SONG OF THE WEAK DOUBLEHEADER!
“Cry Baby Cry” -the Chandler Travis Three-o, March 17th, 2011, live at the Oyster Company, recorded by The Valet.
and “Cry Baby Cry” -the original single by Van & Titus
I love this song so much I’ve tried to get every band I play with over the last few years to do it, but so far we haven’t been able to approach the majesty of the original version by Van & Titus. My old school chum, Christine Ohlman (who many may know as the Beehive Queen from the Saturday Night Live Band) is the one who turned me on to it (she also performs it, and recorded it on her most recent album, “The Deep End”, with the legendary Dion DiMucci singing harmony), and it’s definitely one of the most haunting records I’ve ever heard, that much more so for being one of the only four tracks extant by Van & Titus. How amazing that anyone could record anything this soulful and clever and then never be heard from again!
NOTE: If you only have time to listen to one of these versions, definitely go for the original Van & Titus one -ours is essence of informal!
NOTE2: Van & Titus recording courtesy of Sir Shambling’s Deep Soul Heaven, which is a very cool website specializing in soul obscurities- well worth a visit!