Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters
"Elton John meets Edith Piaf" is
how Allison Crowe’s tagged in an
early newspaper feature – the young
Canadian musician interviewed by
scribe Clodagh O’Connell when she
first ventured from her birth-place
on Vancouver Island to mainland
North America.
Many seas and seasons later,
Allison pays tribute to Sir Elton
(born Reginald Kenneth Dwight) and
his poetic songwriting partner
Bernie Taupin in a live performance
of their song “Mona Lisas and
Mad Hatters” – the duo’s paean
to the great city of New York and
its people. (Taupin’s lyrics for
this joyous tune off 1972’s “Honky
Château” EJ album give a bow
to the Ben E. King hit and its line
“there is a rose in Spanish
Harlem”.)
Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters from Allison Crowe on Vimeo.
This bootleg audio is captured
“hot” from "Tunnel" - a
legendary Musikkeller in Vienna,
Austria. Founded by Engineer Fayez
Chlache in 1981, the year Allison's
born, the subterranean music venue
and above-ground restaurant +
gallery, was nurtured lovingly by
Chlache who made it feel “als gäbe
es Tunnel schon seit
immer" – there has always been “Tunnel”.
Upon his passing in 2011 Fayez’s
daughter, Magda, maintains Wien’s
living room for bon vivants of all
ages.
#8 of 16 Songs
Labels: Allison Crowe, Austria, Bernie Taupin, Canada, Clodagh O'Connell, Elton John, Fayez Chlache, Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters, New York, New York City, NYC, piano, Prelinger Archives, USA, Vienna, Wien
posted by Adrian at
3:13 AM
0 Comments
