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Ellen McIlwaine — Up From the Skies
Album: Honky Tonk Angel
Avg rating:
6

Your rating:
Total ratings: 1302









Released: 1972
Length: 3:44
Plays (last 30 days): 2
I just want to talk to you
I won't uh, do you no harm
I just want to know about your diff'rent lives
On this is here people farm
I heard some of you got your families
Living in cages tall and cold
And some just stay there and dust away
Past the age of old.
Is this true ?
Please let me talk to you.

I just wanna know about
The rooms behind your minds
Uh do I see a vacuum there
Or am I going blind ?
Or is it just uh, remains of vibrations
And echoes long ago ?
Uh things like "Love the world" and uh
Uh "Let your fancy flow"
Is this true ?
Please let me talk to you
Let me talk to you.

I have lived here before
The days of ice
And of course this is why
I'm so concerned
And I come back to find
The stars misplaced
And the smell of a world
That is burned
A smell of a world
That is burned.

Yeah well, maybe, hmm...
Maybe it's just a... change of climate
Hmm, hmm...
Well I can dig it
I can dig it baby
I just want to see.

So where do I purchase my ticket ?
I'd just like to have a ringside seat
I want to know about the new Mother Earth
I want to hear and see everything
I want to hear and see everything
I want to hear and see everything
Yeah...

Aww, shucks
If my daddy could see me now
Everything, everything, everything, oh everything.
Comments (152)add comment
Hello from Toulouse , France !! 

Thank you you so much for your work RP team ! Please don't stop !
 dunkskicks wrote:

What makes this release even more exclusive is how it found its way into the hands of fortunate customers. Random buyers at JUICESTORE were gifted the Jordan 4 Reps. Regrettably, there are no plans for a public release as of now.

 



SPAM ALERT!!!
What makes this release even more exclusive is how it found its way into the hands of fortunate customers. Random buyers at JUICESTORE were gifted the Jordan 4 Reps. Regrettably, there are no plans for a public release as of now.
 
 xrdstv wrote:
 
 
As the Internet and social networks develop, online radio españa has brought into play the strengths of developing information with just your mobile device. When accessing it , you can listen to information anytime and anywhere .
Oh my. She passed away!
I always went to her shows when she was in town.  Loved her music and her beautiful and stunning long red hair.

Smitten a little I guess. Sad she is gone from us. 
 Proclivities wrote:


Maybe people shouldn't dictate what songs musicians should or should not play, especially when they themselves are not musicians.

From her NY Times obituary: "In the mid-1960s Ellen McIlwaine spent about a month playing in New York with a fellow guitarist whose musical tastes she shared, an undiscovered talent named Jimi Hendrix."

I can't think of anyone more qualified to cover one of his songs. Excellent version! 

I'm quite certain I heard her play in Winnipeg in the 80's... anyone recall that?
 zaebb wrote:


quite a movement experience !
Thought for sure this was a Rickie Lee. Very swinging'!
Jimi would have loved that hair!
 kbs wrote:

Does Melinda know Bill's out on his own?

She sure does now........
O M G just noticed this beautiful artist has passed away very recently.
rest in peace, you and will be missed, as we go on enjoying your wonderful music!!
 kbs wrote:

Does Melinda know Bill's out on his own?


Apparently she does now.
Great tune. Loving the vibe. 
 expatlar wrote:
If that is her  playin' that guitar while singing like that, wow. 

heheh. So a little Wikipedia read lets me know how ignorant I am once again. shrug. This is why I listen to rp. Learn something once in awhile.
 

Yup that is her -been there, heard that.
The vocal melodies are really far out! 
Has that Joni Mitchell vibes but twangy
Solid 9 from yo boy
 MusiqueMusique wrote:
Yes, really, thanks for playing her. Didn't even know she existed...  I really like that song.
 

I totally agree!  I started college in 1972 when this was released, and I'm just now hearing it for the first time.  Thanks once again to Bill and Rebecca.
Wow. Who is she? Total surprise! I turn on RP and this comes up, maybe I was just in the right mood, but what a smooth swing and vice ๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿผ
Bill, Rebecca --- PLEASE!!  How am I ever gonna get a good night's sleep when amazing sets of music fire up around midnight my time? Dangit!!... 
 zaebb wrote:
 
Does Melinda know Bill's out on his own?
I must confess that until a few years ago I thought Ricki Lee Jones' was the original version. Hers is still my favorite, but there are several covers I'd like to hear before a final decision.
Bill, could you please play " I Want What You Got" from her "Everybody Needs It' album?  A little something to get your blood moving...for us old farts.
 xsrossiter wrote:
People should not try to cover Hendrix; no not even Stevie Ray (but maybe Buddy Guy).
 

Maybe people shouldn't dictate what songs musicians should or should not play, especially when they themselves are not musicians.
Hey if a busker was doin this you'd toss her a couple bucks
Saw Ellen about 2000 at a small club in Takoma Park, MD (suburban DC). Electric power trio and she wailed! Great to hear her on RP.
simply beauty.
Saw Ellen open for some big name act in Detroit around '73.  Don't remember the big act but never forgot her.
Sometimes it takes a cover such as this to make me really hear a classic song.  Were it Jimi's version I would automatically go into reverential mode, yet listen somewhat passively because I've experienced it so many times I know longer listen for details.  Plus, I just think this is a really good cover.
Saw her several years ago at a local coffee shop. She was great and had interesting stories of her and Taj Mahal,Hendrix, and others.
That is good stuff right there.
love her voice  : )

went to https://www.ellenmcilwaine.com/ to learn some more about this awesome artist



with Odetta
Edmonton Folk Fest 1998
(Jan Henley)


Wow! I didn't realise what it was at first. Worth 9!
So very nice
Perfect quiet jazz/blues live music
 ambrebalte wrote:

What?!!  {#Stop}

I can't even come close to understand why this has been so poorly rated.
 I gave it a 9.

 
They're mad because it's not Jimi's version and so automatically must take 3 off the rating.
 ambrebalte wrote:

What?!!  {#Stop}

I can't even come close to understand why this has been so poorly rated.
 I gave it a 9. I would have liked to be in the audience. Bit too young in 72 though ๐Ÿ˜€

 
I don't get it either.  If I'd heard this in '72 it would have blown me away.  Gave it an 8.{#Headache}
 Ahnyer_Keester wrote:
Fairly amateurish. 

 
What?!!  {#Stop}

I can't even come close to understand why this has been so poorly rated.
 I gave it a 9. I would have liked to be in the audience. Bit too young in 72 though ๐Ÿ˜€
Fairly amateurish. 
 joelbb wrote:
You gotta have nerve to cover this piece and the talent to do it right.  This woman has both.

 
Bump.
First-rate! Such a cool thing she gets and keeps going on this, and what a fabulous voice and sense of rhythm! Thanks, RP for this!
ย hayduke2 wrote:

Well stated joelbb! ย Cheers!

ย 

 joelbb wrote:
You gotta have nerve to cover this piece and the talent to do it right.  This woman has both.

 
Well stated joelbb!  Cheers!

I just want to talk to you
I won't uh, do you no harm

Sweetheart, with a voice like that, you can't avoid doing me harm.


 danmaiullo wrote:
This is good, but Rickie Lee Jones did it so much better. We need to hear more of her.

 
Agree
This is good, but Rickie Lee Jones did it so much better. We need to hear more of her.
I thought she did Jimi justice on that one.  Good job.
 
 anabel wrote:

just had to push this up top!


 
I have to agree
 joelbb wrote:
You gotta have nerve to cover this piece and the talent to do it right.  This woman has both.

 
I didn't know what the original song was. Had to look it up. It's a Jimi Hendrix cover.
indeed...........more plea's.........{#Dance}{#Fire}
this is excellent!
I remember going to see her at a small club in old Montreal in the 70's and being just blown away at her slide guitar playing, really amazing.
It's weird how tastes can change.  Last time I heard this song (whenever that may have been), I gave it a 2.  Today it gets a 7.  Don't know what I was thinking last time!
Yes, really, thanks for playing her. Didn't even know she existed...  I really like that song.
You gotta have nerve to cover this piece and the talent to do it right.  This woman has both.
Here Here!  Thanks for playing Ellen.  love her.
 kaybee wrote:
I like the Hendrix version as much as anyone else, but I think this is a worthy effort.
 



Agreed
I like the Hendrix version as much as anyone else, but I think this is a worthy effort.
Brings a Joni Mitchell/Rikki Lee Jones vibe to this. Not bad.
 a_genuine_find wrote:

 

the QUESTION remains...

I guess the reason that there are so few covers of Hendrix songs is that he is revered as almost godlike, I can see that. I wish she had lent something new or better to the song, but alas no.
A lot of people don't like this here,but I think it's pretty good. 
 
NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NON NIET NAO.
Should be a rule against this sort of thing.
 a_genuine_find wrote:

 
just had to push this up top!

Sorry but she probably should not have covered this one.  Jimi's is light years better.
I had her first or second album, and loved it for a long time, then lost touch with it...too many moves.
 Dude wrote:
I think that this is a nice interpretation of a great song.  It's got a great acoustic feel and a nice 60's sound, and Ellen has a nice voice.  She captures the energy and essence of the song, and she's feeling it.  I don't understand the negative reaction from my fellow RP listeners.
 
I'm sorry I missed this song.  I was reviewing the playlist history and saw that this one had an average rating of 5.9 with 330 total votes.  RP listeners are usually very generous with "7" ratings for mediocre music and if it's particularly bad the rating might dip to "6".   But 5.9?? I'm curious.

 rkread wrote:
Crystal Bowersox, anyone?
 
God, I miss Simon.

I think that this is a nice interpretation of a great song.  It's got a great acoustic feel and a nice 60's sound, and Ellen has a nice voice.  She captures the energy and essence of the song, and she's feeling it.  I don't understand the negative reaction from my fellow RP listeners.
Heresy! {#No}
Crystal Bowersox, anyone?
This song is like that damn Energizer bunny... it just keeps going and going and going. Okay, it's not an original thought but it works very nicely here!
 a_genuine_find wrote:
 
Thank you very much!!
I understand the need for covers to exist, but I can't stand this one.  Make it stop, please! {#Wall}
 laroue wrote:
ok. How about the Rickie Lee Jones version, instead?
 
That sounds tasty!  Might have to go look for that ...

Okay, I agree that some of the vocal phrasing in specific spots are Armatradingesque.  However, the song structure couldn't be more different as far as I'm hearing it.  Joan always has a much more pusposeful, tighter and focused composition.  Not that I mind Ms. McIlwaine's work, but it is not in the same league as Joan's work...yet.

 Hannio wrote:


What I was thinking.  This is not bad, pretty good actually.

MsJudi wrote: Shades of Joan Armitrating.
 

Meh.  {#Eh}
Hey!  Ellen again.  Most Excellent.  Love ya Girl!

Ellen is Good People.
 MsJudi wrote:
Shades of Joan Armitrating.
 

What I was thinking.  This is not bad, pretty good actually.
Ellen was kicking butt with the likes of Jimi Hendrix way, way back. She's definitely still got it. My favorite off this album is still "Sliding". A good solid 9.
Ordinary.
ok. How about the Rickie Lee Jones version, instead?
Love the kitty on her CD cover! {#Roflol}

 manbirdexperiment wrote:


I'm OK with sucko-barfo.
 
I'm still not.
Shades of Joan Armitrating.
ianema wrote:
I need a rating below sucko-bafo!
I'm OK with sucko-barfo.
I need a rating below sucko-bafo!
I normally forgo comparisons, but I seriously was thinking this might be Fiona Apple.
Harsh and irritating to my ears...
zenhead wrote:
How wonderful to hear Ellen's voice coming out of my speakers! I think she's great, very underappreciated.
Me too! And I like the cover of Jimis' song very much.
maxmox wrote:
Is that a skunk on yr shoulder Ellen?
Nope, it's Rascal, her kitty. Ellen is instantly recognized by the Feline Race as being a Friendly Big Person.
I love Ellen McIlwaine and it's so good to hear her again.She was ahead of her time. One gutsy musical woman. There are so many good cuts from this album. (PS: Ricki Lee owes Ellen Mc a debt of gratitude, Ellen is about twenty years her senior...)
Not bad. Echoes of Joni Mitchell... c.
orientalis wrote:
Don't really know who this lady is (perhaps I am too young), but Rickie Lee Jones covered this song way better and way cooler.
It's okay to be young, and Rickie Lee is tops. Just remember: there's nothing new in music, only the feel.
Is that a skunk on yr shoulder Ellen?
I love that promo only cover! Brings back used record store memories. Perhaps Ms Jones did one better than Ellen's, but RLJ was a deadbeat Venice waif when this was recorded, and you can bet it was on her mind when she did hers. Back in the day, though, this was a very cool FM tune. Thanks, Bill!
Judging this on its own merits, without comparison to the original, I but one word: BLECH!
orientalis wrote:
Don't really know who this lady is (perhaps I am too young), but Rickie Lee Jones covered this song way better and way cooler.
I completely agree, its played pretty regularly on RP
up from the skies solid
Don't really know who this lady is (perhaps I am too young), but Rickie Lee Jones covered this song way better and way cooler.
love it!!!
SRV's cover of Little Wing and Voodoo Child are flawless.
xsrossiter wrote:
People should not try to cover Hendrix; no not even Stevie Ray (but maybe Buddy Guy).
If anyone can do Jimmy, ITS Stevie Ray Vaughn! They are both immortal! We were just lucky to have Stevie longer and unlucky to not have Jimmy long enough.
Not a fan. Just because the original artist was good, or a legend, has little bearing on the quality of a cover. Poor.
xsrossiter wrote:
People should not try to cover Hendrix; no not even Stevie Ray (but maybe Buddy Guy).
agreed
anyone remember "Fear Itself" with Chris Zaloom?
People should not try to cover Hendrix; no not even Stevie Ray (but maybe Buddy Guy).
Ellen is a nice person, great musician from way back. I talked to her once about Jimi Hendrix and how he was in her band before he moved to England and became famous. This was several years ago but I think she still tours.
pope183 wrote:
think she teaches school now ..
Thats hilarious!
My stream keeps cutting out on me. Maybe it doesn't like this song.
Horrible.
think she teaches school now ..
I can appreciate it. I tried to like it. It just makes me want to hear Jimi.
There is a better cover of this from a Jazz singerin from Holand, Fleurine. This isnt bad either
I'm the biggest Hendrix fan ever and I have to say I love this! Doesn't try to do a recreation, great voice. Nice!
How wonderful to hear Ellen's voice coming out of my speakers! I think she's great, very underappreciated.