This week is an older cover song, back to the AI tour days.


SPARTANBURG

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KENTUCKY SPEEDWAY

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GLEN ALLEN

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Oh wow...DLMD!! One of my favorite Taylor covers. :) Personally, I have to go with Spartanburg because he sounded phenomenal and...I can see the back of my head in the front row!! HA!! But I could be a little biased! I was sad that we didn't get Brian's solo from that performance.

But from start to finish...I'd have to say Kentucky Speedway. He looks PHENOMENAL in white and I think it's probably his best vocal of the three! And Brian's solo...HAWT! Not a song the he can really "perform" too...being a bit slower, but as always he poured his heart and soul into this one. :)


Great job Evancol!
:clap :clap

Having actually witnessed two of the three performances live myself, I have to go with Glen Allen. The entire perfomance that night was hot and energetic to begin with. There was a slight variation in the Glen Allen version of the song which made it more Taylor than the Beatles in terms of originality. I love watching Taylor play the guitar = no pic, open palm strumming, etc. I'm always amazed at Taylor's musical abilities!

"Don't Let Me Down" is one of the few covers that Taylor does pretty straight. Perhaps this is out of respect for The Beatles original version, but the Spartansburg performance was fairly plain and simple; easy going , easy does it. Sing the song , a little horn, give the crowd the Taylor voice, voila !!

The Kentucky Speedway performance had a little change of rhythm in the middle and a more emphatic instrumentation, but again pretty straight forward .

The Glen Allen show had more keyboard and the delivery seemed a bit more passionate than the other two.( His body language was more intense ) Having been at this performance, I can attest to the energy level and perhaps as I listened to the video, I put myself back in my seat watching Taylor in action. For this reason , alone, I must choose Glen Allen as my favorite.

If you notice in Glen Allen, Taylor 's eyes are constantly darting to his right....I noticed this that evening also ( and because I was directly to his right just in front of Brian Gallagher, I only wished that attention was directed towards myself; however, there seemed to be something behind the ropes there that either intrigued him, or that he was expecting to see ) I am wondering if anyone else found this "eye darting" disconcerting ??? or did you just assume it was part of Taylor's body language.

I remember when I went to see him in Milwaukee during the AI tour..he didnt do this song....I was upset :) Well, as upset as I can get at him :LMAO


So I was glad to hear that he brought it back on his solo tour....and I did get to hear him sing it once on tour :) :)

Out of the three clips here...my favorite would be KY Speedway. I think he looked like he was really getting into the song there...his voice sounded great and he looked great.

Lori

Thank you, thank you, evancol!! When I saw the first AI performance of DLMD, I was mesmerized! This was my favorite from the AI tour, and I was delighted when he performed it on the solo tour! DLMD and that red guitar was my idea of the Taylor experience!! If I wasn't hooked before, I WAS THEN!

I'll be back after I actually watch the videos!

I'm torn between these, but I do like the KY Speedway one a lot. I will have to warch again tomorrow, to be sure. Maybe because of the different setting, more relaxed or just a different type of venue...there is just something about it that grabs me:)

All the venues were open air which gives us the ability to compare apples to apples ( to a degree ) These were all done within a 2 week period.........

The Spartanburg RED, WHITE, AND BLUE and THE KENTUCKY SPEEDWAY RACES were special events that added to the hype of the concert. GLEN ALLEN was just a regular outdoor concert .


I'd like to hear some earlier and some later versions , indoors , if anyone has them....just to compare apples and oranges ( sort of )

:guitar This is one of my all-time favorites too!! My choice would be the Kentuckly Speedway -- I agree with Shannon that of the three, that was the best vocal. :clap (And ... I also think Taylor looks amazing in that white shirt!! :lilheart ) It IS, however, ALL about the music!! :P

Thanks, evancol!!

All three were amazing and I love Taylor singing this song. It is hard for me to choose, but for this reason alone... :guitar ....Taylor and the red guitar!! So, I go with Spartenburg and the :guitar !!

OK ~ this is the most difficult one so far. It had to be between Kentucky Speedway & Glen Allen. I finally selected Kentucky Speedway with this in mind:
Let's consider I didn't know who Taylor was. I would want to hear & see someone who would make me say, "Whoa ~ Who is That Guy?" Kentucky Speedway would have done just that for me. He was 'right on'! ~ 'HOT' all the way through.
As for what evancol said about Taylor glancing to his right at Glen Allen; I thought maybe it was the bright lighting. He almost looked a little worn. Vocals were great however.
One thing I've always liked & admired Taylor for, is the fact he always acknowledges the band members in every performance. He 'shares' the spotlight. :P

For the first time I could view all three-and I agree with the Glen Allen assessment-there was an intensity about that one-like he really meant "DLMD"-and whatever caused the extra surge of serious intensity came forth-there was no sweetness that night-just a deep disturbing reality that makes me choose Glen Allen.

I have always loved Taylor performing this song ... All of the videos posted are wonderful. But my favorite??? When he struck the first note of that song & I was RIGHT THERE to see and hear it in Charleston ... Well ... I was over the moon!

Kentucky Speedway -- White Shirt -- Yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have to agree with the intensity of the Glen Allen performance and choose that one as my favorite of these three. I think it is more "true Taylor." Also, there was some very fine guitar in this performance.

I also agree that the white shirt at Kentucky Speedway was "becoming."

Still, the DLMD performance that will always be etched in my mind/heart is the first one I saw from the AI tour. He smiled like "no body ever smiled," and it touched this soul! The rest is history!!! Yes, Jax, "over the moon," indeed!

This has got to be one of my favourite Taylor covers. I loved the way he did it during the AI tour, and I'm glad he put it into his solo shows. (It seems to lose something, tho, when he doesn't use the red guitar..lol)

The Spartenburg video was incomplete, and didn't showcase his voice or Brian's solo like they should have been, so it's between Kentucky Speedway and Glen Allen. Taylor always looks incredible in a white shirt, ane the Speedway show was no exception- and Brian's solo was great. But in the Glen Allen show, Brian really shone. For his performance, I would have to choose that vid. But for Taylor's performance, I'd have to say the Speedway video is my favourite. He was superb, and he looked so :hot

Glenn Allen has to be my favorite because I was there and Taylor was wailing the song that night. Especially the line right after Brian's solo. I think it was Brian's best solo of the three. I don't think the poignancy of the song translates through the video like it did in person. My second fav is Spartanburg because Taylor was dancing through the whole song. He couldn't keep from moving with the beat, plus I just really like the red guitar. :)

Oh, and by the way, it wasn't me that paid him $100 to sing the song in Glenn Allen, VA. ;)

I was at two of these concerts an of the two Spartangurg SC was by far the best to me, and I was not at the KY one but it was better than Glen Allen one, at least for me.

My favorites were the Speedway and Glen Allen - but I just had to choose Glen Allen because I was there and I heard him do this fantastic performance live!! As someone said above, he really wailed it there!

I'm probably one of just a handful of Taylor's fans who thinks DLMD itself is just an OK song - no big deal - but Glen Allen has the most appeal for me mainly due to Taylor's take on it in this performance and Brian's gah! sax solo. All the guys were great but Brian is the one I really hope makes a reappearance when Taylor sets up another full tour - awesome musician .

I agree...Brian seems to mesh well with Taylor. Although I am a Jeff Lopez fan bigtime, I feel that Brian G added something to each performance that I will sorely miss if he never joins Taylor again. And in these three performances, their chemistry is evident.

Lubiana~ well, I'm very very late getting to this but I have to say I enjoyed the last video version the best. I thought Tay's voice was best and I also liked Brian's sax the best on this one. When I first saw Tay sing this song on the AI tour- I was BLOWN AWAY by it. I couldn't believe how well he arranged the Beatle song. Tay is just something else.

BJinFLA
Don't let me down is one of my favorites
he sung it alot on AI tour.
I have to agree. Kentucky SpeedWay
the white shirt allways gets me,
and I love the smiles,
they are all great.
Thank you
BJ