Today, the studio version is online. STAYIN’ ALIVE – Chris Version
with a video shot in Venice and directed by Chris.
Chris: “Art heals! Brings us all together again and again! Art is the experience of humanity,
the joyful boat of the imagination, the fireside where we reinvent together – childhood. My masters use art see you soon.
No copy/paste. Chris injects the song with a tremendous amount
of vehemence turning it into an energetic disco stomper. Class!
5. ‘Stayin’ Alive’ by LEE ROGERS (Northern Ireland)
Original by Bee Gees.
This warm Americana voice out of Northern Ireland slows
the classic down, drenches it in a nostalgic sepia bath, and
gives it a haunting and soul-stirring twist corresponding with
the somber lyrics. Compelling version!
From the massive covers compilation called The Metallica Blacklist
featuring no less than 53 artists interpreting a Black Album song, the
breakthrough LP that was released 30 years ago.
Every Sunday for about two years now, the famous British songstress and
her King Crimson husband Robert Fripp entertained us (and still do it) via
YouTube with covers of big crackers. Their performances were/are ridiculously
hilarious. Definitely the stand-up rock comedians of 2021.
Artist: LEE ROGERS Who: Singer-songwriter from the small
town of Carrickfergus in Northern Ireland.
Early November this warm Americana voice from Northern Ireland
released an 6-track EP called DARK NOTIONS. An arresting extended
play of six sweet little pearls.
One of the songs is a BEE GEES cover of their 1977 STAYIN’ ALIVE and it’s quite striking.
No helium-affected vocals, no glamorous disco flamboyance. Rogers slows the classic down, drenches it in a nostalgic sepia bath, and gives it a haunting and soul-stirring
twist corresponding with the somber lyrics.
Who: Singer-songwriter from the small town of Carrickfergus in Northern Ireland.
His musical inspiration was drawn from classic voices outside of the tensions in
his homeland. Bill Withers, Marc Cohen, Tom Waits, and the like were all bright colours
from a musical palette far away from the often-grim surroundings of Northern Ireland
at that time. Rogers’ voice and sound pull from the vast well of timeless Americana,
all the while underpinned by the authentic writings of his life and its surroundings.
Rogers: “I don’t like the idea of songs sitting silently on hard drives. These ones were
written to be heard and I kind of like that they don’t fit with anything else other than back
to back together on their own EP… For this EP I wanted to hark back a bit to the excitement
of holding a piece of music in your hands, reading sleeve notes, taking in the artwork and looking at something other than your phone while listening. There’s so much missing from
the whole experience these days. I still love the ritual of pulling a CD case open, or putting
the needle arm onto a record on the turntable, and I really think the contents of this EP
lend themselves perfectly to that.””
(photo by Ken Haddock)
Turn Up The Volume: This is high-quality songwriting. From riveting grooves
to soul-stirring balladry. Compelling stories, masterly arrangments, instantly
sticking melodiousness, and a magnific Americana voice. Arresting work.
Discover and enjoy all six beauties…
.
Besides the five original songs Rogers also included his remarkable cover of the 1977
Bee Gees’ massive disco hit Stayin’ Alive. Remarkable as he slows the song down in a mesmerizing way and because his warm and melancholic vox – instead of the brothers’ helium vocals – changes the resonance totally. A gem of a cover…
