THIS BOY

Listen to THIS BOY by Joe Bataan.

I knew we would start this at some point, and today is the day. Looming in my iTunes is a playlist of Beatles songs--cover versions--that is approaching 800 songs at this point. So let's share some (more of) them, shall we?

Joe Bataan, living music legend, chips in with a Sweet Soul cover of This Boy. Some of you may not be familiar with This Boy. From 1963, it was the B-Side to I Want To Hold Your Hand, and an instrumental version was used in that great scene in "A Hard Day's Night" where Ringo goes off on his own.

I am tempted to say Bataan's version is superior to the original, which feels a little rushed and which harmonies are a little unrefined and...Scouse. But everyone can have their opinion on that. To be sure, Bataan's doo wop background comes in handy, and his cover comes alive on the outro where he adlibs a few lyrics and sounds really at home in the song.

Photo: Cape Cod garden (1).