Alan Haber's Pure Pop Radio

A heavy dose of Cream in Timmy Sean’s coffee propels the latest Song of the Week into high gear as Timmy tackles Little Willie John’s “Leave My Kitten Alone.”

The Beatles famously recorded “Leave My Kitten Alone” in 1964, but it sat on a shelf until finally showing up on the first Beatles Anthology release in 1995. The Fabs’ take on the song was, in the spirit of the times in which it was recorded, a fast-paced romp and in the style of Merseybeat. In Timmy’s updated version, the blues take center stage as a determined, thumping pace is set. Echoes of Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker abound in this new version, which shares aural lineage with Cream’s “Strange Brew.” (Or so says Alan. For the record, Timmy says his take is inspired by Stevie Ray Vaughn’s version of George Harrison’s “Taxman”.)

August is Beatles Month for Timmy Sean’s Songs of the Week project. A take on a number from the group’s The Beatles record, commonly called the White Album, is on tap for next week.

Of his version of “Leave My Kitten Alone,” Timmy says: “Here’s a bit of a ‘deep cut’ for Week 2 of Beatles Month. Since I was around the music of the Beatles since birth, the Anthology was the first Beatles material that I got to ‘discover.’ Between “Free As a Bird,” “Real Love,” and then cuts like “That Means a Lot” and this one that I never heard before, my mind was blown. Even the songs that were deemed not strong enough for b-sides were incredible.

“After LUZER broke up, I put together a little blues trio to play some shows doing some covers and blues-tinged originals (which is also where previous Song of the Week ‘Way Too Long’ originated from). I had an idea for taking this tune and kind of flipping the idea of ’60s British Invasion act covering old blues songs, by making a ’60s British rock tune and making it a blues song. It wasn’t until then, more than a decade after I first heard it, that I learned that this wasn’t written by John and Paul!

“So…it’s essentially just a cover of an old blues tune. BUT, the only version I ever knew was the Beatles take on it, so to me it really was a tribute to the Beatles’ ‘Leave My Kitten Alone’ (much like my Rick Nelson tribute of ‘The Very Thought of You’). Also, after last week’s fairly faithful tribute to “You’re Going to Lose that Girl”, I wanted a bit of a curve ball for this second entry, so I decided to still include it in with Beatles Month.”

Timmy’s version of “Leave My Kitten Alone” is now playing in rotation on Pure Pop Radio, along with every one of the Songs of the Week released since the project began. Add Timmy Sean’s bluesy, rocky take on “Leave My Kitten Alone” to your collection by clicking here. To get all of Timmy’s music, click here.

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