Marshall Crenshaw - PBS Soundstage, WTTW Studios, Chicago, IL, 5-2-1983

Here's another episode of the "PBS Soundstage" TV show. This time, it stars Marshall Crenshaw.

Crenshaw was really hot stuff in the music business for about two years, 1982 and 1983. That's when he released his first two albums, "Marshall Crenshaw" and "Field Day." Both of them got a lot of critical acclaim, and contained hit songs. Unfortunately, he couldn't maintain that level of success after that. But, given that history, it's not surprising that his Soundstage episode came in 1983, probably the peak of his popularity.

I've already posted two BBC concerts Crenshaw did, in 1982 and 1983. The 1983 one took place less than two months after this one, so it's not surprising the set lists are pretty similar. However, I do want to post all the worthy Soundstage episodes I can find, so I'm posting this despite the similarity to the other 1983 concert I've posted from him.

While there are similarities, there also are differences. Most notably, Crenshaw performed some cover versions in this concert he didn't perform in the 1983 BBC concert: "Soldier of Love (Lay Down Your Arms)," "Got a Lot o' Livin' to Do," "Stop Her on Sight (S.O.S.)," "Brown Eyed Handsome Man," and "White Lightning."

This album is 56 minutes long.

01 Mary Anne (Marshall Crenshaw)
02 Rockin' Around in N.Y.C. (Marshall Crenshaw)
03 Girls (Marshall Crenshaw)
04 Soldier of Love [Lay Down Your Arms] (Marshall Crenshaw)
05 Got a Lot o' Livin' to Do (Marshall Crenshaw)
06 She Can't Dance (Marshall Crenshaw)
07 Move It (Marshall Crenshaw)
08 talk (Marshall Crenshaw)
09 Something's Gonna Happen (Marshall Crenshaw)
10 Someday, Someway (Marshall Crenshaw)
11 There She Goes Again (Marshall Crenshaw)
12 Brand New Lover (Marshall Crenshaw)
13 talk (Marshall Crenshaw)
14 Stop Her on Sight [S.O.S.] (Marshall Crenshaw)
15 Look at What I Almost Missed (Marshall Crenshaw)
16 talk (Marshall Crenshaw)
17 Brown Eyed Handsome Man (Marshall Crenshaw)
18 The Usual Thing (Marshall Crenshaw)
19 Cynical Girl (Marshall Crenshaw)
20 talk (Marshall Crenshaw)
21 White Lightning (Marshall Crenshaw)
22 [I Wanna] Love My Life Away (Marshall Crenshaw)

https://pixeldrain.com/u/ksBSRo1y

alternate:

https://bestfile.io/en/KjQqG8aCOPMGUwh/file

The cover image is a screenshot taken from a video of this exact concert. 

Marshall Crenshaw - BBC Sessions, Volume 2: BBC Rock Hour, Veteran's Memorial Coliseum, New Haven, CT, 6-27-1983

Back in 2023, I posted a Marshall Crenshaw BBC concert from 1982. I said he did two such concerts, one in 1982 and the other in 1983, and they were pretty similar so I would only post one. I'm being more inclusive these days, so I'm finally posting the other one. Here's that 1983 BBC concert.

One reason I didn't post the 1983 as well back then was because I said the sound quality was a little lower than the 1982 one. That is true. But I boosted the lead vocals relative to the instruments using the UVR5 program for all the songs here, and that helped.

In 1983, Crenshaw released his second studio album, "Field Day." It did well, mostly due to the minor hit "Whenever You're on My Mind," but there were a lot of complaints about the production. Anyway, the presence of songs from that album is the main difference between this and the 1982 BBC concert. It's nice that, when performed live, those production problems are generally absent.

This album is unreleased.

This album is 51 minutes long.

01 Monday Morning Rock (Marshall Crenshaw)
02 Brand New Lover (Marshall Crenshaw)
03 talk (Marshall Crenshaw)
04 I'll Do Anything (Marshall Crenshaw)
05 Here I Am (Marshall Crenshaw)
06 Whenever You're on My Mind (Marshall Crenshaw)
07 talk (Marshall Crenshaw)
08 I've Been Good to You (Marshall Crenshaw)
09 One Day with You (Marshall Crenshaw)
10 Mary Anne (Marshall Crenshaw)
11 Rockin' Around in N.Y.C. (Marshall Crenshaw)
12 talk (Marshall Crenshaw)
13 Try (Marshall Crenshaw)
14 Move It (Marshall Crenshaw)
15 Cynical Girl (Marshall Crenshaw)
16 Someday Someway (Marshall Crenshaw)
17 The Usual Thing (Marshall Crenshaw) 

https://pixeldrain.com/u/dzuC6jdb

alternate:

https://bestfile.io/OpSZJY0MypbBbxg/file

The cover photo is from a concert in 1982.

Marshall Crenshaw - The Human Jukebox, Volume 9: 2019-2023

We come to the end of my long series of Marshall Crenshaw cover songs albums. This is the ninth and last. 

Sadly, you should know this series ends with a bit of a disappointment, because the sound quality isn't up to my usual standards for many of these songs. The problem is, nearly all these songs come from concert bootlegs, and in Crenshaw's later years he's been playing fewer concerts and his popularity has declined some. As a result, there aren't a bunch of soundboard and/or radio broadcast concerts like there were in earlier years, so these generally come from audience boots. Thus, I've had to lower my standards some. I still do have standards, mind you. I rejected a bunch of songs for this. But I also included some that probably would have been demoted to bonus tracks on some earlier volumes.

Only the first song is officially released. It comes from a various artists compilation. As I mentioned above, most, or maybe all, of the rest are from audience bootlegs. 

Crenshaw's song selections are less obscure for this time around. I know most of the songs already, and I'd guess you know most of them too. But he still had a couple of obscurities. For instance, "Lindbergh" is a Woody Guthrie song about Charles Lindbergh and other pro-fascists in the U.S. in the 1930s and 40s. As Crenshaw commented before the song, it's message is a timely one with fascist sentiments on the rise again.

This album is 47 minutes long.

Here's a list of the original artists for each song:

01 What the Hell I Got - Michel Pagliaro
02 Beware of Darkness - George Harrison
03 Tight Rope - Leon Russell
04 No Matter What - Badfinger
05 Rock and Roll - Velvet Underground
06 Kicks - Paul Revere & the Raiders
07 Something - Beatles
08 Rain on the Roof - Lovin' Spoonful
09 Bob Dylan's 115th Dream - Bob Dylan
10 What a Wonderful World - Louis Armstrong
11 I'm Five Years Ahead of My Time - Third Bardo
12 Lindbergh -Woody Guthrie

Here's the usual song list:

01 What the Hell I Got (Marshall Crenshaw)
02 Beware of Darkness (Rich Pagano & Friends with Marshall Crenshaw & Brian Mitchell)
03 Tight Rope (Rich Pagano & Friends with Marshall Crenshaw)
04 No Matter What (Marshall Crenshaw & the Smithereens)
05 Rock and Roll (Marshall Crenshaw & the Smithereens)
06 Kicks (Marshall Crenshaw & the Smithereens)
07 Something (Marshall Crenshaw & the Smithereens)
08 Rain on the Roof (Marshall Crenshaw with the Wild Honey Orchestra)
09 Bob Dylan's 115th Dream (Marshall Crenshaw)
10 What a Wonderful World (Marshall Crenshaw)
11 I'm Five Years Ahead of My Time (Golden Jubilee Band with Marshall Crenshaw)
12 Lindbergh (Marshall Crenshaw)

https://www.upload.ee/files/16303129/MARSHLLCRNSHW2019-2023ThHmnJkebxVlum9_atse.zip.html

The cover photo was taken in Maplewood, New Jersey, on April 12, 2019.

Marshall Crenshaw - The Human Jukebox, Volume 8: 2009-2017

Here we are again, with the eighth volume of Marshall Crenshaw performing cover songs that he didn't put on his studio albums. There's just one more volume to go after this one.

Once again, Crenshaw has a good mix of classics and obscure gems. For instance, if you know "Out of Nowhere" by Smith Ballew & His Orchestra, then raise your hand. I don't see any hands. ;)

All but three songs here are officially unreleased. The three released ones are: "Donna the Prima Donna" (a bonus track), "Out of Nowhere" (from the soundtrack to the "Boardwalk" TV show), and "I Just Want to Celebrate" (from a 1970s themed various artists compilation).

The unreleased ones come from concert bootlegs. Note that Crenshaw's popularity peaked in the 1980s, and by this time it had gone down. He also wasn't playing as many concerts. Thus, the number of soundboard quality bootlegs went down. So some of these are from audience boots. But I still maintained quality control, and used all the audio editing tricks I could. A few sound a bit rough, but hopefully not too bad.

This album is 49 minutes long.

Here's a list of the original versions of each song:

01 Reminiscing - Buddy Holly
02 This Guy's in Love with You - Burt Bacharach & Hal David / Herb Alpert
03 Whiskey Man - Who
04 Donna the Prima Donna - Dion
05 Grow Old with Me - John Lennon
06 Poor Side of Town - Johnny Rivers
07 Manic Depression - Jimi Hendrix
08 Kit Kat Clock - Bottle Rockets
09 Out of Nowhere - Smith Ballew & His Orchestra
10 I Just Want to Celebrate - Rare Earth
11 Mona - Bo Diddley
12 Things Have Changed - Bob Dylan
13 Old Brown Shoe - Beatles
14 Baby She's Gone - Jack Scott

And here's the usual song list:

01 Reminiscing (Marshall Crenshaw)
02 This Guy's in Love with You (Marshall Crenshaw)
03 Whiskey Man (Marshall Crenshaw)
04 Donna the Prima Donna (Marshall Crenshaw)
05 Grow Old with Me (Marshall Crenshaw)
06 Poor Side of Town (Marshall Crenshaw)
07 Manic Depression (Marshall Crenshaw)
08 Kit Kat Clock (Marshall Crenshaw)
09 Out of Nowhere (Marshall Crenshaw with Vince Giordano & the Nighthawks)
10 I Just Want to Celebrate (Marshall Crenshaw)
11 Mona (Jimmy Vivino & Friends with Marshall Crenshaw)
12 Things Have Changed (Marshall Crenshaw)
13 Old Brown Shoe (Marshall Crenshaw with Los Straitjackets)
14 Baby She's Gone (Marshall Crenshaw with Los Straitjackets)

https://www.upload.ee/files/16224556/MARSHLLCRNSHW2009-2017_ThHmanJkebxVlum8_atse.zip.html

The cover photo comes from a concert to celebrate what would have been John Lennon's seventieth birthday, in New York City, in October 2010.

Marshall Crenshaw - The Human Jukebox, Volume 7: 2002-2009

Here's the seventh volume of Marshall Crenshaw performing cover songs that weren't on his studio albums. There are two more to go.

Only five of the 15 songs have been officially released. Those five are "I'm Barely Hangin' on to Me " (from a Johnny Paycheck tribute album), "Love Me Do" (from a Beatles tribute album), "(It's Going to Be A) Lonely Christmas" (from a Christmas-themed various artists compilation), and "Don't Leave Me This Way" (from a Ricky Nelson tribute album).

All the remaining songs are from concert bootlegs. The sound quality is generally high, with most of these soundboard recordings. I used audio editing software to remove the crowd noise wherever possible.

By the way, the song "Walk Hard" isn't actually a cover. Crenshaw wrote that as the theme song to the funny 2007 movie "Walk Hard: the Dewey Cox Story." However, in the movie and on the movie soundtrack the song was performed by the lead actor, John C. Reilly. Crenshaw never released a version of his own. This version comes from a concert bootleg.

This album is 49 minutes long.

Here's a list of the original artists for each song:

01 Taxman - Beatles
02 I've Gotta Be Me - Sammy Davis Jr.
03 Love You To - Beatles
04 You're a Wonderful One - Marvin Gaye
05 I'm Barely Hangin' on to Me - Johnny Paycheck
06 I Believe to My Soul - Ray Charles
07 Ticket to Ride - Beatles
08 Love Me Do - Beatles
09 [It's Going to Be A] Lonely Christmas  - Orioles
10 19th Nervous Breakdown - Rolling Stones
11 Twenty Four Hours from Tulsa - Gene Pitney
12 Don't Leave Me This Way - Ricky Nelson
13 Walk Hard [Demo] - John C. Reilly
14 Don't Look Back - Fine Young Cannibals
15 Didn't Want to Have to Do It - Lovin' Spoonful

Here's the usual song list:

01 Taxman (Marshall Crenshaw)
02 I've Gotta Be Me (Marshall Crenshaw)
03 Love You To (Marshall Crenshaw)
04 You're a Wonderful One (Marshall Crenshaw)
05 I'm Barely Hangin' on to Me (Marshall Crenshaw)
06 I Believe to My Soul (Marshall Crenshaw)
07 Ticket to Ride (Marshall Crenshaw)
08 Love Me Do (Marshall Crenshaw)
09 [It's Going to Be A] Lonely Christmas (Marshall Crenshaw)
10 19th Nervous Breakdown (Marshall Crenshaw)
11 Twenty Four Hours from Tulsa (Marshall Crenshaw)
12 Don't Leave Me This Way (Marshall Crenshaw)
13 Walk Hard [Demo] (Marshall Crenshaw)
14 Don't Look Back (Marshall Crenshaw)
15 Didn't Want to Have to Do It (Marshall Crenshaw) 

https://www.upload.ee/files/16191906/MARSHLLCRNSHW2002-2009_ThHumnJkebxVlum7_atse.zip.html

The cover photo is from an appearance at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles in June 2009.

Marshall Crenshaw - The Human Jukebox, Volume 6: 2001-2002

I hope everyone had a happy holidays. I'm back with another volume of Marshall Crenshaw performing cover songs. This is the sixth volume so far, and there are still three more to go to get caught up to the present day (as I write this at the end of 2023).

By now, if you know the other volumes in this series, you should know the drill. As usual, I'm struck by the breadth and depth of Crenshaw's musical tastes. He performed a fair number of classic, well known songs here, but also some obscurities. For instance, "When I'm Cleaning Windows" dates to the 1930s, and was considered so racy that the BBC banned it for a while.

All but four songs are unreleased. Those four that are released happen to the the first four. One is from an Aerosmith tribute album, and two more are from a Nick Lowe tribute album.

The fourth released one, "Walk Away Renee," is from an official Crenshaw live album. Ironically, this one had more sound issues than most of the unreleased songs. While the song itself sounded fine, there was some annoying laughing and cheering over the music, including in the middle of the song. So I used UVR5 to wipe that out while keeping the music. Because I did a lot of that, I put "[Edit]" in the title. I also removed cheering from most of the other songs, but just at the end. There were a couple where it was too problematic to remove though. "When I'm Cleaning Windows" also has "[Edit]" in the title. If I remember correctly, that's because he stopped in the middle of song when he forgot how it went. I edited out that mistake.

Here's a list of the original artists for each song:

01 Big Ten Inch Record - Bull Moose Jackson / Aerosmith
02 Cruel to Be Kind - Nick Lowe
03 Television - Nick Lowe
04 Walk Away Renee - Left Banke
05 Danny Says - Ramones
06 I'm Only Sleeping - Beatles
07 The Girl on Death Row - Lee Hazlewood with Duane Eddy
08 El Paso - Marty Robbins
09 Kick Out the Jams - MC5
10 My Little Red Book - Manfred Mann / Love
11 Pushin' Too Hard - Seeds
12 Nervous Breakdown - Eddie Cochran
13 When I'm Cleaning Windows - George Formby
14 Endless Sleep - Jody Reynolds
15 I Want to Tell You - Beatles
16 Beyond the Sea - Charles Trenet / Bobby Darin

Here's the usual song list:

01 Big Ten Inch Record (Marshall Crenshaw)
02 Cruel to Be Kind (Marshall Crenshaw & Christine Ohlman)
03 Television (Marshall Crenshaw)
04 Walk Away Renee [Edit] (Marshall Crenshaw)
05 Danny Says (Marshall Crenshaw)
06 I'm Only Sleeping (Marshall Crenshaw)
07 The Girl on Death Row (Marshall Crenshaw)
08 El Paso (Marshall Crenshaw)
09 Kick Out the Jams (Marshall Crenshaw)
10 My Little Red Book (Marshall Crenshaw)
11 Pushin' Too Hard (Marshall Crenshaw)
12 Nervous Breakdown (Marshall Crenshaw)
13 Cleaning Windows [Edit] (Marshall Crenshaw)
14 Endless Sleep (Marshall Crenshaw)
15 I Want to Tell You (Marshall Crenshaw)
16 Beyond the Sea (Marshall Crenshaw)

This album is 47 minutes long.

https://www.upload.ee/files/16107069/MarshallC_2001-2002_ThHumnJkeboxVolum6_atse.zip.html

The cover photo was take at a concert in Alexandria, Virginia, in January 2002.

Marshall Crenshaw - The Human Jukebox, Volume 5: 1995-2000

Here's another all cover songs album performed by Marshall Crenshaw. You don't have to be a fan of his original material to enjoy his covers of lots of different styles of music, often doing obscure gems.

On this volume in particular, Crenshaw digs deeper into the obscurities than on previous volumes. There are a few classic hits covered here, but only a few. By the way, the song "'Til I Hear It from You" isn't exactly a cover song. This was a big hit for the Gin Blossoms in 1995. But Crenshaw actually co-wrote, though he never recorded his own version on any album. So I thought it would be interesting to include that too.

This album is 47 minutes long.

This is a list of the original artists for each song:

01 Don't Forget Me - Harry Nilsson
02 Wanda and Duane - Dave Alvin
03 All or Nothin' at All - Bruce Springsteen
04 Sock It to Me, Santa - Bob Seger
05 I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone - Elvis Presley
06 Blue Eyed Elaine - Earnest Tubb
07 Fire - Jimi Hendrix
08 My Back Pages - Bob Dylan
09 My Mommy and Santa Claus - Lonnie & Lottie
10 My True Love - Bobby Fuller Four
11 'Til I Hear It from You - Gin Blossoms
12 Treasure of Love - Clyde McPhatter
13 Journey to the Center of Your Mind - Amboy Dukes
14 Love's Theme [Instrumental] - Barry White & Love Unlimited Orchestra

Here's the usual song list:

01 Don't Forget Me (Marshall Crenshaw)
02 Wanda and Duane (Marshall Crenshaw)
03 All or Nothin' at All (Marshall Crenshaw)
04 Sock It to Me, Santa (Marshall Crenshaw with the Chisel Brothers)
05 I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone (Marshall Crenshaw)
06 Blue Eyed Elaine (Marshall Crenshaw)
07 Fire (Marshall Crenshaw)
08 My Back Pages (Marshall Crenshaw)
09 My Mommy and Santa Claus (Marshall Crenshaw)
10 My True Love (Marshall Crenshaw)
11 'Til I Hear It from You (Marshall Crenshaw)
12 Treasure of Love (Marshall Crenshaw)
13 Journey to the Center of Your Mind (Marshall Crenshaw)
14 Love's Theme [Instrumental] (Marshall Crenshaw)

https://www.upload.ee/files/16060910/MarshallC_1995-2000_ThHumnJkeboxVolum5_atse.zip.html

The cover photo is from a concert at the House of Blues in October 1995. I don't know which exact venue though, since there are a bunch with that name.

Marshall Crenshaw - The Human Jukebox, Volume 4: 1992-1994

Here's another album containing cover versions that Marshall Crenshaw didn't put on his studio albums. He's so prolific with covers in concert, even though his albums are usually all originals, that I have five more volumes of these. (Thus his nickname, "The Human Jukebox.")

The first thing I have to say is that anyone who does a cover of the great Who obscurity "Odorono" is A-OK in my book. :) That's a good sign right there of the depth of Crenshaw's musical knowledge, which shows up again with the variety of cover songs he does here. 

Just like the last few songs on the previous volume, the first five songs here are from a radio show where radio listeners called in and requested cover songs. Crenshaw and others in the ad-hoc band then tried their best to play them, if they could remember them. So there are a bit rough. That's especially noticable with "And I Love Her," which gets off to a rocky start where Crenshaw sometimes has to call out the chord changes. But in my opinion that's all the more impressive, that he and the band was winging it.

All but the last three are officially unreleased. Of the last three, " I'd Do It Over Again" is from an Arthur Alexander tribute album, and "Silver Wings" is from a Merle Haggard tribute album. "Knowing Me, Knowing You" is from a Crenshaw live album, "Live: My Truck Is My Home." But all the rest are from soundboard bootlegs or radio shows, and sound excellent.

This album is 50 minutes long.

Here's a list of the original artists for each song:

01 Don't Let Me Down - Beatles
02 And I Love Her - Beatles
03 Sunshine Superman - Donovan
04 I Fought the Law - Bobby Fuller Four
05 Rock Around the Clock - Bill Haley & His Comets
06 Big River - Johnny Cash
07 [Get Your Kicks On] Route 66 - Bobby Troup
08 Don't Fear the Reaper - Blue Oyster Cult
09 Odorono - Who
10 I'm Movin' On - Hank Snow
11 The Lucky One - Freedy Johnston
12 Hitch Hike - Marvin Gaye
13 Rocket 88 - Jackie Brenston & His Delta Cats
14 Pretty Flamingo - Manfred Mann
15 I'd Do It Over Again - Arthur Alexander
16 Knowing Me, Knowing You - ABBA
17 Silver Wings - Merle Haggard

And here's the usual song list:

01 Don't Let Me Down (Marshall Crenshaw)
02 And I Love Her (Marshall Crenshaw)
03 Sunshine Superman (Marshall Crenshaw)
04 I Fought the Law (Marshall Crenshaw)
05 Rock Around the Clock (Marshall Crenshaw)
06 Big River (Marshall Crenshaw)
07 [Get Your Kicks On] Route 66 (Marshall Crenshaw)
08 Don't Fear the Reaper (Marshall Crenshaw)
09 Odorono (Marshall Crenshaw)
10 I'm Movin' On (Marshall Crenshaw)
11 The Lucky One (Marshall Crenshaw)
12 Hitch Hike (Marshall Crenshaw)
13 Rocket 88 (Marshall Crenshaw)
14 Pretty Flamingo (Marshall Crenshaw)
15 I'd Do It Over Again (Marshall Crenshaw)
16 Knowing Me, Knowing You (Marshall Crenshaw)
17 Silver Wings (Marshall Crenshaw)

https://www.upload.ee/files/16025994/MarshallC_1992-1994_ThHumnJkeboxVolum4_atse.zip.html

The cover photo was taken in New York City in October 1994.

Marshall Crenshaw - The Human Jukebox, Volume 3: 1989-1992

Here's Volume 3 of my long series of Marshall Crenshaw cover versions albums. 

Once again, you can see why some have called "Crenshaw" "The Human Jukebox." On this album alone, he covers all his way from Judy Garland to Molly Hatchet! That includes some interesting rarities, such as two songs by country singer Webb Pierce: "Groovy Boogie Woogie Boy" and "I'm Walking the Dog."

The last four songs come from a special radio show where a group of musicians who largely had never played with each other before were given cover song requests by radio listeners. They did their best to play the songs if they felt they remembered it well enough. So keep in mind that Crenshaw was totally winging it on those songs. I think that shows just how deep his musical knowledge has been, to be able to do that.

All the performances are unreleased. The vast majority are from soundboards bootlegs of concerts or radio shows, but some songs do sound a bit rougher than the others.  

This album is 53 minutes long.

Here are the original artists for each song:

01 Rip It Up - Little Richard
02 I Can See for Miles - Who
03 Valerie - Richard Thompson
04 Someplace Where Love Can't Find Me - John Hiatt
05 Love's Made a Fool of You - Bobby Fuller Four
06 Twine Time - Alvin Cash & the Crawlers
07 Flirtin' with Disaster - Molly Hatchet
08 The KKK Took My Baby Away - Ramones
09 Have You Seen Her Face - Byrds
10 Groovy Boogie Woogie Boy - Webb Pierce
11 I'm Walking the Dog - Webb Pierce
12 Ask Me Why - Beatles
13 Just like a Woman - Bob Dylan
14 Havin' a Party - Sam Cooke
15 Splish Splash - Bobby Darin
16 The Lion Sleeps Tonight - Tokens
17 Somewhere Over the Rainbow - Judy Garland

And here's the usual song list:

01 Rip It Up (Marshall Crenshaw)
02 I Can See for Miles (Marshall Crenshaw)
03 Valerie (Marshall Crenshaw)
04 Someplace Where Love Can't Find Me (Marshall Crenshaw)
05 Love's Made a Fool of You (Marshall Crenshaw)
06 Twine Time [Instrumental] (Marshall Crenshaw)
07 Flirtin' with Disaster (Marshall Crenshaw)
08 The KKK Took My Baby Away (Marshall Crenshaw)
09 Have You Seen Her Face (Marshall Crenshaw)
10 Groovy Boogie Woogie Boy (Marshall Crenshaw)
11 I'm Walking the Dog (Marshall Crenshaw)
12 Ask Me Why (Marshall Crenshaw)
13 Just like a Woman (Marshall Crenshaw)
14 Havin' a Party (Marshall Crenshaw)
15 Splish Splash (Marshall Crenshaw)
16 The Lion Sleeps Tonight (Marshall Crenshaw)
17 Somewhere Over the Rainbow (Marshall Crenshaw)

https://www.upload.ee/files/15987416/MarshallC_1989-1992_ThHumnJkeboxVolum3_atse.zip.html

The cover photo actually comes from Crenshaw's appearance in the 1986 movie "La Bamba," in which he portrayed Buddy Holly.

Marshall Crenshaw - The Human Jukebox, Volume 2: Cover Songs: 1984-1988

Here's the second volume of Marshall Crenshaw's many cover songs. He knows so many different songs in different styles and eras that he's been called "the Human Jukebox."

Only two songs this time are officially released. "You Belong to Me" was on the "Peggy Sue Got Married" soundtrack, and "Crying, Waiting, Hoping" was on the "La Bamba" soundtrack. 

Pretty much all the other songs come from concert bootlegs. The last one, "Rockabilly Funeral," is from an in-person radio station performance. Generally speaking, the sound quality is very good, with most of these being soundboard sourced.

By the way, speaking of "Rockabilly Funeral," one neat thing about Crenshaw's covers is how he knows lots of interesting obscurities, such as that one. Sure, many of these are famous songs, but his musical knowledge is deep, and he's done songs most everyone else has forgotten.

Note that for two of these songs, "Blue Days, Black Nights" and "Midnight Shift," are credited to "Marshall Crenshaw & the Crickets." That's because he played the role of Buddy Holly in the 1986 movie "La Bamba," and probably because of that, he got to play with Holly's backing band, the Crickets.

This album is 47 minutes long. 

Here's a list of the original artists for each song:

01 Someday We're Gonna Love Again - Searchers
02 Shake, Rattle and Roll - Big Joe Turner & His Blues Kings
03 Cathy's Clown - Everly Brothers
04 Reet Petite [The Sweetest Girl in Town] - Jackie Wilson
05 I'm Alive - Hollies
06 You Belong to Me - Jo Stafford
07 Daydream Believer - Monkees
08 Give Me Some Truth - John Lennon
09 Annie Had a Baby - Midnighters
10 Mamma Talk to Your Daughter - J.B. Lenoir
11 Blue Days, Black Nights - Buddy Holly
12 Tonight - MC5
13 Crying, Waiting, Hoping - Buddy Holly
14 Midnight Shift - Buddy Holly
15 Live Fast, Love Hard, Die Young - Faron Young
16 Rockabilly Funeral - Commander Cody

Here's the usual song list:

01 Someday We're Gonna Love Again (Marshall Crenshaw)
02 Shake, Rattle and Roll (Marshall Crenshaw)
03 Cathy's Clown (Marshall Crenshaw)
04 Reet Petite [The Sweetest Girl in Town] (Marshall Crenshaw)
05 I'm Alive (Marshall Crenshaw)
06 You Belong to Me (Marshall Crenshaw)
07 Daydream Believer (Marshall Crenshaw)
08 Give Me Some Truth (Marshall Crenshaw)
09 Annie Had a Baby (Marshall Crenshaw)
10 Mamma Talk to Your Daughter (Marshall Crenshaw)
11 Blue Days, Black Nights (Marshall Crenshaw & the Crickets)
12 Tonight (Marshall Crenshaw)
13 Crying, Waiting, Hoping (Marshall Crenshaw)
14 Midnight Shift (Marshall Crenshaw & the Crickets)
15 Live Fast, Love Hard, Die Young (Marshall Crenshaw)
16 Rockabilly Funeral (Marshall Crenshaw)

https://pixeldrain.com/u/VjzCxLUU

alternate:

https://bestfile.io/en/awADx64pfpChLGQ/file

The cover photo was taken at an appearance on the TV show "American Bandstand" in September 1983. In 2025, I used the Krea AI program to improve the image a bit.

Marshall Crenshaw - The Human Jukebox, Volume 1: Cover Songs, 1982-1983

I've posted a couple of Marshall Crenshaw albums at this blog already. But those were one-offs (a stray tracks album and a BBC album), and this is the start of a big album series. He's put out lots of albums of mostly or all original material ever since his first album was released in 1982. But he also has a history of performing cover songs in a wide variety of styles, so much so that he's occasionally been nicknamed "The Human Jukebox." As you'll see from this series, this is someone who clearly must have a vast music collection and a deep understanding of the history of popular music. 

This series collects all the covers he's performed that I could find with excellent sound quality, except for the occasional instances of covers that he'd put on his studio albums. I've avoided those so this hopefully won't interfere with the sales of those albums.

Crenshaw's popularity peaked early, with hits from his first two albums, in 1982 and 1983. This album corresponds with that era of his music career. Only three of the performances here are officially released, although there are some official versions of some others here that I avoided using. "A Big Hunk O' Love" eventually appeared on a live album, "Rave On" was a B-side, and "Rock On" appeared on a movie soundtrack.

The rest generally come from concert bootlegs. Happily, I was able to find soundboard versions of most of these songs, and the sound quality is generally pretty high. Tracks 13 and 14 come from an in-person radio show appearance, so there's no audience noise on those. Most of the songs here are from the 1950s and 1960s, including some obscurities. But an interesting exception is "Every Breath You Take." That was a current huge hit by the Police at the time. Crenshaw commented before playing the song that he knew it wasn't cool to play it, but he just really liked the song.

This album is 48 minutes long.

Here's a list of the original artists for each song:

01 A Big Hunk O' Love - Elvis Presley
02 Rave On - Buddy Holly
03 Got a Lot of Livin' to Do - Elvis Presley
04 Move It - Cliff Richard
05 Honestly Sincere - Dick Gautier & Company (from the Bye Bye Birdie musical)
06 Love My Life Away - Gene Pitney
07 Rock On - Giorgio Moroder
08 Look at What I Almost Missed - Parliaments
09 Stop Her on Sight [S.O.S.] - Edwin Starr
10 Brown Eyed Handsome Man - Chuck Berry
11 White Lightning - Big Bopper
12 Here I Am [Come and Take Me] - Al Green
13 Every Breath You Take - Police
14 That's It, I Quit, I'm Moving On - Sam Cooke
15 Little Sister - Elvis Presley

Here's the usual song list:

01 A Big Hunk O' Love (Marshall Crenshaw)
02 Rave On (Marshall Crenshaw)
03 Got a Lot of Livin' to Do (Marshall Crenshaw)
04 Move It (Marshall Crenshaw)
05 Honestly Sincere (Marshall Crenshaw)
06 Love My Life Away (Marshall Crenshaw)
07 Rock On (Marshall Crenshaw)
08 Look at What I Almost Missed (Marshall Crenshaw)
09 Stop Her on Sight [S.O.S.] (Marshall Crenshaw)
10 Brown Eyed Handsome Man (Marshall Crenshaw)
11 White Lightning (Marshall Crenshaw)
12 Here I Am [Come and Take Me] (Marshall Crenshaw)
13 Every Breath You Take (Marshall Crenshaw)
14 That's It, I Quit, I'm Moving On (Marshall Crenshaw)
15 Little Sister (Marshall Crenshaw)

https://www.upload.ee/files/15929639/MarshallC_1982-1983_ThHumnJkeboxVolum1_atse.zip.html

The cover photo of Crenshaw was taken in Coney Island, New York, in 1982.

Marshall Crenshaw - My Favorite Waste of Time - Non-Album Tracks (1980-1982)

I plan on posting a big series of cover versions done by Marshall Crenshaw. But before I do that, I want to post this stray tracks album.

Crenshaw has had a long, successful music career, but his first two albums, "Marshall Crenshaw" in 1982 and "Field Day" in 1983, are generally considered his best. For instance, the crowd-sourced review website gives the highest ratings to those first two albums by a fair margin from all the others.

But in my opinion, he has three excellent early albums. The problem is, he never released the third one. This album is mostly made a demos of songs from the year or two leading up to his first solo album. He'd been playing in bands for most of the 1970s, and even had a role playing John Lennon in the musical "Beatlemania" for a little while. 

During that time, he'd written a lot of songs. It seems that after his first album was written, most of these were old and boring to him, so most of them didn't get officially released at the time. But many years later, he released an album of demos called "9 Volt Years Battery Powered Home Demos & Curios." The first five songs here come from that. The next five songs come from the 40th anniversary deluxe edition of his debut album. The three after that as bonus tracks from a different edition of the debut album. Finally, the last song is from a movie soundtrack released around that time.

The thing is, these are not really rejects. For instance, "You’re My Favorite Waste of Time" has become one of his most popular songs, and has been included on best of collections. "Something’s Gonna Happen" was the A-side to his very first release. The rest are all of a high caliber. I think only "Stop Her on Sight (S.O.S.)" is a cover. There are some other stray tracks from around this time that I didn't include (such as about half of the "9 Volt Years") because I wanted this to be a solid album through and through. In fact, in my opinion, this is my second favorite album of his, behind only his 1982 debut.

Oh, by the way, two of the songs have "[Edit]" in their titles. That's because I thought the lead vocals were a little low for those, so I used the UVR5 audio editing program to boost them relative to the instruments.

This album is 40 minutes long.

01 Run Back to You (Marshall Crenshaw)
02 Everyone's in Love with You (Marshall Crenshaw)
03 She's Not You (Marshall Crenshaw)
04 First Love (Marshall Crenshaw)
05 Bruce is King [Instrumental Version of Blues Is King] (Marshall Crenshaw)
06 Look at What I Almost Missed (Marshall Crenshaw)
07 Something’s Gonna Happen (Marshall Crenshaw)
08 You’re My Favorite Waste of Time [Edit] (Marshall Crenshaw)
09 Just Not for Me [Not for Me] (Marshall Crenshaw)
10 Never Gonna Happen (Marshall Crenshaw)
11 Starlit Summer Sky [Edit] (Marshall Crenshaw)
12 Somebody like You (Marshall Crenshaw)
13 Stop Her on Sight [S.O.S.] (Marshall Crenshaw)
14 It's Only a Movie (Marshall Crenshaw)

https://pixeldrain.com/u/BTkYFWR6

alternate:

https://bestfile.io/en/EJGjESKseXb82Oa/file

The cover photo of Crenshaw was taken at the Record Plant recording studio in New York City, during the recording of his debut album in January 1982. In January 2025, I improved the cover a bit with the Krea AI program.

Marshall Crenshaw - BBC Sessions, Volume 1: BBC College Concert, My Father’s Place, Roslyn, NY, 6-29-1982

The subject of my next BBC posting is American power pop musician Marshall Crenshaw. I found two concerts he did that were broadcast by the BBC, one from 1982 and the other from 1983. Here's the first one.

Crenshaw released his debut album, "Marshall Crenshaw," in 1982. It was his best selling album, and it contains his only Top 40 US hit, "Someday, Someway." He'd been writing songs and improving his musical skills for many years prior to his debut album, so it's a surprisingly strong one. 

This isn't a "true" BBC concert, meaning one recorded in Britain by BBC professionals. Instead, this was first broadcast on the New York radio station WLIR. But it seems the BBC wanted to have something from him at the time, so they got this recording it and broadcast it in Britain in early 1983, making it a BBC concert too. It remains officially unreleased.

Most of the songs are Crenshaw originals, generally from his debut album. However, there are three covers: "Soldier of Love," "Move It" and "Got a Lot of Livin' to Do." The first was by soul singer Arthur Alexander, the second was a big hit by Cliff Richards in the 1950s, and the third is an obscure Elvis Presley song.

This concert is 48 minutes long.

UPDATE: On March 3, 2025, I updated the mp3 download file. The music is the same, but I changed the album name to "Volume 1" after posting a "Volume 2." I also changed the cover art somewhat, giving the text new colors.

01 Soldier of Love (Marshall Crenshaw)
02 Not for Me (Marshall Crenshaw)
03 talk (Marshall Crenshaw)
04 There She Goes Again (Marshall Crenshaw)
05 Brand New Lover (Marshall Crenshaw)
06 I'll Do Anything (Marshall Crenshaw)
07 talk (Marshall Crenshaw)
08 Mary Anne (Marshall Crenshaw)
09 Rockin' Around in N.Y.C. (Marshall Crenshaw)
10 talk (Marshall Crenshaw)
11 Something's Gonna Happen (Marshall Crenshaw)
12 Move It (Marshall Crenshaw)
13 talk (Marshall Crenshaw)
14 Someday, Someway (Marshall Crenshaw)
15 Got a Lot of Livin' to Do (Marshall Crenshaw)
16 She Can't Dance (Marshall Crenshaw)
17 talk (Marshall Crenshaw)
18 Cynical Girl (Marshall Crenshaw)
19 Girls (Marshall Crenshaw)
20 The Usual Thing (Marshall Crenshaw)

https://pixeldrain.com/u/SzgEwNz1

alternate:

https://bestfile.io/en/i2UPy7hz4wXorWC/file

Sometimes I get lucky with the cover photos, and this appears to be one of those times. The cover is from this exact concert. However, it was taken at the soundcheck before the show.