounds like it was lifted from Michael Jackson' Dangerous album and put into the hands of far less competent performers.
Michael Bolton (from The One Thing) - This one is the greatest testement to this song's greatness: Michael Bolton couldn't kill it. He's such a terrible singer, kind of a poor man's Rod Stewart, but the arrangement stays true to the original and the backup singers sound very good. This guy managed to debase "Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay" and "Georgia on My Mind," so, if Michael Bolton can't destroy "Lean on Me", it must be a great song.
Valerie De La Cruz (from My Girlfriends Quilt) - Take a pop song, add some twang to the voice and a weak slide guitar and call it country. I'm not buying it. Not am I buying that Ms. De La Cruz gives a crap about this song.
Big Mountain (from The Best of Big Mountain) - After gospel, I'd think that reggae would be the next genre to lend itself to "Lean on Me," but both reggae covers I listened to tonight are deeply flawed by lame backing tracks. When reggae is adventurous, it can be really amazing, but it seems that it so seldom really pushes anything anymore. There were a couple points in this song where I thought they might do something cool, but they only glanced down those side streets and kept to the main road.
What I found in all these covers is that "Lean on Me" seems to be almost impossible to completely kill (well DC Star did a pretty good job of it though), but there doesn't seem to be a definitive version either. No one seems to have completely nailed it. A few came close, but no one quite got it. Maybe the Birmingham Sunlights or the Fisk Jubilee Singers will take a shot at it someday. Or better yet, maybe the Neville Brothers. That I'd like to hear.
Withers wrote "Lean on Me" based on his experiences growing up in a West Virginia coal mining town. Times were hard and when a neighbor needed something beyond their means, the rest of the community would chip in and help. He came up with the chord progression while noodling around on his new Wurlitzer electric piano. The sound of the chords reminded Withers of the hymns that he heard at church while he was growing up.
So, it's not just some silly, sappy song. It's rooted in real human community and love. It's a song about solidarity.
Anyway, after listening to Club Nouveau's version and Bill Wither's original, I went on to listen to a lot of covers of "Lean on Me" and here's what I found:
Bill Withers (from Still Bill) - Withers gets a certain amount of credit for just writing the song, but his performance isn't as moving as the song itself. It's a decent version, but I don't feel him digging as deep to perform the song as he did to write it.
Club Nouveau (from Love, Life and Pain) - Despite the generic 80s backing track and dated production, this really is a very good version. The vocals have heart that really pay tribute to the song.
Al Green (from Trust in God) - Needless to say, this song was screaming to given a gospel treatment and Al Green delivers. The production is a little thin and the arrangement unoriginal, but it's overall competent. I just wish the gospel singers in the back would have moved up in the mix a bit.
Rascal Flatts (from Live) - Maybe it's just that it's live, but Rascal Flatts (and their audience) are really feeling it. Maybe it's just the perfect moment, because it is a song about community and that's what live music should really be all about.
Pam Hall (from R&B Hits Reggae Style) - The album title certainly didn't give me high hopes for this one, but while the synthetic reggae backing track was just what I expected, Pam Hall's performance rose above it. She sang with a gentle passion that fits the song perfectly.
Lynne Arialle Trio (from Arise) - Jazz covers have a tendency to get lost a lot. This is no exception. When it's on target, it's really more gospel than jazz, but it gets off target fairly quickly and the jazz improvization not only loses the basic melody, bt also the feel of the song. It does meander back and forth and you can hear the gospel grow and wane in direct relation to how much this version feels like "Lean on Me." It's interesting that this doesn't fail completely without the help of the words though.
Dan Tyack (from Unsanctified Gospel Revival) - This is another instumental that still manages some degree of success. The slide guitar backed by organ is pretty emotional, but the sax part interjects an urban sound that doesn't seem to fit the rest of the performance.
DC Talk (from Free at Last) - Overly produced and dated, DC Talk manages to strip as much soul out of the song as possible. They pretty much butcher it. It sounds like it was lifted from Michael Jackson' Dangerous album and put into the hands of far less competent performers.
Michael Bolton (from The One Thing) - This one is the greatest testement to this song's greatness: Michael Bolton couldn't kill it. He's such a terrible singer, kind of a poor man's Rod Stewart, but the arrangement stays true to the original and the backup singers sound very good. This guy managed to debase "Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay" and "Georgia on My Mind," so, if Michael Bolton can't destroy "Lean on Me", it must be a great song.
Valerie De La Cruz (from My Girlfriends Quilt) - Take a pop song, add some twang to the voice and a weak slide guitar and call it country. I'm not buying it. Not am I buying that Ms. De La Cruz gives a crap about this song.
Big Mountain (from The Best of Big Mountain) - After gospel, I'd think that reggae would be the next genre to lend itself to "Lean on Me," but both reggae covers I listened to tonight are deeply flawed by lame backing tracks. When reggae is adventurous, it can be really amazing, but it seems that it so seldom really pushes anything anymore. There were a couple points in this song where I thought they might do something cool, but they only glanced down those side streets and kept to the main road.
What I found in all these covers is that "Lean on Me" seems to be almost impossible to completely kill (well DC Star did a pretty good job of it though), but there doesn't seem to be a definitive version either. No one seems to have completely nailed it. A few came close, but no one quite got it. Maybe the Birmingham Sunlights or the Fisk Jubilee Singers will take a shot at it someday. Or better yet, maybe the Neville Brothers. That I'd like to hear.
posted by bob_vinyl at 8:15 PM
3 Comments:
NOTHING is better than a rock and roll list!!!! I can't wait for yours to get here! I'll check every single day. I am going to read your whole blog later, it looks great!
I love this song and am listening to it on my iTunes as I read your blog (Bill Withers version, of course)
Very cool idea for a post. I admire your scholarly approach to uncovering all these covers of the classic tune.
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