There is certainly plenty to read up about in regards to this week’s selection, The Beatles’ Tomorrow Never Knows. From the origin of the title to the revolutionary vocal recording techniques to the LSD inspired lyrics, the whole thing is quite interesting. Also of note is that while it is the closing track on the album, TNK was the first song recorded for Revolver.

My favorite quote regarding the recording comes from legendary engineer Geoff Emerick. Sometimes I forget just how much The Beatles revolutionized the recording process as we know it…

It meant actually breaking into the circuitry. I remember the surprise on our faces when the voice came out of the speaker. It was just one of sheer amazement. After that they wanted everything shoved through the Leslie: pianos, guitars, drums, vocals, you name it!

Checking on last week, Grace Potter finished in first and Built To Spill came in second with another big chunk of votes in the Cortez The Killer Cover Wars. Checking in on two week’s ago, moe. and Umphrey’s are still battling it out over Can’t You Hear Me Knocking without a clear winner.

801: Technically, 801 titled this track TNK when they first released it in 1976. The lineup for 801 is: Phil Manzanera (guitar), Brian Eno (keyboards), Bill MacCormick (bass), Simon Phillips (drums), Francis Monkman (keyboards), Lloyd Watson (slide guitar). This shit is bad-ass. Source: 801 Live

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READ ON for the rest of this week’s Cover Wars contestants…

A friend of mine recently pointed out to me that we have never selected a Grateful Dead song for an edition of Cover Wars. I was somewhat aware of this, but he’s right – it’s time we do one. Now, I wanted to select a Dead song that hasn’t been covered by hundreds of artists, like Scarlet Begonias, St. Stephen or Franklin’s Tower. So, I poked around and found that there was a relatively small pool of artists that had played Dupree’s Diamond Blues, a track off of The Dead’s stellar 1969 release Aoxomoxoa.

If you don’t know about The Annotated Grateful Dead Lyrics, you should. Here is a small excerpt from the entry for Dupree’s.

The text of the song is a re-working of a song, “Betty and Dupree,” with many incarnations in American folk tradition. It was based upon a true incident:

“The biography of the man and his crimes may be summarized as follows: Frank Dupree grew up in Abbeville, South Carolina. He came on the scene in December 1921 in Atlanta, Georgia, where he had a gal Betty. In trying to appropriate a diamond for her in a jewelry store he shot a policeman down. Fleeing to Memphis and later to Chicago, where he was cornered, he killed a policeman and wounded several more. He was caught while getting his mail and sent to Atlanta for trial. He was executed for murder on September 1, 1922.” (Roberts: In the Pine.)

The Contestants:

Dark Star Orchestra: Though I decided not to include the likes of Ratdog or Phil Lesh & Friends as viable contenders in this Cover Wars, I thought it was OK to include the Dark Star Orchestra. Yes, people do tape these shows. This is a great recording from last year’s Gathering Of The Vibes where DSO performed The Dead’s 11-6-1977 in its entirety. Source: 7-31-2008

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READ ON after the jump to vote and hear more of this week’s contestants…

This is the second volume of Last Week’s Sauce. This feature is simply a collection of live tracks that took place, well – last week. Look for this piece every Wednesday to see who was on the road and allowing taping.

Artist & Title: Amanda Palmer – The Point Of It All
Date & Venue: 2009-03-28 – Culture Room, Ft. Lauderdale FL
Taper & Show Download: breathmint
Amanda Palmer, perhaps you know her from The Dresden Dolls, was in Florida last week but only has two dates on the books in April – Santa Fe Brewing Company and then Coachella. Palmer released her first solo disc last year titled Who Killed Amanda Palmer, this is a track from it.

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READ ON for seven more tracks of Last Week’s Sauce.