The live version that is just Johnette and a guitar that aired on 120 Minutes is on YT and one of the most powerful performance I’ve ever seen. The studio version from Pump Up The Volume soundtrack is great on its own
Also have to recommend Heal It Up. The sheer power she has in that song is so good, and showcases her ability to go from sultry to belting at the drop of a hat.. Back in December 2012 I was at work and checking the newspaper before getting going and there was a small blurb stating that Concrete Blonde would be performing THAT NIGHT. I called my son (15 at the time and on a holiday break) and said "We're going to a concert tonight" as he'd grown up listening to them. Small venue by the University of Minnesota, and they opened with their version of "Ghost Riders in the Sky," and then into their usual songs. She still had all the control available to her -- and her hair was almost its own performer, as some songs were sung with it completely hiding her face. Best concert I've ever been to.
I also LOVE True Blood!!! That was one of my favorite shows!! And Concrete Blond SHOULD’VE been on that show for REAL!! That would’ve been PERFECT!! 😈🎶♥️✌🏻
Johnette is seriously one of the most incredible vocalists in the history of rock. This song only scratches the surface of her talents. Her vocals in the song “Heal It Up” knock me out.
@@craigplatel813 I saw them a couple of times when they played in Sydney, Australia. Then was lucky enough to interview her in the late 90s when she played some shows with Chris Bailey from The Saints. She was gracious and shared some red wine with me! 🙂 I wish she'd create more music.
Very glad to see you got around to Concrete Blonde! Another excellent Hallowe'en song from them is "Ghost of a Texas Ladies Man". I think you'd really enjoy that one -- it's more lighthearted and just delightful.
johnette is my FAVOURITE female singer of all time! i’m so happy you did concrete blonde!! please do more! i’d suggest “walking in london”. her vocals are are incredible 🖤
Often overlooked and underrated. Song for Kim, Days and Days, God is a Bullet, Still in Hollywood, Dance along the Edge from their 1st album deserving of a listen.
I saw them in concert many, many years ago. It's a moment in time I will NEVER forget. Johnette shared something very personal. The song Tomorrow, Wendy was written for a friend of hers that died of aids. I can't hear her voice without thinking about that moment. It was the first time live music brought me to tears.
yes, add me to the list. This song doesn't really exhibit her vocal abilities. It's also not my fave song by Concrete Blonde. There are so many more interesting ones.
So glad to finally see Johnette and Concrete Blond on this channel. I've been a fan since I first heard them as a junior in high school waaaaaaaay back in late '88/'89. Definitely an underappreciated band and its worth taking a dive into their discography. Johnette Napolitano has such a strong, distinctive voice, and she's a great songwriter to boot.
Please please please do Joey. Her vocals are heart wrenching. One of the best songs ever written about being in love with someone who has an addiction.
Yes. Somebody doing Concrete Blonde. I saw these guys many times when they were a local band in L.A. Then years later they did the video for "Caroline" in a club I worked. I actually got filmed behind the bar but didn't make the final cut. Love these guys. Thank you Elizabeth.
The whole album is a masterpiece as far as having a cohesive vibe and great songs from start to finish. Not too many albums have no throw-away tracks on them.
Johnette's voice,live is so good and she projects so well that she barely needs a mic. Also great to check out is "Tomorrow,Wendy". Even the a Cappella version is fantastic and another song called "Heal it Up"
Johnette. Nuff said. Incredible and underrated vocalist. So glad you discovered her. Now, a deep dive into Concrete Blonde! Big fan, but maybe check out “Heal it Up” from a vocal standpoint?
When it comes to her sound, you can't go past her collab/cover of the Andy Prieboy song "Tomorrow, Wendy." As a singer, Elizabeth would really enjoy this - or the Andy version. (He's a great singer/songwriter himself.)
The guitar is part phaser, part, chorus, part line boost, part delay, EQ, but mostly James's fingers. It's almost always mostly in a guitar players fingers.
James Mankey is a brilliant textural guitarist. Likely he's using a flanger, and a harmonizer, maybe even a phase shifter. One other commenter said, once you've heard a Mankey guitar line it's instantly recognizable. Give more of your attention to the 'Blonde's catalog. There is so much to enjoy.
@theodosios2615 there probably is. I've never seen any guitar mag do a feature on Mankey even at 'the 'Blonde's peak of popularity, which is a shame. Would love to know his signal chain.
Walking in London is my favorite CB song. It always makes me think of Daniel and Armand from the Vampire Chronicles. I always wished I could ask Johnette if she was thinking of them when she wrote it.
Thanks Elizabeth for not only a great analysis but also a highly entertaining reaction. Was hoping you'd get a kick out of this and was grateful for the Patreon support to get it through. Hopefully you do get to explore more Concrete Blonde and Johnette. She is so very underrated.
The sound you hear on the guitar is a "Flanger." It's kind of like a parametric EQ that sweeps up and down and adds some warble to the sound. On the undistorted guitar, it's a deep reverb and a warm EQ. There's a lot of reverb, flange/phase and echolation effects in this song.
Yep. There's also a lot of jangle in the guitar, which is a lot more common in goth and post-punk than the other genres of rock you've listened to on here.
So so happy with the choices of the most recent songs. This album is one of my all time favorites. Bought it on a whim due to ‘Caroline’ and having a crush by that name and fell in love with it all.
Great reaction. I just stumbled across The B-52s "Roam" and perhaps hadn't noticed before how incredible the vocals on that song are. Two-part harmonies, nasty distortion, falsetto, yodels, it's got everything. That would be a great one to react to.
NO WAY!! I was just listening to concrete blonde and thought "Elizabeth must hear Johnette!" So I come to her channel to recommend them, and she has literally just uploaded a Concrete Blonde review! Wow. If you really want to hear Johnette in God Mode, listen to Heal It Up, she strips paint off the walls on that one.
Concrete Blonde put on the best show I have ever experienced. It was probably supporting "Bloodletting". Club date in Houston. They seemed to come on expecting that they had an average group of fans in Houston. Turns out, somehow, the Houston fanbase was *really* into them. They could tell by the way everyone in the venue was singing along to the first song. And that pumped them up. And we fed off their energy. It was a positive feedback loop that left us all screaming and them just jamming. It was wonderful having even a tiny part in giving one of my favorite artists that gift. And what an amazing show we got in return. Dang, 30 years ago now, but still the best concert I've been to. I heard they got the name from Michael Stipe saying that Johnette's voice was concrete blonde. And I can totally hear that listening to "Still in Hollywood". "Joey" or "Tomorrow, Wendy" would be my choices for more of them, but walk in prepared for sadness, especially if you choose "Tomorrow, Wendy".
Yes! I’ve wanted a top pro vocal coach to check out Concrete Blonde + Johnette for a long time. And here it is. My first Concrete Blonde song was on a little radio at a gas station during my ungodly early morning shift. Years later, I bought a CD copy of their debut album for only 50¢. That was an utter *steal* all the way. Was not prepared for just how excellent their work was- and that continued all over their original run. I just started going back and buying an LP at a time; in the process they became one of my absolute favorite bands, top 3 to this day. From a musical standpoint their material is so solid. From a vocal standpoint Johnette is a treasure house. Thank you & Happy Halloween. 🎃🧛♀️ 🎙️🎼🎙️ 🧛♀️🎃
"Heal it Up," "Cold Part of Town," "Mexican Moon," "Ghost of a Texas Ladies' Man," and her cover of Leonard Cohen's "Everybody Knows" are all awesome! Love Concrete Blonde so much.
This may be one of my all-time favorite reactions that you've done - Concrete Blonde has been one of my absolute favorite bands since the early 90s, and I've so been waiting for you to react to Johnette's incredible voice. And as an added treat you reacted to the song that introduced me to the band! All of their songs are amazing, but I would say that the live version of Tomorrow, Wendy is an must-listen! Another song that really showcases Johnette's amazing voice is Damage I've Done by The Heads (formerly the Talking Heads) where she provides guest vocals.
@@nickmitchell7664 I'd never thought about that - so I had to pull out my CD and check! According to the liner notes, Tina played bass, while Johnette did vocals, lyrics, and "buzz guitar" (not sure what that is, honestly).
@@Ryan_Crown I had to look it up... I don't know where my copy is, my CD collection is arranged by importance of band, then by date of release, lol. I don't remember how I classified it.
A lot of very good Concrete Blonde songs mentionned here... I would add another one which is, for me, one of their most beautiful songs : the wonderful cover of "Beware of darkness" (originally created by George Harrison). Anyway, all songs from their very first album are absolute gems 😍 A big thanks from France for this song analysis, Elizabeth ! 👍
I LOVE Concrete Blonde! You should listen to Heal It Up, even if you don't make a video of it. Johnette has some great vocals in that song, well any song actually!
I was walking around Philly with my sister in 2012. Saw a band named concrete blonde was playing at World Cafe. We had no idea who they were, but they had a cool name so we went to see them. We were so blown away that we went out and bought all their albums. They were excellent.
OOOOH! THIS IS A GREAT PICK! I just listened to the whole CD fist time in years. Quite a trip! NOW I WANNA GO LISTEN TO THIS IN MY CAR & PISS OFF THE NEIGHBORS!
I know most people are going to recommend "Joey" and "Caroline" next, and those are good songs... but I'm more a fan of their later stuff. I'm suggesting "Jenny I Read", from their Mexican Moon album. Really, that entire album is magical.
Johnette is the best vocalist of her generation. Huge power in all registers, great songwriter, bass player... First ballot MVP. Nothing short of a legend.
Janette has one of the most powerful voices in rock and has been compared to Janis Joplin. I’ve seen her live a few times and her live performances are incredible and better than the album. She is very theatrical and put ms 100% in to every performance and often comes to tears in stage. Her performances are incredibly moving. Love Janette.
First time I saw them in Chicago she was so wasted she couldn't lift her head off the stage. Just laid there mumbling into the microphone while the band powered through the set. It was sad. Next time she apologized to us for that performance.
My personal favorite Concrete Blonde song is Heal It Up! Although, honestly I love just about everything by them! Mexican Moon, Caroline, and Joey are great too!
Yes!! Concrete Blonde!! Been asking for Heal It Up for a while now. I want to know what you think of her vocals on that one! Anyway Bloodletting is good too,the song and the album. Now to watch this video.
I really recommend this band's songs "Joey" and "Caroline". I consider those two songs to be underrated classics like "Seventeen" by Sharon Van Etten and "Stolen Car" by Beth Orton.
Tickled to see you doing a Concrete Blond song. James Mankey is a guitarist with his own sound and it works really well with Johnette Napolitano's style. Please do another Concrete Blond song.
As for the guitar tones, an effect called a Flanger is used extensively all over the whole album, and on that solo, it sounds like either it’s being played on a 12 string electric (+flanger), or on a six string with a pitch shifting effect that adds another note to each one played.
Agree. Also, I think that there's a compressor to thin out the dynamics, allowing the entire solo to be evenly heard rapid -fire chords, double stops, and chordal bends. Further consistency in tone appears to be achieved by strumming very close to the fretting hand, as shown in the music video; it is somewhat funk like. Have had this whole album on repeat regularly since it was released. Underrated guitarist for sure. The solo on Caroline is great and very different.
❤️💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔❤️ Love this band, love this album, love this song. I was way into 70s music, got lost & missed most of the 80s. This album opened up the 90s for me. Fondest of tender memories here…. Can’t wait for the reaction/analysis!!!❤️
I knew Johnette's voice and Concrete Blondes sound would be well received, though this is just scratching the surface of her voice. The likes of Heal It Up, Caroline, Everybody Knows, Some Day and Oh Lord Wont You Buy Me A Mercedes Benz will show her true talents. This is one band i would truly like to hear more of. 😊
Nice!!! It's been years since I've heard these guys! Very indurated band who should have had way more success then they did.ive always loved their name! The bass in this song is super yummy! Looking forward to seeing what you think about this band.
Concrete Blonde is in my all time top 10 bands. There are so many songs to unpack. I'd start with Dance Along the Edge, their cover of Leonard Cohen's Everybody Knows, God is a Bullet, Caroline, Heal it Up, Mexican Moon, and Why Don't You See Me. They got the band name from Michael Stipe from REM. He had just seen their set, and Concrete Blonde is the phrase he used to describe their sound.
I’ve been a fan of Johnette Napolitano since she was in Dream 6. The Dream 6 song ‘Rain’ is awesome, and ‘Still in Hollywood’ is my favorite Concrete Blonde song.
Johnette Napolitano IS the Best Female Rock singer of ALL TIME, no caveats. I will debate this with anyone. Check out on RU-vid Concrete Blonde- Heal it Up (Live 1993) - Audio Remastered It’s from the old Jon Stewart show on MTV & Johnette was actually sick, but still sounded great.
