Saturday, September 28, 2013

Trumpet Fanfare

That last post on R.E.M.'s "Can't Get There From Here" got me thinking about other unlikely horn-band combinations. My favorite might be Dead Kennedys with "Terminal Preppie," and Jello Biafra absolutely outdid himself with the lyrics to that one, but then I remembered the Smiths once considered using a horn on a classic from 'The Queen Is Dead.'

If you haven't heard the Stephen Street "trumpets" recording of "Frankly, Mr. Shankly," from November 1985, the first listen might be a little jarring. When you have heard a song one way hundreds of times and for more than a quarter century, as I imagine you have, the use of a trumpet may seem out of place. I got this when it came out in early 2011 on a really interesting bootleg called 'Unreleased Demos & Instrumentals.' Now that I have heard this trumpet version dozens of times, I have to say I kind of like it. Does it do anything for you? If you want to know more about this double album, read this old post. Then buy the set.

The Smiths - Frankly, Mr. Shankly (Demo) (mp3)

4 comments:

Séamus Duggan said...

The trumpeting on Frankly are more tasteful and restrained than I expected. Do you know if it was Dave Woodhead playing, who played on Billy Bragg's Saturday Boy? Tone sounds similar and Johnny Marr played on that Bragg album .

Brian said...

Hello Mr. Duggan. Hope all is well with you. I sure miss your countdown. Wish it could have gone on forever.

As for your question, the trumpeter was never credited. It's thought the person was a member of the BBC Orchestra at the time.

Take care.

Séamus Duggan said...

The countdown's not over Brian, just resting.

Uncle E said...

Plastic Surgery Disasters...still one of my favorites!