Saturday, August 04, 2012

HLN - "Trouble in Paradise"

To continue to get Lisa and I (and, by extension, you) pumped up for tomorrow night's big Huey Lewis and the News show (featuring Joe Cocker), I feel I must post a little old-school HLN.  I was able to see what the set list is looking like, and noticed that "Trouble in Paradise", a song featured on their debut album, might be played.

The original "Trouble in Paradise" has a new wave gloss to it (as much of Huey Lewis and the News does*).  By the time they did this in San Francisco at the Kabuki Theater in 1985, the song had been reworked with more soul.  In fact, the band considers themselves to be more of a soul band than either a rock or pop outfit (and certainly not that dreaded Adult Contemporary).

*Didn't we just cover that last night?  "Their early work was a little new wave for my taste", said Patrick Bateman.

This version has been released several times - first on the We Are The World charity album, and then on some HLN greatest hits efforts and so on.  Admittedly, I must have about four or five copies of it in my collection.  Plus, it was recorded for the Grammy-winning video The Heart of Rock and Roll Live.  Featuring horns from the Tower of Power...here it is!


If you're curious about the original...well...


Most of the original band is still together, with Chris Hayes and Mario Cipollina having departed (though both have stepped on stage with the band at one point or another).  Huey, Johnny Colla, Bill Gibson, and Sean Hopper have been joined by Stef Burns on guitar and John Pierce on bass, along with a killer horn section and backup singers.  Sadly, because they're opening, they won't be doing a their typically longer set.  Such is life...but no complaints.

Looking forward to it (and I think the seats are going to be pretty good too!).

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