SERIES RETURN: Chuck Small’s Record Relays – Volume 6 – Six Degrees Of…

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It’s time for a new round of Record Relays:

Collaborations that hand off from one artist to the next.

In the first five installments, I pulled most of the tracks from CDs I had made to store the tracks on my iPod…

(..when iPods were a thing.)

This set? It’s more of playing a musical variation on “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon.”

(Mr. Bacon is not involved in the making of this set, although I suspect someone could find a way to connect him.)

I took two collaborations I enjoyed from 2009 and challenged myself, to see how I could get from one to the other. There might have been quicker ways, but here’s the route I took.

Hope you enjoy the stops along the way.

Track 1:

Annie Lennox and David Gray
“Full Steam”

I’ve liked British singer-songwriter David Gray’s work since I became familiar with it on his U.S. breakout album White Ladder. His team-up with Lennox on this track from his 2009 CD Draw the Line was one of my favorites of that year.


Track 2:

David Gray and LeAnn Rimes
“Snow in Vegas

This track from Gray’s 2014 collection Mutineers feels a little less organic than the Lennox duet. But its “two worlds colliding” vibe mirrors Gray’s ode to unbridled passion.


Track 3:

LeAnn Rimes and Jeff Beck
“Gasoline and Matches”

Talk about worlds colliding! Teaming with guitar legend Beck and once-and-again Matchbox 20 singer Rob Thomas yielded country-rock grit on this track from Rimes’ Spitfire album.


Track 4:

Jeff Beck and Rod Stewart
“People Get Ready”

An MTV favorite from Beck’s album Flash, it’s hard to believe this 1985 cover of the Impressions’ hit, written by Curtis Mayfield, stalled at No. 48 on the Hot 100.


Track 5:

Rod Stewart and The Temptations
“The Motown Song

Stewart may have been singing about listening to The Miracles, but the vocal group who sang with him here was not Smokey Robinson’s former combo, but rather Motown’s top group of the ‘60s and ‘70s. This Top 30 hit was on Stewart’s 1991 Vagabond Heart album.


Track 6:

Daryl Hall and John Oates with David Ruffin and Eddie Kendricks
“The Way You Do the Things You Do/My Girl”

By 1985, Hall and Oates had solidified their status as the top duo of the rock era, and they used some of that cachet to pay tribute to the soul music that inspired them. They teamed with the two former Temptations leads for the album Live at the Apollo that yielded this Top 40 medley.


Track 7:

Daryl Hall and John Oates and Train
Philly Forget Me Not

On the other hand: By 2018 Hall and Oates were primarily a nostalgia act on their way to an acrimonious breakup. This collaboration with the pop/rock group Train offered a last nod to their hitmaking days and the town that formed them.


Track 8:

Train and Marsha Ambrosius
Wonder What You’re Doing for the Rest of Your Life

A playful track from Train’s 2014 Bulletproof Picasso collection, this was released as a promotional single but failed to catch fire. I have no idea why – I liked it more than any of the album’s official singles.


Track 9:

Marsha Ambrosius and Ne-Yo
Without You

This emotionally raw R&B ballad from 2013, which Ambrosius co-wrote, highlights her vocal strengths. She originally broke through in the duo Floetry before going solo.


Track 10:

Rihanna and Ne-Yo
Hate That I Love You

This midtempo duet comes from Rihanna’s Good Girl Gone Bad collection. It hit No. 7 on the Hot 100 as the third single from that album, following “Umbrella” and “Shut Up and Drive” and preceding “Don’t Stop the Music,” all likelier remembered.


Track 11:

Maroon 5 and Rihanna
If I Never See Your Face Again

Talk about a hot-and-cold performance. Maroon 5’s Adam Levine rarely put his oily charisma to better effect than in the video of this track, and Rihanna matches him feint for feint. This track is both on Good Girl Gone Bad and Maroon 5’s It Won’t Be Soon Before Long.


Track 12:

Maroon 5 and Christina Aguilera
Moves Like Jagger

This was a much bigger Billboard hit than the Rihanna duet (No. 1 vs. No. 51.) But I confess I don’t like it as much. Not sure whether it’s due to overplay, the preciousness of the lyric or the “ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo.” It’s only when Christina Aguilera comes in that it feels like a song and not just a riff.


Track 13:

Lady Gaga and Christina Aguilera
Do What U Want

The original version of this Artpop track, featuring R. Kelly, was the most polarizing in Lady Gaga’s admittedly controversial career. This version, which substitutes Aguilera’s vocals, retains the edge of the lyrics without the grossness of its initial guest.


Track 14:

Lady Gaga and Clarence Clemons
The Edge of Glory

From the Born This Way collection: This duet marked the final Top 10 appearance, although uncredited on the single, by guest saxophonist Clemons. He died later in 2011.


Track 15:

Clarence Clemons and Jackson Browne
You’re a Friend of Mine

Clemons’ sole pop hit outside of his work with the E Street Band, or with artists such as Lady Gaga or Aretha Franklin. This went Top 20 in early 1986. It includes background vocals from actress Daryl Hannah.


Track 16:

Jackson Browne and Jennifer Warnes
Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight

The two artists provide a lullaby of the two Beatles’ Abbey Road tracks on the Disney for our Children collection, a 1991 benefit for the Pediatric AIDS Foundation. This track is not available on Spotify although you can listen here via YouTube.


Track 17:

Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes
Up Where We Belong

From the soundtrack to the film An Officer and a Gentleman, this track remains derided by lots of Cocker rockers. (Stereogum reviewer Tom Breihan gave it a 2/10.) I don’t care. I admit my love for the song can’t be separated from my enjoying the movie.


Track 18:

Santana and Joe Cocker
Little Wing

This take on a Jimi Hendrix composition comes from Santana’s 2010 collection Guitar Heaven: The Greatest Guitar Classics of All Time. Honestly, it’s not my thing, although guitarists may like it more. It does, nevertheless, get us from Cocker to our next artist.


Track 19:

Santana and Michelle Branch
The Game of Love

Now this song? I love. Which I guess, shows my preference for pop/rock. The first time I heard this track from the Shaman CD, I thought of New Radicals’ “You Get What You Give,” so I wasn’t surprised to find the same songwriting team crafted both. And Santana’s guitar work does a great job playing off Branch’s vocals.


Track 20:

Michelle Branch and Timbaland
Getaway

This is another track you’ll have to find on YouTube rather than Spotify. It’s OK, though Timbaland’s production elements really overwhelm the song. If you’re a Timbaland fan, this could be a good thing.


Track 21:

Nelly Furtado and Timbaland
Promiscuous

The Timbaland production is dominant here, too. But Furtado pulls off an attitude of her own that prevents her from being overwhelmed by it all. It’s a lot of fun. From Furtado’s CD Loose.


Track 22:

James Morrison and Nelly Furtado
Broken Strings

It took us 22 tracks to get here, but we made it: From British singer-songwriter David Gray to British singer-songwriter James Morrison.

Neither is a core act in the U.S., but I like both of their work a lot. Here, Morrison pulls Furtado in more of an AC direction than her work with Timbaland. I think she succeeds just the same.

Here’s the Spotify set for 20 of the 22:

Which one is your favorite?


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Chuck Small

Journalist-turned-high school counselor. Happily ensconced in Raleigh, N.C., with hubby of 32 years (10 legal).

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rollerboogie
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rollerboogie
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April 1, 2025 7:56 am

I only knew 4 of these, but I liked how you were able to make the connection from two seemingly unrelated songs, using all these artists. It’s a cool concept that takes you on a fun musical journey. Some interesting pairings here, many of them unexpected.

mt58
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April 1, 2025 8:53 am

“Oily charisma.“
This week’s challenge phrase is born: I vow to work that into a conversation sometime between now and Friday.

JJ Live At Leeds
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April 1, 2025 2:38 pm
Reply to  mt58

I’m sure I could use that to reference more than one person I’ve been unlucky enough to have as a work colleague. Fortunately they are colleagues in the past tense.

mt58
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April 1, 2025 4:23 pm

STORY TIME!!

Virgindog
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April 1, 2025 11:41 am

Thanks for reminding me to brush up on “Little Wing.” It’s likely to come up at tomorrow’s jam and it’ll fall completely apart if the bass player (yours truly) doesn’t remember it.

The other thing I keep forgetting is how good Nelly Furtado is. She’s one of those great voices that regularly slips under my radar.

Great connect-the-dots, Chuck! I always look forward to these.

mt58
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April 1, 2025 11:51 am
Reply to  Virgindog
JJ Live At Leeds
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April 1, 2025 2:34 pm

There’s six of these that I know. I’ll go with a tie between Gaga/Clemons and Furtado/Morrison as my favourite.

You want a Kevin Bacon connection? The Motown Song was originally recorded for the 1986 film Quicksilver…..starring Kevin Bacon. You’d forgotten it ever existed? You’re not the only one, 13% on the Tomatometer.
https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/quicksilver

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