Now That's A Pretty Song

Bad, performed by Luka Bloom.

Having audio taped the entire Live Aid concert as transmitted in New York (two tape recorders meant no break in continuity) I was instantly impressed by U2's performance of this song, and generated much bad feeling between my good self and the girls I shared the apartment with¹ by belting it out on volume number 11² . It is a song I've loved for a long time despite my not having a single U2 album in my collection.

Not even The Joshua Tree, and everyone has a copy of that. I've often thought about buying a yard of U2 CDs but have never actually done so.

Not sure why that is.

Anyway, I was in Sid's hardware Store on Jay Street last week and heard an absolutely beatuiful acoustic version of Bad playing on their P.A. system, so good I hung out in the store just to hear the whole thing. I was so impressed with it I initiated a search for cover versions as soon as I got home. I suppose I could have asked someone in the store who it was, but in all the times I've done that I've never gotten the right answer (and I've got the CDs to prove it too).

Amazon, Wikipedia and Google were not helpful when presented with my knowledge as search criteria, which boiled down to "Bad Acoustic". Much of interest did pop up, but nothing useful ³. Luckily The Stevieling had a problem with her iTunes account ⁴ and after I had fixed the issue (which essentially boiled down to Apple's design crew not having enough imagination to figure out how their stuff might be used in the real world ⁵) I scanned the available versions of Bad and located a couple of likely candidates. I thought I could use the free sample to positively identify the right song, but was all-but foiled by the clip editorial staff having selected a segment in which 99% of the sound is of unaccompanied guitar. This isn't the first time I've discovered that an iTunes sample clip, the one they presumably feel will hook an opportunistic buyer, is about as representative of the actual song it was taken from as a fried Mars Bar. Fortunately, I was able to positively identify the voice from the few words included and am now able to pass on the recommendation to you.

The piece is performed solo, accompanied by acoustic guitar. The guitar work is melodic and crisp in execution, and the vocals have just the right tremulous edge to convey the subject matter at hand in the proper manner (albeit a very different manner than U2 used).

I don't own a CD of Luka Bloom's music yet, but this song ensures that I will, soon.

1. Long story, love involved, none directly involving me↑
2. I've also got the bit where the concert organisers pulled the plug on U2, which was curiously not part of the DVD released purporting to cover the same concert in it's entirety↑
3. So often the case when doing internet searches↑
4. Again. Oh yeah, Apple's stuff "just works" all right↑
5. Again. Apple's designs are so much "better" I can't understand why they aren't the industry leader in everything. Oh wait, yes I can↑