collaboration spotlight — Come Together by The Edge Effect
There are a lot of classic Beatles songs, and this is definitely one of their most beloved and bizarre. But leave it to The Edge Effect to pep up the tempo and bring it a little closer to its bluesy roots. Where the original tune sounds mellow and contemplative, this is a straight-up party with their old buddy Scott as the guest of honor.
Details:
title: Come Together
performers: The Edge Effect, feat. Scott Porter
original performers: The Beatles
written by: John Lennon & Paul McCartney
arranged by: Troy Dolendo
release date: 28 September 2020
My favorite bits:
that funky "instrumental" opening to set the mood
the audio panning as the rhythm passes from Scott to Troy
Sean indulging in some skillful scatting as he hands off the lead
the extra grit Scott puts into the second verse
the syncopated chromatic descent leading into the break
Scott and Troy's tag-team beatboxing, with Karl's steady bass line underneath 🥁 🎸
those brassy harmonies from Sean, Danny, and John 🎺🎷
Sean's quick, precise riff on ♫ "fee-e-e-e-e-eet" ♫ 👣
Troy's shuffling rhythm in the build up to the last verse
that strut of a spin Scott does has he sings ♫ "I got to be good looking" ♫
the subtle bassy arpeggios from Karl in the final verse
finishing on that clean unison
Trivia:
○ This collaboration was part of the 6th annual Freeze HD event to raise funds for the Huntington's Disease Society of America. The cause is personal for Scott, since his wife and her father both live with Huntington's.
○ This is a tweaked version of The Edge Effect's original arrangement from their 2015 album "Uncovered".
○ Although the songwriting is officially credited to Lennon–McCartney (per their professional contract), it was composed almost entirely by John, with two lines contributed by George Harrison. By Lennon's own admission, the lyrics are mostly nonsense.
○ The titular lyric started as a campaign slogan for Timothy Leary's 1970 gubernatorial run against Ronald Regan in California. The melody and instrumentation were heavily inspired by Chuck Berry's "You Can't Catch Me", but slowed down to differentiate the sound.
○ Their friend Geoff Castellucci had released a multi-tracked cover of another Beatles song, "Blackbird", a week and a half earlier.
○ These fine gentlemen have several connections to their fellow Orlando-based a cappella group VoicePlay, mostly while they were known as 4:2:Five.
Scott was the group's original beatboxer from their founding in 1997 until he left to pursue acting full time in 2003.
Danny Alan sang Tenor 2 with 4:2:Five from late 2006 through 2010. When his sons were born, he decided to concentrate on The Edge Effect and his solo acoustic music.
Sean Gerrity was part of the rotating cast of the Polar Express Conductors holiday show at SeaWorld with 4:2:Five in 2011. He was also in a gig band called Soul Funktion for many years with VoicePlay's production manager, Kathy Castellucci. His son Liam had recently been featured in their "Just Sing" music video.
