MAMA, I WANNA MAKE RHYTHM  -  THE CHENILLE SISTERS

YEAR:  1991
LABEL:  Red House Records
TRACK LISTING:  Chocolate,  La Bamba (An English Translation),  A Change Is Gonna Come,  Roadmaps,  Mama I Wanna Make Rhythm,  The Wind,  Sally's Advice,  Is It True Albert?,  Hummin' To Myself,  A Chill in the Air,  I Am A Can of Tuna,  Big Hair
IMPRESSIONS:  I'm trying to remember when I first heard the Chenille Sisters.  I think it was on Gene Shay's folk music radio programme.  Whether that's right or not, I know which song it was:  "Chocolate".  The Chenille Sisters hymn to the joys of chocolate.  A funny song which also had that three part harmony so influenced by my beloved Boswell Sisters (whom at this point I had only heard in the wacko early 30's musical "THE BIG BROADCAST".  But I loved them and consequently also had to track down the album which such a Boswell-sounding female trio put out.  This I did and the album even contains a cover of a song Connee Boswell recorded ("Hummin' To Myself").  The Chenille Sisters (not actually sisters in the great music tradition) do serious folk songs as well as silly ones and they also cover songs ranging from Sam Cooke's soul hymn "A Change Is Gonna Come" to a comic rewrite of Ritchie Valens' "La Bamba".  Also, like They Might Be Giants, they veer between albums recorded specifically for children and albums meant for the grown-ups (this one).  Such recorded schizophrenia perhaps confuses the listening public (it shouldn't) and that's why the Sisters aren't more well-known.  Allmusic's William Ruhlmann makes the point that the song sequencing on this very album may be sonically confusing to the unsuspecting:  "Funny as that song ('La Bamba') is, its placement on the album, following the equally comic lead-off number, 'Chocolate', illustrates the problem the Chenille Sisters still have shifting gears from silliness to sincerity.  The third track is a cover of Sam Cooke's 'A Change Is Gonna Come', and the listener hasn't yet got through chuckling at 'La Bamba' when it comes on, so it takes a verse of the solemn soul song before the realization sets in that on this song the group wants to be taken seriously."  Now, I can certainly see Ruhlmann's point . . . if you weren't already familiar with the Chenille Sisters' modus operandi.  However, if you bought the album in the first place I'm pretty sure such tonal shifts will not come as a surprise to you.  And myself, who is a notoriously "eclectic" song sequencer who routinely programmes playlists where Metallica follows Sarah Vaughan who followed Spike Milligan, I don't see a problem here.  As the aforementioned Boswell Sisters are obviously a huge influence (as they are on the similar-sounding Puppini Sisters), the Chenilles tend to have a sound which recalls the late 20's/early 30's sides made by the Boswells (who actually WERE sisters).  Songs like "Hummin' To Myself", "Mama I Wanna Make Rhythm" and even, to some extent, "Chocolate" are definitely in this oeuvre.  Despite several weaker songs, this album is just a lot of fun.
MY FAVOURITE TRACKS:  Chocolate,  La Bamba (An English Translation),  A Change Is Gonna Come,  Mama I Wanna Make Rhythm,  Hummin' To Myself,  I Am A Can of Tuna,  Big Hair
FACT SHEET:  MAMA, I WANNA MAKE RHYTHM is the Chenille Sisters' fourth album.  The Chenille Sisters are Cheryl Dawdy, Connie Huber and Grace Morand.  "La Bamba" is a cover of the Ritchie Valens hit which itself was a cover of a tradition Mexican folk song; here the Chenille Sisters write new comedy lyrics.  "A Change Is Gonna Come" is a cover of a Sam Cooke song.  "Hummin' To Myself" was writte by Sammy Fain, Siegel Magidson and Monty Siegel and has been previously recorded by Connee Boswell, Kay Starr and Linda Ronstadt among others. 

AT THE COPA - Sam Cooke

YEAR: 1964

LABEL: ABKCO/RCA Victor

TRACK LISTING: Opening Introduction, The Best Things In Life Are Free, Bill Bailey, Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out, Frankie and Johnny, Medley: Try A Little Tenderness/(I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons/You Send Me, If I Had A Hammer (The Hammer Song), When I Fall In Love, Twistin' the Night Away, Band Introductions, This Little Light of Mine, Blowin' In the Wind, Tennessee Waltz

IMPRESSIONS: This is the only live album Sam Cooke released in his lifetime. The one venue he wanted to play was the Copacabana; in the singer's mind you hadn't made it until you'd done it. Cooke famously played the Copa early in his career and bombed spectacularly. Therefore, he vowed he would not play the Copa again until he was ready. By 1964, he finally felt he was ready. This album represents a personal milestone for the singer because he successfully played at his "holy grail" venue at long last. As such, the album is an important audio document in Cooke's career but not necessarily representative of his music. Despite his huge success at the time, practically none of his hit singles can be found here. More Trini Lopez concert than Sam Cooke, the album features song choices which to our modern ears seem mighty odd for the singer to be performing. However, that's what put bums in seats at New York's Copa in 1964. Or should I say WHITE bums in seats. As such, the album also is a major success story in the crossover success of black artists into traditionally white charts. However, as a pure listening experience it can come across as a strangely underwhelming and frustrating affair; unless, of course, you yearn to hear the composer of "A Change Is Gonna Come" sing his rendition of "Won't You Come Home, Bill Bailey".

MY FAVOURITE TRACKS: The Best Things In Life Are Free, Nobody Wants You When You're Down and Out, Medley: Try A Little Tenderness/(I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons/You Send Me, When I Fall In Love, This Little Light of Mine

FACT SHEET: AT THE COPA is Sam Cooke's 16th album (including "Best Ofs"). The live concert was recorded on July 7 - 8, 1964 at New York's Copacabana. Bob Dylan's "Blowin' In the Wind" was a personal favourite of Sam's and it provided inspiration for his own "A Change Is Gonna Come".