Who Did It Better? Company

Who Did It Better? 

Company

I love it when someone leaves a comment on the blog which triggers a musical memory. This is a shout out to justlikesdads, who mentioned something in relation to The Minneapolis Sound we touched on two weeks ago. To answer his question... oh, yes. I remember Sue Ann. Sue Ann Carwell, whom Prince wanted to rename Suzy Stone and when she wouldn't go along with it (or give him complete artistic control,) he sort of lost interest. But she did get signed to Warner Bros. Records and she did cover a couple (four?) early Prince songs.

I owned a copy of her debut album on cassette and was chiefly taken with her version of a Ricki Lee Jones song that was included. Which brings us to today's edition of Who Did It Better?

(Apologies to the few of you who were hoping this was going to be a battle over who sang the title song from the Stephen Sondheim classic musical best.)

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Company is a haunting ballad written by Rickie Lee Jones and Alfred Johnson.

Jones would include it on her blockbuster self-titled debut album on Warner Bros. Records, released February 28, 1979 and use it as the B-Side for her UK single of Easy Money. 

Jones and Johnson had been knocking about together, performing at the Ala Carte club in Los Angeles when the two began to catch the ear of the industry. A showcase performance and demo tape later, Jones had a recording contract. Her debut album, produced by Lenny Waronker and Russ Titelman, would produce the Top Ten hit, Chuck E.'s In Love while landing at #3 on Billboard's album chart.

Meanwhile, in Minneapolis... Prince, who'd been recording for Warner Bros. since 1977 and recently notched his first Top 40 hit for the label, had been toying with the idea of playing Svengali for undiscovered talent. One of the first such talents he would nurture was Chicago-native Sue Ann Carwell, who would initially be known professionally as simply Sue Ann. 

Beginning in 1976, Sue Ann would record and perform a number of songs with Prince, either as co-vocalist or as a back-up singer, and in the process earn the title of "first lady of the Minneapolis Sound." Many of these recordings remain unreleased, including a duet, Since We've Been Together, which was recorded at Prince's Edina home studio in a session which also included Make It Through The Storm, a song included on Sue Ann's self-titled debut album.

Like Prince and Jones, the singer would find herself signed to Warner Bros. and a version of Jone's Company was to be included on her debut album. Released in 1981 and produced by Pete Bellotte (Donna Sumer, Elton John), the song would serve as the second single from the album. However less than competent marketing on the part of the label would kill the album, although it did create quite a stir, here, in Minneapolis. 

Sadly, it would also mark the end of her professional relationship with Prince. It would take Sue Ann until 1988 to reemerge as a recording artist, doing so on MCA. 

And that's the whole story.

Now? On to the competition. 

The Song: Company

The Competitors: Jones vs. Sue Ann

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Company - Rickie Lee Jones

Company - Sue Ann

Rickie Lee Jones

Jones' debut album is one of the finest produced albums ever recorded. Lenny Waronker and Russ Titelman created a valentine to the object of their affections, doing a top notch job of coddling their newborn jazz baby. The duo somehow totally clued-in to Jones' idiosyncratic style, supporting without ever overwhelming, allowing the artist's songs to reveal themselves.

Jones, a chanteuse unlike any heard in a long time, utilizes her brand of jazz phrasing in tandem with her menthol cool soprano voice which she can flip on a dime (and constantly does, playing with musical dynamics by toying with force of delivery and volume throughout.)

Company is the most straightforward song on the album; a standard ballad as lovely as any in the American Songbook. Adorned primarily with Jones' piano stylings, the focus is placed entirely on the singer's emotive reading. 

I love the halting lilt she brings to the proceedings. And such atmosphere; one can easily visualize the black grand catching the light, the smoke-filled room, the overflowing ashtray, the partially consumed cocktail. It's closing time in another bar, another town. 

I also adore how Jones' voice conspires with the melody and lyrics; when she flips into her head voice on "but when I reach across the galaxy," it all fits hand in glove and the listener is only too happy to go wherever she leads. 

This arrangement deftly avoids all the mistakes so frequently made with this type of song. The strings act as nothing more than that softest of cushion, until they skillfully unfold into a sort of cinematic splendor, while the rhythm section provides the quietest of discipline. That orchestration? By the incomparable Johnny Mandel. 

And that's Michael McDonald providing all the vocal balm in the background. Jones' phrasing, her stop/start delivery, her tin pan alley theatrics: they tie my heart and stomach in all sorts of knots. With the final chorus, the entire ensemble comes together providing safe and sure passage, as Jones climbs to a lovely head note, allowing it to hang there and reverberate for a moment, before putting this baby to bed. 

A brilliant, knowing, assured performance; as brilliant as it is lovely.  

Sue Ann

It has been three and a half decades since I have heard this. (Is that possible?)

What an interesting piano sound. Sort of honky-tonk, but with a rounder sound - as if haunted. Such odd tones in that intro. It's like a Germanic dance hall or cabaret.

I have to question the wisdom of pairing Sue Ann - who is clearly an R&B singer - with Pete Bellotte. 

Sue Ann goes right for it, no whispery, slithering entrance for her. Her voice; its like there are two singers in there... the young pop princess and someone with a much fuller, more adult voice. When I listened to her uptempo stuff, the pop princess was in control, but there were also elements reminiscent of Chaka Khan. 

This has such a live sound, as if recorded in an empty ceramic tiled room. There's so much vibrancy. But the singer doesn't seem to be aware of it and isn't playing with it.

The first verse, she's struggling to make this her own, to put her stamp on it. There's something very green about the whole thing. She's going for some very sophisticated R&B flavoring, frequently coming up short because she's so young. I have to say, the production work here is very unsympathetic. And that arrangement is pretty rote.

The chorus blossoms with a bit of quiet storm magic. Those backing vocals are huge. I dislike the guitar work. The beginning of the second verse weirdly comes apart - the band is not in tune with the singer's intentions at all. Honestly, I am a bit appalled by the apathy on display. Unless they recorded this live, in one take. Then maybe I could understand.

"And I know-wo-wo-ah", very Chaka.

Oh, my word. Diva takes off. That is some pure soaring vocals at play. Wow. That alone makes this worth listening to. I bow down. Suddenly I'm hearing more of a Stephanie Mills thing going on. Wow, interesting orchestra break, too. I have to say, this final chorus is making up for all that went before. They found a groove and made this into a full-fledge R&B song. Interesting. Why didn't they do that from the start? I get the acoustic beginning, but they could have pulled this out a lot earlier and sold this as a straight on R&B / Quiet Storm kind of thing.

Sue Ann can be a little pitchy. There's some tonal rubs in there that I am not comfortable with. She's young and it shows. And Bellotte does her no favors. He's not treating her vocals or asking for overdubs. This is some pretty raw stuff, vocally speaking. 

The Verdict

Jones' is the more polished, knowing, performance. Even with her halting, odd delivery, she keeps the narrative intact and shares a gutsy, heart-wrenching story. It's theatrical jazz at its finest. It's so intimate, as if she's crawled up inside the song and is singing in the fetal position.

Sue Ann deserved a better producer. Someone more empathetic. I think there's a lot of raw talent on display here, but this performance is far from mature. 

Jones takes this easily. 

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And that 's my two cents worth. 

Special thanks to justlikesdads for shaking this one loose. If you have a suggestion for this series, leave it in the comments section. I have a running list of about 50 songs waiting to be tackled, but I can always use a few more. 

Okay, your turn. Let me know what you think. Leave your thoughts in the comments section. 

Until next time...

Thanks for reading... and listening.

Let Me Let You Rock Me - Sue Ann