Drum break supreme

How a version can differ totally from the original

Bob James

Bob James is an American Jazz musician, aranger and producer. He was discovered by Quincy Jones and Henri Mancini at a competition in 1962. He is known for his Smooth Jazz with a slight Psychedelic touch.

His 1974 version of “Take Me To The Mardi Gras” is quite different to the original version. 

Listen to the Paul Simon and Bob James version in this compilation. Paul’s version is first

Also there is a noise in the background playing along the introbeats, that can be interpreted as a song playing on a radio channel. You can hear Tommy Cash with “Rise And Shine”, a single released in 1970. Early sampling!

Listen to the original by Tommy Cash and the parts that were sampled by Bob James

Break beat

It has a well known Break Beat, an instrumental part of a song that is used for repetition to create a pattern. The intro, the beat at the start of the track and the keyboard melody in the middle of the track are common in modern music, as it is recognized in 464 tracks. Might be it started with The Crash Crew with their 1982 track “Breaking Bells”. The track is a cover version of the same-titled song originally made by Paul Simon in 1973.

Paul Simon

Paul Simon started out als half of the duo Simon & Garfunkel. The song “Take Me To The Mardi Gras” is from his third solo-album. It was a single and made it to the top 10 in the Uk. The song is apparently about a trip to New Orleans, to the Mardi Gras festival. The fourth verse’s lyrics are making clear what the track is about:  “Take your burdens to the Mardi Gras, Let the music wash your soul”.

Vinyl

On the pictures are my “Mardi Gras” record releases.

The CTI US press 1974 album is high quality pressing and comes in a gatefold.

CTI Records – CTI 6057 S1

On the inside is a sublime inside.

The CBS press UK album is less in quality. It also has no gatefold sleeve.

CBS 84821

The Bob James “Mardi Gras” seven inch single is Italian press and the only original release with a picture sleeve from 1975.

CTI 304

The Paul Simon “Mardi Gras” single is a Dutch press picture sleeve from 1973.

CBS 1355

The same sleeve design is also used in Spain and Angola. It has a ‘New Orleans’ feel compared to the other sleeve designs that either have a picture of Paul Simon on an acoustic guitar or Paul Simon with long hair and a hat on.