Friday, January 13, 2012
Crickets / Music Scott Kelly and Bruce Lamont play "Cortez the Killer"
Posted by Philip Montoro on 01.13.12 at 11:45 AM
In retrospect the chord changes are totally familiar, but at the time I puzzled over the long instrumental intro, trying to place it—all I knew for sure was that it wasn't a Scott Kelly song. Two lines after Kelly started singing, I leaned over to Monica Kendrick. "Jesus," I said. "This is 'Cortez the Killer,' isn't it?"
OK, so I'm not the world's biggest Neil Young fan. It's not because he isn't great—there was just so much other stuff to listen to when I was growing up, you know? At any rate, the video is after the jump.
Bruce had some trouble softening up his reed—the horn had been sitting uncased, cooling off and drying out, for Kelly's entire set—and his first two entrances are uncharacteristically rough. (Many years ago I played the bassoon, so believe me, I sympathize.) But after that it's smooth sailing. Or at least as smooth as a song about conquest and genocide can get.
Kelly's voice is about as different from Young's as it's possible for a man's to be, but I think he sells it.
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