SOMETHING OLD
Diana Ross & Marvin Gaye - Alone
1973
Diana Ross & Marvin Gaye - Alone
1973
Once upon a time, Marvin Gaye promised to never duet with a female singer again. He believed they were cursed by him. Mary Wells’ Motown career abruptly ended shortly after her 1964 “Together” album with Gaye, similarly to Kim Weston with their 1966 “Take Two” duet record. Tammi Terrell, Gaye’s most notable musical other half, had eight surgeries on a brain tumor before passing at only 24 years old.
But the prospect of working with the massively famous Diana Ross was hard to say no to. So between 1971-1973, the two recorded Diana & Marvin. The sessions and ultimate release were not without complications, even down to the billing order of their names. The record was modestly successful, with My Mistake being the hit.
Through all this, however, hid a song that didn’t see the light of day until being released as a bonus track on a 2001 re-release: Alone.
The song begins cutely with Ross’ angelic voice. In comes the next verse, where Gaye sings only alternating syllables while Ross continues, creating lovely and unique harmonies. When the strings join the chorus and the two legends both sing their hearts out, the song really comes to life. It’s orchestral.
But if you were to ask me, the driving force behind this being a truly great song is thanks to James Jamerson, legendary session bassist. If you’ve heard Motown, you’ve heard Jamerson. Listen to him shine at 2:59 and beyond with his brilliantly composed & played arpeggio bassline. It’s this bassline in the finale of “Alone” that stirs sadness in me for the song’s lack of recognition, and the decision to omit it from the album in the first place!SOMETHING NEW
Danny Ayala - Something With You
August 18th, 2025
Danny Ayala - Something With You
August 18th, 2025
This is not Danny Ayala’s first venture as a solo musician, but I can see why he may be granting himself a fresh start. Under the alias Dr. Danny, he released music from 2013-2022 with eccentric songs like Lay It On Me Straight, where the narrator can’t kiss his girlfriend because “she’s in a frickin’ coma.”
It’s a lot of fun. But maybe Something With You is not quite Dr. Danny.
Ayala met Michael and Brian D’Addario of the Lemon Twigs in elementary school, and is best known for being a member of their touring band. You can hear how the three of them have musically grown together. The aforementioned Dr. Danny song has some wild time signature changes comparable to something like the Lemon Twigs’ Baby, Baby. Then a little under a decade later, Ayala has come out with a truly beautiful, serene ballad channeling the 60/70s, produced by the D’Addario brothers and bearing stylistic similarities to their own latest records.
The lyrics seem to tell the story of having felt “something” with either an unrequited love or maybe even someone non-existent. With a buttery smooth voice, Ayala sings about imagining everything with this person, with “imagine” being the keyword. Fully acknowledging it’s not real, he questions if he should hold on to or let go of this fantasy. It’s a sad story, but a beautifully composed one.
Keep a look out for his upcoming record Only Fools Love Again on September 26th.
If you were French or Swedish in the late 1980s, chances were you knew the top-10 hit Calling You by Jevetta Steele from the film Bagdad Cafe by German director Percy Adlon.
If you’re American in 2025, you might be more likely to know it from the several times Jeff Buckley covered it live if you know it all.
If you don’t, now you do.
If you don’t, now you do.
It’s a shame that Jevetta Steele never got her American flowers, as she carries quite a remarkable voice. Her recording on her1993 album Here It Is is simply haunting and hypnotic; adjectives that fit Jeff Buckley astutely.
I write this with even more ardent love for dearest Jeff than normal, one week after seeing the It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley documentary that made me sob.
There are not many lyrics in this song, but some suggest a departure from Earth. I can feel a change is coming, coming closer, sweet release. With this interpretation and Steele’s history as a gospel singer in mind, it starts to feel like the “you” in “Calling You” is God.
Out of all the Buckley covers I could have chosen, this felt like the one. I learned in the documentary that he was telling his loved ones that he wasn’t going to make it much longer; that he felt something would happen to him, despite his desire to be unlike his father Tim in all ways, including his young death.
Sin-é, the tiny East Village club that helped put Buckley on the map, is silent enough to hear a pin drop in this recording. It’s just his deeply resonant voice and his guitar haunting the crowd that I’m sure were covered in goosebumps.
SOMETHING... LABORIOUS
Joan As Police Woman - The Magic
2011
Joan As Police Woman - The Magic
2011
Continuing with my adoration for the Jeff Buckley doc, it also taught me about Joan Wasser, who dated Buckley until his passing. She found success in the 90s in The Dambuilders before embarking on her solo career under the name Joan As Police Woman.
Wasser talked about the song in a 2023 “Sing for Science” podcast episode, where she described going through a period of spinning, obsessive thoughts and working through that by writing music – seeking the deliverance, the magic, away from her struggles and toward serenity.
There’s a sense of wanting to act out, particularly in the “I wanna be bad” bridge with wailing guitars, but a need to secure her self control and find her way out of her mind.
It’s lyrically profound with a very infectious groove.
P.S.: My ears hear a hint of similarity to a Dizzy favorite: Fiona Apple.