And I Still Love You

Songwriter, producer, pianist, singer, and absolute genius Allen Toussaint originally recorded “The Greatest Love” with singer Lee Dorsey for the latter’s 1966 album Ride Your Pony - Get Out of My Life Woman. Forty years later, he returned to the tune along with Elvis Costello, for a version intended for their 2006 album The River In Reverse. It ended up emerging as a bonus track on the Japanese version of that album; a few years later, EC and AT performed a “solo” version for the HBO series Treme, with Toussaint on keys and backing vocals and Costello on lead vocal. 

Both the studio and “live” versions are exceptional, but the stripped-down, spontaneous effect of the Treme version makes for a gripping listen. There’s a moment on The Office where Andy is singing his own cover of Macy Gray’s “I Try.” The camera cuts away to friendly neighborhood weirdo Creed, who is following Andy’s every vocal twist and turn with visible amazement, jerking his head and dropping his jaw. 

That’s how I feel watching EC sing “The Greatest Love” in this performance. It’s immediate, passionate, seemingly off the cuff but full of flourishes that only an expert singer could accomplish with such ease. It’s not flashy, but it’s got some subtle acrobatics regardless. Behind him, Toussaint’s harmonies are gentle but insistent; his piano creates its own separate melancholy, distinct but in concert with the words. 

Even among fans, I think there’s sometimes some questions about EC’s vocal ability. At some point in the 1990s, he started really stretching his capabilities, both in his range and with the emphasis and vibrato he was able to summon. He became more than just a skilled singer of his own songs; he started to bring his own distinct emotional gravity to the songs of others as well. It’s what made his collaboration with Burt Bacharach work so well, and it’s on full display here. 

(Watch the Treme video below, not just because the song is incredible, but because EC walks into the studio with his coat and throws it over a piano WHILE Allen Toussaint has already started the song, as though they had set a very specific time to record and EC showed up within seconds of his entrance. Then they put their coats on at the end and walk out! Maybe they had dinner reservations.)

The Treme version, via Vimeo

Yesterday I Wrote The E-mail

Courtesy subscriber Mark S., a much better version of “Burn the Paper to Ash,” cued up via this YouTube link. Much easer to make out the lyrics here! Thanks Mark.