Released 1969 Genre Soul jazz Writer(s) Gene McDaniels | Recorded June 21, 1969 Label Atlantic Language English | |
"Compared to What" is a composition, with lyrics, by Gene McDaniels. It was recorded by Roberta Flack in 1969, but became better known following a performance by Les McCann (piano and vocals) and Eddie Harris (tenor saxophone) at the 1969 Montreux Jazz Festival, which appeared as the opening track on their album Swiss Movement. The album was certified Gold in sales in the United States. The song has been covered by more than 270 artists, including Ray Charles.
Contents
Composition
The lyrics contain a "topical rant against [President] Nixon and the Vietnam War", and include the lines: "The president, he's got his war / Folks don't know just what it's for / Nobody gives us rhyme or reason / Have one doubt, they call it treason". In 1976 the popular American music critic B. Lee Cooper suggested that the song "of social criticism attacked a variety of social practices as being based on hypocritically 'unreal values'" and contrasted "the social myth of equality and the economic reality of poverty in the stratified American society."
Original version
The first recording appears to have been by Les McCann for his 1966 album Les McCann Plays the Hits.
Roberta Flack
Flack recorded the song for her 1969 debut album First Take and "Compared to What" was her first single. Flack's manager that year was McCann. A contemporary reviewer suggested that her singing was "in a fiery rhythmic way reminiscent of the throbbing motion heard during congregational singing at Southern Baptist churches." Flack's version was included in the 1997 film Boogie Nights and the 2015 film The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
McCann–Harris version
McCann and Harris had performed earlier at the 1969 Montreux Jazz Festival and agreed to play together on June 21, 1969, with Benny Bailey (trumpet), Leroy Vinnegar (bass), and Donald Dean (drums). The song was the first of the McCann–Harris set, and opens with McCann and Dean playing together. Vinnegar joins in, forming a trio that states the theme. Harris (tenor saxophone) then enters, complementing McCann's piano and vocals. After four verses, Bailey has a solo, then the band plays together until the last verse. This is followed by solos from McCann and Harris, ending the performance. Their version of the song appeared on the album Swiss Movement; the single sold over a million copies and reached No. 35 on Billboard's R&B chart. The single also appeared on the U.S. Cash Box Top 100 for two weeks in January 1970, with a peak position of No. 96.
The commercial success of the McCann–Harris version allowed McDaniels to stop singing in night clubs. The song was later used in the soundtrack for Martin Scorsese's 1995 film Casino.
Brian Auger
In 1973 Brian Auger's Oblivion Express included a cover of the song on their album Closer To It. In 1975 the band performed the song, as their closing number, at San Francisco's Winterland, when the band opened for Fleetwood Mac. Pastermagazine.com describes the performance as a "foot-stomping, full blown funky jazz blowout" and adds: "Auger's bluesy Hammond organ licks have a timeless appeal and he and the group's offbeat humor are apparent throughout." The song was also included on the band's albums Live Oblivion - 1975, Best of Brian Auger - 1976 and Brian Auger's Obvlivion Express - 2005: Live at the Baked Potato.
Terence Blanchard cover
American jazz trumpeter Terence Blanchard covered the song in his 2015 studio album Breathless.