Question re:Best Of The Blues Brothers (1981) (1 Viewer)

[Keith Paynter]

Very little documentation about this album exists. 3 songs on the album were 'new' recordings - Rubber Biscuit, Everybody Needs Somebody To Love, and Expressway To Your Heart. Does anybody know where and when they were recorded? Dan Ackroyd's intro to 'Everybody' mentions the California Highway Patrol. Is it possible they were recorded at the Universal Amphitheatre, like the first BB album?

Any help is appreciated.

 

[Gary Seven]

Let's see... I thought Rubber Biscuit was from Suitcase Full of Blues and "everybody" was from the Blues Brothers movie. Don't know about "expressway".

 

[Keith Paynter]

Those are correct, Gary, but what I'm really looking for is information about when and where they were recorded.

'Briefcase Full Of Blues' and 'Made In America' were recorded in L.A. at the Universal Amphitheater (the show when 'Briefcase' was recorded also featured Steve Martin, but I forget who was the headliner - most likely Martin, since the BB's were a 'new' act). There is insufficient information in the liner notes for 'Best Of' to find out where and when these 'new' recordings were actually made.

'Everybody' and 'Rubber Biscuit' are not the same versions that appear on 'Briefcase' and the BB soundtrack. The only other hard-to-find original recording is 'Excusez Moi Mon Cherie', recorded at the same show for 'Briefcase' and issued as the b-side to the 45 rpm single 'Soul Man', and is not available domestically. This track is available on an import CD Blues Brothers Complete for around $55.

 

[Yee-Ming]

Hey, I have that! Sure as hell didn't cost US$50 in the shops here; I can't remember exactly what I paid, but IIRC it was something like S$35 (about US$21).

The liner notes say the following about your 3 songs:-

Rubber Biscuit
Taken from the Briefcase Full of Blues album (Nov 1978), recorded live at the Universal Amphitheater LA

Everybody Needs Somebody to Love
Taken from the soundtrack album The Bluse Brothers (June 1980)

Expressway To Your Heart
Taken from the Briefcase Full of Blues album, recorded live at the Universal Amphitheater LA

The version of "Everybody" on this still has Elwood's welcome to the "members of Illinois' law enforcement community", so I guess it is indeed the same version as that off the soundtrack (it's been a while since I listened to my various Blues Brothers CDs), but I do recall there being a different version out there; damned if I can remeber anything about it though.

Don't think this helps, though. Also, the liner notes for the second disc seem to be messed up: it describes tracks 1-6 as being from the soundtrack (probably right), 7-15 from Made In America (also probably right), 16 (Expressway) Taken from Briefcase Full of Blues (probably right), but then says tracks 13-14 produced by Bob Tischler (when this has already been credited under tracks 7-15), track 13 taken from The Best of the Blues Brothers, and 14 Originally released a b-side of Soul Man single -- which as you've said is Excusez Moi Mon Cherie, track 17 here. I guess the last few credits should've red 16 and 17 respectively instead of 13 & 14?

 

[KevinJ]

expressway wasn't on the briefcase album[it's probably an outtake]

 

[Kirk Gunn]

And I'm confident both Biscuit and Everybody are slightly different versions. I'll have to break out the CD's tonight to get the exact differences. There aren't major variations, but definitely different performances.

 

[Keith Paynter]

From the 'Best Of' Album



Rubber Biscuit:

"The other day, I had a "wish sandwich". Oh Yeah!. A "wish sandwich" is the kind of a sandwich where you have 2 slices of bread, either rye or white or pumpernickel, and you sincerely wish you had some meat! Bow, bow, bow!"

"You know that same day (and this will give you an idea of how down I was) I did have - a "ricochet biscuit". Oh yeah! Well now, a "ricochet biscuit" is that kind, that particular brand of biscuit, that's supposed to bounce of the wall and back in your mouth. People, if it don't bounce back - you will go hungry! Bow, bow, bow!"

"Now the other day - it wasn't the same day(!) - but I did have a "cool water sandwich" and a "Sunday-go-to-meetin' bun", which means I had a watermelon and I took a little lady to church! Bow, bow, bow!"

Everybody Needs Somebody To Love:

"We're so glad to see so many of you lovely people here tonight, and we would like to welcome all the representatives of the California Highway Patrol, who are waiting for me and Jake after the show! We sincerely hope that you all here enjoy the show, and remember people, that no matter who you are and what you do to live, thrive and survive, there are things that make all of us the same - you, me, my brother Jake, Wilson Pickett, Solomon Burke, everybody, people everybody..."

Thankfully missing from this version is the backup chorus that Paul Schaeffer overdubbed onto the soundtrack version...



I know where the original versions came from, and the albums that they are from, but I'm trying to research where these later versions (and 'Expressway') may have been recorded for inclusion exclusively on this 'Best Of' album.

All new tracks are shown as (P)1981 - the album was released Nover 30th, 1981. John Belushi died March 5th, 1982 (and just got a posthumous star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame).

Here's why I'm trying to find this out. I host weekly 'live concert' show on my webstation, and am featuring the complete Belushi-era recordings, including the live soundtrack, 'Best-Of' and b-side 'Excusez-Moi' track (from an old promo 45 single). I don't have the Blues Brothers Complete CD for a cleaner version. The entire live repetoire runs 97 minutes. I'm trying to fill out the background info for the program Sunday night.

[shameless self-promotion]BTW, the program airs on khitradio.com Sunday at 10:00pm CST if you're curious...[/shameless self-promotion] :b