United Front Remix

Here is the "Rickidy Raw Remix" of "United Front".  Unfortunately, this is not a Das EFX-influenced remix- I guess that would be the Riggedy Raw remix?  On my first listen, this version sounds pretty similar to the "Noises in the Attic" mix from Extended Revolution but it's a little different.  I found this on a site called HipHopGods.com, which is a classic hip hop site started by Public Enemy's Chuck D that I think shows a lot of promise.  Anyway, I found this song posted there so check it out.

Someone posted the single version of "Impregnated Tidbits of Dope Hits" there as well, so check that one out in case you missed it here the first time:

AD Live "Bootleg" Part Two

Here is the rest of that concert from 2008.  "Achin' for Acres" is one that I did not have live before so it's great to have that one to add to the Zingalamaduni live tracks.  Now if AD can just get around to doing "Washed Away" live some time to complete my live 3 Years project...

The second half of this performance features the following tracks:  1.  Za Solo  2.  Raining Revolution  3.  Redemption Song  4.  Achin' For Acres  5. Mama's Always on Stage  6. Inner City  7.  People Everyday

And, again, thanks so much to Kel for sending this to me!

Arrested Development "Bootleg"

Here is an awesome find for everyone, courtesy of Kel.  A full concert from May 30, 2008  in Richmond, Virginia at Brown's Island.  Judging by some of Speech's ad libs, it sounds like it was a free show at a festival of some kind.  Here's the first half, with the following track list:

1.  Intro  2.  Miracles  3. Give a Man A Fish  4. Dawn of the Dreads
5. Fishin' 4 Religion  6. Sly Jam  7. Ease My Mind  8. Tennessee
9. Natural  10. Stand  11. Caught Me  12. I'm Bad  13. One Love Solo
14. Mr. Wendal  15. Crowd Participation Jam


 It is a great show and a great quality recording.  It's also the first recorded live show that I own in it's entirety with Tasha LaRae as part of the group and features a number of songs that I do not have live anywhere else.  I will have the second half tomorrow.

Thanks again to Kel for sending this to me!   

Billie Jean vs. Mr. Wendal

This is a funny title for a Za solo at an AD concert with a short cover of "Billie Jean" followed by "Mr. Wendal" but I'll roll with it.  I have a big post for tomorrow as I didn't quite get it done today, so until then, here's this cool concert video.  AD is live on tour in Australia, New Zealand, and Southeast Asia right now, so if you're from around there, check your local listings.  I believe Public Enemy is in Australia right now as well- and I can't get either of them here in good ole Omaha!

AD Live on Atlanta Fox5

Here is a video from back in August of Arrested Development live on Fox5 in Atlanta.  At best, my local news will have a baking segment and this station has AD live in concert performing "Mama's Always on Stage".  Not fair.  But a cool song choice.  Anyway, here's the video and a link to the brief article.

Arrested Development to Perform at Chastain: MyFoxATLANTA.com

Inner City Live (High Quality)

This is a must watch for AD fans- a very high quality video of AD performing at the Grass Roots festival in Ithaca, New York earlier this year.  Check it out!

Speech's New Site

Check out Speech's new site on something called Tumblr.  Not sure what that is, but looks like Speech is going to be busy on it and has already posted a DJ mix called Musical Safari on there so check it out!

Arrested Development at Woodstock 1994

Merry Christmas to everyone!  For my "Christmas Present" to all AD and Speech fans I'd like to pass on (most) of what is arguably the second biggest Arrested Development concert performance (I would argue that Unplugged was the bigger gig for them). 

Now, the files aren't the best, but still, it's a look at Arrested Development live at what I believe was the second Woodstock concert back in 1994.  Reading up on the show on wikipedia, it took place at a different site then the famous first show, but for all intents and purposes it was the "sequel" show and was attended by over 350,000 people.  Impressive.  And without even looking at the bill, I can guarantee it was better then the third show that featured Limp Bizkit helping to start a riot.  Idiots.  AD inspirations Sly and the Family Stone performed at the first show in 1969 so it was very appropriate that their spiritual successors would follow up on the 1994 show.  (3rd Bass actually performed at the 1999 show, which I'm having a hard time resolving.  Weren't they long broken up by then?  Anyway, I remember watching some of that show on PPV-I didn't buy it- at the time and it was a disaster, unfortunately.)

Anyway, AD performed on Sunday, August 14th on the same stage where names like Bob Dylan and the Red Hot Chili Peppers would perform.  And here's a look at most of the set.  "People Everyday" is cutoff at about 30 seconds and like I said, the quality isn't the best but it's still a great AD artifact.  The set opens with "Shell," then "Ease My Mind," "Mr. Wendel," "Fishin 4 Religion," "In the Sunshine" (one of my faves and first time I've heard live), "Tennessee," "People Everyday," and closes with "United Front."  Great stuff.  And here it is:  Woodstock.

And once again, thanks are in order to Kel for sending this my way!  Not quite sure how he is able to track down a lot of these various things, but I'm glad he does!

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!  And if you don't do Christmas, well, happy Saturday or Sunday depending on your time zone!

Most Recent Live AD Perfomance From Ireland

First off, Happy Christmas Eve to everyone.  If you don't do Christmas, then Happy Friday!  With Arrested Development gearing up shortly to head on tour to Australia, New Zealand, and Southeast Asia, it seems like a great time to share some footage from AD's most recent tour of the UK from a show in Ireland.  This is a look at them performing the classic "People Everyday" with a really long version (nearly 8 minutes) and another video of Za doing his thing on the bass.


Za Solo

The AD Samples

Here's a really cool site called whosampled.com that allows you to listen to songs sampled by Arrested Development with just the click of a few buttons.  In particular, I really liked hearing the samples for "Inner City," "Since the Last Time," and "Mama's Always on Stage" is a great sample to revisit.  This page covers songs from 3 Years, Zingalamaduni, and Since the Last Time.  Here's a look back at an article I did on just the 3 Years samples with a download link to said samples.  

And hey, thanks to Kel again for this link!    

Renee, I Got The Feeling!

Thanks to some epic journalistic investigative efforts here at Highway 85 (I fully expect a Pulitzer to arrive in my mailbox any day now), I've been able to determine that there are at least four versions of Since the Last Time.  You have the standard version with 12 songs, then a deluxe version with 3 live songs and 3 remixes, a deluxe version with 11 remixes, and a "super" deluxe version with all 3 live songs and 12 remixes.  I actually own four (!) copies of this album as I bought it from Japan when it first dropped there, then bought it from their site as pre-orders came with an online mix tape and an autographed copy, and then I bought two of the deluxe versions.  I may have issues....but truth be told I found the deluxe versions really cheap.

With all of these versions out there, it's kind of hard to believe these songs didn't make any of those editions.  I'm not sure what the story is, but they were likely late cuts which could mean a sampling issue as "Renee" and "I've Got the Feeling" are both floating around out there on some kind "advance" version of Since the Last Time.   

Truth be told, I can kind of see why they didn't make the cut but it's still nice to track them down.  Both  "Renee" and "I Got the Feeling" are pretty good and Speech's verses are good, but I they don't quite fit to me.  But if you'd like to reinsert them into the track listing, "I Got the Feeling" is track 10 behind "I Know I'm Bad" and "Renee" would be track 12 behind "Down and Dirty."  (I've had "Feeling" on repeat while typing this and I can say that it's grown on me.)  As to the songs, here they are:

I Got The Feeling

Renee

Also, thanks to reader Ruiner for sending these my way! 

Some Rarer Live Tracks

Here's some harder to find live songs that our man Kel ripped from youtube from the Since the Last Time album.  Whatever program he uses to rip from there is much better then mine.  These are from a Paste Magazine performance.

Anyway, here they are:

Caught Me  Really good live version of this one.

I Know I'm Bad    This live version blows the album version out of the water in my opinion.  Really love the guitar work from JJ Boogie and Za on this one.

And then we have a couple less rare performances.  Still worthy though!

Mr. Wendal  

Tennessee  You know, every live version of this comes at me from just enough of a different angle to make it worthwhile, and this is no exception.  Here's a look at the videos as well if you would rather just listen then download.
"Caught Me"

"I Know I'm Bad"

Carole of the Bells by Speech

Time to get in the Christmas spirit with a song from Speech just posted today on the Vagabond Records Youtube page.  This is definitely a unique little mix here- check it out!  Rock the bells, indeed....

On a side note, when do you think the last time was that someone roasted chestnuts on an open fire in their home?  100-150 years ago?  :)

In one of my ultimate geek moments, I actually made a Christmas rap compilation a while back, so I guess I'll have to update it!

AD Live at the Soul Train Awards

We're going back a ways here.  Here is Arrested Development performing Mr. Wendal live at the 7th Annual Soul Train Awards.  It starts off with about a minute of banter regarding Michael Jackson "gutting" through a performance after apparently hurting his leg.  Hey, I'm a fan, but the dude was a diva- he pulled those kinds of stunts all throughout his career!  I've never heard injury talk regarding a singer before.  Anyway, check out the classic performance:


PS At the end, there's a performance of "End of the Road" sans Boyz II Men by Natalie Cole, Luther Vandross, and Patti LaBelle..  That song almost defines the early 90s to me.  It was EVERYWHERE!

Cruisin In My Super Beetle Live

Here's an interesting video of Speech performing "Cruisin In My Super Beetle" live- somewhat.  Speech is live for the first 50 seconds, but the backing music is the instrumental right from the album and at that point, it switches over to the video.  So kind of different, but a different look at a great song. 
 

Wanted!

All right, I've been looking for a couple of songs and have had no luck.  On the Advance version of Since the Last Time, there were two songs that did not make the album- "Renee" and "I Got the Feeling."  Now I can purchase them from this site, but I'm pretty sure this isn't a legit site based on the fact that their mp3s are $.15 and you have to buy a $20 package just to get in the door.  But you can hear a sample of the songs there, which is nice.  I've seen the advance version all over online, but nothing that is still working.  So if anyone has them, it would be much appreciated as I would love to post them here (and for myself as well!).

(Note: I did get these so thanks everyone!  Thanks to "ruiner" for sending them my way!)

Hit Me Baby One More Time....

A while back I posted a video with AD's winning appearance on the old reality show Hit Me Baby One More Time...., when they performed "Heaven."  But somehow I missed their performance of "Tennessee" on that same album- so check it out:


And here's "Heaven" again, since it's been awhile:

Wishing From The Top

Here's a nice little song from Dana Bryant's album called "Wishing From the Top" from the album of the same name.  Dana Bryant also appeared on the single version of "Impregnated Tidbits of Dope Hits."  She was credited on the album version, but it doesn't sound like she actually made the album version.  Here's a nice write-up on her album from a blog called "The Unheard Music" which looks like a nice blog to look more into- I also "borrowed" the album cover from there.  Anyway, here's the song:  Wishing From the Top.  And if you don't have it already, here is that different mix of "Impregnated Tidbits of Dope Hits" from Speech's debut.

And to finish up, I would like to thank Kel for sending this song my way again!  He has really come through for this site!

Sad Mr. Wendal Video

Here's a video someone did of "Mr. Wendal" set to photos of homeless people.  Sad stuff, but what is Mariah Carey doing at the 39 second point?!?

On a somewhat related note, I have this thing where I like to pair up songs together on related topics in my mind. Hard to explain, but when I think of "Mr. Wendal," I think of Chuck D's Public Enemy song called "I Woke Up In a Place I Forgot" aka "I" aka "Invisible Man" where he raps in the voice of a homeless man. Great song and a great video, so here it is:

Very In-Depth Speech Interview

Here is an outstanding interview with Speech on his song creation process from a site called Songfacts.com.  I have no concept on how to create a record, but I almost felt like I could do one after reading this- that is, if I had any talent whatsoever musically....  Anyway, here's a choice passage, and I highly recommend reading the whole thing as it's a great read.  

On a side note (no pun intended), if you look at the right side of the page you see a list of the songwriters who have been interviewed, and it looks to me like Speech is the only hip hop artist that has been interviewed.  I think that says a lot about his songwriting abilities.  I also was surprised to hear him say that "Wag Your Tail" is his favorite AD song.  I do really like that particular song, but still, it was a bit of a surprise.  But after reading this, I went back and re-listened to the lyrics and it really is a well done song.  Anyway, on to the choice section regarding Speech learning the ins and outs of the sampling game.

SF: 1991 sounds like a very interesting time to be sampling records. You said you sampled Prince. Now, the actual "Tennessee" vocal came from Alphabet Street?

Speech: That's right. Yeah, it did.

SF: How did you clear that sample? Or did you even have to back in 1991?

Speech: You know, I didn't know to in 1991, the sample laws weren't very clearly set out back then. It was our first record, we definitely weren't vets in the industry, we didn't understand all the game play and the rules. So we didn't ask for permission. I learned as a producer pretty quickly the laws of sampling: it's the wild, wild West out there. So what happened was the record obviously was getting some pretty good heat. MTV had a show called "Buzz Clips," and they added it to "Buzz Clips," and it just became this huge phenomenon. And as the song moved up the chart the album got to #3 on the pop charts. And once it went down, the very week it went to #4, we got a call from Prince's representation. They waited for that song to sell as many possible copies as they could wait for. As soon as it started to go down the charts we got a call, and the Reaper became the reaped. So we got charged for that sample pretty heavily. I paid $100,000 for that word.

SF: The $100,000, was that negotiated?

Speech: It was not. In fact, because we didn't ask for permission ahead of time, they didn't need to negotiate with us. It was either do it, or we pull the record.

SF: So they held all the cards here.

Speech: They did totally hold all the cards.

Buy One, Get One Free

I just wanted to share this with everyone in case you don't see it elsewhere- Tasha LaRae is running a special on her debut EP right now- BOGO as they say- buy one, get one free.  Here's a link so check it out- if you've been putting off buying it check it out now!

Must Read AD Piece

Here's a really good article on Arrested Development from Beat Magazine in Australia regarding there place in the hip hop world.  It kind of nails down why I wanted to start the blog, really.  It also has some great information about One Love, who is kind the mystery man to me in the group.  Anyway, check it out, and here's a choice quote:

 “One Love was always a big guy on flowin’, more concerned about rhythmic delivery than I was and so he would just come on stage whenever we would do a show in town. After a while it just dawned on me. I was like, ‘Well why don’t you just come on the road with us?’ And then it happened organically. He filled a gap. What I didn’t do, he did and what he doesn’t do I do, and like you said it just complemented each other. ”

My Interview With Tasha LaRae

If you are an AD fan, you've no doubt heard Tasha LaRae sing.  She joined the group between the Since the Last Time and Strong albums and immediately fell into a huge role with the group on Strong.  She has added a strong dynamic to the group that was somewhat present before, but more so in the background.  As the group has grown into more of an outwardly collaborative effort- meaning multiple performers take lead roles on various songs, whether it be One Love sharing rap vocals with Speech now, or Eshe and Tasha getting solos - Tasha has been a huge part of that, with large and dynamic performances on the Strong album.

 

In addition to her role in Arrested Development, she has developed an earring line called Earjeans that has been going very well for her and has also recently released an EP entitled The Tasha LaRae EP. 

 

I've really been impressed with what she has added to the group, and I was shocked to learn that I actually went to high school with her!  (Yes, we were both Benson Bunnies.  That really was our mascot....)  So when I had the opportunity to ask her some questions for Highway 85, I didn't hesitate- I fired away and she was nice enough to respond back with some very thoughtful and interesting replies.  The interview was conducted via e-mail, and keep in mind I am an amateur at this.... 

  

When did you start singing?

   I started singing when I was small. I would copy everything I heard from my mother and also the songs on the radio.
Who inspired you? Any singers in particular?

   Starting out it was my mom, as I got older I would listen to lots of Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, & Mahalia JacksonYou were born and raised in Omaha but now reside in Georgia.  Did you leave Omaha solely to pursue a singing career?  

No. I actually left Omaha because my mother made me!  I finished my first year at U.N.O. (note:  The University of Nebraska at Omaha) and then my entire family moved to Georgia. I was against it because I didn't know anyone in Georgia and I knew I was gonna miss my friends back home. But after 6 months of Georgia life, I was hooked!What were you doing as far as singing before you joined AD?

   I was writing music for myself and for up and coming solo artists in Georgia. I would perform around the city and travel worlwide both as a solo artist and also as a background vocalist for many national and international artists.So how did you hook up with Arrested Development?

    I performed at a function Speech's church hosted as a background singer for a friend of mine. The next day, I received an email from Speech asking if I'd be interested in auditioning for the group. What was your favorite song on Strong?

   "Freedom", "Greener" and "Africa We Thank You" are three of my favorite songs on Strong. It's hard to choose one! Which song were you most involved with putting together?

  I was fortunate to write on the majority of the songs for this album which is amazing. I would say I was most involved in "Let Your Voice Be Heard", "Greener", "Haters" and "Africa We Thank You" as I wrote the hooks for these songs. How did you come up with your fashion line Earjeans? How has that been going for you?

Earjeans started as a solution to a slight wardrobe issue I was having. I was preparing for my first overseas tour with A.D. and we had about 8 shows in Australia and New Zealand. I was getting creative with my clothes and budget to have 8 different show outfits. I painted some designs on a few pairs of jeans and thought it would be cool to have jean earrings with the same design on it. I got so many compliments on them that I started the company seven months later. That was in August 2008 and since then, my company has experienced a lot of success and is still going strong today.Do you enjoy fashion or music more? Or do they both link together creatively?

   I am a music fan first but fashion is coming in at a close second! They definitely go hand in hand. I am equally excited about both which works out great because when I'm a little burnt out from one, I can move to the other and still be creative and productive.It looks like you've traveled a lot, especially with AD. What places have you seen, and what has been your favorite?

  Wow. I've seen a lot of places! Poland, South Africa, Morocco, Europe/UK, Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Japan, Canada, and all over the U.S. My favorite place to visit is Australia and New Zealand. We have visited many of these places multiple times also and it's always great to discover something new each time we go.

Any funny stories as far as traveling or performing?

   Lots! I think the funniest things happen naturally when we are traveling and cracking jokes on each other! One Love is the comedian in our group and keeps us in tears!
Has there been a project that you were involved in that you felt was overlooked, and if so what was that?

   Strong is the first major project that I've been a part of that's been released on the level it has been. I hope it doesn't become overlooked.  
Have you been a part of any other groups besides Arrested Development?

   In high school, my two best friends (Christi Woods and Charlotte Cox) and I started a singing group called Nu Beginning. We had a lot of local success but when I moved to GA, that ended my run with them. Outside of that, no, I haven't been in any other groups.

Any word on when we can expect a new AD album or any recording plans?

  We are definitely getting in the studio early 2011 to record more material. Not sure when another album will drop officially.You have also released a solo recording called The Tasha LaRae EP.  What is your favorite song on that project?   My favorite song is "Whatcha Got" because the message in that song speaks to me the most and is a constant reminder to me to make the most of what I have instead of focusing on what I'm lacking.

How did that project come together?

The Tasha LaRae EP.

   The Tasha LaRae EP is a collection of songs I was working on for a project called Love Yourself. These were songs I had written before I joined A.D. but  completed the majority of the recordings after I joined the group. I didn't want to let my songs go to waste! I put the EP together and I've very proud of it. It has 7 songs on it now and I am currently working on a full length project but I haven't set a release date. (It's too much pressure when you set dates prematurely, lol!)
Any plans for a Tasha LaRae LP?

  Most definitely! I guess I touched on this in the question above :o)Did you ever consider auditioning for American Idol, or do you prefer the route you've taken? You obviously have the voice for it!

   I'm so glad you asked me this question! I did!! and I was cut on the first round of auditions, lol! I guess I wasn't what they were looking for but I'm glad it worked out that way or else I may not be a part of the A.D. family.
Were you a fan of AD before joining the group? As a kid?    I was definitely an A.D. fan as a kid. I was in Junior High when the group came out and I remember all my friends braggin about getting the tape when it first came out.  My mom was a little strict about the music I could listen to and I couldn't listen to A.D. because of a few curse words...but you know that doesn't stop kids for hearing what they want! I had my ways but I'm still not tellin, ha!

 

I want to thank Tasha again for her participation in this interview, and I wish her luck in all of her future creative activities!  I really enjoyed hearing her answers and getting some background info on how she came to join Arrested Development as well as her participation on Strong.  Can't wait to hear the next AD project.  You can find out more on her fashion line earjeans as well as her EP here.  And to read my review of said EP, check that out here.

Mr. Wendal Cover

Here's an interesting cover- a group called The Argyle Pimps covering "Mr. Wendal".  The song is so catchy that it works under almost every circumstance it appears- these guys have kind of a nice spin on it.  I do really like the background harmonies quite a bit as well and the track they use is pretty catchy.  I'd like to see a mashup with Speech's vocals on this track.  And wasn't Argyle the name of the limo driver on Die Hard?
 

Then you've got some guy playing the guitar over that same cover version.  I've seen a number of videos like this-I guess it's some kind of youtube phenomenon. 

A Couple of Songs Featuring Speech

Here's a few cool songs from Victor Wooten's album Soul Circus that feature Speech.  First you've got "On and On" which also features an artist named Saundra and secondly you've got "Back to India."  "Back to India" is indistinguishable from a Speech solo song truth be told and is really good.  Victor Wooten is a highly regarded bassist and it's easy to see why from just these two songs.  Thanks once again to Kel for sending me these songs!

On and On

Back to India

The Story Behind The Mr. Wendal Video

Here's a great story that I found on gawker with quotes from the director of "Mr. Wendal" talking about shooting of the video.  Looks like this story is made up of quotes the director posted on youtube with the video.

Tony Bingham, a sincere friend, found our location for this video at the last minute - and we were of course elated. But on the shooting day in question, the skies produced rain clouds for miles.
I sat silently, thinking how I'd finally gotten to shoot a music video for this band (I had already directed their EPK and documentary), and now the heavens were not cooperating. Clearly a disaster was abound. I decided to shoot anyway. Maybe two takes in, I'd pretty much given up on the clip having any signature look...everything was drab, muddy and dark.
But within, it seemed, seconds, a wondrous thing happened. I received a call from my steadicam operator who said prior his schedule would not allow for him to be there - now he was asking for directions. My smile began. Once he arrived, the cloud cover peeled back. We had a stretch of about 3 hours of moist sunlight! Outstanding!
After a bit of fertile photography, we packed up and left the farm location, stumbling accidently on a small shack in the middle of nowhere. Funny, when I entered the rickety structure, a visible hole stood out in the middle of the place. I thought out loud, "Quick, let's place the camera down there, and spin it in a circle to catch each band member in a different part of this open house. Worked like a charm!
And when I suggested Speech sit in the window, the sun grew brighter for our two only takes. God...is all one can say.
We traveled back to downtown ATL, where I was favored with the distinct honor of working with famed artist, Radcliffe Bailey. A polished professional. He braved rush hour traffic, and seedy alleyways for us to capture what was pure about his work even then.
We ended our spirited day at the Scoville Hotel, where we finalized our efforts for the remainder of the concept.

 

Short Speech Interview

Here's a short little interview with Speech from a site called Concrete Playground, done to promote their upcoming tour of Australia.  I found the first question interesting: 

Jasmine: If things had been different I...
Speech: ...would have waited longer to release our second album.

I think that's interesting because I don't really think there was anything wrong with Zingalamaduni.  The whole hip hop world just changed and there really wasn't room for anything in the mainstream that wasn't about killing people and partying and so forth.  It was what it was.  Anyway, there are ten or so brief questions in that interview so check it out! 

If It's Positive- Foley featuring Speech

Here's a nice little video from the early years of Arrested Development- "If It's Positive" by Foley featuring Speech and AD member at the time Aerlee Taree.  Foley appeared on Arsenio Hall with Arrested Development around this time as well, and also popped up to work on Speech's debut I believe.  Anyway, check it out! 

Speech Live From LA (Another "Bootleg")

Honestly, I think out of everything I've come across in my time doing Highway 85, this is my favorite.  The previous live project posted on Monday was excellent, but this is a little different despite being recorded around the same time.  Basically, it's Speech live in studio with Rick Warren on acoustic guitar performing a few tracks, as well as a couple of people hand-clapping here and there.  So no band, no DJ, no background vocalists, nothing but an artist and a guitarist.  It was recorded from a show on 89.9 KCRW in Los Angeles on a show called Morning Becomes Eclectic. 

So, let's go through the tracks to give a few of my impressions on each-

Intro- This is a really informative opening and gives some background information as to why Speech took his recording career to Japan- legally, he couldn't release in the US due to problems that his record label were going through, but through a loophole he was able to do so in Japan.  So that's why Hoopla was first released there, and once that situation cleared up it was released by TVT here in 1999.

Clocks In Sync With Mine- A nice mellow, acoustic version of this.  I always want some lemon water with ice after I hear this song....

Redemption Song- Another live version of the Bob Marley cover.  I really like Rick Warren's playing on this one and Speech is in good form.

Talkin- Another little interview with Speech before "Brother Speech" starts.

Brother Speech- I've never heard this one live before, and it works really well as an acoustic track.  I think I like this version better then the album version from Spiritual People.

People Everyday- So how does this one work acoustically?  Very well.  We only get the opening verse before Speech actually goes into the chorus of "Tennessee" while still on the "People Everyday" music.  He then goes back into the end of "People Everyday".  Good stuff.

Interview- A few thoughts on why Speech chose to cover "Redemption Song."  Also talks about how he used a full band on Hoopla for the first time in his career.

Tennessee- They close out with the classic.  This is a fantastic live version of the song.  I think I've posted upwards of 10 live versions of the song, but this one takes the cake (and I think there have been some stellar live versions of this).  This is the full song and at the end he goes into the hook from "Real Love".  

In short, you've downloaded nothing from this site, then you should at least grab this at is a great listen.  My only complaint is that it gets cut a little short because apparently some kind of Bill Clinton speech was taking place that day that was going to preempt the show.  This is the thanks Speech gets for performing with Arrested Development at his inauguration?!?

Again, I want to thank Kel for sending this my way with the other live Speech recording and some other goodies. 

In case you missed the link up top, here it is again.  Enjoy!  

Nadirah's "Soul Power" Produced by Speech

I'm not quite sure when Nadirah joined Arrested Development, but it was after Three Years, Five Month, and Two Days In The Life Of..., and before Unplugged, as she is all over that concert.  She seems to have basically taken over the position that was filled by Dionne Farris, who was never an official member, and a position that is now ably filled by Tasha LaRae.  Nadirah had a fantastic voice, and after Arrested Development broke up in 1995, she showed up on a few Speech tracks as well as on her solo debut, a Japan exclusive called Soul Power. 

From the cover, it's hard to know what to expect on the album, but I find it intriguing.  It kind of reminds me of that famous photo of the "Afghan Girl", only in that case the photo almost speaks for itself and in this case we get to actually pop the CD in and take a deeper look at Nadirah.  (The cover image was the best one I could find online unfortunately.)

The album is produced in large part by Speech- he handles eight of the songs (two of which are musical interludes) and co-produces another, and also serves as the Executive Producer.  (Speaking of Executive Producers, it seems to me that Suge Knight is the guy that made this such a big deal- I never paid any attention to them until old Marion decided to put it in big bold letters on the back of every Death Row album.  Moving on.....)  Speech also features strongly on three songs, with background vocals and such on a few others.  He also wrote some kind of note in the liner notes, but it's 95% in Japanese so I have no idea what it says. 

Overall, Soul Power is a really strong record.  Speech handles the production very well and his three guest spots are all well done.  "Dumb Decisions" sounds like an AD song and features Speech prominently, "My Own Song" has a really good opening rap from Speech, and "I Know How 2 Love U" should be of special interest to AD fans as it flips the same sample as "Mama's Always on Stage." The title song "Soul Power" sounds an awful lot like "Fame" from Da Feelin' EP to me as well.  And one last note for AD fans, future member of the group Ike "Za" Williams shows up to play bass on quite a few of the songs. 

Nadirah would go on to earn great renown from the "Parrotheads" as a singer with Jimmy Buffett (based on the liner notes it appears she was already working with him at this point), and would even go on to release another album of Jimmy Buffet covers (she has two other albums out there as well). 

Here are the songs from Soul Power that featured Speech:

"Dumb Decisions"

"My Own Song"

"I Know How 2 Love U"

And here's "Soul Power" so that you can compare it to "Fame."  Speech produced this song and has background vocals, and Za is on bass for this one.

I also want to put up "Spiritual Destiny" as this is a stellar Speech production and a song that I really liked on the record.  I'd like to hear Speech do a cover of this one! 

Everyday People Remake

Here's a pretty cool remake of Arrested Development's "Everyday People" by Kardinal called
Everyday (Rudebwoy)".  (For the record it is the remix version that's being remade here.)  It's funny to hear what was taken from the original, including the little intro at the start, the woah-oh-yeah chant at the beginning, and the chanting at the end.  The video itself does not allow for embedding for some reason so it can be found here.  And a non-video version of the song is down below.  For the record, I obviously prefer the original- that one had a great vibe but with a good message behind it while this is a party song.  Nothing wrong with that, but I'll take the message with good vibes any day.

Speech Live "Bootleg" (Sessions at West 54th)

Here is a fantastic live Speech performance from 1999 (September 9th to be exact) from the PBS show Sessions at West 54th.  The episode was hosted by John Hiatt (a well-known musician) and features the following track listing, with some of my thoughts on each track:
"Intro"  Exactly what it says it is- John Hiatt introduces Speech.
"Clocks In Sync With Mine"  Cool live version of this tune.  I've never really been to Georgia, unless you count a one-hour stop in the Atlanta Airport, but this song really makes me feel like I'm there.
"Tennessee"  This is one of the live versions posted last week.  Always a great song live.
"Interview 1"  This gives a lot of insight on Speech's recording process as well as some really good insight on why Speech has moved to more singing in his career. 
"Like Marvin Gaye Said (What's Going On)"  I have been wanting this song live since I heard it briefly during the live portion of Speech's Best- and then they pulled the rug out from under my feet, cut it off, and moved to a new song!  D'oh!  This one opens up with a new spin on the Marvin Gaye classic.  Just an outstanding live performance and for me, it's been worth the wait! 
"Interview 2"  This interview really breaks down the influence of his parents on his music career and the ideas he's pushed in his music.  The interviews were very informative on this.  Speech also says that a lot of his early songs actually came out of articles that he wrote for his mother's newspaper.
"Real Love"  A live version of the great song from Hoopla.  This song can be found live on Speech's Best but it's always nice to have multiple versions.

Anyway, this is a great live performance and it's pretty hard to come by live solo Speech performances, at least compared to Arrested Development.  I want to thank Kel for sending this to me to share with everyone, as well as for providing some background information on the recording.  He also sent me another live "bootleg" which is an acoustic live performance and it will be up some time this week!  I really appreciate him sending these our way!   And in case you missed it above, here is the link.

Arrested Development Da Feelin Repost

I've noticed that Da Feelin' post gets a lot of hits, so I thought I better go back and make sure that the links work- and of course they don't.  Stupid zshare....  So anyway, here is a link to it via mediafire.  My plan is to eventually get everything that I've posted on here up on mediafire, and I've slowly been working on it, but until that time, please let me know if there is anything you would like that has a dead link.  You can comment anonymously without registering here.

Also, I have not included the two songs that appear in identical form on Heroes of the Harvest ("If Dey Ask" and "On Conscious").  I really try to avoid stuff that you can buy legally from Arrested Development's site- I'm not anti-downloading obviously, but AD and Speech are worth owning!  I did add in "Conditional Love" this time as it is a remixed version on Da Feelin.  Actually, I've thought it over and added in "If Dey Ask" as it is actually substantially different as well- so you can find the entire Da Feelin' EP except for "On Conscious" in that link.

Spiritual People Single

If you live in Japan and are a Speech fan, the "Spiritual People" single that was released over there would have been very well received as it has two cuts from the US version of Hoopla that didn't make the Japanese version ("Yeah Yeah" and "If Life Is A River").  In North America, if you imported it, it wasn't so exciting- just a 'TV track" of the single and an instrumental is new to us here- but what are you going to do?  The TV version is basically an instrumental, but the hook is still intact.  The instrumental is exactly what it says it is.  I've also added "Spiritual People" as this is the Japanese version of the song, in case you don't have it.  It's a completely different mix. 

Spiritual People (Japan Mix)

TV Version

Instrumental

AD Unplugged

Arrested Development Unplugged a.k.a.  "I waited 6 to 8 weeks for this?"

For music fans in the age before the internet and file sharing, BMG Music Service- and to a lesser extent Columbia House- were the greatest companies on earth.  Where else could you order 5 tapes for a penny?  It was an incredible deal.  But BMG was a little better because while you didn't get as many tapes at the start, you only had to commit to buy one more album whereas I think Columbia House required 4 or 5 purchases.

Yet and still, for some reason it took some convincing for me to finally join- I can remember spending a ridiculous amount of time going over my 5 selections, looking at the available albums over and over, before finally sending in the little postcard to some place in Indiana.  Of course I read the little fine print that said it would take 6 to 8 weeks to fill my order- how could I ever possibly wait so long?  And I remember my first 5 selections.  Now keep in mind I was somewhat handicapped by what I could buy, because I was 13 at the time I joined, so I had to keep them somewhat clean to avoid the wrath of my mom who was never too crazy about her son listening to all of this rap music.

So for my first 5 selections I went with Black Reign by Queen Latifah (I liked "U.N.I.T.Y."), the first TLC album, Das EFX's Straight Up Sewaside, OutKast's Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik, and Arrested Development's Unplugged.  I slipped Southern in because my friend had it and I knew that the parental advisory warning was actually a sticker, so I could peel it off and as far as mom knew, it was clean.

Out of the five, I think I was looking forward to Unplugged the most because I had read somewhere that it had three new Arrested Development songs, so naturally I was excited.  I waited my 6-8 weeks, a la Ralphie from Christmas Story waiting for his Lil Orphan Annie decoder pen (I think I started checking the mailbox in eager anticipation starting on day one, in the off chance that they shipped my order overnight) and then, finally, one cold winter day during Christmas break, I had a package waiting for me.  Christmas had come early, and it was perfect because now I had at least a week of school-free bliss to listen to my new albums.

So out of the five, I had the following reactions- I hated Black Reign, I actually liked TLC (I had the hots for all 3 of them as well), loved Das EFX (and may have been the only person who loved their second album judging from reactions I've seen, and I don't get why), loved OutKast of course, and was decidedly disappointed by Unplugged.

Since the Last Time Deluxe Live Tracks

Well, I can now confirm that there are at least four different versions of Since the Last Time.  Unbelievable.  I'll have more on that later, but until then, here are the three live bonus tracks from the editions from South Korea and Singapore.  They were recorded August 5, 2006 at the Fruitstock Festival in London, England.  "Tennessee" and "People Everyday" both clock in at over 8 minutes. 

Tennessee

Mr. Wendal

People Everyday 

And here's a video of some of that "People Everyday" performance....

Tennessee Sheet Music

 

If you've ever wanted to make like New Found Glory and cover "Tennessee" yourself, here's your chance- the sheet music to "Tennessee" is available.  My wife plays the piano so maybe we can hook something up.....Yeah, probably not!  Although as a somewhat true story, I was rocking my daughter and singing to her to get her to sleep a few weeks back, and I ran out of songs to sing so I started belting out "Tennessee" to the best of my limited abilities as that was the only song that came to me and it's clean.  She still wasn't falling asleep so I moved on (probably to "Fight the Power" or something :), but later on she asked me to sing "take me to another place" again.  So maybe there's hope for my singing career.  

Well, if you're interested, looks like there are a lot of places where one could find the sheet music, but here's one. 

Tennessee Covered By New Found Glory

Here is a great cover of "Tennessee" from a punk rock group called New Found Glory- they appear to be a very successful rock group but I honestly can't say I've heard of them.  When it comes to rock, I like what I like and don't really branch out too much for whatever reason. 

I really wasn't sure of what to expect from this one- based on the cover of this project called Punk Goes Crunk, I was worried that they would take it as a joke and I really don't want to hear that from a meaningful song like "Tennessee."  Luckily, these guys clearly did this with respect and it's a pretty good cover- although the lead singer sounded a bit like Weird Al to me at the beginning for some reason!

This really hasn't been by design, but this has turned out to be "Tennessee" week at Highway 85, so tomorrow I will finish it up with the live version from some of the deluxe versions of Since the Last Time as well as the live versions of "People Everyday" and "Mr. Wendal" that were also included.

I want to thank Kel for sending this my way as well.  I actually was searching for AD covers about the same time he sent this off to me, which was pretty cool because I had no luck finding one of "Tennessee" and this whole theme would've toppled over....  I'm actually curious about the rest of this Punk Goes Crunk album, with covers of songs as varied as "Men In Black" and "California Love."   Man, they even have a cover of "Notorious Thugs" by Notorious B.I.G. and Bone thugs -n- harmony.  That seems impossible to pull off, particularly Bizzy Bone's verse.....  Well, here it is.

Tennesse Live

Well, this is inadvertently turning into "Tennessee" week here at Highway 85- which is fine with me, because I love the song.  I was just sent this live version from the PBS show "Session at West 54th" recorded at Sony Studios in NYC on 9/15/1999 and it has quite a bit different sound from most live versions, so I wanted to post it up.  I'm hoping to get some more tracks from that performance.  Anyway, hope you like live versions of "Tennessee" as I will likely have another one up tomorrow!

Thanks so much to Kel for sending this to me!

A Few Re-Posts

By request, here are a few re-posts of songs that have disappeared in cyberspace on the internets.  Here is the alternate version of "Impregnated Tidbits of Dope Hits" from the "What's Going On" single as well as the import bonus tracks from Speech's cleverly-titled debut album Speech.

Live From New York.....

Live from New York....it's Arrested Development!  I'm always on the lookout for some AD tracks, even if they are just remixes or live cuts, so I was kind of happy when I stumbled upon this- especially since it was on sale for just a penny plus shipping- as it features a performance on Saturday Night Live from October 24, 1992.  This would've been shortly after I purchased their debut album and became a die-hard fan.  Anyway, it's a great live rendition with the original AD crew- check it out.  Tennessee Live on SNL. Oddly, to me, in the booklet they list the names of the artists who performed on a given show, and in this case they name every member of AD- except Speech aka Todd Thomas (the booklet lists given names so for example Headliner is listed as Tim Barnell).  Oops!  And for those curious, this episode was hosted by Christopher Walken, and if reader Christian's recollection is correct (and I am certain that it is), they also performed "People Everyday" on this episode.

For those interested, this disc also has performances from Nirvana, REM, the Beastie Boys, Dr. Dre, TLC, Green Day, Mary J. Blige, Janet Jackson, and more.

Tennessee Single

"Climb the trees my forefathers hung from."

I'm sure most AD fans have this single already (I actually do not!) but in case you are like me, here are a few remixes and so forth from that single.  By the way, there are about a million different covers for this song, but I think the one on the left is by far the best and really sums up the song nicely.  "Climb the trees my forefathers hung from" is a line that still gives me the chills.  There are a couple of other remixes  (Back to Roots, Pirate Radio)  that popped up on the Extended Revolution project and I've heard there is an 8-minute mix as well.
 Tennessee (Remix)

For DJ's Only

Dubb Mix

Tasha LaRae Live

Here are a couple of cool youtube videos of Arrested Development member Tasha LaRae. The first video is off of her first single "I Still Love You" and the second is a live performance of the amazing first song off of her The Tasha LaRae EP called "Love Yourself":

Beats From Speech's Vault Redux

I should've been a photographer....

It looks like the links in my original post regarding this project have went all "Queen" on me and bit the dust- so here is a fresh upload of all the tracks, and you should be able to do them in one swoop instead of track by track. 

For those not aware, this is a project that Speech talked about briefly on his debut album and is extremely hard to find- Mike from Vagabond Records was nice enough to send this my way for the site.

Also, if you run across any broken links on songs you would like to have, please let me know and I'd be glad to re-upload them.  Thanks!

Tennessee Dred and Funk Remix

It's so cute!

On one of the import versions of 3 Years..., there is a little mini bonus disc included featuring three tracks.  I wasn't quite sure what I was getting when I ordered it, but it looked like there were a couple of remixes that I didn't have.  Truthfully I had never seen a little disc like this, so when I had the chance to pick it up for pretty cheap I couldn't resist.  The disc includes "Revolution", a remix of "Tennessee" and the Maroon Mix of "People Everyday" that was already featured here a while ago.  The remix of Tennessee is called the Dred and Funk remix.

Such beautiful carpet!

It's a pretty cool remix of the song, nothing too mind-blowing but well done with some added chant vocals to the mix.  As far as the extra disc goes, I wasn't quite sure if I'd be able to even get this song from the disc, but then I opened the disc tray and the little light bulb over my head went off over my head Looney Toons-style- there was a perfect groove in the tray that I had probably looked at 10,000 times but only now discovered the purpose of- to hold these little tiny 3-inch CDs.  Hey, it's a miracle I can even do what little I can do on this blog....  Anyway, I thought it was kind of cool find for a collector like me, even if it only netted me one remix that I didn't already have.  As you can see to the side, the discs come packaged in one of those double disc cases that makes 3 Years seem suitably epic. 

5 Questions With Speech

Here's a nice little interview I stumbled upon with Speech on a website called Fans Entertainment.  Have to agree with this question and answer too:

Best hangover cure?
Not getting drunk. I’ve never been drunk in my whole life, I doubt I will start now. 

And here's the video he discusses- I've had it up before I think.

AD's Black Friday Offer

OK, they really don't have a "Black Friday" offer in the AD store- but they are offering a few free downloads that you should check out if you haven't already purchased these recent online-only projects.  Right now, you can download two remixes to "Miracles" and a remix to "Caught Me" from the Life Music Remixes project in the AD store for FREE, right here.  This includes the SAM remix of Miracles which would finish up the Since the Last Time deluxe edition remixes disc 2 if you downloaded everything else from this blog.

Then, you can also download "The Kingdom of Illness" here, which is an outstanding Speech song from the Unreleased Jewels project.  Just wanted everyone to be aware of that!  Hat tip to AJ from www.jazzyjefffreshprince.com for sharing this information.  (BTW, if you are into Will Smith either as a rapper or an actor, that's a great site to check out and I wish someday I could make this blog into something comparable- but I would have a lot of work to do!  Now that I have a daughter, I've gotten a lot more into Will's music since I can play it guilt free in the car, just like AD and Speech's stuff.) 

As far as Unreleased Jewels, for a Speech fan it's a must-buy.  Great stuff on there, including a Christmas song for the season!  Life Music Remixes depends on how much you enjoy remixes but is worth the low price tag in my opinion.