‘Last Train to Clarksville’ by The Monkees

The Beatles’ inspiration on The Monkees is often noted, and there was direct inspiration for ‘Last Train to Clarksville’ (1966). Bobby Hart, who wrote the song with Tommy Boyce, says the “Oh, no, no, no” was inspired by The Beatles’ “Yeah, yeah, yeah” (‘She Loves You’). ‘Last Train’’s guitar riff was written after Beatles songs started in a similar way: ‘I Feel Fine’, ‘Day Tripper’, ‘Paperback Writer’; the latter also provoked the lyrics (Hart thought Paul McCartney was singing “Take the last train”).

That jangly guitar riff, as well as the bridge section, was played Louis Shelton (sometimes referred to as Louie Shelton). The part launched Shelton’s career. He told PremierGuitar, “When ‘Last Train to Clarksville’ hit, everybody started calling me and I knew it was my chance.”

‘Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag (Extended Version)’ by James Brown

For 1970’s Soul On Top, James Brown worked with acclaimed arranger-conducter Oliver Nelson (also a saxophonist, clarinetist, composer and bandleader) on a big band, funk and jazz album. With Louie Bellson’s 18-piece orchestra, which included Shelton on guitar, they reworked classics like ‘Your Cheatin’ Heart’ and ‘Every Day I Have The Blues’, as well as Brown’s own songs ‘It's a Man's, Man's, Man's World’ and ‘Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag’ (plus ‘There Was A Time’, included in a 2004 reissue).

‘New Bag’ doesn’t have the raw, just-arranged vibrancy of the original, but it’s interesting hearing a different arrangement. Thankfully the emphasis on the One remains, and Brown still sounds inspired by the rhythms. Where once Jimmy Nolen’s hammered guitar played the bridge, this part is now taken by the army of horns. Shelton and Bill Pitman’s guitars play more supportive roles. The only one of Brown’s own musicians that joined him on the album was Maceo Parker. In the last third of the song, Parker solos then trades staccato notes with Brown, in a similar manner to ‘Brother Rapp’, released the same year.

The orchestral setting doesn’t stop Brown from letting loose and improvising. On ‘New Bag’, he finds offbeats amid the wall of sound to grunt, and on ‘There Was A Time’, seemingly improvises half his vocal.

‘M A C E O’ by Maceo Parker

Maceo Parker’s Soul Food: Cooking With Maceo (2020) was mostly covers, but had a couple of his own tunes, including a redone ‘Cross The Track’. ‘M A C E O’ also gets an update. The original is from Doing Their Own Thing (1970), an album credited to Maceo And All The King’s Men, after much of James Brown’s band quit (which allowed room for Bootsy Collins and co). Maceo trades riffs with Ashlin Parker, part of a New Orleans-based band that backed Maceo on this album. (Elsewhere on the album Maceo covers The Meters’ funk classic ‘Just Kissed My Baby’.)

The band sounds great from the very first drum kick. The album is engineered and mixed superbly: every instrument is crisp, there’s plenty of bass, but it’s believable that the band are playing together in the same room. The drawn out chant of ‘M. A. C. E. O.’ with each letter on the One is the perfect prelude to Maceo’s blowing. It makes his first few notes sound even sweeter and the introduction of the bass has extra impact.

‘I Am I Be’ by De La Soul feat. Maceo Parker, Fred Wesley & Pee Wee Ellis

For De La Soul’s first two albums, producer Prince Paul sampled many jazz, soul, and funk greats. The sampling continued on Buhloone Mindstate (1993), but the group also recruited three James Brown foremen: Maceo, trombonist Fred Wesley, and fellow saxman Pee Wee Ellis. Maceo gets a track pretty much all to himself with no rapping from De La Soul. He solos for over 4 minutes on ‘I Be Blowin’’. The rhythm track was lifted from ‘You've Made Me So Very Happy’ by Lou Rawls. The music returns on ‘I Am I Be’, on which all three hornsters play. De La’s Posdnuos raps about the disintegration of the Native Tongues collective. His emphasis and rhyme schemes are unpredictable, with some lines devoid of rhymes.

‘Feel Good Inc.’ by Gorillaz

The first time De La Soul collaborated with Damon Albarn’s Gorillaz was for the megahit ‘Feel Good Inc.’. It was possibly the first pop song to feature laughing as a hook, as recognisable as the song’s catchy bassline or Albarn’s high-pitched repetitions of “Feel good”. Dave Jolicoeur, also known as Trugoy the Dove, raps a brilliantly energising verse. It’s powerful enough to pump you up even if you heard the song endlessly on radio and MTV upon its release.

Top image from Discogs.