VARIOUS ARTISTS / “Compared To What Mixtape”
“Compared To What” is one of the biggest jazz hits ever.
It was first a major seller for Les McCann from the Swiss Movement album featuring Eddie Harris.
Both Billy Paul and Roberta Flack scored well with their versions back in the day.
The Meshell Ndegeocello version was used in the movie Talk To Me.
Philip Bailey former lead singer with Earth, Wind & Fire has a jazzy version of this jazz classic.
Ray Charles and Leela James give the song an unmistakably Ray Charlesian interpretation.
The Dee Dee Bridgewater offers a Malian take that is the most original of the seven versions.
And we conclude with “Samia,” a cut from Second Movement, which was the follow-up Les McCann & Eddie Harris album to the popular Swiss Movement. I include “Samia” because I really, really dig both the groove and the melody.
Enjoy.
—Kalamu ya Salaam
Compared To What Mixtape Playlist
01 Les McCann & Eddie Harris – Swiss Movement
02 Billy Paul - Going East/War of the Gods 
03 Roberta Flack - First Take 
04 Philip Bailey - Soul On Jazz 
05 Meshell Ndegeocello featuring Terence Blanchard - Talk To Me soundtrack
06 Ray Charles with Leela James - Genius & Friends 
07 Dee Dee Bridgewater - Red Earth 
08 “Samia” - Eddie Harris & Les McCann – Second Movement
This entry was posted on Monday, August 17th, 2009 at 1:55 am and is filed under Cover. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
4 Responses to “VARIOUS ARTISTS / “Compared To What Mixtape””
August 17th, 2009 at 11:31 pm
The original was my entry to jazz. Thanks so much for all the versions.
August 18th, 2009 at 4:24 pm
All the music was beautiful this week, but somehow I loved this post the best. The music is full and the lyrics passionate. Especially enjoyed Philip Bailey (no falsettos there!), Roberta Flack, and Ray Charles with Leela James. That woman has soul, doesn’t she?
As usual, thanks for sharing.
August 22nd, 2009 at 1:18 pm
Thanks for this mix. I just saw Mr McCann at a festival and he did this one and “With These Hands”.
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